Time quickly passed, and soon, only one hour remained in the Red Night Event.

The battlefield was quieter now, but not because the danger had passed.

It was exhaustion… Everyone was already exhausted from the 23 hours of Zombie Wave… Including the fact that they were Bloodmarked, Infested, and Corrupted versions, the battle today was incredibly tough, and numerous Survivors had been killed.

Indeed, so many survivors had died that even the Regional Chat became very silent.

Even Shane's Shelters, among the best-prepared in the region, had their outer walls destroyed multiple times. Only their pre-installed barricade kits, designed for rapid deployment, had kept the breaches from becoming catastrophes.

Without those, they would've lost entire sectors.

And if Shane's forces were pushed to the brink, the situation was far worse for others.

Phoenix Phalanx, a Rank 5 Clan with eight Shelters under its banner, had lost two of them.

Two full Shelters were gone. Their Crystal Cores shattered during the third wave, when a coordinated assault of Zombie Lords and airborne variants bypassed their perimeter defenses.

Even their elite squads couldn't hold the line forever.

But the worst losses were among the lower-ranked clans.

Silver Sentinel Alliance, Rank 20, had been hit brutally. Allied to Travis and part of the Survivor Pact built by Natalie, they had five Shelters at the start of the Event.

Now, only two remained.

Three of their Shelters had been demolished outright. It was not evacuated and not abandoned.

It was demolished because another Neutral Shelter nearby had been destroyed, and numerous Zombies turned their direction to their location!

They didn't expect that the Neutral Shelter that was protecting the southern path would be destroyed at such a crucial time without their knowledge…

Because of that, their Shelter Crystal Cores were destroyed in the chaos, meaning they couldn't even rebuild. Without a new core, those locations were permanently lost.

Nightfall Nexus, the Rank 11 Clan known for its stealth tactics and mobile defense units, had fared slightly better… but only just.

They had six Shelters spread across sectors 7 and 8…

However, two were overrun in the 18th hour, when a swarm of Crawler Kings tunneled beneath their defenses.

Their mobile units managed to evacuate most of the survivors, but the cores were lost. Their remaining Shelters were now overcrowded, running low on energy, and barely holding together.

Ember Order, Rank 13, had relied heavily on elemental defense turrets and fire-based suppression tactics. It worked only for a while.

When several Acid Kings arrived in force, their flame barriers became liabilities. The chemical reactions triggered explosions across their perimeter.

One Shelter was obliterated in minutes. Another fell during a breach caused by a flying variant. They managed to preserve two cores, but their third Shelter was reduced to rubble.

The Ember Order's commander had already declared a tactical retreat. They were pulling back to regroup and consolidate resources, but morale was low, and their losses were heavy.

Across the region, the Red Night had left scars. Shelters were burned, Crystal cores were shattered, and numerous Survivors died or scattered.

And yet, the final hour approached.

Everyone knew the last wave was coming and no one expected it to be merciful.

***

In the meantime, inside the command center of Eclipse Domain, Shane was looking at the various feeds showing the damage within the Eclipse Domain…

Currently, his Bio-Armor was heavily damaged, so he had to change his set of armor…

He had just returned from the battlefield after dealing with another Zombie Lord… As the final hour of the Red Night Event got closer, he knew that they would be facing the strongest Zombie Horde just like the Zombie Wave Event…

"Cloud… I need the status… or damage report of all the shelters.

Cloud worked quickly.

[ Incoming Shelter Status Reports - Priority Level: Critical ]

[ Compiling data from all four active shelters… ]

"Start with this shelter. Eclipse Domain." Shane added.

Cloud responded immediately and showed him the information he needed.

[ Eclipse Domain ]

[ Status: Operational ]

[ Barricade Reserves: 3 remaining kits ]

[ Casualties: 17 confirmed, 6 missing ]

[ Active Barrier Generators: 1/5 ]

[ Structural Damage:

- South Gate: 60% destroyed, reinforced with modular plating.

- Watchtowers: 10 out of 12 were destroyed.

- Turret Defense: 40% offline due to energy overload.

- Housing Sector B: 30% damaged, 12 units uninhabitable. ]

Shane exhaled slowly. "That casualty is too high… But the others probably had it worst.

Cloud continued.

[ Next Shelter: New Genesis - Commander: Arial ]

[ Status: Operational ]

[ Barricade Reserves: 1 remaining kit ]

[ Casualties: 43 confirmed, 11 missing ]

[ Active Barrier Generators: 1/5 ]

[ Structural Damage:

- North Wall: breached twice, patched with emergency alloy.

- Anti-air Tower: 90% destroyed, nonfunctional.

- Medical Bay: 50% damaged, operating at reduced capacity.

- Power Relay Station: 20% damage, energy fluctuations ongoing. ]

Shane clenched his jaw. "This casualty… It can no longer increase. Still, he did a good job holding on. Tell Arial not to hesitate to use all the resources we have. "

[ Message relayed. ]

Cloud moved to the next report.

[ Springriver Manor - Commander: Raze ]

[ Status: Operational ]

[ Barricade Reserves: 5 remaining kits ]

[ Casualties: 27 confirmed. ]

[ Active Barrier Generators: 3/9 ]

[ Structural Damage:

- Western Rampart: 15% erosion from sustained impact.

- Arcane Shield Nodes: 2 out of 12 overloaded, pending cooldown.

- Watchtowers: 7 out of 10 were destroyed.

- Residential Wing: 10% damage, no displacement. ]

Shane nodded. "Twenty-seven died..."

Then came the final report.

[ Silver Mine Camp – Commander: Diana ]

[ Status: Operational ]

[ Outer Wall Integrity: 19% ]

[ Barricade Reserves: 0 remaining kits ]

[ Casualties: 87 confirmed, 34 missing ]

[ Structural Damage:

- Main Gate: destroyed, replaced with a scrap barricade.

- West Sector: 70% collapsed, uninhabitable.

- Generator Room: 40% damaged, backup systems active.

- Shelter Core Chamber: exposed during breach, now reinforced manually. ]

Shane frowned after seeing the casualties and sighed…

"Cloud… Send all the help Diana needed."

[ What kind of assistance? ]

"Ugh… Just anything to help the shelter and make her feel a bit better."

[ … ]

[ Understood. ]

In any case, Shane then checked the summarized reports made by Cloud.

[ Summary Report - Shane's Shelter Network ]

[ Time Remaining in Red Night Event: 57 minutes ]

[ Total Shelters: 4 ]

[ Status: All Operational ]

[ Total Casualties: 174 confirmed dead, 51 missing ]

[ Barricade Kits Remaining: 9 total across all shelters ]

[ Active Barrier Generators: 6 out of 29 ]

[ Structural Integrity:

- 3 gates destroyed

- 29 watchtowers offline

- 2 sectors collapsed

- 1 Shelter Core Chamber exposed during breach ]

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