Jean pondered the tactical map for a moment before speaking in a calm, measured tone.
"Deploying personnel to the New Continent is neither practical nor necessary right now."
"Although our scouts located an imbuement altar, the associated obelisks remain undiscovered, rendering the facility of little immediate utility."
"Even if we put the imbuement altar to work, crafting staves from scratch yields only entry-level apprentice tools. The progression path is far too slow, and ascending them consumes an excessive quantity of raw reagents."
"Our mastery over the Wizardry module remains incomplete compared to the systems we established months ago."
"Direct barter with wandering wizards remains our most efficient source for acquiring staves."
"Across the Main Continent, we have logged over a dozen wizard towers situated close to our primary regional outposts, allowing seamless transit via local portals."
"While the towers dotting the New Continent lack direct portal links, dispatching rapid courier squads will still allow us to complete dozens of trades in a single day."
"I propose shifting our operational focus toward organized commerce with those wizards."
Standing nearby, Lisa nodded in deep, graceful agreement, her lips curving into a sultry, teasing smile.
"Little Jean is growing more commanding by the day. Look at that flawless logistical deduction; the poise of the Acting Grand Master shines brighter than ever."
Jean turned her head, casting a mildly exasperated glance at her friend.
"Please refrain from teasing me at a military briefing, Lisa."
Lisa shrugged with an amused chuckle, letting the banter drop.
She tilted her head, turning a thoughtful gaze toward the council.
"Jean speaks with sound logic. In the immediate future, the pressure confronting Redstone Tech City remains manageable."
"During daylight hours, we can organize trading delegations to visit the towers. Procuring Advanced Wands and standard spellbooks demands straightforward exchange, meaning we have no need to trouble Ganyu to bolster our fortune."
"Equip the couriers with precious gems, send them out at first light, and have them return before dusk so the garrison can cycle through weapon experience through the night."
"The spellbooks secured through those trades can be cataloged. Whatever proves useful will enter our archives, while unwanted duplicates can be synthesized directly into Arcane Tomes."
"This framework will balance our weapon progression smoothly."
"With proper coordination, this cataclysm may well allow us to outfit our entire high command with Master Staves."
Finishing her assessment, Lisa turned her gaze toward Ryen, her emerald eyes shimmering with eager, unspoken intention.
Though she already wielded a Master Lightning Staff, she had no intention of turning down additional power.
Her personal ambition was to elevate both her Sorcery wand and her Advanced Fire Wand to the master tier.
Beyond her native Electro Vision, she carried a Pyro Delusion upon her sash.
Wielding a Master Fire Staff would grant an extraordinary leap to her secondary elemental arts.
And then there was the Sorcery wand.
Once Ryen fulfilled his promise and placed the Sorcery Gnosis into her hands, Lisa felt confident she could press Venti into the dirt and give the carefree bard a proper thrashing.
As for whether Ryen would genuinely bestow that Gnosis upon her...
Lisa harbored zero doubt.
She understood her partner's temperament with absolute clarity.
He protected his own with open, unapologetic favoritism.
In Ryen's heart, apart from the destiny of this universe, his daughters and partners held absolute supremacy.
All it required was a little affectionate persuasion in private, ensuring he was thoroughly pleased, paired with a respectable combat showing during the siege.
Ryen would find a dozen flawless justifications to award the prize to her.
Having her partner indulge her with such blatant bias was a realization that filled her chest with sweet delight.
"What say you, my darling?"
Lisa caught his eye, giving him a slow, deliberate wink.
Ryen grasped her unspoken meaning instantly. Clearing his throat softly, he returned a subtle, knowing glance.
Lisa deciphered the message without missing a beat.
It meant putting on a specialized outfit and indulging his private whims for an entire afternoon.
To Lisa, that was hardly a chore; she always enjoyed those private games just as much as he did.
She offered a tiny, decisive nod of agreement.
In the span of two passing glances, a discreet arrangement was finalized right before the eyes of the oblivious council.
Ryen withdrew his gaze, clearing his throat as he addressed the assembly with an approving smile.
"We shall proceed along Lisa's proposal. Accelerate the trading schedules and ensure every frontline commander ascends their wands to the master tier."
"Once the forty-nine-day cataclysm concludes and our fresh modules deploy, Guizhong and the leadership will assume their duties as server administrators."
"When that hour arrives, everyone will be far too occupied to tinker with the Wizardry module."
"Leveling our wands in advance allows us to hand routine magical harvesting over to the army while the senior command shifts focus toward the new systems."
"Before that transition takes place, every notable fighter should hold at least one Master Staff."
"Instruct Dashi to assign squads from the Dragon Knights to maintain daily commercial runs to the wizard towers."
"Convert every redundant spellbook into Arcane Tomes without hesitation."
"Make full use of our time."
While they conferred along the battlements, the pale gray light of dawn began creeping over the eastern horizon.
Below the ramparts, the ferocious momentum of the horde began to wane. The spontaneous spawning of the undead slowed to a crawl, and the density of the swarm dwindled visibly.
The night was no longer an endless, suffocating sea where clearing one pocket only invited another wave to surge over the gap.
The first Blood Moon of the cataclysm had been successfully weathered, prompting the commanders to lower their wands and step back from the parapets.
The night's harvest of weapon experience had drawn to a close.
Whatever remained could wait for the coming twilight; today would reveal how many Arcane Tomes they could assemble to complete their weapon ascensions.
This engagement had proven to be the most exhausting night of the first week.
Ryen rubbed his temples, speaking in a low, measured voice.
"Send word to Dashi and the watch officers. Once the stragglers burn away, inspect the outer perimeter for structural fractures, level the craters, and reset the drop traps."
"Deploy retrieval squads to gather the dropped loot, organizing the caches by category. Collect all stray arrows and deposit them in the magazines beneath the walls for rapid access."
"Furthermore, compile an exact ledger of our logistical expenditure: alchemical draughts, rifle rounds, and redstone munitions must all be accounted for."
"A protracted war stretches before us, demanding strict discipline over our strategic reserves. The Blood Moon evolutionary cycles will only intensify; burning through our stores recklessly will leave us helpless in the final weeks."
"Once that is settled, dispatch the trading parties to the wizard towers."
Ryen had no desire to linger on the windy battlements any longer.
Turning to Zhongli, he offered a brief nod.
"I leave the field operations in your hands; I shall take my leave."
"Ensure you rest, and rotate the garrison into mandatory sleep shifts. Regardless of duration, every soldier must close their eyes."
"We cannot afford to let Phantoms descend upon our lines."
Without waiting for a reply, Ryen turned and stepped down the stone stairs. Having spent an entire night locked in combat without seeing Klee and the young girls, his priority was returning to the manor to dote on his daughters and catch a brief rest.
Or perhaps... collect an early advance on that Sorcery Gnosis from Lisa?
Ryen departed, his partners trailing close behind him.
Left atop the parapet, Zhongli and the remaining commanders looked out over the blasted wasteland beyond the walls, feeling a quiet throb in their temples.
The structural damage inflicted by the zombies was practically negligible, as this was merely their first evolutionary milestone.
Whenever tool-bearing mutants had approached the obsidian masonry, the marksmen stationed along the upper bastions had picked them off before an iron pickaxe could touch stone.
The walls had sustained zero material harm.
The surrounding terrain, however, had been turned into an absolute nightmare of jagged craters.
The TNT duplicators had dropped continuous carpets of explosives throughout the night, leaving Redstone Tech City looking like an isolated floating island surrounded by sheer chasms.
It was fortunate that the foundations were reinforced obsidian.
Otherwise, their own saturation bombardment would have breached their perimeter hours ago.
The engineering battalions would have to spend the day grading the earth, or moving troops in and out of the gates would become impossible.
Yet the devastation carried an accidental tactical benefit: those massive bomb craters formed natural pit traps.
Plunging into dark, bottomless pits would easily shatter the legs of advancing hostiles.
Once the craters were bridged with controlled pathways, tonight's bombardment would simply funnel fresh waves straight into the pits.
It could not substitute for a complete defensive grid, but it would drastically thin their numbers, making it far easier for the defenders to harvest experience from the ramparts.
Makoto was the first to break the quiet, letting out a soft, contemplative sigh.
"Though using the horde to level our staves is an extraordinary opportunity, one truth remains undeniable."
"Under the crimson light of the Blood Moon, the strength and volume of the undead far surpassed anything we faced on earlier nights."
"It is difficult to fathom what horrors will crawl from the dark during the subsequent Blood Moons."
Her words cast a sobering silence over the commanders.
Grinding experience was exhilarating, certainly, but the sheer lethality of the mutated horde could not be dismissed.
"We cannot determine whether the surge was triggered by the Blood Moon itself, or if their baseline numbers permanently escalate following mutation," Madam Ping noted, her brow furrowing slightly.
"Regardless of the underlying cause, we must elevate our vigilance."
"Surviving the first Blood Moon was demanding enough; the trials ahead will test our limits."
Zhongli inclined his head in dignified agreement.
"The ultimate rewards promised upon completing the forty-nine-day cataclysm are historic. That the trial is brutal is entirely consistent with the universal laws of balance."
"Yet our preparations are extensive, and ample time remains before the final mutation arrives, granting us sufficient room to perfect our fortifications."
Zhongli dismissed the lingering unease.
Turning his gaze toward the plains, he watched the golden rays of the morning sun spill across the mud, causing the remaining zombies to combust into pillars of white ash.
Activating the tactical relay, Zhongli contacted Dashi, directing him to mobilize the cleanup battalions.
Seeing the operational lines stabilize, the other commanders offered brief salutes and dispersed toward their respective quarters.
Ryen's warning was sound: surviving the forty-nine-day trial without unnecessary complications demanded regular sleep, or battling swarms of airborne Phantoms alongside land-bound undead would stretch their garrison to the breaking point.
Arlecchino parted ways with Candace, who returned to the Sumeru sector under Buer's guidance.
Candace commanded a mature understanding of this realm's mechanics, requiring little instruction.
Arlecchino, by contrast, had spent the entire night in a haze of confusion, firing spells into the dark simply because the Tsaritsa had ordered her to level the staff.
Countless questions had accumulated in her thoughts throughout the watch.
She trusted her sovereign would provide the answers she sought.
The Snezhnayan outpost was situated roughly one kilometer west of the City Lord Manor.
Though distant from the battlements, the Archon's party crossed the distance within minutes.
Rather than retiring immediately, the Tsaritsa led Arlecchino into the central parlor after providing a brief overview of the estate.
Grasping the operational framework of this universe was not something achieved overnight.
Even mastering Snezhnaya's domestic deployment across the portal demanded weeks of study.
With the army consumed by the siege, common soldiers had no time to tutor new arrivals, leaving the Archon to handle the briefing personally.
Fortunately, with the siege underway, delving into minute technical systems was unnecessary; understanding the parameters of the cataclysm took priority.
Arlecchino sat quietly, waiting for her sovereign to speak.
The Tsaritsa pressed her fingers lightly against her temples. After a moment of silence, she set aside the expected explanation and asked a flat, pointed question.
"Arlecchino, when will the remainder of your expeditionary forces arrive?"
Arlecchino started slightly, gathering her composure before offering a careful response.
"If the march proceeds without incident, they should reach the gate the day after tomorrow."
"Should?"
The Tsaritsa fixed her with a cool, dissatisfied gaze.
"You gave your personal word that you would reach Liyue within fifteen days, yet the Lantern Rite came and went without a sign of your banner."
"Days ago, you gave your word that you would arrive within five days, yet you barely dragged yourself across the threshold as the Blood Moon rose."
"Now you offer me an ambiguous estimate regarding the arrival of our remaining army?"