『 At a time of crisis, this Borisin roared at his companion and then blocked Feixiao's path himself.
And Feixiao did not try to stop Borisin as he fled, letting him leave safely.
[ Why didn't you kill me? ]
Looking at Feixiao standing before him, Borisin questioned.
[ I still have some questions that haven't been answered. ]
Feixiao spoke in reply.
[ As someone who was once a battle slave, you should be very familiar with us descendants of Duran… ]
[ You want me to talk? Fine, try whatever you want, but I assure you, you won't get anything from me... Only fangs and blood. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Paimon: "Ugh… such a tough attitude?"
Paimon: "Can you get anything out of someone like that?"
Boothill: "Muddle-fudger, what a tough guy he's pretending to be?"
Boothill: "I don't believe he'd still be saying things like that if he fell into my hands."
Feixiao: "The Borisin are bloodthirsty and cruel, and their bones are indeed hard."
Feixiao: "They would rather die than say anything extra."
Stelle: "Well, since it's hard to get anything out of him, let's just finish him off."
Stelle: "Besides, I can see that General Feixiao's intention wasn't him, but that Borisin she deliberately let escape."
March 7th: "So why did General Feixiao let a messenger escape?"
March 7th: "If he goes back and brings the news to Hoolay, will Hoolay still come to the Starskiff Haven?"
Furina de Fontaine: "Perhaps General Feixiao never intended for Hoolay to come to Starskiff Haven in the first place?"
Furina de Fontaine: "Anyway, General Feixiao must have already figured out a plan."
Furina de Fontaine: "That's why she came here and deliberately pulled a stunt like this."
....
『 [ If I were to do that, I wouldn't be any different from you. ]
[ I am the sharp arrow piercing the wolf's heart, and I grant you a swift death. ]
Feixiao shook her head and drew her weapon.
[ …This is just as I wished. ]
[ A lone wolf has long since prepared itself for the inability to return home. ]
[ It's a pity you failed to catch my companion… He will warn the others— ]
The dying Borisin raised his head and sneered.
[ Before you close your eyes, you should know that I am the one who allowed him to escape. ]
[ Your companions will lead the Cloud Knights to find Hoolay's whereabouts. ]
With that, Feixiao thrust her strike into the Borisin's chest.
A shrill scream rang out instantly, and returned to silence a moment later.
[ Is this showing mercy…?! ]
[ Letting the Borisin escape and then hunting him down along his route. ]
Yanking had already figured out Feixiao's tactics by now.
[ This is the Borisin's most common hunting tactic. ]
[ I know these fiends' methods all too well. ]
[ They always leave a path of escape, letting their prey flee in panic. ]
[ Followed by a nearly playful chase and hunt; amidst the miserable states of their victims, the Borisin always find immense satisfaction… ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Hu Tao: "This is a common tactic of the Borisin?"
Hu Tao: "Sounds like a wolf pack toying with its prey."
Lumine: "General Feixiao understands these Borisin methods—could it be from personal experience?"
Feixiao: "Ha, you guessed right."
Feixiao: "Once upon a time, I witnessed with my own eyes how cruelly they toyed with their prey."
Feixiao: "And I even became the prey, chased by them like that."
Feixiao: "So, the me of today will likewise inflict the tactics they hold so dear upon these fiends!"
Feixiao: "Let them too experience the despair of being treated as prey!"
Stelle: "Yes!"
Stelle: "So satisfying!"
Stelle: "I approve of General Feixiao's approach!"
Yanqing: "So next, we just need to follow that fleeing Borisin to easily find Hoolay?"
Yanqing: "But he's still in a bustling area…"
Yanqing: "What should we do about this?"
Yunli: "If you ask me, we should still dispatch the Cloud Knights to evacuate the civilians there."
Yunli: "That's the safest way."
Robin: "But those disguised Borisin are still lurking in the crowd."
Robin: "If we don't weed them out, the process of evacuating the crowd will also be very dangerous, right?"
March 7th: "Let's just see what General Feixiao decides to do."
March 7th: "Maybe the General will capture Hoolay in a single strike and then use him to threaten the other Borisin into submission?"
Hu Tao: "Oh, now that's a good idea!"
....
『 [ Are these things you witnessed with your own eyes? ]
[ That fellow called you a… battle slave, so what on earth have you been through? ]
Yanqing looked at Feixiao, his expression somewhat complex.
[ Just a vague past, one I can barely remember anymore. ]
[ A long time ago, I… used to be one of those who walked among them. ]
Feixiao hesitated for a moment before explaining.
[ You're a Borisin?! But you're clearly a Foxian? ]
Stelle didn't understand what Feixiao meant.
[ Not all Foxians are fortunate enough to be born within the domains of the Xianzhou… ]
[ I grew up in a world pastured by the Borisin. ]
[ Yaoqing calls those places the fallen territories. ]
[ To the wolf-headed masters, Foxians are merely their property… ]
[ Cannon fodder used to hold back the Xianzhou's offensive during frontline charges. ]
Feixiao spoke in a deep tone, recounting the misfortune of some Foxians.
[ But the General… survived, and not only that, became the General of Yaoqing! ]
[ If given the chance, I'd really love to hear stories of the General's past. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
March 7th: "General Feixiao is truly a legend among legends!"
March 7th: "From a Borisin battle slave to the General who routed the Borisin on Yaoqing Xianzhou."
March 7th: "It's hard to imagine what General Feixiao went through in the process!"
Yanqing: "Yeah, I really admire General Feixiao."
Yanqing: "Born in a place like that, and yet she wasn't crushed!"
Yanqing: "What a terrifying will!"
Feixiao: "Hehe, you're exaggerating a bit."
Feixiao: "Actually, for me, the one I should thank the most is the Xianzhou Alliance."
Feixiao: "It was the rescue by the Xianzhou Alliance that gave me this opportunity, wasn't it?"
Furina de Fontaine: "A world pastured by the Borisin…"
Furina de Fontaine: "Just thinking about their pasturing—pasturing living, breathing people—makes my hair stand on end!"
Furina de Fontaine: "Shouldn't such an anti-human race be a target for everyone in the universe?"
Aventurine: "That's right."
Aventurine: "The Borisin's reputation in the universe is no less than that of the Antimatter Legion; of course they're reviled by all."
Hu Tao: "Then why don't they join forces to wipe out the Borisin?"
Topaz: "Haha, well…"
Topaz: "Let's just say that getting the major factions in the universe to unite is not that simple."
Welt Yang: "The major factions in the universe all have their own calculations; it's impossible for them to truly unite on a whim to do a certain thing."
Welt Yang: "Unless there are huge profits to be made from that thing."
Welt Yang: "Besides, the Borisin race has always been the target of the Xianzhou Alliance's Hunt, and other factions generally won't meddle."
Lumine: "Everyone is governing themselves. Perhaps there's no difference from the nations of Teyvat?"
....
『 [ Speaking of which, you remind me; this isn't the time for storytelling. ]
[ Moze, Starskiff Haven has already issued a warning. How is the situation on your end? ]
Feixiao's tone shifted, and she began contacting Moze.
[ I've found their location. Jiaoqiu is sparring with Hoolay, and he… signaled me not to show myself. ]
Moze replied quickly.
[ Trust Jiaoqiu's judgment. Keep monitoring; we'll be right there. ]
Feixiao gave her instructions.
[ By letting the decoy go, Stelle's warning will surely cut off any possibility of Hoolay attacking this place. ]
[ Then how will he respond next? ]
Yanqing fell into contemplation.
[ The hunt isn't over yet. ]
[ Jiaoqiu, you must stay safe… ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Lumine: "First time seeing General Feixiao show such a worried expression."
Paimon: "Her own chef… ugh no… her strategist!"
Paimon: "Her strategist fell into the enemy's hands; it's only natural she'd be worried, right?"
March 7th: "Actually, I feel like General Feixiao, Mr. Jiaoqiu, and Mr. Moze have a relationship more like friends and partners than a normal subordinate relationship."
Feixiao: "You're right."
Feixiao: "That's indeed how I view it."
Feixiao: "Jiaoqiu and I are old acquaintances. Back when I wasn't yet a general, he saved me many times."
Feixiao: "Speaking of which, he's my savior."
Jiaoqiu: "Sigh, what savior? As a healer, saving people is simply my bounden duty."
Feixiao: "But Jiaoqiu, I hope you understand that only by staying alive can you save more people!"
Jiaoqiu: "Hahaha, General, don't you think that words apply just as well to yourself?"
Moze: "Mm, what both of you said makes sense."
Moze: "Then let's both just stay alive."
Stelle: "Moze's remark is so naive."
Stelle: "But it makes total sense."
Jiaoqiu: "Who wants to die if they can live?"
Jiaoqiu: "Isn't it that without taking risks, you don't get what you want?"
Jiaoqiu: "However, with this video predicting the future, it seems I really won't have to throw myself into the wolf's mouth in person."
Jiaoqiu: "I hope the me in the video can pull through and dig up the secret to cracking Moon Rage!"
....
『 The scene shifted, one hour before the start of the Luminary Wardance.
In Exalting Sanctum—
Jiaoqiu was telling Hoolay a story about Feixiao.
Scenes of memories gradually emerged as he narrated.
[ Please… save… me… ]
[ I still want to live… Doctor… ]
A weak voice sounded from the makeshift medical tent, making everyone's heart tremble.
[ Jiaoqiu! Find a medical ingenium and give that kid a shot! Hurry! ]
Hearing this, a healer who was stretched too thin cried out anxiously to Jiaoqiu, with a look of anxiety on his face.
[ I… I understand. How is the front line? ]
Jiaoqiu quickly picked up his medical tools, came before the dying wounded, and asked the question with a worried expression.
[ The Borisin's beast-ships have already landed on Fanghu… It won't be long before this place is breached too. ]
The Cloud Knights stationed here answered Jiaoqiu with a hint of despair.
[ Where is General Yueyu…? Is there any news from her? ]
[ I am her healer; I should be by her side right now. ]
The Cloud Knight's words caused Jiaoqiu's expression to change, and he hurriedly asked again.
[ The General asked me to tell you that she won't be coming back; she must hold the Cloudpeer Telescope. ]
[ The General told you… to save that child! She fought like a madwoman, just to bring all of us back here! ]
[ I've never seen such a terrifying way of fighting… Her body… I felt like her whole self was stretched to the limit… like… ]
At this point, the Cloud Knight's voice grew fainter.
[ The wounded person's blood pressure is bottoming out. ]
[ Did you hear that, Jiaoqiu! ]
The healer beside him shouted urgently at this moment.
[ I heard it loud and clear… Prepare a dose of Tumbledust. ]
[ We must start surgery right now! ]
[ I… will definitely bring her back! ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Guinaifen: "No way, family?"
Guinaifen: "This kind of heart-wrenching flashback scene is back?"
Guinaifen: "That person lying on the operating table, on the verge of death and covered in blood, is General Feixiao, right?"
Fu Xuan: "Fanghu… This was that war from back then…"
Fu Xuan: "The brutality of that war almost brought the Xianzhou Alliance to the brink of collapse…"
Furina de Fontaine: "General Feixiao at this time… looks like she wasn't a general yet."
Furina de Fontaine: "And Mr. Jiaoqiu was that General Yueyu's healer."
Furina de Fontaine: "If I'm not mistaken, General Yueyu was the previous Yaoqing General, right?"
Furina de Fontaine: "Did she… sacrifice herself in this war?"
Feixiao: "Mm, yes."
Feixiao: "To hold the line, she ultimately died in battle…"
Lumine: "Though it's just a memory of Mr. Jiaoqiu's, the pain amidst that wartime atmosphere is still palpable."
Paimon: "I wonder what Mr. Jiaoqiu was thinking back then?"
Paimon: "I always feel like he must have felt so sad and helpless."
Stelle: "Serving as the General's military doctor, yet only able to listen as the General found herself in a desperate situation with no way out."
Stelle: "That's a very despairing feeling."
Jiaoqiu: "Sigh… I never expected to see this scene again…"
Jiaoqiu: "It really makes one… sad…"
Danheng: "In the video, the reason General Feixiao became like this is that she used the power granted by Moon Rage, right?"
Jiaoqiu: "Correct."
Jiaoqiu: "While it brought her immense power, it was also tearing her body apart."
Jiaoqiu: "And if things continued this way, one day she would completely burst apart in battle…"
March 7th: "When the Borisin enter Moon Rage, they don't get like this."
March 7th: "Mr. Jiaoqiu, don't worry, I believe you'll definitely find a way to crack Moon Rage!"
....
『 [ …Is this why you're so desperate to crack the secret from me? ]
[ Can you hear me, Jiaoqiu? ]
Seeing Jiaoqiu seemingly lost in thought, Hoolay raised his voice.
[ I heard you. I heard you loud and clear. ]
Jiaoqiu snapped back from his memories.
[ In that great battle on Fanghu Xianzhou thirty years ago, she saved all of you, but unexpectedly sensed the Borisin bloodline flowing within her at death's door. ]
[ Mok Tok told me that she was a war slave who escaped from the Eclipse Pack. What a twist of fate. Turns out she's from the same clan as I am. ]
Hearing Jiaoqiu's story, a trace of a smile gradually leaked from the corner of Hoolay's mouth.
[ So that's how it is. No wonder the power displayed by that Foxian when she fought was so decisive and cruel… utterly astonishing! ]
[ That was all thanks to her Borisin bloodline. ]
[ Mutt... despicable mutt. ]
Mok Tok began to fiercely curse Feixiao, considering her a traitor.
[ And she used the gift within her bloodline to destroy the Borisin. ]
[ Moon Rage, a blessing for wolves, and a curse for foxes. ]
[ To the Borisin, having their bodies torn apart and being beastified by Moon Rage in battle… is the supreme joy. ]
[ But for Foxians like you with limited self-healing abilities, it's a dead end. ]
[ Accompanied by the burning rage surging in her heart, this Foxian General fought friend and foe alike without distinction, battling endlessly. The scars blooming on her body didn't come from the enemy's weapons, but from the immense power she couldn't bear. ]
[ One day, she will die as a monster, torn apart. ] 』
『 ....』