Reprisals from All Sides

Hill thought it over, then placed a clock-tower-like building in the very center of the camp. Inside the small tower atop the highest floor, where the clock was hung, he placed an oil painting of semi-divine-artifact quality.

It was high above the ground, so it would not be easy to make people repent. Even if their alignment was somewhat problematic, Hill could not keep everyone outside while investigating them one by one. He could only let them all in first and deal with it afterward.

But he could not leave himself undefended, either. That was why he put up the painting.

An oil painting of semi-divine-artifact quality already possessed a hint of sentience, and with Hill's abilities, communicating with it was easy.

Rather than wait for Liszt to see someone and activate the magic array to punish them, Hill preferred to deal with things in one step.

As soon as someone committed an evil act, a beam of Smite Evil would shoot directly from the tower. It would treat everyone equally, regardless of the severity or magnitude of their crimes. Even if they did not die, they would still be thrown out of the camp.

Hill stood by the window, watching the people climb down from more than thirty carriages of various shapes and sizes below.

His brows drew together. There were fully two or three hundred people, most of them elderly or weak. Even the coachmen had obvious disabilities.

The only adults among them were a few pregnant women and their families.

Hill let out a helpless sigh. It was truly possible to understand these people's origins at a glance.

There were always some people who were abandoned without a hint of guilt.

His hand lightly lifted from the windowsill, and Hill stopped looking at the few people dressed