[This damn sense of security! Thank you, robot Moze!]
[Thank you, robot Wise!]
[Wise?]
[Hoolay's really pissing me off.]
— —
At Feixiao's suggestion, the group abandons a flashy manhunt, instead focusing on deducing the prey's thoughts and desires.
Starskiff Haven, where the wolf's tracks first appeared, becomes the hunting ground for pursuing the Borisin.
Upon arriving, Feixiao gets straight to the point. Starskiff Haven is typically an automated zone, but today, it's unusually crowded with people.
The group questions suspicious individuals.
…
Soon after, the three return to a meeting point with their interrogation notes.
After some discussion, Yanqing shares his observations.
"It's likely staff from the Sky-Faring Commission. But those two claimed 'Starskiff Haven is locked down' to shoo us away, which contradicts the Cloud Knights' original plan."
Feixiao nods. "Their clumsy disguise ends here. Even if they try to hide, they can't escape."
Feixiao then leads the two to confront the suspicious individuals directly.
In the end, the pair reveal their true forms, transforming into Borisin.
One escapes, while the other blocks Feixiao and her group.
What seemed like a bloody battle is over in an instant—against Feixiao's overwhelming strength, the Borisin has no chance to fight back.
In just one exchange, the Borisin kneels on the ground.
"Why didn't you kill me?"
Feixiao's lips curl slightly. "I still have questions that need answers."
"As a former war slave, you must know us Dulan descendants well… Go ahead, try every method you know to make me talk. All I'll give you is blood and claws."
"If I did that, I'd be no different from you. I am the arrow that pierces the wolf's heart. I grant you a swift death."
"That suits me just fine. A lone wolf is long prepared to never return home." The Borisin lets out a long howl. "Too bad you didn't catch my partner… He'll warn the others."
Feixiao leans close to the Borisin's face, her eyes full of mockery. "Before you close your eyes, you should know I let him escape. Your partner will lead the Cloud Knights to Hoolay's whereabouts."
With that, her blade spear pierces the Borisin's heart.
Bang—
Feixiao pulls the trigger.
[As expected, no Arbiter-General is a pushover.]
[Feixiao's weapon is so cool! It's a blade and a gun! And it actually fires!]
[It's really starting to feel like she's the main heroine.]
[Feels like the protagonist's presence has been so low lately.]
[That's how ensemble casts work—low presence means they're building up other characters.]
[Still, I prefer Belobog's vibe, where the perspective stays firmly on the protagonist.]
— —
Yanqing looks at Feixiao with a hint of admiration. "Is this the 'leave one side open' strategy…? Letting the Borisin escape, then tracking him to hunt them down."
"It's the Borisin's most common hunting tactic." Feixiao holds nothing back, as if patiently teaching. "I know these beasts' methods too well. They always leave an escape route, letting the prey flee in panic. Then comes the almost playful chase, reveling in the victims' misery for immense satisfaction…"
"Did you witness all this yourself? That guy called you… a 'war slave.' So what exactly did you go through?"
After a brief silence, Feixiao responds, "A blurry past, almost forgotten. Long ago, I… was one of them."
Stelle chimes in, "But you're a Foxian?"
"Not all Foxians are fortunate enough to be born in Xianzhou territory… I grew up in a world herded by the Borisin. The Yaoqing calls those places 'fallen lands.'
To the wolf-lord masters, Foxians are just property… cannon fodder to stall the Xianzhou's assault in battle."
[Feels like there's a big story here. miHoYo, you've got to write this history!]
[This history was already hinted at in Season 2.]
[Still brutal. For some reason, it feels like everyone in Star Rail has a pretty tragic backstory.]
— —
Feixiao shifts the topic, redirecting the focus to Jiaoqiu.
"Please… save… me…"
"I still want to live… Doctor…"
"Jiaoqiu, quick, use a medical device to treat that kid! Hurry!"
Countless voices echo in Jiaoqiu's ears.
It's as if he's returned to that darkest era.
Jiaoqiu, dressed in white, is treating a young Foxian. "I… I understand. What's the situation at the front?"
"The Borisin's beast fleet has landed on Fanghu… It won't be long before this place falls too."
Jiaoqiu's brows furrow. "What about General Yueyu…? Any news? I'm her healer; I should be by her side now."
"The general asked me to tell you she's not coming back. She has to hold the 'Cloudview Mirror.'
The general told you… to save that kid. She fought like a madwoman, just to bring us all back here!
I've never seen such a terrifying fighting style… Her body… It felt like she was tearing herself apart… like…"
A nearby healer shouts, "The patient's blood pressure is bottoming out. Did you hear, Jiaoqiu?!"
"I hear you loud and clear… Prepare a dose of 'Stumbling Powder.' We need to start surgery now!"
The perspective shifts to the young Foxian's face, identical to Feixiao's.
Just younger.
"I… will definitely bring her back!"
[Is that Feixiao?]
[Yes.]
[Feels like it's dripping with story.]
[They were just talking about Moon Rage, right?]
— —
Hoolay looks at Jiaoqiu thoughtfully. "So that's why you're so determined to uncover the secret from me? Can you hear me, Jiaoqiu?"
Jiaoqiu clutches his injured arm. "I hear you. I hear you loud and clear."
"Thirty years ago, in that great battle on Fanghu Xianzhou, she saved you all but, on the brink of death, discovered the Borisin blood flowing in her veins."
When mentioning Feixiao, Hoolay lacks the usual contempt for Foxians. "Modu told me she was a war slave who escaped the Eclipse Pack. What marvelous fate—she and I come from the same tribe."
But Modu's hatred for Feixiao is undisguised. "I see. No wonder that Foxian's power, decisiveness, and cruelty in battle… were so astonishing! It's all thanks to her Borisin blood. Mongrel… despicable mongrel general."
Hoolay's lips curl into a grin, and he bursts into laughter. "And she used the gift in her blood to destroy the Borisin.
'Moon Rage,' the wolf's blessing, the Foxian's curse. For Borisin, having their bodies torn apart and beastified in battle is supreme joy. But for you Foxians with limited self-healing, it's a death sentence.
With burning, raging blood surging to her heart, this Foxian general fights friend and foe alike, battling relentlessly. The wounds blooming on her body come not from enemy weapons but from the immense power she cannot bear. One day, she'll die as a monster, torn to pieces.
And to repay her life-saving grace, you're determined to solve this unsolvable mystery."
[You can tell Hoolay really admires Feixiao.]
[It doesn't feel that simple. Remember, being admired by a villain is far more dangerous than being hated.]
[Exactly. A villain admiring you either means they're confident of victory or they're brewing something nasty.]
[Nasty? Dare to out-nasty our Jiaoqiu?]
— —
"Hoolay… do you know what's the most tragic thing for a healer?"
Jiaoqiu is back at the rear of the battlefield.
"All my life, I've poured everything I've learned into wresting lives from monsters like you. Exhausted, I collapse, hands trembling, thinking everything I've done has meaning…
But they rush back to the battlefield. Then, I hear of their deaths. They die under your claws, in the flames of crashing starskiffs, in the light arrows of the Reignbow Arbiter…
I'm like a futile fool, fishing a fish called life from the cauldron of death—watching it struggle and leap back into the boiling broth.
I ask myself, what drives them to charge toward death again after being healed? Why don't they cherish their hard-earned lives? It leaves me confused, empty…"
[Something feels off.]
[Feels like a last will.]
[They're not about to drop a knife, are they?]
[I used to swear it wouldn't happen, but now I'm not so sure.]
[It's all miHoYo's fault!]
[Sigh…]
— —
"Heh…" Hoolay sneers. "I smell despair etched into your bones."
"In the end, I understood—departure has its 'value.' They place the weight of their passing on the hearts of those who remain, giving us more strength. They trade their deaths, like coins, for more…
That's what I'm doing now, staying by your side, just to witness one outcome with my own eyes: your death…
Your death has value too. It will ensure the safety of the Martial Exhibition Ceremony and the healing of Feixiao, whom I saved."
[It's over! I thought there was only a fifty percent chance Jiaoqiu would get knifed.]
[Now it's ninety-nine percent.]
[I said it—scenes with clear purpose are the most despairing. Knowing a character's about to get knifed and watching them step into the abyss of death.]
[It's all miHoYo's fault!]
— —
Yet Hoolay claims he's already seen through everything.
The reason he hasn't killed Jiaoqiu yet is to let him witness firsthand what it means for the Borisin to show their greatest respect to an enemy.
"Devour your flesh to nourish our sinews, crush your dreams to pave our hunting path; let your dead soul bear witness that the future belongs to me!"
At that moment.
Modu interrupts loudly, "My Lord! The comrades tasked with the pickup sent word. The setup at Starskiff Haven has been discovered. We need to move now!"
Hoolay remains unmoved. "This is all within my expectations."
The next moment, he furrows his brow and flicks his ears. "Modu… what's that sound?"
"It's the Skirmisher. The starskiff for the Martial Exhibition Ceremony is setting sail. Damn it, the Sky-Faring Commission will clear the routes then! If our starskiff tries to escape, it'll definitely be spotted."
"Calm down, Modu!" Hoolay snaps. "Look at yourself—skulking, trembling… Where's the dignity of a Borisin?"
"I told you, to ensure your safe return, I don't need dignity! As long as you return to the Borisin pack, there's still hope!"
"Hope?" Hoolay sneers. "The Borisin have long forgotten the 'Ancient Wolf Code'! Weak beasts pin their hopes on the protection of the strong, but true beasts carve a bloody path themselves!
You only want to welcome back 'Hoolay' instead of choosing a new leader, proving the entire pack's decline. And that prophet manipulating you to rescue me? Just a fraud trying to exploit Dulan's descendants!
Modu, let me show you how the Borisin rise! We'll never hide like rats in the Xianzhou's alleys. You should be a hungry wolf with bared fangs, stalking a herd of lambs."
[Honestly, Hoolay's characterization is pretty solid.]
[I don't know what Hoolay was like before, but from this alone, he feels like a true warlord.]
[Hoolay's got some brains, for sure.]
[Hoolay embodies the dignity and pride of a leader.]
[Exactly. I said it—a real villain doesn't need redemption.]
[Didn't expect the recent characters to be so well-crafted. Lone wolf and Warhead.]
[Haha, so Scott counts as a wolf too?]
— —
Modu continues pleading, "Lord Warhead, our pack isn't here! We can't start a war recklessly!"
"The pack isn't here? No, wherever I tread, there is the pack!"
[Damn, that line's kinda cool!]
[Holy shit, that's a fierce quote!]
[I, am the Swarm?]
[Cowardly acts, I'll never forgive.]
Hoolay slowly approaches a captive Foxian.
The Foxian, sitting on the ground, scrambles backward. "No! Please, no!"
Hoolay bites open the Foxian's neck…
The Foxian twists, transforms, and descends into madness, becoming a Borisin.
The camera shifts to Modu, who's grinning ear to ear.
Jiaoqiu helplessly closes his eyes.
Moze sighs helplessly, his brows tightening further.
After demonstrating his ability to turn Foxians into Borisin, Hoolay calls into the shadows. "You monkey hiding in the dark… Come out!"
Moze emerges from the gloom. "Jiaoqiu."
"Moze… Run!"
"He can't leave, and neither can you. Yaoqing's monkey, you came at the perfect time. Tell your general…
Tell her I'll start here, cutting through the Xianzhou Luofu. From now on, my wolf-blood heirs will hunt in every bustling market, feasting on the believers of the Reignbow Arbiter."
Hoolay grows more frenzied.
"My cubs, follow me, and stride boldly among the prey!"