As before, the lava moat was activated to temporarily block the rushing horde from damaging the perimeter. Redstone cannons and RPGs immediately opened fire, filling the night with loud detonations and bright flashes.
Taking advantage of the sudden illumination and roaring blasts, everyone raised their telescopes to observe the battlefield outside.
A moment later, Buer's brow furrowed tightly. "The number of zombies... seems a bit..."
"It increased!" Ryen finished her sentence in a deep voice.
The horde outside the walls had grown by at least ten to twenty thousand compared to the previous night. This was a turn of events no one had anticipated. Previous cataclysms had never exhibited such adaptive escalations. It seemed the cataclysm following the final Blood Moon was indeed unsettlingly abnormal.
A heavy silence fell over the defenders. If the horde continued to grow larger with each passing day, the remaining ammunition reserves would certainly fail to hold out. Even if they managed to survive the event, the sheer destruction of Redstone Technology City and the heavy casualties among the troops would be unbearable losses.
Ryen pressed his lips into a hard line, suppressing the rising frustration in his chest. "First, search for the zombie. Check if it is out there."
The crowd composed themselves. Dragon Cavalry units were deployed immediately, and aside from those manning the Redstone cannons and RPGs, almost everyone turned their attention to scanning the vast swarm.
Yet locating a single zombie amidst such an overwhelming sea of undead was like searching for a needle in the ocean. Furthermore, the creature was likely shrouded inside a dense formation of ordinary zombies.
"A formation?!"
Ryen's eyes flickered with realization. He produced the Heavenly Fallen Bow and called out gravely, "Everyone, report your sightings! Wherever the zombies are tightly clustered, give me the exact coordinates!"
The military officers paused for a fraction of a second before a flood of communication signals poured into Ryen's receiver.
Ryen wasted no time. With every coordinate transmitted, he drew his bow back and released a brilliant, azure-blue arrow of light.
Explosions erupted across the field as the light arrows descended, obliterating wave after wave of undead.
"Not here, next location."
"Sector 007 is clear as well..."
"Nothing on the west wall! Snipers on the east, fire single shots to verify!"
"Clearing the cluster on the south wall... still nothing?"
Luminous arrows sliced through the dark night, continuously raining down upon the dense clusters. Yet even after extensive bombardment, Ryen could not locate the dark commander.
Zhongli seemed to exhale quietly, whispering, "Ryen, perhaps that specific zombie is absent tonight..."
Before his words could fully settle, chaotic shouts erupted below the city wall.
"Quickly! The northern wall has been breached! The zombies blocked the lava with solid blocks and mined through the obsidian! Need reinforcements immediately!"
The chaotic shouting caused Zhongli's expression to darken instantly.
"I will hold the breach!" Ei declared, pulling out her weapon as she turned to Ryen.
Ryen caught her by the arm. "You stay to handle any zombies tunneling into the underground sectors. Diluc, Venti, Wanderer, Tartaglia, Tighnari, go!"
Without a moment of hesitation, the five opened their Elytras and leaped off the high wall.
Ryen took a quick glance down at the structure. The obsidian wall had indeed been damaged, though the breach was relatively small given the material's durability. Nevertheless, even a small gap allowed the massive horde to leverage their sheer numbers.
Thousands of zombies funneled into the narrow breach, triggering a gruesome clash. Within seconds, hundreds of soldiers fell. Nearly a hundred among them perished a second time after their Totems of Undying were expended, leaving behind lifeless bodies.
It was the single greatest loss suffered since the start of the cataclysm. Nearly a hundred lives lost permanently.
"Damn it!" Azhdaha slammed a heavy fist against the parapet, his voice trembling with rage. "Our people are dying..."
Ryen took a deep breath and spoke in a steady, firm voice, "We will address this later. We still have the Resurrection Totems, and over eight hundred resurrection points remaining. Do not panic. Order the troops to collect the bodies, record their names, and prepare for a collective resurrection afterward!"
"For now, find that cursed zombie!"
Zhongli's expression turned terrifyingly cold, a golden shimmer gleaming in his eyes as he meticulously scanned the sea of undead below.
Using blocks to dam the lava, launching a massive frontal distraction while executing a covert breach with a smaller unit... this was not a strategy a mindless horde could devise on its own.
The zombie was definitely out there, directing the battle. If they failed to locate it now, the casualties would only multiply exponentially.
"East side! The eastern perimeter wall is under attack! The obsidian is cracking and about to shatter!"
"Underground in Commercial District One has been breached! Requesting immediate support!"
"District Four administrative zone's floor was dug out! Come quickly... Ah!"
Distressed distress calls flooded the communication network one after another.
A blood-red tint seemed to coat Redstone Technology City. This time, however, it was not the crimson light of the Blood Moon, but the blood spilled by the defenders.
Zhongli grit his teeth so hard his jaw ached, his fists clenching until his knuckles turned stark white.
"Find it! Find the zombie! Drag it out!" His voice boomed like thunder, carrying an unprecedented wave of suppressed fury.
Standing beside him, Ryen called out rapid commands, "Rosalyne, Jean, Yelan, Eula, Ayaka, lead a squad to the east wall and seal the breach with Bedrock!"
"Ei, Shogun, Kujou Sara, Gorou, Baizhu, head to Commercial District One!"
"Alhaitham, Cyno, Beidou, Ayato, reinforce District Four!"
"All remaining Adepti who can fly, assume your true forms and take to the skies outside the city! Watch the base of the walls and report any unusual gatherings instantly!"
The normally tranquil command post erupted into frantic movement. Within moments, the strike teams dispersed at top speed toward their assigned sectors.
Only a handful of people remained atop the wall, as everyone else threw themselves into the frontlines.
Zhongli did not dare look back.
At every passing second, the golden light of a Totem of Undying shattered into sparks, signifying that someone had just met a fatal blow. Yet the triggering of a totem was still a blessing; the true horror lay in the soldiers whose totems were already spent, leaving only cold corpses behind.
Even with the Resurrection Totems available, resurrection points were a finite resource.
Noticing that Zhongli was on the verge of an emotional breaking point, Ryen reached out and clapped a hand onto his shoulder. After enjoying smooth sailing for so long, sudden casualties of this magnitude were naturally difficult to digest.
"Calm your heart. Eliminating the zombie takes absolute priority."
Zhongli took a deep breath to steady his mind. The golden radiance in his eyes sharpened as his gaze swept over every inch of the shifting crowd.
Alongside him, Ryen fired the Heavenly Fallen Bow continuously. At a time like this, every second delayed meant more lives lost. Yet they could not afford to carelessly waste their high-caliber explosives, lest they run completely empty for the remaining days of the siege.
A moment later, another massive blast from the Heavenly Fallen Bow tore through a section of the horde, turning dozens of undead to ash.
As several arrows of light rained down, clearing a massive zone, Ryen prepared to adjust his angle. Suddenly, his eyes caught a specific cluster of zombies that remained stubbornly immobile. Even as their ranks were decimated, surrounding zombies quietly shuffled over to reinforce the ring.
Ryen's eyes flashed. He swapped his bow for an RPG.
"Found you!"
A rocket trailed a streak of fire as it plummeted into the cluster, triggering a earth-shattering explosion.
As the smoke cleared, everyone saw it clearly: standing in the middle of the crater, heavily guarded by a dense wall of bodies, was the zombie.
Zhongli shed all remaining hesitation. The casualties in Redstone Technology City were mounting too fast; every second was paid in blood.
"Xiao! Move out!"
With a low roar from Zhongli, Xiao led the ten members of the special task force, leaping onto the backs of waiting dragons and soaring over the city walls.
For this mission, each soldier carried only a single Totem of Undying. Beyond that, their equipment consisted entirely of grenades, bundles of TNT, and enchanted weapons.
They were flying out with the sole intention of never returning.
Dashi and the Millelith soldiers rode with bloodshot eyes. Among the comrades who had just fallen below were brothers they had trained with day and night. Now those brothers were dead, torn apart after their totems shattered.
The root cause of all this devastation was the dark creature below.
Bound by a debt of blood and duty, every soldier discarded all thoughts of survival.
Arriving directly above the zombie, Xiao and Dashi ignited several bundles of TNT and dropped them. Immediately, waves of ordinary zombies threw themselves over the dark commander to form a flesh shield.
Yet that was precisely the reaction the squad anticipated.
All eleven warriors leaped from their mounts. Dashi and his men drew their enchanted blades in one hand while priming grenades with the other.
"Cursed monsters! Die!"
Dashi slashed wildly as he descended, his blade cleaving through an undead warrior, only to be instantly swarmed by countless hands from every direction.
The others met the same fate.
The golden radiance of Dashi's Totem of Undying flashed almost immediately, restoring him to full health amidst the swarm. But he had no room to maneuver.
Gritting his teeth, Dashi pulled the pin on a cluster of grenades and instantly used TNT blocks to box himself in.
"Lord Xiao! It is up to you now!"
"For Liyue!"
A blinding flash erupted from the grenades in Dashi's hand, triggering a chain reaction with the TNT that instantly tore his body to pieces. The force of the explosion blasted away a massive wave of surrounding zombies.
Following his example, the remaining Millelith warriors raised their grenades, shouted the oath of Liyue at the top of their lungs, and ignited their own lives one after another.
Atop the wall, Zhongli clenched his fist so tightly that crimson blood dripped from his palm. He forced his eyes to stay wide open, bearing witness to every brilliant, bloody flash below.
A clear perimeter opened up around the zombie, a space bought entirely with the lives of the Millelith. Every rising fireball represented the tragic end of an elite soldier.
Zhongli could barely endure the sight, yet he refused to look away. This was the radiant, painful honor of his heroes.
Xiao set his jaw, his eyes bloodshot with pure focus.
"Perish!"
He dove straight down, not even bothering to deploy his Elytra to break his fall. Spear extended, he used the momentum of his descent to drive his polearm directly toward the zombie.
The instant he hit the ground, Xiao's Totem of Undying shattered from the impact, but his spear successfully struck the target.
Without wasting a fraction of a second, Xiao surged his Anemo elemental energy to its absolute limit, transforming into a swirling hurricane of wind as he lunged at the dark commander.
He unleashed strike after strike, his spear becoming a blur of cold steel.
The zombie let out a guttural roar, summoning a dense wave of undead to flood over them. Realizing he could no longer execute single-target strikes through the thick wall of flesh, Xiao made his decision.
He pulled the pins on his grenades and threw his arms around the zombie, holding it in an iron embrace while dropping half a dozen TNT blocks at their feet.
The swarming undead reached them in an instant. Blades and claws pierced Xiao's body, tearing through his armor and ripping flesh from his frame. In the blink of an eye, Xiao was at death's door, his body broken and bleeding, held together only by sheer, unyielding willpower as he locked the commander in place.
He raised his pale face with great effort, looking up toward Zhongli standing atop the distant wall.
Xiao's bloodless lips curved into a rare, gentle smile as the armed grenades slipped from his fingers.
"For Lord... Rex Lapis..."
A final, blinding eruption of light bloomed in the center of the battlefield outside the city.
The scorching flames of the chain explosion instantly engulfed both Xiao and the zombie.
Zhongli stared blankly at the pillar of fire. Within the blaze, he watched as the flames consumed Xiao's face, slowly turning his physical form to ash.
The Yaksha had died with a pure, peaceful smile on his face, a smile Zhongli had not seen on him in a very long time. The last time he had seen such an expression was thousands of years ago, when Xiao had marched alone into enemy territory to slay a dozen god-servants, returning quietly to await his lord's praise.
With the death of the zombie commander, the pressure on all four city walls plummeted instantly.
The tide of battle turned, and the horn for a full counterattack resounded across the sky.
"Xiao..."
Zhongli let out a quiet, proud exhale, his eyes shimmering with golden light.
"You did splendidly."