A restless, solemn wind swept through Liyue Harbor today.
Countless Millelith guardsmen wove through the streets and alleys, their faces set with an unprecedented gravity.
Though the midday sun burned bright in the sky, an unmistakable chill gripped the entire harbor.
Dashi stood silently at the city gates, waiting for the vanguard to assemble.
General Fengyan was currently marshaling the garrisons stationed at Mt. Tianheng. Dashi's duty was to collect the harbor defense force and march them toward the dimensional gateway.
This time, Liyue was mobilizing its entire reserve strength.
Of the twenty-five thousand soldiers currently garrisoned across native Teyvat, merely three thousand would remain behind to maintain civil order. The remaining twenty-two thousand were crossing the threshold into the block world.
The impending seven days marked the ultimate climax of the cataclysm. It was the final, desperate stand to preserve Redstone Tech City.
Holding reserves in the rear was no longer a viable tactic.
Jean and the allied commanders had offered to mobilize their own national reserves to share the burden, yet Ningguang and the Liyue Qixing had declined.
Firstly, Redstone Tech City was fundamentally Liyue's sovereign territory; receiving allied reinforcements upon the walls was already a profound grace.
Secondly, injecting twenty-two thousand fresh recruits pushed the logistical threshold of their Totem of Undying stockpiles to the absolute limit.
Drafting a single soldier beyond that number meant they could no longer guarantee an extra life for every man in the formation. The Millelith guardsmen were sons raised through the sweat and tears of their parents. Since the command had pledged to safeguard their lives, no unnecessary casualties could be permitted.
Dashi stood with heavy, bruised bags beneath his eyes. His jaw was covered in thick, unkempt stubble, and his hair was tangled with grime, making him appear a full decade older than his true age.
He had not found a single moment to strip off his armor.
The heavy steel plates were scored with deep claw gouges and sword gashes, stained with layers of dried, blackened blood.
Yet that very griminess lent him a terrifying, battle-hardened aura of command.
Over the past few days, while the garrison had maintained rigid sleep rotations, the crushing mental pressure of the siege was not something a few hours of rest could cure.
Every sunset brought stronger mutants. Every night brought hundreds of thousands of relentless, rotting corpses.
What mortal soul could find peace under such pressure?
Tonight marked the rise of the ultimate Blood Moon. Every available hand had been drafted to the frontline, and Ryen and the leaders were executing the final defensive preparations across Redstone Tech City.
With great effort, Ryen had managed to persuade Lisa and the others to return to Teyvat to safeguard Klee.
The upcoming seven days would be a nonstop, uninterrupted theater of war.
The mutants no longer feared the sunlight; the siege would rage fiercely through the dawn and the blazing afternoon.
Breaking blocks, mining through stone, tunneling beneath the earth...
Paired with the continuous evolution of their armor and base vitality, it promised to be the most grueling struggle of their lives.
Ryen intended to seal the dimensional portal before dusk, severing all contact with Teyvat for the duration of the seven-day climax.
Even if an emergency demanded a supply run, the gateway would only be opened slightly during brief, stable lulls in the fighting.
Every commander was stretched to their absolute limit, and Dashi and Fengyan were no exception.
Under such desperate circumstances, agonizing over the pristine appearance of a Millelith uniform was a laughable luxury.
Every single second was precious.
Dashi glanced up at the sky.
The afternoon was slipping away.
A heavy knot of anxiety tightened in his chest; he had to accelerate the muster.
Once the recruits crossed the threshold, the quartermasters had to distribute Totems of Undying and weapons, followed by rapid tactical briefings.
The timeline was agonizingly tight.
Fortunately, the discipline of the Millelith was absolute. Every soldier knew their homeland was bracing for war.
Within barely half an hour of Dashi issuing the summons, the entire harbor garrison stood assembled in flawless formation before the city gates.
Following closely behind them, a massive crowd of Liyue citizens surged toward the thoroughfare to witness the departure.
The grand gates of Liyue Harbor were instantly packed tight.
Dashi's wife and mother, holding his young son by the hand, squeezed through the crowd to the front line.
Catching sight of his condition from a distance, Dashi's wife nearly fainted on the spot.
He was drenched in blood, looking as though he had been dragged through a sea of slaughter.
His face was deeply weathered, entirely stripped of the vibrant energy of a man in his prime.
His heavy armor was practically sheared to pieces, and four or five jagged skeleton arrows remained snapped off and lodged firmly in the back-plating.
It was glaringly obvious that Dashi had not spared a single minute to tend to his own wounds.
Dashi naturally felt the desperate gazes of his family locking onto him. A sharp pang of guilt twisted in his heart; he wanted nothing more than to walk over and speak with them.
Yet the drums of war were already beating. Duty dictated that he prioritize military command above personal affection.
He hardened his heart, forcing his eyes to look past them.
A Millelith captain stepped briskly from the ranks, his eyes widening in shock as he took in Dashi's battered state.
Commander Dashi was the supreme marshal of the Dragon Knights. Equipped with custom enchanted armor and high-tier armaments, his combat parameters comfortably rivaled elite Vision wielders.
Furthermore, he was stationed alongside Rex Lapis, sovereign Archons, and the combined expeditionary forces of the Five-Nation Alliance.
A fortified garrison numbering nearly fifty thousand veteran elites.
Even shielded by such overwhelming might, the commander had been reduced to this battered state?
Just how apocalyptic was the carnage across the portal?
"Commander Dashi..."
The captain gritted his teeth, his voice dropping into a solemn, steady cadence.
"The combined detachments of the Liyue Harbor garrison originally numbered twelve thousand. Reserving three thousand for domestic patrols, the remaining nine thousand stand fully assembled."
"We await your orders to march!"
Dashi nodded slowly. After a brief silence, he cast a complicated, heavy gaze across the sea of young faces.
"Take ten minutes to bid your families farewell. Once we cross that threshold, we are marching into an uninterrupted, seven-day inferno."
"Brothers, I will not lie to you. The war is brutal. We are marching to hold the line against a siege of over a million mutant corpses."
"I cannot guarantee that you will survive, but Liyue demands our strength."
"Rex Lapis and the sovereign lords are already bleeding upon the vanguard. We cannot allow Liyue's honor to falter."
The Millelith guardsmen exchanged quiet, resolved smiles, while the captain waved his hand dismissively.
"What manner of speech is that, Commander? The day we swore to join the Millelith, we accepted that our lives belong to Liyue."
"The soaring prosperity our families enjoy today was purchased with the blood you shed across that foreign dimension. We have tasted the rewards; we have seen our homeland rise to unprecedented glory. We harbor zero regrets."
"We have yearned for the chance to fight by your side. Since Liyue calls, we gladly offer our blood to the soil."
A tired, genuine smile broke through the grime on Dashi's face as he clapped the captain firmly on the shoulder.
"Go speak with your family. This march may well be our last."
The captain offered a serene, untroubled smile.
"I am an orphan. Liyue raised me, granted me an education, permitted me to enlist, and afforded me a prosperous life where I could purchase my own home."
"I have no final words to offer..."
Dashi looked at the young officer with quiet respect.
"What is your name?"
"Yanshang."
The captain replied firmly.
"Excellent! Yanshang..."
Dashi's voice rang out with absolute authority.
"When we secure victory, if your valor holds true, I shall personally petition Ningguang and the leaders to induct you into the ranks of the Dragon Knights."
Yanshang's eyes widened, blazing with sudden, fierce excitement.
"You have my deepest gratitude, Commander!"
"Commander Dashi... will you not see your own family? There are still ten minutes remaining..."
Dashi fell silent. Turning slowly, he walked toward the cordoned area where his family stood waiting among the citizens.
As he moved, the people of Liyue looked upon him with profound, silent reverence.
This man was bleeding across an alien dimension to secure the future of their nation.
Such sacrifice mirrored the legendary heroes of the Archon War; it was a legacy worthy of eternal song.
"Forgive me. The operational demands have been overwhelming..."
Dashi pressed his lips together, looking down at his wife, his mother, and his young son with deep, aching guilt.
"I pray you understand. Everything I have was given to me by Liyue. Since Liyue requires my blade, I must place duty above all else."
His mother's eyes shone with unshed tears, yet she offered a firm, proud nod.
"That is the exact resolve you must carry. If you cowered before death, you would be no son of mine."
His wife reached out, her trembling fingers gently tracing the deep gashes in his steel breastplate, entirely uncaring as her skin caught the dried blood.
Her eyes filled with agonizing sorrow as she touched the jagged arrow shafts lodged near his shoulder.
"Does it hurt?"
"Not terribly. I have grown accustomed to it."
Dashi offered a gentle, reassuring smile.
His wife looked up at him, a thousand words tangling in her throat, yet she could not force a single one past her lips.
His young son, sturdy and bold, stared fiercely at his exhausted father.
"Papa, you are going to win, right?!"
Dashi gave a firm, unyielding nod, his voice ringing with absolute confidence.
"Rex Lapis commands the center, the illuminated adepti hold the vanguard, and our mortal legions anchor the line. They are merely rotting corpses; we cannot lose! Defeat is impossible!"
"Then I will wait right here for Papa to come home and take me riding on a dragon!"
The boy beamed with bright, innocent joy. Dashi smiled, reaching over his shoulder to grip the jagged shaft of the skeleton arrow.
Without a flinch or a change in expression, he yanked the rotting wood free from the steel plating.
The surrounding citizens gasped in collective shock.
Dashi's face remained completely stoic as he knelt, placing the bloodstained arrow into his son's small hands.
His tone grew incredibly solemn.
"Do you know what this is?"
"I know! It is the arrow that hurt Papa!"
The boy glared at the rotting wood with fierce, protective anger.
"No."
Dashi shook his head, looking his son squarely in the eyes.
"It is the symbol of the unbreakable courage of the Millelith."
"It represents the boiling blood we willingly shed to guard Liyue."
"I am entrusting the symbol of a hero to your hands. You must inherit the iron will within this wood. Eat your meals, grow strong, and study hard so that you may serve Liyue in the years to come."
"Become the hero of this family, and the hero of our nation."
"While Papa is away defending Liyue, you are the man of the house. You must obey your mother and grandmother, and shoulder your responsibilities."
"When Papa returns, I will teach you how to loose an arrow. I will teach you how to hold the line. I will mold you into a true Millelith guardsman! Do you understand?!"
Hearing his father's vow, the boy's eyes burned with fierce, reverent fire. He clutched the bloodstained arrow to his chest like a sacred treasure.
"I understand, Papa! I swear I will protect Mama and Grandma!"
Dashi nodded with deep satisfaction. Rising to his feet, he met the gazes of his mother and wife.
After a long silence, he spoke a single, heavy vow.
"Wait for my return!"
"...We will."
Having spoken his final farewell, Dashi turned on his heel with resolute finality. Raising his gauntlet, he commanded the entire Millelith force to initiate a rapid march toward the base of Mt. Tianheng.
Watching the endless columns of young men marching toward the flames of war, the citizens of Liyue stood with reddened eyes.
After a long silence, an unknown voice cried out from the crowd, instantly sparking a roaring, synchronized chant that shook the very foundations of Liyue Harbor.
"While rock stays hard, the mountain shall never fail!"
"While the Millelith stands guard, evil shall never prevail!"
Far down the road, Dashi and the vanguard heard the endless, rolling thunder of the ancient oath.
Without looking back, Dashi raised his armored fist high into the air.
"Victory for Liyue!"
Of the twenty-five thousand Millelith reserves stationed across native Teyvat, twenty-two thousand marched to war.
A crusade against the undead to defend their homeland and preserve their future.
Centuries later, the events of this afternoon would be sung as an immortal, legendary epic across the teahouses of Liyue.
As for the rotting skeleton arrow Dashi entrusted to his son.
Washed by the passage of eras and forged by unyielding mortal will, that bloodstained wood would eventually crystallize into a genuine, sacred Artifact.
It would be known to history as the Arrow of the Hero's Anthem.
...
The Block World.
Ryen, Zhongli, and the allied commanders stood silently atop the obsidian battlements of Redstone Tech City, looking down at the frantic, bustling activity below.
Not a single soul rested. Engineers inspected defensive grids, smiths assembled Iron Golems, quartermasters distributed munitions, and officers passed out Totems of Undying to the fresh recruits.
The vibrant, beautiful company of women that usually surrounded Ryen was noticeably absent.
After relentless persuasion, he had successfully convinced Ganyu, Lumine, and several others to return to the safety of Teyvat to watch over Klee.
Only Ei and Guizhong remained firmly glued to his sides.
Ei was required to command the Inazuman expeditionary force alongside the Shogun puppet, while Guizhong, as the primary municipal administrator of Redstone Tech City, possessed tremendous combat utility.
With only two of them present, Ryen could easily ensure their safety upon the wall.
Watching the crimson sun slowly dip beneath the horizon, Ryen let out a heavy, weary sigh.
"Seven days... I wonder how many will simply buckle under the strain."
"Such defeatist talk is strictly forbidden today!"
Venti chimed in with his usual breezy, theatrical cheer, though a subtle shadow of exhaustion and tension lingered deep in his emerald eyes.
"Victory forever belongs to the righteous!"
Venti thrust his fist into the air, attempting to inject a spark of morale into the grim atmosphere.
Zhongli cleared his throat softly, his tone cool, detached, and brutally pragmatic.
"Speaking from the standpoint of universal truth, justice is written exclusively by the victor."
"...Old man, has anyone ever told you that your pragmatic philosophy absolutely murders the mood?"