Chapter 705: He’s Gone Again

Early morning, the council hall at Hangu Pass.

Jiang Zhaoyue arrived just as dawn was breaking.

The door hinges clicked softly. It was still dark inside, with only the two stacks of documents on the main desk outlined in the morning light.

The stack on the left is for the indigenous people, and the stack on the right is for the awakened ones.

She walked over, gently tapped the stack on the right, picked it up and placed it on the table at the head of the table on the right, sat down, opened the first copy, and dipped her brush in ink.

The daily affairs of the Beacon Territory are indeed tedious.

The organization and adjustment of Awakened, the calculation of merit points, the approval of job transfer applications, the opinions on disciplinary actions, the coordination letters between legions, and the reports from the liaison offices of various countries on Earth.

One after another, each one required her signature, annotations, and filing.

For most people, these tasks would be a headache all day, but Jiang Zhaoyue didn't find them tiring at all.

Back when she was the president of the Moonflower Guild, she had handled far more complicated and chaotic matters than this.

At that time, the union had several thousand people, and she was responsible for everything from material procurement and personnel allocation to external negotiations. She even had to be involved in things like finding a few bags of grain missing from the warehouse.

But things are different now. She makes the decisions on major issues, while the minor ones are delegated to lower-level departments. Each legion has its own staff and clerks, and most of what is reported to her is things that require final approval.

She turned the page, picked up her pen and wrote a small note at the end, then turned to the next document.

After about an hour of work, the documents on my desk had become much thinner.

A warm cup of honey flower drink was handed to me from the side.

Jiang Zhaoyue looked up and saw Su Qian standing by the table, holding a small plate of freshly steamed pastries in her other hand, with wisps of steam rising upwards.

"Commander, drink it while it's hot." Su Qian gently put down the cup and pushed the saucer to her side.

Jiang Zhaoyue took the honey flower drink, and the temperature of the cup warmed her hands as her fingertips touched it.

She smiled and looked up at Su Qian: "Qianqian, did you resent me for not giving you that third-tier spot last time?"

Su Qian shook her head, her tone very frank: "The Legion Commander is joking, I really didn't take it to heart."

The quota was already tight, and now war could break out in the territory at any time. It would be more suitable to give it to frontline combat personnel than to me.”

After saying this, she seemed to remember something, turned her gaze to the window, and lowered her voice.

"Compared to the dangers the lord faces traveling alone to Xuanbing City, what are these few spots?"

He's always at the forefront; it would be so wrong for us to be concerned with personal gains and losses from behind.

Jiang Zhaoyue took a sip of her honey flower drink, her gaze falling on the rim of the cup, and remained silent for a moment.

“Yes,” she replied softly, “he’s always like that.”

"I heard Ye Lan say that he used to lead troops to attack Yellow Turban strongholds. He charged in all by himself, and they were only responsible for cleaning up the battlefield in the end."

Now it's like this again; he went to the Eternal Night Dimension alone.

Su Qian nodded gently: "The lord truly protects us."

She didn't say anything more and stepped aside to organize the documents.

Jiang Zhaoyue continued processing the remaining reports.

Another hour passed, and the last document was approved.

She put down her pen, closed the booklet, and looked up at Su Qian: "Qianqian, this afternoon go and inform Yuehua, Qingyan, Qingshuang, and Pojun that they need to attend a meeting at the Crescent Moon Legion's headquarters."

"Yes," Su Qian replied, turning and leaving the hall.

...

In the afternoon, in a two-story hall in the Hangu Pass military area.

The core members of the Crescent Legion sat around a long table on either side.

Su Yuehua sat in the first seat on the left, with a piece of parchment in front of her, and the sisters Feng Qingyan and Feng Qingshuang next to her.

Shi Pojun sat on the right, as silent as ever.

Jiang Zhaoyue sat in the main seat and opened the booklet in her hand.

"The latest batch of members who joined the Crescent Legion have reported their leveling progress."

She raised her head and glanced at everyone. "The average level of the new recruits in the recruit camp has reached level seven, which is half a month ahead of schedule."

"That's great!" Feng Qingyan's eyes lit up. "When I went to see them last time, those hundred-man teams were only level 1 or 2. They've already reached level 7?"

"They don't slack off like you every day," Feng Qingshuang said casually from the side.

"I didn't slack off!" Feng Qingyan glared at her. "Last time in the simulation battle, I burned down three enemy positions all by myself!"

Su Yuehua ignored the two sisters' bickering, turned the page and said, "Speaking of simulated battles, the results of the joint exercise with the Night Whisper Legion last time are in."

The Crescent Moon Legion won the overall score 3-2, but the second match was a rather embarrassing defeat, with the Nightwhisper Legion's Second Town breaching the defenses of the three towns four times.

"Four times?" Feng Qingyan's eyes widened. "Aren't those kids from the three towns supposed to train really hard?"

“Training is training, and exercises are exercises.” Jiang Zhaoyue closed the booklet, her tone calm. “The defenses of the three towns were too far forward and were torn apart by the Night Whisper Legion’s flanking maneuvers.”

After the exercise, the garrison commander of the Third Town wrote a self-criticism, which I have approved. I've also ordered them to practice defensive formations for an additional two weeks.

Shi Pojun nodded without saying anything, but his expression showed that he agreed.

"And another one." Jiang Zhaoyue opened another document, "The Legion's recent disciplinary action list includes seven people: three were expelled and four received demerits."

Of the three dismissed, two had committed offenses on Earth, and one had been drinking while on duty. The four who received demerits were all late for training, which were relatively minor offenses.

"Those two who committed crimes on Earth are truly shameful."

Feng Qingyan curled her lip, "They've ruined the reputation of our Crescent Moon Legion."

"It's been dealt with, and their names have been removed from the legion's roster," Jiang Zhaoyue said. "The four who received demerits are being kept on probation; any further offenses will result in expulsion."

Just then, a messenger strode in from the doorway, his right fist pressed against his chest: "Commander Jiang, the lord has returned."

Feng Qingyan sat up straight abruptly, her eyes shining brightly: "The lord is back? I wonder if he brought back any good things this time?"

Jiang Zhaoyue smiled slightly, stood up and said, "Let's go see the lord."

The group had only gone halfway when another messenger came running up to them, panting: "Commander Jiang, the lord has already left."

Before he left, he asked me to tell you that you've handled things very well these past few days, and that he also brought back a batch of gold jewelry for you to distribute.

Jiang Zhaoyue paused for a moment, then nodded, her expression remaining largely unchanged. She simply said, "You've left again."

She turned to Su Yuehua and said, "Yuehua, prepare the distribution plan for the gold ornaments tomorrow."

"Yes," Su Yuehua replied.

Feng Qingyan muttered under her breath, "The lord is really something, he doesn't even stay long after he comes back."

Feng Qingshuang didn't reply, but simply patted her on the shoulder.

Shi Pojun silently turned around and walked towards the legion's encampment.

Jiang Zhaoyue walked at the very back, looking up at the sky above Hangu Pass.

A few wisps of white clouds drifted across the azure sky, and sunlight streamed through the gaps in the clouds, falling on the city wall and casting a warm golden glow.

She °• N ?? v ?? l i g h t •° looked away and quickened her pace.