The restoration of the Han Dynasty began with the Horus Rebellion.

Chapter 22: The next enemy is an Emperor-level Titan?

"I am Liu Bei, Sergeant of the Death Guard Legion... Shasha."

When Sun Qian and Qi Le arrived at the strategic command room of the Great Tyrant, a holographic projection showing severe signal interference was playing on the table.

"Our four legions... rustling... Most of the loyalists have retreated to Demon's Cry Fortress to avoid... the virus bomb... rustling... The Great Tyrant has landed... temporarily safe."

Although it was difficult to hear clearly due to a lot of electrical noise interference, it did vaguely resemble Liu Xuande's voice.

"But... Sasha...we can't reunite with you...Sasha...because the route...was cut off by the firepower of the divine machines...Sasha...will suffer heavy casualties..."

God's Machine?

Sun Qian's heart sank. Generally speaking, this description is only used to describe a certain type of Titan.

Specifically, in the context of the Istvan III battlefield, it should refer to "that" Titan.

"I request... rustling... firepower coordination... at least to distract them... then we can break through... rendezvous... click."

The video ended abruptly there, and as the holographic projection dimmed, Sun Qian could see the other people in the command room.

One of them was, of course, an old acquaintance of Sun Qian's, Gerel Noktua, whom he had known for several hours.

However, the naive fervor that he had shown before was gone from his face; instead, there was an indescribable gloom on his face.

The other Astartes was a rare "veteran," not only because of his seniority but also because of his physical age. His face, etched with deep lines from years of hardship, was covered in wrinkles, and his hair and beard were completely gray.

It was obvious that he was Acton Cruz, the third company commander who ended Abaddon's life.

The third one was not an Astartes but a mortal. He was a tall, thin old man with a well-defined aristocratic face, neatly combed silver hair, and a tidy preacher's uniform. Even with some bloodstains on his body, he still exuded an extraordinary air.

His gaze toward Sun Qian was respectful yet tinged with a hint of fear, and he politely bowed slightly.

"Thank you for providing us with shelter and allowing a mortal like me to participate—"

"Tsk."

Although Sun Qian's clicking of his tongue was slight, it was clearly audible in the quiet command room. Everyone present was somewhat surprised by the disdain and even disgust that Sun Qian showed.

"Mr. Kyrell Sindman was the chief preacher of the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet, and he was the one who helped us escape the Soul of Vengeance. He was also one of the Emperor's chosen ones."

Qi Le's soft voice rang out. She tilted her head slightly and kept observing Sun Qian, as if she was particularly interested in him.

"I know, I'm well aware of his capabilities, which is why I invited him here to discuss this together."

Upon hearing Sun Qian's words, Sindman paused for a moment, then shook his head with a self-deprecating smile.

"Your praise is somewhat excessive. I have indeed persuaded countless people to convert to the Empire's truth in the past, but now I myself am beginning to waver..."

"Don't worry about it. In my opinion, there's no difference between Imperial Truth and Imperial Faith—if they objectively exist, they must have a reason for existing. These are weapons the Emperor uses to defend against enemies. However, since they are weapons, there is a risk of them going out of control and exploding. At least on my ship, I don't want them to go out of control, understand?"

At this point, Sun Qian gave Qi Le a meaningful look. In his opinion, both the woman and the old man were extremely dangerous individuals.

After all, one was the founder of the state religion, and the other was the founder of the court of judgment.

To be honest, considering the negative impact on the human empire for the next ten thousand years, all the rebel legions here, including Horus, might not be as powerful as these two.

But in any case, the empire still needs them now, and Sun Qian also needs their assistance.

That said, Cruz joined the Ranger Knights in the original timeline, an organization that can be considered the predecessor of the Grey Knights.

It truly is a gathering of wise men.

After thinking it over, Sun Qian couldn't help but feel an extraordinary sense of closeness to Greer.

"Sergeant Noktua, could you explain the current situation to me?"

Grell stared wide-eyed in surprise, seemingly somewhat taken aback that Sun Qian still trusted him so much, but he immediately nodded and began operating the war sand table.

"Our current landing site is outside the former planetary capital of Esther City, 20 kilometers away from the closest point to Esther City."

Sun Qian nodded; it seemed the landing point calculation was quite accurate.

Although he knew very well that the loyalist Astartes were all gathered in the Holy Song City, he couldn't set the landing point too close, otherwise he might accidentally crash into it and wipe out the loyalists, which would be a real indirect rebellion.

"According to the information we just received, the Loyalists were originally relying on the fortifications of Holy Song City to fight a defensive battle against the rebel landing force on the outskirts of Holy Song City. However, due to the unexpected incident of the Great Tyrant entering the atmosphere, in order to reduce the possible casualties caused by the landing impact, the Loyalists retreated to the Governor's Mansion 'Demon Cry Fortress', 'War Singer Church' and other shelter buildings."

Grell marked several buildings on the holographic sand table, but it was clear even without marking them that most of the buildings in Holy Song City had been reduced to ruins in the catastrophic impact just now, with only these buildings remaining standing.

"Most of the rebel army chose to retreat urgently, to minimize losses as far away from the landing point of the Great Tyrant as possible... The problem is that they left behind an elite force, carrying the most heavily armed and heavily equipped troops, which not only did not retreat but also took the opportunity to attack Anthem City and seize key routes."

Sun Qian frowned slightly. Logically, this meant being exposed to the shockwave upon landing, so the only reason they dared to act so recklessly was—

"They withstood the landing impact of the Great Tyrant under the Void Shield of the Divine Machines."

Grell switched to the live monitoring feed from the Great Tyrant, and in that instant, everyone present, including Astartes, gasped in shock.

Even though it was dozens of kilometers away, in the ruins of the city of Anthem, one could see that suffocating behemoth at a glance.

This is not just a vehicle; it is a moving city, a mobile mountain.

Beside his unstoppable, massive metal feet, even the Land Raider tanks used by Astartes looked as tiny as beetles.

His left arm is a fortress-level multi-barreled machine gun, which, when it starts to rotate, rains down tons of explosive shells every second.

His right arm is a plasma annihilator, which emits a brilliance like a miniature star each time, completely evaporating everything in front of it;

The most chilling part is its back, which is over 100 meters long—

A true Gothic cathedral stands there.

This religious building will make his enemies realize that they are facing not just a weapon, but the embodiment of the god of all machines.

Before the wrath of the gods, insignificant lives have no choice but to despair and repent.

The Machine of God.

This title is quite fitting.

However, Sun Qian also knew that he had another real name—

"Emperor-class Titan".

Sun Qian took a deep breath and stared at the enemy he was about to face.

"Judgment Day".