"Oh please, him lacking a heart isn't a recent development."
Hearing Venti's theatrical complaint, Ryen chimed in with a cheerful jab of his own.
Reflecting on the matter, the accusation of Zhongli being heartless had persisted without interruption for over six thousand years.
The titles and honorifics bestowed upon the Lord of Geo had shifted from era to era, yet the singular complaint leveled against Morax remained entirely unchanged.
Morax, you have no heart.
Zhongli, however, appeared to have never spent a single moment reflecting on this accusation.
"It is merely a statement of objective truth."
Zhongli shook his head calmly. He fell silent for a moment, his glowing amber eyes fixed upon the setting sun before he spoke in a slow, resonant cadence.
"Take the Archon War as an example. Had the ultimate victor not been Liyue, had the victor been Osial or any other rival god..."
"The historical records left across Teyvat would undoubtedly depict me as a tyrannical, evil dragon rather than the benevolent Rex Lapis."
"Justice and wickedness are rarely objective concepts."
The profound weight of his words hung in the air. The illuminated adepti nodded in deep, solemn unison, appearing thoroughly moved by the philosophical reflection.
Ryen suspected they had not genuinely absorbed the deeper meaning. It was simply the unspoken rule of Liyue: when the boss delivered a profound speech, the subordinates were obligated to nod with absolute reverence.
"Have we strayed completely off topic? What exactly were we discussing? Was it not the final Blood Moon?"
Tartaglia spread his hands with a helpless sigh, pulling the commanders back to reality.
Ryen shook his head, shifting his tone to professional matters.
"Dashi and Fengyan have returned to Liyue Harbor to marshal the reserves. I estimate they will bring back over twenty thousand fresh recruits."
"Twenty thousand men will hardly turn the tide against the sheer volume of zombies we are about to face. Furthermore, these new arrivals possess zero practical experience regarding the physics of this universe."
"Yet their presence will alleviate the crushing psychological strain on the vanguard. Over forty days of continuous, bloody combat has drained our veterans to the marrow."
"Injecting fresh blood into the ranks will revitalize the atmosphere on the battlements."
"The next seven days represent a nonstop, grueling war of attrition. We cannot afford the slightest underestimation."
Jean ran the logistical calculations through her mind, a shadow of deep concern crossing her features.
"Your reasoning is sound, but there is a glaring flaw. With twenty thousand new arrivals crossing the threshold, our stockpile of Totems of Undying is effectively depleted."
"Without sufficient Totems to guarantee coverage, the coming week will prove exceptionally lethal for the infantry."
Ryen let out a heavy sigh, nodding in frustrated agreement.
"That exact complication has been weighing on my mind. Kokomi, what are our current inventory numbers?"
Kokomi retrieved her ledger, her brow furrowing as she scanned the precise figures.
"Twenty-five thousand, three hundred and twenty-four Totems of Undying..."
"And our balance of Totems of Rebirth?"
"Across the Five-Nation Alliance, we hold eight hundred and sixty-three."
Ryen clicked his tongue, a look of profound annoyance crossing his face.
"That barely covers a single totem per soldier. This is going to be incredibly messy."
The surrounding leaders fell into a grim silence. Anyone attempting to boast that zero casualties would occur under these conditions was simply lying to themselves.
They were preparing to face millions of mutant zombies entirely immune to sunlight.
These horrors were clad in enchanted armor, possessed terrifying physical strength, moved with blinding speed, and could rip through solid blocks.
Engaging a force of that magnitude without suffering fatalities was a mathematical impossibility.
Even if every soldier on the wall commanded the strength of an ancient god, not even Zhongli could guarantee his own absolute safety against a swarming tide of that size.
This was no recreational skirmish; it was a theater of war involving millions of combatants.
"My Master Healing Staff possesses a resurrection spell," Zhongli noted quietly.
Ryen shook his head.
"That specific spell carries rigid cooldowns and conditional requirements. You cannot mass-revive an entire battalion at once."
"The resurrection utility of your staff is not its primary asset in a siege of this scale."
"Its true value lies in projecting massive, area-of-effect buffs across the frontline."
"If the perimeter breaches and the conflict devolves into urban melee, you will need to sprint between the combat zones to blanket the troops with defensive enchantments."
Zhongli withdrew his Master Staff, his amber eyes tracing the faint, pearlescent glow radiating from the carved wood.
After a brief second, he nodded.
"Consider it done."
Buer pressed her lips together, looking up with a tentative suggestion.
"Ryen, could we perhaps dispatch a rapid team to the Totem of Undying farm to harvest more reserves?"
"Absolutely not!"
Ryen rejected the proposal with immediate, ironclad finality.
"During the earlier phases, that would have been a viable tactic, as the zombies burned in the daylight."
"Now, the horde marches freely under the sun. Sending an expedition to the farm is pure suicide. We have zero means of guaranteeing the convoy wouldn't be surrounded and butchered on the road."
"If a breach occurs there, we lose the soldiers, and worse, the undead might tear the entire automated farm to pieces."
"The risk is astronomical. We hold the line with what we have."
Buer let out a soft sigh, nodding in understanding and dropping the matter.
Ryen turned his gaze toward Xiao and the illuminated adepti.
"During the opening hours of the seven-day siege, the infantry will likely hold the line with disciplined caution."
"Yet seven days is an agonizingly long stretch."
"Given the sheer lethality of the mutant horde, exhaustion will inevitably breed fatal mistakes. I need you to remain completely mobile."
"Though we are defending a fortified position, these mutants will inevitably find blind spots to tunnel through."
"The moment a massive urban breach occurs, you are our rapid response force. Dive into the fray, stabilize the line, and prevent the infantry from suffering catastrophic losses."
Xiao and the adepti nodded sharply, accepting the burden.
Throughout the previous engagements, they had largely remained in reserve.
They had been preserving their stamina specifically for this ultimate climax, waiting to deploy wherever the defenses buckled.
Unfortunately, their ability to single-handedly dictate the flow of battle was severely limited in this environment.
Firstly, they were facing millions of hostiles. Even back in Teyvat, suppressing a horde of that magnitude required the raw, continental power of a sovereign Archon, not merely an adeptus.
Secondly, the immutable physics of the block world strictly capped their personal martial prowess.
The best Xiao and his brethren could achieve was preserving their own lives while dashing across the sectors to plug emergency gaps.
Ryen surveyed the frantic, massive mobilization occurring across the city below. After a moment of silence, he issued his final tactical directives.
"Instruct the artillery divisions to abandon all rationing. Ammunition and TNT reserves are to be expended freely. Calculate the burn rate to ensure continuous bombardment across all seven days."
"The artillery fire must not cease for a single minute until the cataclysm concludes."
"We are defending a fortress, but the sun is no longer our ally. We have lost our absolute daytime advantage."
"Maintain the bombardment. Vaporize as many of them as physically possible."
"When day breaks, deploy the vanguard to sweep the killing fields."
"We must ensure our explosive coverage is flawlessly calibrated."
"If we allow the horde to stack up during the day, the infantry will be overwhelmed attempting to clear the perimeter."
"Every mutant spawned on a given day must be eradicated before nightfall."
"Allowing their numbers to compound will result in an uncontrollable snowball effect, virtually guaranteeing a breach of our inner walls."
"If the vanguard manages to cleanse the fields with daylight to spare, we will evaluate sending a highly guarded strike team to the Totem farm."
"Endure for seven days. Furthermore, enforce strict sleep rotations across the ranks. If the army skips sleep for seven straight days..."
"A Phantom ambush would be more than enough to make us suffer."
The commanders nodded with deep, unified agreement.
Over the past weeks, they had enforced rigid sleeping protocols to keep the men rested.
Yet with an army of this magnitude, stress and terror inevitably caused insomnia among the ranks.
Those sleepless nights had triggered sporadic Phantom raids, catching several patrols completely off guard.
Thankfully, the numbers had remained small, allowing the defenders to manage them alongside the zombie horde.
But entering the final, desperate phase of the siege where survival hung by a thread, fighting without the aid of the sun meant they were stretched to the breaking point.
If a massive flock of Phantoms descended now, the entire defense grid would collapse.
"Ensure the new arrivals are explicitly briefed on the sleep protocols. The veterans know the drill, and we trust their discipline."
"If the twenty thousand fresh recruits from Liyue refuse to sleep, we are looking at a catastrophe."
Zhongli added his stern counsel, prompting absolute agreement from the assembly.
"Keep your eyes sharp," Ryen warned, his tone dropping into a grave, ominous register.
"Eradicate the daily spawns without fail. Do not let them accumulate. If the sheer volume breaches our containment threshold, I will be forced to deploy nuclear weapons."
Hearing that, even Venti, who spent his days radiating carefree cheer, frowned in deep, unsettling discomfort.
The alliance possessed the ultimate trump card to preserve Redstone Tech City.
Yet it was a card Ryen despised the thought of playing, and the Archons shared his intense aversion.
The sheer destructive yield and lingering toxicity of a nuclear warhead were catastrophic.
Since their fabrication, not a single warhead had been detonated. No one knew the true radius of their apocalyptic fire.
Moreover, the lingering radiation posed a terrifying, invisible threat.
Nuclear deployment was strictly a final, desperate gamble.
"If we can secure victory without them, I pray we never witness their use."
Zhongli sighed heavily, dismissing the grim topic.
Those warheads were the only creations in the block world that instilled genuine, primal dread within the Lord of Geo.
The mere sight of the bombs resting in their reinforced vaults had triggered blaring, instinctual alarms of absolute mortality within his ancient soul.
Setting the nuclear contingency aside, Ryen turned his attention toward Ei and the others.
Ei and the Shogun puppet currently stood clad in full suits of enchanted Netherite armor. It was the absolute pinnacle of defensive craftsmanship Ryen could provide.
"I am entrusting the interior of the city to you, Ei."
In his heart, Ryen despised the thought of placing her in the line of fire. A part of him desperately wished to send her back to Teyvat alongside the others.
Yet Ei was a peerless martial artist. She possessed unyielding sovereign pride and the supreme power to defend herself.
He could not force her to retreat.
Ei gave her sheathed SlashBlade a confident, subtle tilt, her violet eyes calm and resolute.
"Leave it to me."
Ryen pressed his lips together. Unable to suppress his worry, he offered one final, firm instruction.
"Your mobility is exceptional, but do not allow yourself to be cornered by the horde. Keep your comms open. The second a situation deteriorates, you contact me immediately. Understood?"
Ei had heard his protective warnings a dozen times today alone. While it bordered on repetitive, it brought the same swelling, radiant warmth to her chest as the very first time.
"I am a kagemusha. The theater of battle is the defining narrative of my existence."
Ei offered the soft, ethereal reply without meeting his gaze directly.
"That was in the past."
Ryen reached out, giving her soft cheek a firm, affectionate pinch.
"In the past, you were a shadow warrior. You were an Archon. But here and now, before any worldly title, you are Makoto's sister, and you are my partner."
"Preserving your own life is your highest obligation to us. Do you understand?"
Feeling the intense, focused stares of the entire council resting upon her, a brilliant flush painted Ei's cheeks. After a long moment, she offered a small, determined nod.
"I understand... I will secure the city, and I will not fall!"
Ryen smiled, though a faint shadow of melancholy lingered in his eyes.
"Good..."
~~----------------------
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