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Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Guard Army (戍卫军) |
| Alias(es) | Jincheng garrison; Garrison Army 34 39 |
| Affiliation | Jincheng’s military defense forces 36 43 |
| Occupation/Role | Defends Jincheng and its outer defense lines against beast tides 34 36 |
| First Appearance | A Guard Army captain directs a conscripted mercenary group during Jincheng’s beast-tide defense 36 |
Organization and wartime role
- Jincheng’s garrison has approximately ten thousand troops. During a mid-level beast tide, martial-arts students and civilian mercenary groups are also called into the defense 36.
- Guard Army personnel accompany university groups outside the city to clear scattered beasts and defend villages beyond the breached outer line 36.
- Mercenaries temporarily conscripted into the guard operate under its banner alongside regular soldiers 36. While serving under that banner, they are treated as Guard Army personnel 43.
- Killing a Guard Army soldier during wartime is a serious crime. Commander Qin uses that charge to threaten Xu Jie after Xu Jie attacks one of his conscripted mercenaries 39 40.
Zhao Du’s squad
| Position | Documented strength | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Zhao Du, Guard Officer/General | Third-rank, mid-stage Bone Forging martial artist | Organizes the attempt to kill Xu Jie during the beast tide 37 48 |
| Captain Zhu Quan | Peak Pulse-Opening Realm | Leads Zhao Du’s personal-guard squad in an ambush outside Jincheng 37 43 44 |
| Three lieutenants | Low-stage Pulse-Opening Realm | Serve in the captain’s squad 43 |
| Other squad members | Peak Blood Moving Realm | Complete the squad of more than ten regular Guard Army soldiers 43 |
Beast-tide incident
Zhao Du and Xu Bin arrange a beast tide as cover for an attempt on Xu Jie’s life. Zhao Du deploys both Commander Qin’s conscripted mercenary group and his trusted Guard Army captain; the plan puts civilians outside Jincheng at risk 37 43.
After mercenaries murder villagers, Xu Jie kills members of Qin’s group and pursues the survivors toward the captain’s ambush 39 40 42. The captain’s squad surrounds him, citing his killing of personnel serving under the Guard Army banner. Xu Jie attacks instead, killing soldiers before defeating Captain Zhu Quan 43 44. Chu Mingyue kills a soldier who escapes the fight and warns Xu Jie that a captain’s death will draw a military investigation 44.
Xu Jie later confronts Zhao Du outside the city and kills him 47 49. Xu Bin warns that Zhao Du had influential friends among his military colleagues 50.