118 The Power of a Scroll (Part 1)

Saleen sat in his own carriage. The Qin Emperor had not only gifted Viscountess Lex with authority over ten camps of troops, but he had given her one thousand swordsmen as well. The Qin royal swordsmen were similar to the sacred knights of the Holy See in that they were bound for life. Their everyday necessities were provided by the country, and the sole purpose of their lives was combat.

No matter their background, a swordsman could become a middle-grade officer if he trained to become a high-grade swordmaster. If he became a normal swordmaster, he would be a low-grade officer, and his children would be looked after by the country. For many commoners, this was a huge incentive.

However, the process of selecting a royal swordsman was unusually strict and their number had always been maintained at one hundred thousand or below. In the past four hundred years, it had almost always been kept below fifty thousand.