Honkai Star Rail: I Played the Villain, Now the Heroines Want Revenge — Chapter 218

Chapter 218: Firewood for Revenge

Soon, the official news of the Xianzhou Alliance’s refusal to re-examine General Jing Yuan’s case spread like a shockwave, not just through the Divination Commission, but across the entire Luofu Celestial Ark.

The entire Luofu was in an uproar.

What began as shocked whispers in the hushed halls of the Seat of Divine Foresight erupted into shouts of raw, disbelieving grief in the Starskiff Haven.

“Why won’t they re-examine it?! On what grounds is the evidence ‘conclusive’?!”

“General Jing Yuan is definitely not a traitor! This is slander! This is a betrayal by the Alliance!”

“The Alliance is unjust! They are protecting the real traitor to save face!”

“They spit on the General’s grave!”

Angry citizens, merchants, and off-duty Cloud Knights began to take to the streets, their initial sorrow rapidly curdling into a potent, volatile anger. The atmosphere of the Luofu, usually serene and orderly, was now thick with the scent of ozone and rebellion.

The Cloud Knights, in particular, were enraged. They gathered in disorganized, grieving masses in front of the Shen Ce Mansion, their armor unpolished, their banners held low. They wept openly, their shouts demanding justice for the man who had been their leader for millennia.

“Re-examine! Re-examine!”

“Clear General Jing Yuan’s name!”

Young Yanqing, his face pale and tear-streaked, tried to restore order, but his youthful voice was drowned out by the roar of thousands of veteran soldiers chanting their fallen general’s name.

Just as public anger reached its absolute peak, “Fu Xuan” (Phantylia) appeared.

She walked out onto the high balcony of the Shen Ce Mansion, her small form a picture of solemn authority. You, as “Jiang Xuan,” followed closely behind her, your face a perfect mask of grim duty and sorrow.

“Everyone!” She raised her hand, and a heavy silence, born of respect for the Master Diviner, fell over the massive crowd.

“I understand your anger!” she projected her voice, sharp and clear, laced with a subtle, sorrowful tremor that Phantylia had perfected.

“General Jing Yuan gave his all for the Luofu, dedicating millennia of his life to protecting us, only to meet such a fate! And the true culprit,” she paused, letting the silence hang, “is still at large!”

“Who is the culprit?” someone shouted from the crowd.

“Fu Xuan” was silent for a moment, as if struggling with the weight of the revelation. Then she spoke, her voice ringing with cold, logical fury. “Do you all remember who was the first to report General Jing Yuan?”

“It was General Feixiao of the Yaoqing!”

The crowd burst into an uproar of confusion and accusation.

At this precise, opportune moment, you stepped forward, as if to support your Master Diviner.

“Everyone,” you called out, your voice projecting a different kind of energy—not just grief, but the sharp, analytical edge of a diviner who has seen the truth. “The truth of the matter is already very clear.”

“General Feixiao of the Yaoqing framed General Jing Yuan, and now, it is the Yaoqing and their allies who are pressuring the Alliance to refuse our investigation. This clearly shows a guilty conscience!”

You let your words sink in, your Eloquent Speech talent subtly twisting their grief into targeted rage. “Think about it! In this entire incident, who has the greatest suspicion?”

“Who became the ‘hero’ who quelled the rebellion right after General Jing Yuan’s death?”

“It’s Feixiao! It was all Feixiao!” someone in the crowd roared, the accusation finding fertile ground.

“That’s right!” another shouted. “It was Feixiao who killed the General!”

An old, scarred Cloud Knight veteran, his armor bearing the marks of Jing Yuan’s campaigns, roared, tears of pure rage streaming down his face. “General Jing Yuan led me for three hundred years! How could he be a traitor!”

“It must be that Fox-woman from the Yaoqing who framed him! She and that traitor Yao Guang were in it together!”

“The Xianzhou Yaoqing is going too far!”

The angry emotions spread like wildfire, a chain reaction of grief and betrayal.

“Punish the Yaoqing!”

Suddenly, a young Cloud Knight raised his spear high, his voice cracking with emotion. “Avenge General Jing Yuan!”

As if that single shout had broken a dam, the entire square instantly erupted.

“Yes! Punish the Yaoqing!”

“Avenge General Jing Yuan!”

“Get justice!”

“Blood for blood!”

More and more people joined the shouts. Those old soldiers, hand-picked and trained by Jing Yuan himself, had bloodshot eyes, their hands gripping their weapons. They looked as if they were ready to storm the Yaoqing’s anchorage right now.

“My life was saved by the General! Avenging him is worth dying for!” a scarred veteran roared.

“That’s right! Which of us wasn’t brought out by the General?”

“The General’s kindness to us is as vast as a mountain! Now that he has been murdered, what are we still doing here?!”

“Attack the Yaoqing! Capture Feixiao alive!”

“Make her pay blood for blood!”

Watching the agitated, manipulated crowd, “Fu Xuan” (Phantylia) pondered for a moment, her face a mask of profound, solemn thought. Then, as if having made a terrible, heavy decision, she spoke.

“Since your will is so firm…”

“Since the Luofu, from top to bottom, is united in seeking justice for General Jing Yuan…”

She scanned the crowd, her small form seeming to swell with a grim resolve. Then, she announced loudly, her voice cutting through the din:

“Then I have decided—”

“From today onwards, the Xianzhou Luofu officially breaks free from the constraints of the Xianzhou Alliance!”

“And,” she took a breath, “declares war on the Xianzhou Yaoqing!”

“We will seek justice for General Jing Yuan ourselves!”

The entire square, the entire planet, seemed to hold its breath for one second. Then, it boiled over.

“General Fu is wise!”

“PUNISH THE YAOQING!”

“AVENGE THE GENERAL!”

“Kill that traitor Feixiao!”

“Make her kneel before the General’s spirit and apologize!”

The Cloud Knights were even more excited, tears of furious joy welling in their eyes. They all knelt on one knee, a sea of armor bowing to their new leader.

“We are willing to die for General Fu Xuan!”

“We will not return until this battle is won!”

Cheers, roars, and the clashing of weapons were deafening, a symphony of chaos that seemed to shake the heavens apart.

You stood behind “Fu Xuan,” watching this scene of perfect manipulation, your heart as cold and still as the void. The crowd and Cloud Knights, dominated by emotion, were utterly, beautifully foolish. They had no idea that their “justice” was merely adding firewood to the pyre. They were just tinder for your revenge.

Soon, the Luofu Celestial Ark, disregarding the Alliance’s frantic dissuasion, assembled its massive war fleet and set out for the Yaoqing.

And on the Yaoqing’s side, Feixiao had “recovered” from her Moon Madness. When she heard the news of the Luofu’s declaration of war, a cold, almost joyful excitement flashed in her eyes.

“Have they come…?” She licked her lips, her madness now perfectly focused by Phantylia’s influence. “Give the order! All forces prepare for battle! Meet the enemy!”

The great civil war between the two most powerful Celestial Arks was on the verge of breaking out.

The first engagement occurred in the neutral starfield between the two Arks. The fleets of both sides collided like two torrents of steel, with continuous gunfire and the flash of disintegrating star-skiffs.

However, just as the Luofu and Yaoqing were fighting fiercely, a piece of news that surprised everyone arrived:

The Xianzhou Yuque suddenly announced its participation in the war!

But their target was the Luofu!

“The Luofu’s vindication of the traitor Jing Yuan is a provocation to our Yuque!” The new General of the Yuque Celestial Ark—a hard-liner appointed by General Huaiyan—said angrily in the declaration of war.

“Jing Yuan killed our General Yao Guang! And the Luofu wants to avenge this murderer? If that’s the case, our Yuque Celestial Ark will also seek justice for General Yao Guang!”

“Attack the Luofu! Avenge General Yao Guang!”

Instantly, half of the six active Celestial Arks were engulfed in the flames of a three-way civil war.

When Marshal Hua received the battle report, the priceless jade teacup in her hand fell directly to the ground and shattered. “They’re crazy! They’re all crazy!”

The other Generals who had not participated in the war were also stunned. They never expected things to develop to this point. The Xianzhou Alliance, this alliance that had stood for thousands of years, was completely thrown into chaos. Former compatriots were now at war, and former comrades were now fighting to the death.

Inside the Shen Ce Mansion, the strategic heart of the Luofu, you and “Fu Xuan” stood before the giant holographic star map, watching the constantly updated battle reports.

“The Luofu’s Third Fleet engaged the Yaoqing’s main force, both sides suffered heavy losses.”

“The Yuque Celestial Ark launched a sneak attack on the Luofu’s rear, but was ambushed by the Luofu’s reserve fleet.”

“Yaoqing reinforcements have arrived, the front line is advancing…”

Looking at these bloody battle reports, Phantylia shed her “Fu Xuan” disguise. Her true, ethereal, and divine form materialized in the room, her laughter echoing.

“Hahahahaha! How wonderful! Look at these foolish mortals!”

“Killing each other for the sake of empty justice and manufactured hatred!”

“This is the most beautiful destruction!”

Her enchanting figure spun in the room, as if dancing a victory dance in a graveyard.

And you, you just stood there quietly, looking at the red icons on the star map representing the battlefield. Your expression did not change at all.

These deaths, this destruction, this galactic-scale chaos… none of it mattered to you. They were just bait. They were just firewood for the true pyre.

A trap to lure out the god.

When the followers of The Hunt kill each other, when their faith completely collapses, when the very concept of The Hunt is corrupted and weakened…

He will have no choice but to appear.

By then…

Jiang Li. Neergul.

Just wait a little longer.

Soon, you will be avenged.