Chapter 94: Stars Fall, the Sea of Stars Boils, and the Galaxy Burns!
A colossal figure clad in grotesque, jagged heavy armor dominated every public screen across the Xianzhou Luofu. A tri-colored visor completely obscured its face, radiating an oppressive, mechanical malice.
"I am the vanguard under the command of the Lord Ravager!" The voice boomed, distorted and dripping with synthetic arrogance. "Cherish every pathetic breath of air you can still draw. Soon, you will be cast into the grand furnace of Destruction. Your flesh will melt, your minds will break, and you shall be reforged as Voidrangers to serve the Antimatter Legion!"
The armored figure leaned closer to the camera lens.
"Naturally, this grand ascension includes your precious General. Hear the words of that Great One: 'I wonder if the Xianzhou Luofu would tear itself apart in internal strife if their beloved General were twisted into a mindless Voidranger?'"
The figure raised a massive, spiked gauntlet.
"The stars shall fall upon your heads! The sea of stars shall boil before your very eyes! This entire galaxy shall burn to ash in the fires of Destruction's wrath!"
Rekka's outrageously arrogant declaration echoed through every street, plaza, and skiff port on the Luofu.
Panic erupted immediately.
"A Lord Ravager?!"
"Is the Antimatter Legion launching a full-scale assault?!"
Inside the Seat of Divine Foresight, technicians scrambled over their consoles. "Confirm the source of the signal! Trace it immediately!"
"Unable to track! The enemy has completely overridden all public broadcast channels!"
"Attempting to establish a firewall, but their encryption is—"
"Forget about blocking the broadcast! Just find out where they are hiding!"
Meanwhile, deep within a secluded container terminal far from the panic...
Silver Wolf lounged against a stack of metal crates, casually blowing a bubblegum bubble. She tapped at her holographic keyboard, leisurely monitoring the absolute chaos unfolding across dozens of hijacked surveillance feeds.
"Rekka? Earth to Rekka?"
"What."
"Oh, nothing. Just checking if you were still in there." March 7th scratched her pink hair, eyeing the towering, heavily armored figure standing beside them. "You seriously look like a final boss right in the middle of a villain arc. It's a little intimidating."
"Relax. I'm just projecting my current chaotic energy outward to manifest this armor." The tri-colored visor shifted, the mechanical voice dropping its booming distortion to return to Rekka's usual dry tone.
March 7th crossed her arms. "By the way... is this ridiculous plan actually going to work?"
"I fully expect the Xianzhou authorities are already firing up the Matrix of Prescience to calculate my exact coordinates," Rekka said, the heavy metal plates of his gauntlet clanking as he gestured. "You can think of that giant contraption as a divine supercomputer. As long as it gathers enough variables and information, it can deduce the answer to practically any question."
Stelle leaned against her baseball bat, rubbing her chin in deep thought. "So your massive, system-wide provocation actually worked?"
"Oh, absolutely. They probably want to execute me by a thousand cuts right about now." Rekka's smugness practically radiated through the thick layers of his villainous armor.
"Why are you sounding so proud of that..." March 7th muttered, her eye twitching.
"Because I didn't show my true face," Rekka explained, tapping the side of his helmet. "The one declaring war on the Xianzhou is a bloodthirsty vanguard serving a Lord Ravager. What does that have to do with me, Rekka, a humble and law-abiding Trailblazer of the Astral Express?"
It was like the old internet joke: If the authorities are looking to arrest the rebel Lu Xun, what does that have to do with the innocent citizen Zhou Shuren?
"Whoa, you weren't kidding. It really worked." Silver Wolf swiped a finger through the air, expanding several surveillance windows from various sectors. Cloud Knights were mobilizing in droves, their halberds gleaming under the artificial lights. "Right now, everyone on the Xianzhou, from the highest general to the lowest street vendor, wants to drag you out and mount your head on a pike."
"Hiss..." Rekka drew in a sharp breath, the metallic vocalizer turning it into static. "I suddenly have another brilliant idea."
He raised a single, armored finger.
Silver Wolf caught his drift instantly. A wicked smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth as her fingers flew across her holographic interface, seizing absolute control of the Luofu's broadcast system once more.
"Hear this, denizens of the Luofu!" Rekka's booming, distorted voice returned to the public channels, echoing off the towering skyscrapers. "That Great One has already smuggled the Stellaron directly into your midst! In exactly six system hours, Lord Celenova's fleet and the vast, endless swarm of the Legion will descend upon the Luofu! Consider this your final notice of Destruction, you pathetic cowards!"
Naturally, the actual Lord Ravager Celenova was lightyears away and definitely could not make it in six hours. But 'that Great One'—Phantylia—was indeed hiding right here on the Luofu.
Somewhere deep within the shadows of the Xianzhou, the true mastermind holding the Stellaron was currently experiencing an overwhelming urge to start screaming profanities.
Phantylia's elegant disguise masked a storm of pure, unadulterated confusion.
Who the hell are you?!
A vanguard under a Lord Ravager? How come I don't remember the Antimatter Legion employing a theatrical talent like you?
Her golden eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flashing within them. Interesting. Very interesting.
Someone out there was actively using her banner to publicly declare war on the Xianzhou Luofu. They were deliberately maxing out the entire alliance's hatred, drawing every single eye toward the Legion, and then... then what? What was the endgame here?
Phantylia gripped her fan tightly, the bamboo ribs groaning under the pressure. She felt utterly set up. She had been thrown directly under the star-skiff, and she hadn't even noticed who was pulling the strings to lay the trap!
Back at the container terminal, the immediate tension on Rekka's side had temporarily eased.
"Okay, so now that everyone is panicking..." Stelle raised a finger, her golden eyes blinking slowly. "Can we finally take advantage of this massive chaos to sneak in, find the Xianzhou General, explain our actual situation, and get our wanted posters revoked?"
"Of course..." Rekka began, his armored shoulders dropping. Then, he violently shook his head. "...Not!"
"Eh?" Stelle blinked, genuinely dazed by the sudden whiplash.
"Then... then what exactly are you doing?" she asked, gesturing vaguely at his terrifying armor. "Isn't this whole theatrical performance supposed to be setting the stage for us to negotiate with the General?"
"I just publicly announced that I'm about to make the stars fall, the sea of stars boil, and the galaxy burn!" Rekka clenched his massive, spiked fist, thrusting it into the air with dramatic flair. "And you're telling me we should just walk in and make peace with the Xianzhou right now?!"
He turned to face the two girls. "Besides, I've already decided exactly what kind of big villain roles you and March 7th are going to play in this masterpiece!"
"Whoa, why didn't you say so earlier?" Stelle's confusion vanished in an instant, replaced by a spark of chaotic enthusiasm. She gripped her bat. "Say no more, brother. Just tell me who I'm hitting and what I'm doing."
"From this moment onward, you are the Lord Ravager, Celenova."
Stelle froze. "?"
Her expression morphed rapidly. It went from completely blank, to wide-eyed shock, and finally settled into a very subtle, highly dangerous excitement.
"You mean..." Stelle whispered, a grin creeping onto her face. "You want me to impersonate a Lord Ravager?"
"Exactly! Think about it. Your name means 'Star', and Celenova's title shares that exact same root in the old tongue. So why not? Besides, Celenova is famous for spreading Stellarons everywhere she goes, and you literally have a Stellaron sealed inside your body. If you round up the details, you are objectively the best candidate in the universe to play Celenova!"
"That is rounding up way too far!" March 7th yelled from the sidelines, utterly dumbfounded by the sheer leap in logic.
"Are you two actively trying to ascend to the heavens through sheer stupidity?! Impersonating a Lord Ravager? What happens if the real Celenova actually shows up to complain?!"
"The real Celenova is definitely busy turning some random planet into glass in a far-off corner of the galaxy right now. She doesn't have time to check the local Luofu news," Rekka argued, his tone brimming with righteous confidence. "We're just borrowing her name for a bit. She definitely won't know. And honestly, even in the absolute worst-case scenario—wouldn't it be better if Celenova actually did show up?"
He crossed his arms, the metal plates grinding together. "Think about it. If she comes, all of the Xianzhou's hatred will instantly shift to her. We can just slip away in the ensuing chaos, grab some popcorn, and watch the show."
March 7th opened her mouth to retort, paused, and then slowly closed it. "...I actually can't argue with that logic. It's terrifyingly sound."
"As for you, Senior March—"
"Oh! I have an idea!" March 7th shot her hand into the air, bouncing on her heels as she volunteered eagerly. "I'll be the deep-cover mole! The kind lurking right next to the big villain. Then, at the perfect, dramatic moment, I'll stab the villain right in the heart, laugh triumphantly toward the sky, and reveal my true identity to the stunned crowd!"
Stelle snorted, leaning on her bat. "Forget about being a mole, March. An honest kid like you would blow your cover and get caught before you even made it past the front door."
"Now, that's not necessarily true," Rekka said, waving a dismissive hand at Stelle. "What if? What if our dear Senior March is actually a natural-born talent at espionage?"
Stelle deadpanned. "Don't make me laugh."
"Alright, alright, settle down." Rekka reached into a compartment on his armor and pulled out a small, ominous device. He solemnly placed it into March 7th's palm. "Senior March, you will have the most important role of all."
He looked her dead in the eye. "From now on, you are the Commander-in-Chief of Celenova's vanguard fleet."
"...Huh?" March 7th stared at the device. "What's this?!"
"This is the remote control button for the Hyperion's main cannons," Rekka explained casually. "Pressing it will command the ship to perform a 'Grazing Fire' attack directly across the Luofu's airspace. It definitely packs enough firepower to shake the orbital defenses of any Xianzhou ship with a single shot."
March 7th stared at the glowing red button resting innocently in her hand. She swallowed hard, a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek.
"Are... are you absolutely sure nothing will go wrong?"
"I'm sure." Rekka patted her shoulder reassuringly, the heavy metal of his gauntlet surprisingly gentle. "And don't worry. When the time comes, you'll stand high above the battlefield, press that button, and watch those massive beams of destructive light graze right past the Xianzhou. Trust me, that feeling? It is definitively the most satisfying moment of playing the villain."
March 7th's breathing quickened. The sheer chaotic thrill of the idea was starting to infect her.
"Then... then what lines should I say?"
"That's easy." Rekka cleared his throat, his voice dropping an octave as he adopted a dark, theatrical tone. "Something like: 'Mere ants, you dare stand in the path of Destruction? Then perish along with your precious Xianzhou!'"
March 7th frowned. "Too long. I can't remember all that."
Rekka sighed. "Then just say, 'Fire!'"
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