Honkai Star Rail: I Played the Villain, Now the Heroines Want Revenge — Chapter 249

Chapter 249: My Turn to Act

The moment Orion’s words fell, the chaotic surroundings became utterly silent.

Jing Yuan’s prepared charge froze, his surprise immense.

He just… what did he say?

Leave it to him?

Alone?

Facing the Lord Ravager Phantylia, who had merged with the Ambrosial Arbor and whose strength was now unfathomable… even he and Dan Heng, Imbibitor Lunae, were defeated together.

And this man… this outsider…

He actually said he wanted to fight her alone?

Jing Yuan recalled the boast from the pink-haired girl in the Palace of Astrum.

“He’s super amazing! Even a Lord Ravager can be beaten down by him!”

He had heard about Asat Pramad, of course. But hearing about it was one thing; witnessing this… this arrogance firsthand was another.

This was truly… unbelievable…

Fu Xuan, in the distance, also opened her small mouth in shock.

She looked at the back facing away from everyone, facing the Lord Ravager alone, her mind a mess.

What?!

He wants to fight a Lord Ravager who has merged with the Ambrosial Arbor, all by himself?

Is he crazy?!

That’s Phantylia, an Emanator of Destruction, and she’s drawing power from a Great Stellaron!

But…

For some reason, as she looked at that calm, steady back, she inexplicably recalled the white-haired Foxian named “Jiang Xuan” from her dream.

He seemed… just as… infuriatingly confident.

Fu Xuan felt her heart skip a beat, uncontrollably.

However, compared to the shock and confusion of the Xianzhou natives, the reactions of the Astral Express Crew were much more ordinary.

After hearing Orion’s words, March 7th and Stelle showed no concern; instead, they reacted as if they had heard something completely natural.

The two were unfazed.

They even cooperatively, one on each side, grabbed the arms of Welt and Dan Heng, who hadn’t yet reacted, and started pulling them backward.

“Let’s go, let’s go! Uncle Yang, Dan Heng, let’s quickly retreat and make space for Orion!”

“Exactly! Don’t interfere with my good brother’s performance!”

“…”

Jing Yuan looked at their practiced, casual demeanor, then at Orion in front.

These… these Astral Express Crew members, are they all this… unconventional?

They truly… trust him that much?

Phantylia’s expression had already turned somewhat ugly at this moment.

She had specifically used the power of the Ambrosial Arbor to boost her strength to its maximum.

But she never expected her primary method of attack—the regenerating vines—to be so easily, so conceptually, thwarted by Orion.

What made her feel even more humiliated was that the other party now claimed to challenge her alone!

What arrogance! What contempt!

“Oh? It seems I still underestimated you, little Emanator.”

Phantylia’s voice turned cold, her killing intent surging, the very air in the cavern growing heavy.

“However, that was just an appetizer.”

She raised her enormous, porcelain hands, palms facing upward.

“To crush a disobedient ant…”

“There’s nothing more fitting than dropping a star.”

The entire Scalegorge Waterscape shook violently!

A massive celestial body, a miniature, captured star burning with black-purple flames of Destruction, condensed before Phantylia’s chest!

It was pure, chaotic energy, drawn from the Great Stellaron within the Arbor.

It carried enough power to level the entire Waterscape, and even half of the Luofu, as it plummeted toward Orion below!

[Inorin’s Note: Scalegorge Waterscape is the subterranean area where the Ambrosial Arbor’s roots are sealed.]

“Be careful!”

Fu Xuan, in the distance, cried out in alarm at this sight.

The power of this strike had already exceeded the scope of an Emanator!

Even she, even General Jing Yuan in perfect condition, would absolutely not be able to confront it head-on!

Escape…

He can only escape…

However.

Facing that giant, falling star, Orion didn’t even lift an eyelid.

He merely extended one hand, gently raising it toward the rapidly falling celestial body.

His posture was calm, as if he were catching a falling snowflake.

The next second.

A scene that everyone present would remember for the rest of their lives unfolded.

That destructive celestial body, burning with the power to end a civilization…

Actually… stopped.

It just suddenly hovered in front of Orion, a mere foot from his palm.

All its might, all its kinetic energy, all its chaotic, destructive power, was utterly confined within that small space!

The sound of its burning roar was silenced.

The light of its terrible power was snuffed out.

It was just… held.

Then, Orion slowly closed his fingers.

“Crack…”

A single, tiny crack appeared on that “star,” capable of destroying everything.

Immediately after, the cracks spread like a spiderweb, rapidly covering the entire celestial body!

“Bang!”

That destructive celestial body was actually…

Crushed.

Crushed by Orion with a single hand.

The black-purple energy scattered like harmless, silent fireworks, then vanished into thin air midway, erased from existence.

“…”

“…”

Silence.

Absolute, profound silence.

Whether it was the Cloud Knights entangled with the Voidrangers, or Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan in the distance.

At this moment, all of them had their mouths wide open, staring blankly at the man who had just crushed a “star” with one hand.

March 7th’s bow was almost slipping from her grasp.

“I… I didn’t see wrong, did I? He just… he crushed that… that big fireball… he crushed it?”

Stelle also looked stunned; she subconsciously rubbed her eyes, then pinched March 7th’s cheek. Hard.

“Hiss— that hurts! Stelle, don’t pinch my face! It’s real!”

Although they had long known that Orion was very strong, strong enough to challenge a Lord Ravager alone.

But knowing was one thing; witnessing such an unimaginable, casual, god-like scene firsthand was another.

This was beyond what “strong” could describe!

Welt pushed his glasses, which had slipped down his nose, and his eyes beneath the lenses were also filled with profound shock.

He recalled the scene in Belobog when Orion slew Asat Pramad.

At that time, while Orion’s strength was considerable, it was after an intense, desperate battle.

But now… how much time had passed?

His strength had actually made such a terrifying, conceptual leap again?

Could it be that he… was still hiding his strength from us before?

This power… it’s not Elation… it’s… something else.

Meanwhile, Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan’s reactions were even more exaggerated than those of the Astral Express Crew.

Jing Yuan was completely frozen at this moment, his mouth slightly agape, his eyes filled only with awe.

As the General of the Luofu, having commanded the Xianzhou military for centuries, he had seen countless strong individuals and engaged in several battles with Emanators of Abundance.

But he had never witnessed such a scene.

That was a star dropped by Phantylia, using the full power of the Ambrosial Arbor!

The power of that strike was enough to completely erase the Scalegorge Waterscape from the Luofu’s map!

Yet this young man named Orion actually…

Crushed it with one hand? Like a piece of fruit?

Jing Yuan’s heart was in turmoil.

He suddenly recalled March 7th’s earlier remark in the Palace of Astrum: “There’s simply no problem in this universe that he can’t solve.”

At the time, he thought it was just the little girl’s boasting and exaggeration.

Now it seemed… what she said might all be true.

“This man…”

“Who… who exactly is he?”

And Fu Xuan, who had been observing from a distance, was now completely blank-minded.

Her small face was pale, her lips trembling.

The… the bet…

Only those two words remained in her mind.

She had previously thought that even if Orion found the Stellaron, she would still have a chance to seal it first and win the bet.

But now… what was there to bet?!

Was I crazy? she thought, horrified. Was I insane to make a bet with someone who can casually crush a star?!

His move just now, let alone sealing the Stellaron, it probably wouldn’t be difficult for him to uproot the entire Ambrosial Arbor!

Lost… I’m bound to lose!

As soon as she thought of the terms of that bet…

“If I lose… I, Fu Xuan, will serve you like a beast of burden, bringing you tea and pouring water; as long as you are on the Luofu, I will be your personal servant!”

Fu Xuan’s cheeks flushed crimson, her heart filled with both shame and anger.

This hateful guy! He must have done it on purpose!

He already knew he was this strong, so he deliberately used that kind of bet to toy with me!

“Bastard… Orion…”

Fu Xuan bit her lip, cursing Orion a hundred times in her heart.

If everyone present was merely shocked, then Phantylia, as the person involved, could only be described as on the verge of cognitive collapse.

“No… impossible…”

“This is absolutely impossible!”

To deal with Orion, she specifically did not underestimate him like that fool Asat Pramad.

Possessing Tingyun, infiltrating the Xianzhou, guiding the Astral Express Crew step by step, even exposing herself, all to lead them to the deepest part of the Ambrosial Arbor’s roots.

The purpose was to leverage the power of the Ambrosial Arbor and the Great Stellaron to elevate her strength to its absolute peak, to utterly crush this man favored by the Aeon of Finality with absolute advantage, and then mold him into the most perfect Lord Ravager!

She knew the power of that strike just now better than anyone!

It was her ultimate attack, combining her own Path with the power of the Stellaron!

Even Zephyro, who was also a Lord Ravager, couldn’t have taken it so easily, let alone… crushed it with one hand!

This man!

Who exactly is he?!

He’s… he’s not an Emanator of Elation!

What IS this power?!