Chapter 375: [373] Power
After nearly half a month of grueling labor, a massive pit was finally excavated in the icy wastelands of the northern frontier.
On this momentous day, both August and Esdeath brimmed with anticipation.
"Throw them in," Esdeath commanded, her tone cold and unyielding.
Her soldiers obeyed without hesitation, shoving the captured tribesmen into the enormous pit. The prisoners were too weak to resist, their spirits broken after weeks of hard labor under the unforgiving northern skies.
Despite starting with 400,000 captives, countless had perished during the excavation process. The biting cold, relentless toil, and starvation had taken a heavy toll. At the bottom of the pit lay a layer of frozen corpses—mute witnesses to the horrors wrought by their captors.
August stood at the edge of the pit, his expression unreadable. Waves of despair, anger, hatred, and fear emanated from the captives below, saturating the air. To August, these emotions were sustenance, feeding the dark forces within him.
His Gate of Sin stirred, devouring the negative energy with insatiable greed.
Crack.
A faint sound echoed within his body. The void-like energy that had bound his powers began to dissipate ever so slightly.