"Actual casualties reached three hundred and fifty-four?!"
Ganyu felt a cold shudder run through her, her fingers involuntarily tightening around Ryen's hand. A casualty rate of this magnitude was something they had never encountered before.
"Allow me to explain..."
Zhongli exhaled softly, his tone low as he recounted the events of the previous night in meticulous detail. He listed the exact numbers of lost Totems of Undying and spent resurrection points, omitting nothing. As for the spent ammunition reserves, no one had the heart to care about such material costs at a time like this.
After a long pause, Ningguang and the other leaders finally grasped the full gravity of last night's siege. Although they knew the fallen soldiers had been brought back via the Totems of Resurrection without permanent loss, none of them could muster a smile.
How much longer could the Totems of Resurrection hold out?
At its core, resurrection was merely a safety net, and even a safety net had its limits. There were still five full days of cataclysm remaining.
Ningguang rubbed her temples, momentarily at a loss for where to begin. After a moment of heavy silence, she spoke in a measured tone, "How is the morale of the army?"
What concerned her most was whether such massive casualties, coupled with the traumatic memories of death experienced by the resurrected soldiers, would cause the pressure across Redstone Technology City to skyrocket. If handled poorly, it could trigger severe instability among the ranks.
"The army is holding firm. Have faith in the spirit of our troops," Jean offered softly.
Ningguang offered a subtle nod before continuing, "Simply put, ammunition consumption last night was relatively low, but the actual casualty rate was dangerously high."
Noticing that Ningguang's perspective was slightly off, Ryen shook his head. "Those two factors are not directly linked. Low ammunition consumption was not the result of us deliberately hoarding explosives."
"The issue was the monster zombie. It coordinated the horde to breach the city walls. Heavy artillery can only suppress enemies outside the perimeter. Once they broke inside, the troops had no choice but to engage in hand-to-hand combat to seal the gap, as heavy weapons would inevitably inflict friendly fire."
"Last night's casualties, apart from Xiao's squad, were almost entirely soldiers who threw their lives into the breach to seal the walls."
Ningguang let out a quiet sigh. "So in the end, the chaos stems entirely from the monster zombie?"
Xiao's chest tightened, a wave of self-reproach crossing his face. "Forgive me. It was my failure for not locating and eliminating the monster zombie in time."
"It has nothing to do with you. Do not shoulder every responsibility on your own," Ryen said, waving a hand. "You are a specialized decapitation team. Locating the monster zombie is a task for everyone. If we fail to pinpoint its position quickly, you cannot act."
"If we must assign blame, it rests on all of us."
"However, now is not the time for assigning blame. We must devise a plan, or else when the zombies strike tonight, we will suffer severe losses again. The Totems of Resurrection cannot sustain us for much longer, and there are still five days left."
"Ningguang..."
Ryen turned his gaze to his chief strategist, awaiting her input.
It was rare for Ryen to call her by such an intimate name in a formal setting. Ningguang felt her heart flutter slightly, yet the warm tone eased much of the weight pressing against her chest.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Ningguang's aura shifted, sharpening with decisive focus.
"We shall address this step by step. First, the Totems of Undying and Totems of Resurrection."
"As for ammunition reserves, we shall proceed according to our original plan. Our handling of logistics remains sound."
"Regarding the totems, since daytime offers a reasonable window of safety, we shall dispatch gatherers to harvest the Totem of Undying farm. As for resurrection points, we must harvest the Wither Storm continuously during daylight hours to accumulate points."
"We still have a considerable stock of Wither Skeleton skulls saved up. Clearing them all out should yield nearly four hundred more points."
The leaders nodded in unison, noting the directives.
"As for the increasing zombie numbers, there is no need to worry prematurely. Worrying serves no purpose," Ningguang paused before continuing. "The most troublesome factor remains the monster zombie."
"To minimize casualties, the monster zombie must be eliminated the very moment it appears."
"According to Ryen's observations, the monster zombie will invariably be protected within the center of the horde. Therefore, the moment the horde manifests in the distance, our archers must maintain long-range saturation fire to hold them back for as long as possible."
"This will buy a window of stability for Redstone Technology City, during which the Dragon Cavalry can swiftly gather intelligence and pinpoint the commander's location."
"Once located, we execute the decapitation strike as before."
"As for controlling casualties..."
Ningguang set her jaw, her voice turning crisp and resolute. "Since we cannot eliminate casualties entirely, we shall actively regulate the casualty rate!"
Everyone straightened, watching Ningguang intently.
"We currently have just over five hundred resurrection points remaining. Combined with the points we will farm from the Wither Storms today, we can compile nearly one thousand points."
"Dividing that across the remaining days, excluding Xiao's strike team, we can sustain an acceptable casualty cap of roughly one hundred soldiers per day."
"Therefore, we shall proactively form a dedicated unit of roughly one hundred warriors."
"These individuals will join the Dragon Cavalry with a single duty: to conduct close-range reconnaissance outside the walls once battle commences."
"Should any section of the wall show signs of breaching, they will report it instantly and launch an immediate, aggressive intercept against the breaching force."
"This is the only viable strategy I can construct for now. Since passive defense inevitably costs lives, taking the proactive initiative may actually minimize overall sacrifice."
"Furthermore, Ryen, please distribute your remaining stock of Bedrock. Ensure the defenders on all four walls are supplied with it."
As Ningguang concluded her briefing, the leaders exchanged quiet hushed remarks. While this strategy still accepted inevitable sacrifice, it allowed them to contain the losses rather than falling into chaos like the night before. It was the best possible compromise under the circumstances.
"What say you all?" Ryen asked, seeking any alternative opinions.
After a moment of deliberation, the group nodded in agreement.
Ryen stood up without delay. "Then we shall proceed exactly as Ningguang outlined."
"Harvest the totems, farm the resurrection points, and move swiftly, but do not neglect your rest. We have reached the final five days. No matter what happens, we cannot fail at this final hurdle. The new mods are waiting for us!"
Mentioning the new mods acted like a potent surge of adrenaline, reigniting the battle spirit within everyone present.
Without further hesitation, the leaders departed to execute their assignments.
Ryen rubbed his temples, feeling a lingering weight in his chest. Seeing Ningguang and the others arrive, he put aside his tangled thoughts and escorted them on a tour through the city.
Throughout the afternoon, Ryen lacked the heart for lighter diversions, opting instead to rest quietly alongside Ningguang and the women. The pressure resting on Ryen's shoulders was immensely heavy, a fact clear to all of them.
Upon returning to his quarters, Ryen fell asleep almost instantly while holding Ganyu in his arms. The women stood watch beside his bed, gazing down at him in silent comfort. It was the first time they had ever seen Ryen looking so utterly exhausted.
With only five days remaining, they resolved not to burden him further at such a critical juncture.
Ningguang's strategic plan proved remarkably effective.
When the cataclysm struck again that night, before the undead could draw near, the archers initiated long-range saturation fire. Rather than aiming for absolute kill counts, the relentless rain of arrows was designed to suppress the advancing momentum of the horde.
Above, thousands of Dragon Cavalry soared through the night sky, scanning every sector for the monster zombie.
Whenever a massive cluster of zombies managed to bypass the arrow wall, erect defenses against the lava, and mine at the obsidian walls, the patrolling Dragon Cavalry units immediately intercepted them, launching fierce, near-suicidal strikes paired with precision TNT drops.
Thanks to these proactive measures, the city walls were not breached a single time throughout the night.
Though zombies continued to tunnel up from underground within the city, the tens of thousands of garrisoned troops stationed inside dealt with them swiftly upon arrival.
After a prolonged stalemate, a scout from the Dragon Cavalry finally spotted the monster zombie. Xiao led his strike team in a decisive charge, employing the same method of mutual destruction as before.
The crisis of the fifth-to-last day was successfully resolved.
According to the casualty reports, arrow consumption was immense, but arrows were easily crafted in vast quantities and posed no concern. Ammunition usage remained low.
Most encouraging of all, total casualties fell below one hundred. Aside from Xiao's team, the losses consisted mainly of soldiers who fell to underground breaches and half of the hundred-man dragon cavalry interceptors who fought outside the walls.
The Totems of Resurrection were deployed once more. Though the loss of several dragons was regrettable, it was far preferable to losing human lives.
Everything on the fifth-to-last day remained firmly within control.
Confidence surged through the ranks once more.
Over the subsequent days, the pattern of the siege remained consistent. The daily increase in zombie numbers was steady, yet managed within acceptable limits through controlled sacrifices.
By the second-to-last day, the zombie horde swelled to a staggering two hundred thousand. Even after the monster zombie commander was eliminated, the cleanup process dragged on into the final evening.
Combining the remaining forces across two days of cataclysm, the horde swelled to over three hundred thousand undead.
The sky and earth were literally swallowed by an endless sea of zombies; as far as the eye could see, nothing existed except rotting flesh.
While the sheer numbers were daunting, the defenders were mentally prepared for a crowd of this scale.
However, an unexpected catastrophe unfolded.
On the final night of the cataclysm, two monster zombie commanders manifested simultaneously.
Xiao's team successfully eliminated the first monster zombie through mutual destruction, allowing everyone to let out a collective breath of relief.
Yet at that exact moment of vulnerability, the second monster zombie assumed command, orchestrating a furious push that blasted open a gap over a hundred meters wide in the western wall.
The sudden breach threw the defenders into chaotic disarray.
Casualties spiked beyond a thousand within minutes.
Ryen was forced to step onto the frontlines himself, unleashing the Heavenly Fallen Bow at full power while Zhongli and the Dragon Cavalry fought desperately to hold the line.
Bosacius then stepped forward, leading Wanderer, Diluc, Kaeya, Gorou, Tartaglia, and Baizhu in an all-out charge beyond the walls. Locating the second monster zombie, they executed a simultaneous self-detonation, dragging the commander into oblivion just as Xiao had done.
Only then did the battle swing back into their control.
The remaining heavy artillery reserves were unleashed without restraint, unleashing wave after wave of devastating explosions across the field outside the walls.
As dawn approached, over one hundred thousand zombies remained clustered together.
With ammunition reserves virtually exhausted, a brutal hand-to-hand clash seemed inevitable. Tens of thousands of weary soldiers facing over a hundred thousand undead—a heavy gloom hung over everyone.
Ryen let out a long sigh, his eyes gazing distantly at the sea of undead outside the wall.
"So it has come to this after all."
Zhongli, clad in full battle armor, spoke in a firm, grounded tone, "Rest assured. We will hold the city."
Ryen waved his hand casually. "Resurrect Tartaglia and the others first. I will bring Ningguang and the rest inside."
"This is the final wave. There is no need to make the troops fight to the death. They have suffered enough tonight."
"Tsk... though it is a bit extreme..."
Ryen reached behind him and produced a massive, specialized launcher. Mounted atop it was an enormously oversized warhead painted with extreme danger markings.
"It is time to show you all the greatest firework in the world..."
At the sight of the warhead, a bone-chilling dread washed over everyone present.
"This is..." Zhongli opened his mouth, subconsciously taking a step back.
Ryen opened a portal, bringing Ningguang and the women inside while simultaneously resurrecting Xiao, Tartaglia, and the fallen strike team.
With everyone assembled, Ryen met their wide-eyed gazes with absolute composure.
"The ultimate weapon of the world..."
"The Nuclear Warhead!"