The Crimson Reckoning
"Over... over a million?!"
Venti nearly leaped out of his seat, all color draining from his face as he stared wide-eyed across the table.
"You are joking, right? Ryen, honestly, making a joke like that in a tense atmosphere like this is terrible!"
Dizziness swept through the rest of the assembly.
Over a million zombies!
Forget the current Five-Nation Coalition; even if all Seven Nations united alongside the entirety of Khaenri'ah, their combined military census fell far short of several hundred thousand.
Worse still, nobody knew whether that 'over a million' hovered near one million or pushed closer to nine million!
Zombies in this realm were notoriously frail, sitting near the absolute bottom of the monster hierarchy.
Yet an army of over a million was an entirely different nightmare.
A suffocating, endless swarm blanketing the plains, clawing across the horizon until no dirt was left visible...
Tossing a single cobblestone into the wild would easily strike dozens of rotting skulls.
Divided evenly, every single soldier stationed in this world would have to slaughter hundreds of walking corpses just to clear the trial.
On paper, that quota might sound manageable, but true warfare was never calculated on simple arithmetic.
This was a massive, grinding war of attrition.
Even Zhongli felt an unsettling tremor ripple through his composure.
Throughout the entirety of the Archon War, he had never stood against a single campaign of such colossal numeric scale.
Ryen looked at Venti in steady silence until the faint glimmer of hope in the bard's eyes withered away.
"There are really over a million...?" Venti whispered, his voice trembling.
Ryen exhaled slowly and nodded.
"My estimate is conservative. If our luck turns foul, the actual numbers could climb much higher."
"This is a genuine zombie apocalypse siege. In the mechanics of this reality, it represents a dedicated survival module: the 49-Day Cataclysm..."
Indeed, the challenge issued by the system demanded that Ryen defend Redstone Tech City against an unbroken forty-nine-day siege.
A localized survival pack.
Ryen had reviewed the system parameters thoroughly. It was essentially a refined, forty-nine-day version of the classic Hundred Days of Apocalypse pack.
A disaster mod of the highest order.
Every single night brought relentless assaults, punctuated every seven days by a Blood Moon that forced rapid mutations and exponential spikes in horde density.
When Ryen had played through the module in the past, he had held the line alone against tens of thousands. With tens of thousands of living souls now gathered within a single perimeter, heaven only knew what astronomical numbers the system would generate.
He had already softened his words as much as possible.
"Is there any chance..." Venti pressed his lips together, his voice dropping to a cautious murmur, "...that we simply abandon Redstone Tech City?"
Guizhong's face turned icy cold, her eyes narrowing in sharp displeasure as she glared at the bard.
She had poured countless sleepless nights and boundless ingenuity into designing this metropolis.
Zhongli shook his head, cutting in with unwavering authority.
"Out of the question. Redstone Tech City is besieged today, but what of tomorrow? Shall we spend eternity fleeing across the wilderness?"
"So long as we develop this world, we will inevitably stand before this trial."
"Though the horde is vast, we are far from helpless."
Ryen nodded in firm agreement.
"Zhongli speaks the truth. This is an unavoidable evolutionary trial issued by the realm itself. Standing united gives us a fighting chance."
"Furthermore, considering the rewards for surviving this crucible, I cannot find a single reason to refuse."
That much was certain.
The system was demanding, but it was exceptionally generous.
While it imposed forty-nine days of apocalyptic warfare, the clearing rewards were staggering. Ryen found it impossible to decline, and after seeing the prize ledger, he could not even bring himself to curse the system.
Massaging her temples, Ningguang spoke softly.
"Surrendering Redstone Tech City was never an option. It is the sanctuary we forged with our own hands."
"I was merely tossing out a passing thought!" Venti offered a weak, sheepish chuckle, but before he could say more, Diluc clapped a heavy hand over his mouth and turned his gaze toward Ryen.
"Mr. Ryen, what specific parameters govern this siege?"
Ryen pressed his lips together, letting out a heavy breath.
"Though I would love to reassure you that everything is under control, I must be honest: I cannot guarantee an effortless victory."
"This siege functions as an active survival mod, and you all understand what happens when module mechanics take effect."
"The 49-Day Cataclysm..."
"It means we must fight continuously for forty-nine consecutive days, holding this perimeter and ensuring the city is neither breached nor overrun."
A heavy gloom settled over the hall.
Whenever modules were involved, nothing was ever simple.
"Forty-nine days... a true cataclysm..." Yae Miko shed her usual playful demeanor, her fingers tightening around Ryen's hand.
Ryen waited for the room to steady their breathing before continuing in a low, level tone.
"The rules of the trial dictate that starting tomorrow night, Redstone Tech City will face nightly sieges for forty-nine straight days."
"Every single night?!" Venti flinched, his voice squeaking.
Ryen nodded.
"Because we have concentrated so many living souls within one perimeter, the exact volume of hostiles drawn to our position cannot be accurately capped."
"It will easily exceed a million over the course of the campaign, though they will not descend all at once. Each night will likely see tens of thousands, perhaps over a hundred thousand, testing the outer walls."
Tartaglia wet his dry lips, blinking in disbelief.
"'Only' a hundred thousand...?"
"The raw numbers are not our greatest threat," Ryen explained, spreading his hands.
"If they remained ordinary zombies, our defensive walls and modern artillery could hold indefinitely, no matter how many gathered."
"The true peril is that every seventh night, a Blood Moon will rise."
"During a Blood Moon, the horde's volume multiplies dramatically."
"More dangerously, the zombies will evolve, developing tactical intellect."
"They will undergo mutations far beyond your expectations."
"They will learn to wield melee weapons, equip protective armor, use mining tools to tear through our ramparts, and bridge with blocks to scale sheer cliffs and floating platforms..."
"Worst of all, they may learn to dig subterranean tunnels to breach our rear lines."
"When that happens, we will no longer be culling mindless beasts. We will be fighting an intelligent, coordinated army of the undead."
"Because of this, I cannot guarantee zero casualties. I can only promise to do everything in my power to preserve our lives."
Zhongli's fingers dug deeply into the armrest, the fine wood groaning under his grip.
"Zombies... learning to mine through stone walls? Our greatest geographic advantage is dismantled..."
Diluc inhaled sharply, a cold prickle rising across the back of his neck.
"Which is why you ordered the excavation of deep trenches and instructed us to reinforce the outer walls with solid obsidian..."
"Will those barriers truly be enough to hold them back?"
Ryen paused, offering no empty promises before giving a slow shake of his head.
"They will hold comfortably for the first twenty-one days. The mutations occur gradually with each passing Blood Moon."
"Three weeks will give us ample time to adapt our strategy."
Lisa forced a calm, charming smile, seeking to steady the mood.
"Take heart, everyone. No matter their numbers or newfound strength, they remain creatures of the dark. So long as we endure the night, the morning sun will cleanse them to ashes."
A quiet sigh of relief swept across the room.
Yet Ryen remained completely silent.
"No... you cannot be serious..." Tartaglia's heart skipped a beat, a cold sweat breaking across his forehead. "Mr. Ryen, please do not tell me what I think you are about to say..."
"It is not a possibility," Ryen said quietly, dashing their fleeting hope before it could take root. "It is an absolute certainty. They will eventually ignore the sun."
Silence swallowed the hall whole.
Ryen knew the truth sounded grim, but laying out the reality now was far better than facing panic on the battlefield.
"The zombies will evolve under the Blood Moons. In the beginning, they will retain their traditional vulnerabilities."
"However, following the final Blood Moon..."
"The undead will gain complete immunity to direct sunlight."
"Our only path to survival will be total eradication."
Tartaglia sank back into the sofa cushions, his eyes glazed with hollow shock.
He craved fierce battle, but this was a march into an abyss!
Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of armored zombies, wielding picks, building siege towers, digging tunnels, and marching fearlessly under broad daylight...
How was an army supposed to repel that?
"That is why Klee and the young ones must be evacuated," Ryen said, his gaze softening as he looked down at the four little girls standing beside him.
"Once the siege begins, even I cannot guarantee complete safety across every sector. Keeping them in the city is an unacceptable risk."
Nahida pressed her lips together, her voice dropping into a soft, sorrowful whisper.
"Does that mean... we will not see you for forty-nine whole days?"
Ryen reached out, gently stroking her soft hair.
"Not entirely. During the early phase while the horde still fears the sun, I can open the gate during daylight hours to bring you over for short visits."
"Will Brother Ryen stay safe? Klee doesn't want Brother Ryen to get hurt! Klee doesn't want anyone to get hurt!"
Klee looked up at him with wide, glistening eyes, resisting the urge to throw a tantrum.
She understood that if she stayed, Ryen would constantly worry about her safety instead of directing the defense. Yet since arriving in this world, this was the very first time she was being sent away from his side for so long.
Ryen scooped her up into his arms, pressing a warm kiss against her forehead with an affectionate smile.
"Does little Klee doubt me? I will remain entirely safe and sound, and I will keep everyone else safe as well."
Worry still lingered in Klee's chest, but she forced a bright, determined smile and hugged his neck tightly.
"Okay! Klee trusts Brother Ryen! Klee will be a good girl and won't cause any trouble!"