Honkai Star Rail: I Played the Villain, Now the Heroines Want Revenge — Chapter 223

Chapter 223: Shooting Down Luofu

Above the Yuque Celestial Ark, the sea of stars was suddenly torn apart.

It was not the orderly ripple of a starskiff warp, but a violent, physical rending of reality itself.

Radiance enveloped the Yuque.

That was… the descent of an Aeon.

The Aeon of The Hunt, Lan, the Arrow that Ends All.

His divine body was so immense that those standing on the Yuque could only see a fraction of his form—a colossal, centaur-like silhouette made of cold, swirling starlight.

His face was obscured by divine light, making his exact appearance unclear, but his presence was suffocating.

Strangely, the light emanating from him seemed far less dazzling than the legends described. It was not a warm, guiding light, but a cold, blue, judgmental glare.

The new General of the Yuque was the first to react.

He saw the descending Reignbow, his mind first frozen in stunned awe, then a look of absolute ecstasy spread across his face.

“Reignbow… It’s the Aeon of The Hunt, Lan!”

He was so excited he became incoherent, stumbling out onto the command bridge’s main balcony.

“Reignbow has descended! He’s finally here! He has seen our plight!”

The General immediately dropped to one knee, prostrating himself before the cosmic being in the sky.

“Great Aeon of The Hunt, Lan! You have finally heard our plea!”

“Citizens of Yuque! Look!” he roared, his voice broadcast across the ark. “The Aeon of The Hunt, Lan, has descended!”

“He has come to save us!”

The entire Yuque erupted.

The sounds of rioting and civil strife, which had plagued the ark for weeks, ceased instantly.

Countless people poured into the streets, their faces streaked with tears and grime, gazing at the colossal figure in the sky.

“It’s Reignbow! It’s really Reignbow!”

“He’s finally here! We are saved! He hasn’t abandoned us!”

Those who had steadfastly maintained their faith in The Hunt fell to the ground, weeping with joy.

Those who had begun to waver and listen to the preachers of Abundance were struck with terror, frantically tearing off the green emblems they had adopted and stomping them into the ground.

Tears streamed down their faces as they worshipped devoutly.

“Aeon of The Hunt, Lan!”

An old, battle-scarred Cloud Knight, his armor cracked and stained, knelt on the ground of a ruined plaza, shouting hoarsely.

“Please, be our judge! Be our arrow!”

“The traitors of the Xianzhou Luofu murdered our General, Yaoguang!”

“We have fought them for so long, suffering countless casualties, but we have been unable to avenge our General!”

More Cloud Knights knelt, bowing their heads in reverence.

“Aeon of The Hunt, Lan! Please punish the Xianzhou Luofu!”

“They betrayed your faith! They have fallen to Abundance! Their entire ark is tainted!”

“Please unleash your divine retribution and destroy those traitors!”

At this moment, the new General of the Yuque, still kneeling, trembled with excitement.

In recent days, the Yuque had been fighting a losing war against the Luofu.

After the Luofu annexed Zhuming and Fanghu, its strength had greatly increased, its fleets vast and newly armed.

The Yuque, however, grew weaker and weaker, already struggling to defend itself.

They wished to avenge their former General but were powerless.

But now…

The Aeon of The Hunt, Lan, had personally descended!

What did this mean?

It meant that their Aeon was finally going to deliver justice for them!

“Praise the Reignbow!”

The General shouted, his voice cracking with fanatical devotion.

“Praise your divine descent!”

“Please… please destroy the Xianzhou Luofu!”

“Let those betrayers pay the price in blood and fire!”

The entire Yuque was shouting, the combined voices of billions rising in a single, desperate prayer.

“Destroy the Xianzhou Luofu!”

“Punish the traitors!”

And at this moment of universal, ecstatic anticipation…

Lan moved.

A profound silence fell over the ark as the Aeon slowly raised his arm.

A colossal bow, formed from pure, solidified starlight, appeared in his hand.

Seeing this, the people of the Yuque went wild.

“Look! The Reignbow is about to act!”

“He’s going to answer our prayers!”

“The Aeon of The Hunt, Lan, he’s going to avenge us!”

The Yuque General’s face was flushed with a terrifying, ecstatic joy.

“Yes! That’s it!”

“Shoot down the Xianzhou Luofu! Destroy those traitors!”

A thunderous roar erupted from the crowd again: “Shoot down the Xianzhou Luofu!”

However…

Gradually, the cheers began to subside.

It started with the diviners in the Yuque’s own navigation halls.

“Wait…”

A young diviner stared at her console, her blood running cold.

“General… the trajectory… the energy readings…”

A Cloud Knight captain on the plaza looked up, his brow furrowing in confusion.

“The Reignbow’s arrow… it seems to be aimed in the wrong direction?”

More people looked up, observing carefully.

Then, their expressions began to shift.

From wild excitement… to confusion.

And then… to absolute, paralyzing fear.

Because they discovered…

The direction of the arrow, nocked and drawn back on Lan’s divine bow… was not the distant Xianzhou Luofu.

But, at the Yuque. Beneath their feet.

“No… this isn’t right!”

The Yuque General’s face was filled with utter astonishment.

“Reignbow? My Aeon? You’re aiming at… us?!”

The entire Yuque fell into a deathly, suffocating silence.

Everyone stared blankly at the sky.

Looking at the Aeon they worshipped.

Looking at the arrow of light in his hand, aimed directly at them.

“Why…”

“Why would the Reignbow…”

But they had no time to think.

The next moment—

The arrow of light left the string.

There was no sound. Only light.

It was a light thousands of times brighter than the sun.

On the Yuque, many people still wore expressions of devout worship, their faces not even having time to shift to terror.

No time to flee.

No time to question why their Aeon would destroy them.

The arrow of light consumed everything.

The Yuque Celestial Ark, this colossal, world-sized vessel that had sailed the stars for thousands of years…

Under the Reignbow’s arrow of light, it was instantly torn apart like paper.

The light didn’t just explode; it unmade.

The ark, its fleets, its people, its history… all of it was annihilated.

Turning into cosmic dust.

…

At the same time.

Xianzhou Luofu, Seat of Divine Foresight.

You were sitting in the main command chair, the one that once belonged to Jing Yuan, preparing to review the latest battle report. A small icon on the star map, labeled “Yuque,” had just blinked… and vanished.

Suddenly, the great doors to the hall burst open.

The Astral Express Crew.

Welt walked at the forefront, his expression grimmer and more serious than you had ever seen.

“Orion… that’s your real name, isn’t it?”

You looked up at them, your mask of “Jiang Xuan” falling away.

You neither denied nor admitted.

“Decades ago, one of the ‘Yaoqing Four Royals’ of the Celestial Ark Yaoqing,” Welt continued, his voice echoing in the hall. “A prodigy, a hero.”

[Inorin’s Note: The “Yaoqing Four Royals” was likely a title for a group of renowned, powerful Cloud Knights from the Yaoqing ark, similar to the Luofu’s “High-Cloud Quintet.”]

“During the Battle of Fanghu, you were struck by the Reignbow’s arrow of light and should have died.”

Welt’s eyes were sharp. “But for some unknown reason, you survived.”

“And you infiltrated the Xianzhou Luofu under the identity of Jiang Xuan.”

Himeko took over, her arms crossed. “We investigated all the clues. We connected with our contacts in the Galaxy.”

“Jing Yuan’s scheme, Yaoguang’s death, General Huaiyan’s demise…”

“And this civil war sweeping across the Xianzhou… you orchestrated it all, didn’t you?” March 7th looked at you angrily, her hand on her bow. “How could you do such a thing?”

“So many innocent people died because of you!”

Dan Heng said coldly, his grip tight on his spear, “Stop this. This isn’t what your friends would want to see.”

“They wouldn’t want you to destroy the entire Xianzhou for revenge.”

And Stelle…

She stood at the very back, her golden eyes fixed on you.

Her eyes held shock, confusion, and more than anything… a deep, profound hurt.

The “Jiang Xuan” who had taken her to the lantern festival, who had smiled at her, who she had felt that strange, deep connection with… was a lie.

“Orion…” she finally said, her voice small.

“The divination… was that a lie, too?”

“What exactly do you want to do?”

“For revenge… are you really going to drag everyone down with you?!”

She took a step forward, her knuckles white on the handle of her baseball bat.

Seeing her hurt gaze, your heart tightened. A genuine, unwelcome pang of pain.

But quickly, you suppressed that emotion, burying it under millennia of rage.

“You wouldn’t understand.”

You stood up, your voice cold. “You haven’t lost the most important people in your life.”

“You haven’t watched your friends and your family die right before your eyes, completely powerless.”

“You haven’t experienced the absolute despair of being abandoned—and targeted—by the very Aeon you dedicated your life to.”

Welt frowned. “But that’s not a reason to involve the innocent.”

“Innocent?”

You sneered, the sound sharp and bitter.

“When the Reignbow’s arrow of light fell on Fanghu all those years ago, was my sister innocent?”

“Was Neergul innocent? Was Jiang Li innocent?”

“Were the millions who died on the Yuque just now not innocent? Tell me, Welt, where is the line?!”

“Enough.”

Welt raised his hand, his cane dematerializing.

“Since you’re so deluded…” A small, gravitational anomaly, a tiny black hole, began to form in his hand. “Then I can only forcibly stop you!”

“Heh heh…”

At that precise moment, a petite figure suddenly flickered into existence behind Welt.

It was “Fu Xuan.”

“Such a predictable move, Mr. Welt,” Phantylia’s voice purred, replacing Fu Xuan’s.

She extended her hand and lightly touched the nascent black hole.

It instantly collapsed, the energy fizzling out.

Immediately after, before Welt could even register the impossible speed, a destructive force pierced through his body.

“Pfft—”

Welt spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes wide with shock. Her hand, now a dark, energy-wreathed claw, had impaled him from behind.

He was sent flying, crashing into a main support pillar.

“WELT!” Himeko screamed, her briefcase unfolding as she summoned her orbital laser.

Dan Heng also stopped hiding; the azure dragon’s horns emerged from his forehead, and the ancient, oceanic power of the Dragon Lord was unleashed.

March 7th drew her bowstring taut, an arrow of pure ice forming.

And Stelle…

She looked at Welt’s unmoving form, slumped against the pillar.

She looked at you, Orion, standing silently by the command chair.

She looked at “Fu Xuan,” who was now giggling, her form flickering to reveal Phantylia.

Her heart, once filled with conflict, was now cold.

In the end, she still raised her weapon.