This time they did not bother with speeches or crowds.
They dragged Cunte toward the oak tree while others held the rope tight above the branch.
The giant struggled weakly as blood soaked the dirt beneath him.
Yet his strength was fading after the many wounds he had suffered.
With rough hands, the guards forced him onto another crate beneath the hanging rope.
The clearing had grown strangely quiet again.
Many spectators had already fled down the road while others stood frozen in shock.
The enslaved workers watched with broken hearts as the soldiers tightened the noose around Cunte’s neck once more.
Turner himself stepped forward and kicked the crate away with savage anger.
This time the rope held.
Cunte’s massive body jerked beneath the branch as the noose pulled tight.
The soldiers stepped back cautiously while the giant struggled for several moments.
His powerful legs kicked against the empty air before slowly growing still.
The wind moved softly through the leaves above him while the crowd watched in stunned silence.
After a long time, the soldiers lowered his body to the ground and confirmed that life had finally left him.
Yet, the strange feeling that had filled the clearing earlier did not disappear.
Instead, it grew stronger.
The crowd looked uneasily at the giant lying beneath the oak tree.
Some whispered that the rope breaking the first time had been a sign.
Others believed they had witnessed something that would not easily be forgotten.
Caleb Turner ordered the body to remain hanging from the tree until sunset as a warning to everyone on the plantation.
Then he turned and walked back toward his house without another word.
The soldiers slowly dispersed while the remaining spectators hurried away down the road.
But as evening approached and the sun began sinking behind the trees, strange rumors were already starting to spread among those who had witnessed the event.
They spoke about the way the rope snapped the first time.
They spoke about the giant standing calmly after being shot.
And some even claimed that when the wind moved through the oak tree, they could hear a low creaking sound that almost resembled a deep voice whispering through the branches.
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