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

Chapter 34: To pacify external enemies, one must first secure internal stability.

The World Eaters, or the Twelfth Legion, formerly the Emperor's "War Dogs," were the legion that suffered the most purging of loyalists on Istvan III, and also the legion whose purging process was the most brutal.

Unlike other loyalist survivors who chose to retreat and hold their ground, when the Warhounds learned that Angron had personally descended to the surface to fight, they immediately and without hesitation launched a desperate charge against their Primarch father.

Until they were slaughtered due to the overwhelming difference in combat power between the Primarch and ordinary Astartes—

This is the history that should have happened.

But Sun Qian's actions have clearly created a lot of butterfly effects.

"When Company Commander Sol Taviz flew the Thunderhawk past the Eisenstein, my brother Liu Xuande took advantage of the smoke from the explosion to plan to go to the surface of Istvan III to warn the loyalists. Because the Twelfth Army Corps' operational area was far from the bunker, my brother chose to go directly to persuade them to retreat, successfully saving the vast majority of the loyalist World Eaters."

This is where the first disagreement occurred. According to the original history that Sun Qian knew, the loyalist World Eaters were originally the unit that suffered the most casualties in the viral bomb.

After all, due to the influence of Legion culture and Butcher's Nails, the World Eaters are prone to becoming separated from other Legion units on the battlefield, and ignoring retreat orders is a common occurrence.

The fact that Liu Bei was able to convince them to believe in him demonstrates his powerful personal charisma.

"Unlike you, he never thought of abandoning any loyal Imperial soldiers, even in the most difficult times."

Sun Qian ignored the aggressive Loken and continued speaking in a calm and composed tone.

"After the viral bombs and firestorm, the surviving loyalists from each legion gathered in Anthem City to discuss countermeasures. However, an unexpected event occurred at this time: the Great Tyrant broke into the atmosphere and prepared to land. Both the rebels and the loyalists had to retreat to their bunkers to avoid the impact... except for Angron."

This was something that should have been expected long ago. As the Primarch who landed on the Istvan III even earlier than Mortarion, the Lord of Red Sand remained completely silent after the Great Tyrant landed. To be honest, Sun Qian really hoped that the guy would become a speed bump for the Glory Queen-class battleships, but obviously his expectations were not met.

Even knowing that the Great Tyrant was about to land near Chorus City, Angron chose to take the opportunity to rush to the entrance of Demon Howl Castle, wanting to use slaughter to stop the loyalists from retreating.

Perhaps he really intended to use the impact of the Tyrant's landing to end his brutal and tragic life.

"For the sake of other loyal warriors, Liu Xuande and the Warhound Legion chose to sacrifice themselves. Taking advantage of Angron's obsession with killing his own offspring, they lured the Primarch away from Demon's Cry and to another important building in the Chorus City, the Saints' Monastery."

"That was originally the position that our Emperor's son defended, but at Liu Xuande's urging, most of our warriors retreated to Demon's Cry Fortress—except for my brother, Lucius."

Taviz said in a low voice, somewhat sadly, and therefore did not notice that Sun Qian raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard the name, but the latter immediately concealed this subtle emotional fluctuation.

"Wait, if the opponent is that Angron, so much time has passed... I don't mean to offend, but the chances of survival should be very slim."

Greer was a little hesitant when he first chimed in, but he quickly remembered that he was supposed to be Sun Qian's "deputy," so he boldly raised his question.

Of course, his concerns were reasonable, because Angron was one of the strongest among the Primarchs, and if you took into account his bloodlust and killing ability, he was far ahead of them.

Even the best Astartes, such as Loken who was present, probably wouldn't last a single round against Angron's double axes.

"In fact, according to our understanding, there are also labyrinthine cellars and passages beneath that heretical monastery."

Loken seemed less agitated than before and took the initiative to explain.

"Moreover, and more importantly, Liu Bei is able to use some special abilities."

"Gavial, about this..."

"There's no need to cover it up for Xuande now, Thor. After all, the great hero Sun Qian has already publicly demonstrated similar miracles to everyone."

Loken stopped Tavel, who was about to speak, and glared at Sun Qian with a cold snort.

"Xuande not only possesses the ability to unleash the potential of others and enhance their combat power, but he can also, in some way, bring others back to their senses, including the warhound soldiers affected by the Butcher's Nails. With these abilities, he is capable of holding his own against Angron—and the fact that Angron hasn't appeared yet proves that they are still fighting!"

Sun Qian pursed his lips. Judging from Loken's words, Liu Bei does indeed possess an ability similar to . However, this originally originated from the character card of [Standard Liu Bei], so it is reasonable for him to be able to use it.

As for the other ability...

"Sun Qian and Liu Bei have very similar abilities. If you two can join forces, you might be able to suppress the effect of Angron's Butcher's Sting, and thus—"

"I've said it many times already. Even if I had the ability, I wouldn't try to save Liu Bei!"

Sun Qian's resolute words reignited Loken's anger. If Taviz hadn't intervened in time, it seemed he would have wanted to deliver another heavy blow to Sun Qian.

But Sun Qian seemed completely unconcerned and simply continued speaking.

"First of all, I don't believe that restoring Angron's mind will make us make peace; secondly, even if we successfully rescue the War Dogs and Liu Bei, that would mean Angron will be released... What do you think is the reason Horus hasn't launched a second orbital bombardment and extermination attack yet? And those ground troops who clearly couldn't take down the Great Tyrant, who are they waiting for to retreat?"

Everyone in the strategic command room fell silent. They all knew that Horus, if forced to do so, had the means to destroy an entire planet.

If it weren't for the fact that his Primarch brother was still here...

"You mean we're just going to stand here and do nothing, watching our brothers die one by one at the hands of the butcher?"

"Of course, we're not doing nothing. We need to take this opportunity to quickly repair all the systems on the Tyrant and focus on dealing with the problems within the ship—"

"Are you referring to the problems within the ship that Qi Le is inciting the crew and soldiers to blindly believe in you so that you can seize absolute power?"

The atmosphere in the strategic command room immediately turned sour as soon as Loken uttered those words.

Boom!

Before Greer could get angry and stand up for Sun Qian, Acton, who had been silent all along, slammed his hand on the table.

"Loken! You're incredibly rude! Now is the time for us to unite. Unfounded suspicion of our comrades will only play into the enemy's hands!"

Torgarden immediately understood why Nero had urged him to come. He rushed to Loken's side and grabbed the man's arm.

"Gavial, your injuries haven't healed yet. Anyway, come with me to the medical bay first. Taviz, can you help me? This old guy is too heavy; I can't move him by myself."

Torgarden and Taviz exchanged a glance, then half-pulled, half-dragged Loken to his feet.

The six Astartes in the strategic command room immediately split into two distinct camps, and before being dragged out of the room, Loken and Sun Qian were locked in a tense standoff...

That's how it appears to others, at least.

When Torgarden and Taviz turned around, and Acton and Greer stood in front of Sun Qian, Sun Qian nodded slightly.

Loken's response was to casually touch the marks left by the cables on his power armor.

After watching the three loyalist Astartes leave, Acton muttered to himself in frustration.

"Did I say something unnecessary again...?"

"No, you're absolutely right, Company Commander Cruz. Could you check on Loken for me? I'm worried he might do something rash if he gets too agitated."

Acton hesitated for a moment, but eventually gave a military salute and left.

"Vice-Captain Noctua, I have an important task for you—you are responsible for ensuring that no one leaves the Great Tyrant without my orders...including any Astartes. If anyone disobeys, kill them on sight!"

Grell's eyes widened, and then he said thoughtfully.

"No problem, so what the captain means is..."

"As I just said, we must first secure internal stability before engaging in external warfare; before considering external combat—"

Sun Qian crossed his fingers and clasped them in front of him, staring intently at the screen monitoring the interior of the Great Tyrant.

"I need to deal with the dangerous situations on the ship first."