Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior

"In the Thirteenth Year of Tianwu, on the thirteenth day of October, Captain Liu Sheng of the Evil Eagle led three hundred from the Evil Eagle Camp and three hundred from the Rear Camp out of Yuguo Pass, encountering a massive surprise attack by elite barbarian cavalry on the Black Earth Wilderness..."

"On that day, six hundred men from the Evil Eagle were nearly annihilated, with only Captain Liu Sheng surviving... Liu Sheng bravely fought and brought back vital information about the barbarians' movements, earning one merit, being promoted by one grade, and being elevated to the rank of Junior Fifth Grade Deputy Captain of the Divine Arm Camp, rewarded with a hundred gold coins..."

"Three days later, soldier Wang Xuan from the Evil Eagle Rear Camp returned to the pass with over a hundred comrades' identity tags... earned a middle merit, promoted to Centurion of the Evil Eagle Camp, rewarded with a hundred silver taels..."

At the Qingzhou Demon Slayer Bureau, in the Scripture Department, Jiang Yao, who had recently been appointed as a Junior Sixth Grade inspector, squinted her long, narrow phoenix eyes, furrowing her brows as her gaze repeatedly focused on 'Liu Sheng' and 'nearly annihilated.'

Though she hadn't been in Qingzhou long, nearly a year had passed, and the Demon Slayer Bureau was not only responsible for slaying demons and banishing evils but also served as the eyes and ears of the Emperor, with the duties to monitor and check local officials.

The major powers within Ancient Qingzhou included the Qingzhou Inspectorate, the Demon Slayer Bureau, the Three Gates and Four Families, and Yuguo Pass.

The reason Yuguo Pass must be mentioned separately is that it controls the throat of the southern route that the barbarians must take, stationed with two hundred thousand heavy troops, including a hundred thousand Lin Feng Iron Cavalry, one of the five elite forces of Great Yan.

The Lin Feng Iron Cavalry is divided into five major camps. The Gale Camp mainly consists of light cavalry, with soldiers rotating horses, led by a Regular Fourth Grade Youyi General.

The Cold Spear Camp is composed of heavy armored cavalry, skilled in directly resisting barbarian heavy cavalry. The soldiers are equipped with Iron Armor made of profound cold iron and iron spears, forming a charge battalion, led by a Regular Fourth Grade Cold Spear General.

The Divine Arm Camp predominantly consists of elite archers, able to be mounted archers or dismounted foot archers, equipped with linked divine arm crossbows and profound tendon great crossbows, led by a Junior Fourth Grade Divine Arm Captain.

The Mo Dao Camp mainly consists of elite armored mo dao soldiers, forming anti-cavalry battle formations, capable of becoming cavalry when mounted, led by a Junior Fourth Grade Mo Dao Captain.

The Evil Eagle Camp, with three thousand elite scouts and demon beasts like Hai Dongqing, regularly traverses the region beyond the pass. The main officer of the camp is the Junior Fourth Grade Blood Eagle Captain.

"The Evil Eagle Camp, though few in number, can be considered the elite among the Lin Feng Iron Cavalry..."

Jiang Yao instinctively sensed something was off. The Evil Eagle Camp's loss, including the six hundred from the Rear Camp, marked the most severe in nearly fifty years.

Immediately, Jiang Yao retrieved the life record of Liu Sheng. After glancing through, her fists clenched tightly, for even though the life record had been glorified by the noble family officials,

It was not difficult to discern between the lines that he was incompetent. Even if not entirely useless, he was surely mediocre.

No need to think much further. Jiang Yao deduced the reasons this mediocre person survived the ordeal. Not only was he not punished but was awarded 'high merit' and promoted by one grade to the position of Junior Fifth Grade Deputy Captain.

The main officer of the Evil Eagle Camp was merely the Junior Fourth Grade Blood Eagle Captain. Though there were four Deputy Captains, Liu Sheng was indeed among the top five ranked.

The reasons were clear without excessive pondering. Liu Sheng was from the Liu Family in Qingzhou, being the third son of the current head of the Liu Family, which was once the leading noble family in Qingzhou, surely operating behind the scenes in this case.

"Damn it, these bastards!"

Beyond the pass lies the vast, east-west spanning mountain range, cutting off the barbarians' southern advance. Yuguo Pass is the only land route for the barbarians' southern advance. Once Yuguo Pass falls, the relatively peaceful fifty-year period will crumble.

When that happens, rivers will run red, landscapes will drastically change, and the barbarians will launch a full-scale southern invasion.

Jiang Yao was furious, but according to the confidential document, all the procedures, at least on the surface, were legal and compliant. Liu Sheng's promotion was approved by the Protectorate, endorsed by the iron-willed and upright Grand Governor himself.

After repeatedly reviewing the confidential document, Jiang Yao reluctantly sealed it. Multiple copies had already been made, including one sent to the Imperial Capital for His Majesty's perusal, with another to be stored at the Qingzhou Demon Slayer Bureau.

After mentally cursing Liu Sheng's parents for a while, Jiang Yao decided to write a letter to her family.

"Hmph, this is no trivial matter limited to family affairs… I am not breaching any agreement."

Soon Jiang Yao had someone send the letter, then turned her attention to another meritorious individual "Wang Xuan."

"Huh, this person joined on the third day of this July, voluntarily entering the Evil Eagle Rear Camp, with no noble family background... In three months, he rose from the Rear Camp to Centurion of the main camp, advancing four grades in rank."

"Hmm?"

Jiang Yao's gaze quickly stopped on one line: After returning to the pass, he was unconscious for three days, and upon waking, his Martial Dao advanced to the Fifth Grade.

"Great fortune amidst life and death… This person deserves some attention. With a Fifth Grade Martial Arts Cultivation, he might soon advance to Centurion. If he possesses talent, further advancement isn't out of the question."

After reviewing the confidential document briefly, Jiang Yao stretched, extinguished the candle, and left. As she exited the Scripture Department, she heard the sound of hurried footsteps.

Curiously following the sound, Jiang Yao soon spotted a thin, monkey-like figure.

"Skinny Monkey?… He's responsible for the Donglai Demon Slayer Bureau's correspondence. His urgency suggests something has happened in Donglai..."

Murmuring to herself, Jiang Yao moved forward with a thought.

"Judge Hou, what's the urgency?"

The skinny figure saw Jiang Yao approach, his expression changing slightly, but recalling Jiang Yao's background, he showed more respect.

"Ah, it's Lord Jiang, it's not really a major issue... It's just that a reckless fellow is impersonating our Demon Slayer Bureau in Donglai County, disrupting a covert operation that took years to establish. Now the situation there requires a decision from above."

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