Chapter 14: Honkai: Star Rail - The Xianzhou General Wouldn't Dream of a Yandere Chapter 14: Dark Clouds Press on the City

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Protagonist:

Xuan Ge

Interstellar war, stripped of those romantic or tragic legendary veils, at its core is often cold and realistic——

It is the crushing of technology levels, the showdown of main gun calibers, the direct dialogue between warship armor and energy shield thickness.

Whose firepower is fiercer, whose defense is sturdier, whose information processing and tactical coordination are faster, the scales of victory tilt toward whom.

The Xianzhou Alliance's blood-soaked struggle entangled with the Abundance abominations for thousands of years certainly has countless epic chapters worthy of song and tears.

But ultimately, it is also built upon this set of cold laws.

The Xianzhou's Vidyadhara technology, Virtual Number application, and fleet scale constituted the cornerstone of their ability to resist the Abundance peoples for so long.

As for those boarding battles and surface melees that often erupt, tragic beyond compare, much of the time they are not what Xianzhou warriors wish for.

But rather for a more direct, often costlier objective:

Before enemy warships or ground nests are utterly destroyed, to rescue and transfer as many innocent natives caught in the flames of war as possible, cutting off the Abundance peoples' path of plunder and corruption.

Never underestimate the four words "Abundance abominations".

That they can be regarded as a heart-and-belly grave threat by the Xianzhou Alliance, this colossal power spanning the star sea, entangled for a thousand years yet unable to be thoroughly eradicated, itself proves their tenacious life force and terrifying adaptability.

Those interstellar civilizations or independent planets with far inferior technology and military strength, before the rampaging Abundance hunting packs, often cannot even organize effective resistance......

And may swiftly decline or mutate under greedy plunder and twisted "bestowals".

At this moment, the outer reaches of the Lia Lan Du Star System, in the cold Void.

A massive fleet is slowly sailing into the star system's gravity well.

These warships are crude and ferocious in shape, as if forcibly fused from giant beast bones, thick biological carapaces, and rough metal.

Most bows are cast with roaring beast head statues, hull surfaces covered in spikes and primitive totem patterns——the Vidyadhara's "Beast Ships".

Inside the command room of one of the most massive, mountain-like Flagship Beast Ships, permeates a turbid air mixed with beast fat, metal, and some kind of stimulant scent.

Vidyadhara officers are staring at a crude but effective star chart projection, marked with the target of this "Honor Hunt"——the Shen Wu Xian Zhou.

Noisy roars and arguments fill the space, discussing how to divide the spoils of war.

And after conquering the Xianzhou, how much prestige bonus their chieftain can gain in the "War Chief" election.

Just then, the Vidyadhara technician responsible for monitoring deep space radar, his originally lazy gaze fixed on the screen, suddenly froze.

On the screen, the large swath of deep blue background representing airspace safety, without any warning, as if soaked in the thickest fresh blood, instantly turned a glaring, heart-palpitating crimson!

Not one or two blips.

But dense, layered, almost completely covering the entire radar screen red signal dots!

They resembled a death swarm manifested from nothingness, from the edge of the radar detection range, at an inconceivably fast speed, surging and enveloping toward the fleet core position like mad!

"I... I f**k!!"

That Vidyadhara officer was originally gnawing on a piece of charred beast meat, seeing this screen like a severe case of trypophobia, scared so his hand shook, the meat chunk falling directly onto the beast hide carpet.

His throat let out a voice-cracked, rough roar mixed with shock and disbelief.

Almost simultaneously, the Vidyadhara responsible for ship control violently slapped the complex control panel before him, screaming hoarsely:

"Report! Jump Engine failure! Spatial stability readings abnormal! Th... this star domain's Virtual Number background parameters have been forcibly solidified!"

His voice sharp from fear.

"Immediately contact the oth..." The officer's words weren't finished yet.

"Report——!!"

The Vidyadhara soldier at the communications station had an even more shrill voice, nearly breaking.

"Third, Ninth vanguard hunting pack fleet signals lost! Energy reactions vanished! They... they were shot down! Just now!!"

The command room fell instantly silent, leaving only heavy terrified breathing and the instruments' urgent alarm sounds representing danger.

Death's Shadow, arrived so swiftly, so thoroughly, not even leaving them time for reaction and fear to spread.

"Forced landing!!"

The officer finally recovered a shred of reason from the initial shock, a roar like a dying beast resounding through the command room.

"All Beast Ships still mobile! Abandon formation, abandon altitude! Seek nearest cover, forced landing on the closest planetary surface! Fast! Send the order! Use all channels!!"

The final order, mixed with desperate howls, transmitted via still-functional comm arrays toward surrounding Beast Ships equally plunged into chaos.

However, just as the order was sent, outside the command room's massive observation window, the deep starry sky was suddenly illuminated by a silent, yet condensed to the extreme, dark blue light pillar!

That light pillar seemed to extend from the end of the universe, precise, cold, carrying an absolute sense of order that annihilates all matter.

The Vidyadhara officer only had time to see that dark blue rapidly enlarge in his field of view, filling his final gaze.

The next instant.

Silent explosion.

The mountain-like Flagship Beast Ship, along with the countless roars and ambitions inside, under that bombardment representing the Xianzhou's highest-grade "Virtual Number Cannon", unable to put up even a shred of effective resistance, was thoroughly pierced, torn apart!

Hull structure collapsed, vaporized under incomprehensible energy impact, turning into a brief, tragic firework in the starry sky, splashed fragments soon thoroughly purified by subsequent even denser cannon fire.

In the command channel, the last things transmitted were only chaotic screams, explosion roars, and desperate "forced landing" howls gradually swallowed by electromagnetic noise.

Not all Beast Ships evaporated instantly like the flagship.

Under the order, the Vidyadhara frantically reversed direction, pushing engine power to overload even scrap limits, scrambling toward the Lia Lan Du Planet——rushing.

They smashed through the atmosphere, falling like meteors wreathed in raging flames, crashing one charred giant crater after another on the planetary surface.

The luckily surviving Vidyadhara warriors like wounded beasts, roared climbing from wreckage, swiftly using terrain and hull debris to construct chaotic yet fierce defensive lines.

At the same moment, high orbit of the Lia Lan Du Star System.

The command center of the Shenwu Xian Zhou First Army's flagship "Shenwei" had an atmosphere starkly different from the chaos and despair of the Bu Li people.

It was bright, clean, and efficient, filled only with the low hum of instruments and the clear, concise reports of communications soldiers.

On the massive curved main screen, a holographic projection of Lia Lan Du planet and real-time tactical data of the surrounding airspace were clearly displayed. Red light dots representing the enemy were being rapidly swept away, with a few stragglers falling toward the planet's surface.

Xuan Ge stood before the command console, upright as a pine.

He wore a full set of general's battle armor, the blue-gold lightning patterns on the armor gleaming with a cold luster under the command room's lights.

His gaze swept calmly over the data streams on the screen, finally settling on the brief intelligence regarding Lia Lan Du.

Lia Lan Du.

It was a planet whose development level hovered around the average of interstellar civilizations; its natural resources were not barren but neither were they rich, and no special minerals or strategic value worth the Interstellar Peace Corporation's massive intervention had been discovered.

It was just one of countless unremarkable civilized worlds in the star sea, developing quietly, living in peace with its neighbors, its greatest wish being nothing more than to remain secluded in a corner.

"First Army, Second Army," Xuan Ge spoke, his voice steady, carrying an undeniable decisiveness that echoed clearly through the quiet command center.

"Prioritize emergency landing operations, clear remaining enemies on the planet's surface, establish forward command posts and defense nodes."

"Operational guidelines: efficient, thorough, minimize additional damage to the planet's ecosystem."

"Third Army, Fourth Army," he turned his gaze to the sub-screen representing the starry battlefield.

"Continue orbital and near-space sweeping missions, annihilate all enemy units lingering in the airspace, ensure absolute control of air supremacy. Strictly monitor nearby jump windows to prevent enemy reinforcements."

"Fifth Army," he finally looked toward the communication channel representing logistics and civil coordination.

"Immediately contact Lia Lan Du's local government and major settlements, explain the situation, activate emergency plans, and assist local residents with emergency evacuation and shelter."

"Communication principles: clear, direct, provide necessary aid."

The orders were concise and clear, and officers at all levels accepted and executed them without hesitation.

The massive Shenwu warship fleet immediately operated like a precise war machine, running efficiently.

Some warships adjusted their angles and began entering the atmosphere in an orderly fashion;

others continued to roam the starry sky, the faint glow of main gun charging flashing intermittently, clearing sporadic resistance;

while some slightly smaller transport and landing ships with more peaceful paint schemes headed toward several major cities on the planet.

The people of Lia Lan Du were not isolated primitive tribes.

They possessed their own interstellar navigation capabilities, though limited to low-speed travel within their star system or neighboring star systems.

A few years ago, when the terrifying news arrived that Destruction Envoy Xing Xiao was advancing the battlefront and war might spread to this star system, the entire planet once fell into great panic and a wave of flight.

It was the Xianzhou Alliance, that General Shenwei, like a suddenly appearing, insurmountable Sigh Wall, that forcibly blocked the flood of destruction outside the Sui Xing Dai, buying them a chance to breathe.

They were not ungrateful people.

After the crisis eased, Lia Lan Du once sent a delegation, carrying what they considered their most precious gifts, to Shenwu Xian Zhou to express their gratitude.

The gifts were politely declined, but a small-scale trade based on equality quietly began.

The people of Lia Lan Du always held a distant gratitude and awe for that legendary General Shenwei.

Today, when a vast, dark fleet tore through the clouds, descending upon the planet's orbit and skies with an awe-inspiring majesty and energy fluctuations that made souls tremble....

All Lia Lan Du people who witnessed this scene through observation equipment felt their hearts nearly stop at the same moment, then race wildly, as immense fear instantly seized everyone.

Their deepest nightmares seemed to have come true—their homeland had become the battlefield of a brutal interstellar war!

And this time, what came seemed not to be Destruction, but another kind of armed force they could not understand at all, equally suffocating.

Just as panic was about to spread out of control, a silver landing ship bearing the Xianzhou emblem, relatively "small" in size, landed steadily in the central square of Lia Lan Du's largest city, "Blue Crown."

The door opened, and a squad of about twenty soldiers, wearing standard Shenwu light armor and moving with efficiency, filed out.

They did not raise their weapons, but their uniform movements and profound, calm demeanor carried a powerful sense of oppression.

Leading them was a field officer of not low rank.

His gaze swept over the terrified crowds gathered around the square, and over a group of people hurrying over, wearing local Archon attire.

Without extra pleasantries, he spoke directly, his voice clearly broadcast through amplification devices:

"We are the Shenwu Army of the Xianzhou Alliance. This place has been designated as a combat zone against the Bu Li hunting packs. Who is the highest administrative official here?"

The crowd stirred, and finally, a middle-aged man with a carefully groomed goatee, wearing a deep blue robe embroidered with silver patterns, stepped forward, forcing himself to remain calm..

According to Lia Lan Du etiquette, he placed his right hand on his left shoulder and bowed slightly:

"Hon... honorable Xianzhou envoy, I am Eric Solan, current Chief Executive Officer of Lia Lan Du. On behalf of all the people of Lia Lan Du, I pay tribute to the Xianzhou Alliance."

The field officer nodded, returning the courtesy, then delivered the command in an undeniable tone, steady in pace and clear in content:

"Archon Sir. According to the Alliance's 'Regulations on Wartime Emergency Status and Interstellar Conflict Zone Management,' and the order of our supreme commander General Shenwei:

The surface of Lia Lan Du planet is now officially designated as a combat zone for the Shenwu Army to mop up remaining Bu Li forces.

To ensure the safety of your civilians' lives and property, we now require your government, with assistance from our Fifth Army, to immediately and orderly organize all non-combat personnel to evacuate major cities and potential combat zones.

To the safety zones or temporary shelters designated by us."

He paused, adding in a slightly softened but still crisp military tone:

"During evacuation and resettlement, we will provide necessary escort, medical care, and basic supplies.

After the war, the Alliance will send professional assessment and reconstruction teams to assist you in restoring damaged facilities, and according to relevant interstellar laws, reasonably assess and compensate for losses you suffered due to the war."

Orders were orders, with no room for negotiation.

This was the naked law between stars—the most direct and realistic arrangement of the strong toward the weak: protection, but obedience required.

It was also the consistent style of the Shenwei Army: strong intervention, efficient resolution, clean and proper post-war handling, never dragging things out.

After hearing this, Chief Executive Officer Eric Solan lost the last trace of color on his face, but he took a deep breath, bowed again, his voice trembling yet striving to remain calm:

"Yes... we understand. All the people of Lia Lan Du obey General Shenwei's orders. We... we will immediately organize the evacuation."

He hesitated not at all. Not only because of the irresistible force of the other side, but also because of the thin yet real trust built during limited contact with the Xianzhou over the past few years.

He knew that facing the Bu Li, their fate was only slaughter or enslavement;

while facing the Xianzhou Shenwu Army, although their homeland might be damaged, at least... people could still survive.

Even, it was possible as this school officer said, that after the war they would obtain assistance and enhancement far exceeding their own capabilities.

He immediately turned around, using his loudest voice, shouting at the panic-stricken colleagues and civilians behind him:

"Did you all hear? Obey the Xian Zhou's arrangements! Act immediately! District officials, follow the emergency plan, organize the civilians, follow the Xian Zhou's guidance, evacuate in an orderly manner! Quickly!!"

Orders were passed down layer by layer; the initial panic, under clear commands and the Shen Wu Army soldiers' efficient yet not rough guidance, gradually transformed into a tense order.

People carrying simple luggage, supporting the old and leading the young, boarded the transport vehicles provided by the Shen Wu Army, or under ground guidance, surged toward the pre-designated safety zones outside the city.

In the sky above, the massive warship shadows moved slowly, like suspended steel mountain ranges.

On the more distant horizon, the explosive roars of energy weapon fire and dull impact sounds could already be faintly heard.

The Shen Wu Army's vanguard units had already begun exchanging fire with the crash-landed Bu Li Ren remnants.

War, on this peaceful planet, descended with a boom.