2026-10-09 06:38:37
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CHAPTER 8 — THE WOMAN FROM THE RUINED KINGDOM
The pressure outside the house became so heavy that the wooden walls groaned.John could barely breathe. Mira was already on her feet despite her injuries. They're here.”John looked toward the window.“Who?”“A hunter.”Her expression was grim. “Not an ordinary one.”A deep voice suddenly echoed across Blackstone Village.“Give me Mira Vale.”Every candle in the village had already gone out, leaving the settlement buried beneath darkness.The voice came again.“Hand her over, and nobody needs to die.”John's jaw tightened. Around him, the village guards were gathering weapons.Marcus was already outside organising them. John knew the truth. If the man outside was as powerful as Mira claimed, sending the militia against him would be suicide.But fighting openly would be just as dangerous. The stranger might sense John's cultivation. John turned toward Mira. Can you walk?”“Yes.”“Then you're going to hide.”Mira stared at him. You intend to fight him?”“No.”John looked toward the darkness. I
CHAPTER 7 — THE NIGHT THE SKY CHANGED
The crimson star pulsed again, and every person in Blackstone Village felt the ground tremble beneath their feet.Children began crying. Dogs howled from every corner of the settlement. Several villagers dropped to their knees and started praying.“What is happening?” Tomas shouted. Nobody answered. Above them, the night sky had become something unnatural.A massive red formation stretched across the heavens, its intricate lines connecting star to star until they formed a perfect circle around Blackstone Village.John stared upward. His heart was pounding. He could still feel the energy flowing through his body from his first attempt at cultivation.The formation was feeding it. No. John's expression changed. It was not feeding him. It was searching. The realisation sent a chill through him.The strange creature he had killed earlier had arrived shortly before the celestial formation appeared.That could not be a coincidence. “Everyone get inside!” John shouted. The villagers hesitate
CHAPTER 6 — THE FIRST STEP INTO CULTIVATION
The wounded soldier had barely finished speaking when a scream tore through Blackstone Village.John spun toward the eastern wall. A second scream followed, this one cut short by a terrible growl.Marcus came running from the direction of the barracks. “John! Something is inside the village!” The alarm bell began ringing.Villagers poured from their homes, some carrying farm tools, others clutching spears that John had helped them practice with.Then something crashed through a wooden fence. A creature emerged from the darkness. It looked like a wolf, but John knew immediately that it was not one.Its body was nearly twice the size of an ordinary wolf. Thick black fur covered its limbs, and two pale ridges ran along its spine. Its eyes reflected the moonlight with an unnatural red glow.More frightening was the faint distortion surrounding its body. The air itself seemed to tremble around it.“Hold the line!” Marcus shouted. Four villagers raised their spears. The creature disappeared
CHAPTER 5 — THE SECOND CONSCRIPTION
The first man to refuse conscription was dragged into the village square before sunrise. John arrived just as two soldiers forced the young farmer to his knees.“My son is all I have left!” the farmer's mother cried. “Please, he cannot go!” The officer holding the recruitment list did not even look at her.“Every household must provide one able-bodied man. Refusal is punishable by execution.”The words spread through Blackstone faster than fire. Doors slammed. Children were pulled inside.Young men disappeared into barns, storage sheds, and abandoned houses. Within an hour, the village that had celebrated its first green field had become a place of fear.John stood near the square, watching soldiers search houses.The kingdom had come with barely enough food to feed its own men, yet it had arrived expecting Blackstone to surrender more.Marcus walked toward him. “They're going to search our house next.” John looked at his father.“Then we won't hide.” Marcus frowned. “What are you pla
CHAPTER 4 — THE FIRST HARVEST
The river was less than a day's walk from Blackstone Village, but Harlan had decided that no one from Blackstone would touch it.John stood at the edge of the village when the messenger delivered the answer.“Half your remaining grain,” the man said. “That is the price for access to the river.”John's eyes narrowed. “And if we refuse?” The messenger shrugged. “Harlan says you can watch your people starve.” The words settled heavily over the gathered villagers.They had barely survived the military raid. Their grain stores were limited, their fields were dry, and the next harvest was still months away. Giving away half their food would be dangerous.Giving away half their food simply to obtain water was worse. John looked toward the dry fields.Then he looked back at the messenger. “Tell Harlan he gets nothing.” The messenger's expression hardened.“You should reconsider.”“No.”“Harlan has fifty armed men.” John glanced toward Blackstone's newly organised guards. “We have more than th
Chapter 3 — The Grain Beneath the Floor
The first stone struck the storehouse wall hard enough to make John flinch. “Thief!” Another stone followed.Then another. Within seconds, angry voices erupted outside the building. “You hid the grain!”“He found it before us!”“He's taking it for himself!” John turned toward the doorway. Dozens of villagers had gathered outside.Their faces were gaunt, their clothes covered in soot, and their eyes were fixed on the sacks of grain behind him with an almost frightening desperation.John understood immediately. Hunger had changed them. These people were not thinking about tomorrow.They were thinking about the next mouthful. A man pushed through the crowd.“Open the door!” Someone struck the wooden frame with a piece of timber. “We're starving!”John looked at the grain. Then at the crowd. He had expected relief when he found it. Instead, he had discovered another problem.There wasn't enough food for everyone to take whatever they wanted. If he opened the storehouse without a plan, the
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