Jason Liu felt uneasy. Usually, Boris would stay at Easter Hospital to treat nearby villagers, townspeople, and minor nobles. Two of his five assistants would take turns treating the sick and injured soldiers, workers, and their families.
Noticing Jason Liu's concerned look, Jon stepped forward, bowed, and explained, "Five nights ago, a man named Domiton broke into a single mother's wooden shed at night and attacked her. The woman's 3-year-old son was killed to prevent him from crying out."
As Jon spoke, his face grew cold with hatred for the criminal.
Jason Liu remained silent as his expression became serious. What he had feared most had happened. With thousands of people suddenly crowded together, including women and children, some men with weak self-control would inevitably commit evil acts when seeing so many women around. But he hadn't expected such cruelty - not only assaulting the woman but killing her child too. It was a terrible crime.
Despite his burning anger, Jason Liu kept his composure and motioned for Jon to continue explaining everything clearly.
McCann, Bud, Marb, Boris, Dicken, Kent, Rubin, and Chris stood nearby. Seeing their leader's icy expression, they lowered their heads fearfully, sensing Jason's rage.
Jon continued, "The woman eventually screamed loudly, waking nearby villagers. The patrolling soldiers came quickly. Bud, Marbu, McCann and I were awakened and rushed over too."
"After hearing the woman's story, we sent hundreds of soldiers and thousands of workers with torches to search for him. We caught Davin hiding in a tree hole in a forest ten miles away."
"We brought him back and put him in a cage. Everyone was angry and demanded an immediate execution. But since you said you wanted to handle such criminals yourself, we locked him in a wooden cage to wait for your return."
Jon led them to a corner of the wooden fence where several soldiers guarded a wooden cage. Inside lay a man covered in wounds, blood, mud, and leaves.
Jason Liu looked at the black human-shaped "thing" lying on the ground. The criminal had clearly been beaten severely when captured and now couldn't even stand up—which he deserved. Even left alone, he would likely die soon from pain and starvation.
However, Jason Liu wouldn't let him die slowly from torture. He would execute this criminal in front of everyone at the lumber mill as a warning to others. He believed that besides Davin, there must be others among the 4,000 people at the logging yard who might consider similar crimes.
To ensure the stable operation of the lumber mill, he needed to prove that breaking his laws would not be tolerated. Otherwise, they would face the same fate as Davin.
By late afternoon, all workers and their families—elderly, women, and children—were gathered in the large open area in front of the canteen, which would later become the main plaza for important announcements.
The 30 soldiers trained to use chainsaws had taught at least 300 farmers how to use them. With chainsaws, logging efficiency was incredibly high, and 200 steel freight carriages helped transport the wood, allowing for quick construction of the housing area and large warehouse.
While waiting for everyone to gather, Jason Liu learned about the construction progress from Master Torrant and several masons. Half of the 20 rows of 200 wooden houses for workers remained unbuilt, along with the army camp, school field near the eastern riverbank, hospital, large canteen, bathhouse, and separate toilets for men and women.
Jason was particularly concerned about the large warehouse covering tens of acres. The outer perimeter was fenced with rows of wood. Inside were wooden sheds with roofs made from cut branches covered with northern long grass to keep out rain and snow. Jason planned to inspect this warehouse after handling the current situation.
Word spread quickly that Lord Jason had come to execute Davin, who had assaulted Mira and killed her young son. Workers stopped their tasks when the soldiers notified them, gathering in the open space with their tools—iron rods, axes, wooden forks, and hoes.
In the middle of this space stood a wooden platform 10 meters long, 6 meters wide, and over 1 meter high. A gallows had been built on it, with a noose hanging and swaying gently in the wind.
McCann informed Jason that everyone in the logging camp, including children, had gathered. Jason ordered the soldiers to bring Davin to the platform.
Under the angry stares of over 4,000 people, two soldiers dragged Davin, whose legs were clearly broken and twisted, onto the high platform. They handled him like a dead dog as they placed the noose around his neck.
They threw the whimpering man onto the wooden platform and moved behind the gallows. Several soldiers held the other end of the rope with both hands, waiting for Lord Jason's order.
"God damn Davin!" someone shouted.
"He's a beast in human skin..."
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