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

Chapter 107 Diocletian was wrong, but Emperor Guangwu was right.

The final battle between the Pale King and Guilliman was both long and short.

Although these two adjectives seem contradictory, from Sun Qian's perspective, there is no more fitting description.

Because of this "withering halo" that directly distorts the flow of time, not only the area around the "Pale King" but even Sun Qian, who was a hundred meters away, felt something was amiss, as if even the speed of light was being altered under the influence of this conceptual force.

If something can accelerate, it can also decelerate; that's only natural.

Even so, Guilliman charged headlong toward the Pale King and swung his Crimson Sword.

But he seemed to have misjudged his speed. When Guilliman reached the final ten meters of the Pale King, his speed began to drop exponentially and abnormally, almost completely stopping after about five meters, as if he would never reach the Pale King...

But he continued to swing his sword.

Although the Crimson Sword is called a short sword, it is only based on Guilliman's standard. Its size is actually close to that of a normal weapon of an ordinary Astartes. However, even so, it should not be able to touch the "Pale King" who is more than five meters away.

But at this point, physics no longer exists.

hum! ! !

The Crimson Sword suddenly extended, or more accurately, golden flames erupted from its blade; it instantly stretched to an astonishing distance of over twenty meters!

Wow!!!

The flames traced a brilliant fan-shaped trajectory in the air. For a moment, Sun Qian even thought he was seeing a rising sun, while the psionic blade passed through the body of the "Pale King" without any hindrance.

"Ughhhhhh!"

The Pale King spoke again, but unlike before, this time it was a painful wail filled with intense emotion.

Despite the fact that his mechanical armor showed no signs of damage, smoke was billowing from every metal seam of the "Pale King," and his wings were twitching violently. Arcs and sparks were flying between the cables and gears.

The "withered halo" also disappeared.

The "Pale King" fell from the sky, kneeling painfully on one knee, and uttered a very faint and weak sound.

"Father...Father?"

The flames on Guilliman's Crimson Blade quickly died down, and he stared at the Pale King—or rather, Mortarion—with a complex look in his eyes.

Even after hesitating for a fraction of a second, he still raised his hand to Mortarian.

"careful!!"

Whoosh—Boom!

As Sun Qian reminded him, a huge black shadow attacked from the side. Guilliman raised his Akagi Dagger to block the attack, but was also knocked back dozens of meters by the impact.

Then more dark figures flew through the air one after another, but their target did not seem to be Guilliman or Sun Qian.

Instead, it is Mortarion who has temporarily regained consciousness in "The Pale King".

Upon closer inspection, these shadowy figures are all remnants of demonic engines that were just defeated by the "Pale King". Although they are almost all severely damaged and unable to move, it seems that something inside them is driving them to converge in the same direction.

Within a few short seconds, neither the "Pale King" nor Mortarion could be seen at all, as they were completely enveloped by countless demigod engine remnants, forming a giant metal egg over 100 meters tall.

Guilliman frowned slightly, but did not launch another attack.

It should be said that he was no longer able to move.

Cracks began to appear on his blue-gold armor, and Sun Qian knew this was a sign that the effect of [Demon Lu Bu] was about to end.

This capability should have ended long ago.

Unlike when Sun Qian used it himself, he used...

The lent cards can only be used once, so other people can't pass after transforming.

Battery life.

Although Sun Qian had accumulated demonization points in advance and lent them to Guilliman, they were probably used up much earlier due to the entropy increase ability of the "Pale King." The time that followed was simply forcibly extended by some entity that descended upon Guilliman.

Just then, the Skyradiance's broadcast array sounded.

It was a cold, hoarse, and deep voice that sounded somewhat familiar to Sun Qian.

"At this time, you should not be here."

Guilliman looked up, seemingly without opening his mouth, but his voice already echoed around him.

"The same goes for you. It's far too early for you, even if you get the fragment." You shouldn't be involved in the game at this time.

Fragments?

Sun Qian's pupils contracted slightly. He realized that this "fragment" was very likely the root cause of Vastor's actions 10,000 years ahead of schedule, or even the reason that it changed the course of the universe's history!

"It's not up to you to decide who gets to turn."

Vashtor's voice remained as cold as ever, devoid of any emotion.

"I can become, and will soon become, the 'fifth' being."

"Then give it a try, but I guarantee you'll regret it."

Guilliman turned around and took a step forward. As he walked towards Sun Qian, the fragments of his glowing armor gradually fell off and turned into dust.

But it is precisely because of this that it is surrounded by a golden dust, giving it an even more majestic and sacred appearance.

"I will make any enemy of humanity regret it."

When this being stood before Sun Qian, the latter almost couldn't breathe. Although the words weren't spoken to him, Sun Qian couldn't help but begin to question himself inwardly whether he had done anything disloyal to humanity, the empire, or to him.

Too much.

Can we still count the numbers now?

but..

In any case, I have a clear conscience.

Sun Qian raised his head and forced himself to meet Guilliman's gaze.

Although he knew the other party meant no harm, Sun Qian still felt as if his soul was being burned.

"Diocletian was wrong, and I have witnessed it with my own eyes."

Hearing the other person's sudden whisper, Sun Qian was taken aback for a moment but immediately understood what he meant.

"I know, but Emperor Guangwu was right."

Sun Qian spoke with a firm and resounding tone.

"Moreover, I believe that sunset is a natural phenomenon, and so is sunrise."

For a fleeting moment, Sun Qian seemed to see a slight smile appear on Guilliman's lips, but it could also have been just an illusion—

After all, everyone might see the side of Him they want to see.

However, Sun Qian didn't have a chance to confirm it, because the last bit of subspace energy on Guilliman's body completely dissipated in the next second. The strong and burly giant's body swayed and he lost his balance and knelt down. Only Sun Qian caught him in time so that he didn't fall.

"Just now... what exactly happened...?"

"7

Judging from Guilliman's shocked rather than confused expression, he had not completely lost consciousness.

But it seems it will take a long time for him to accept what happened.

"Alright, now's not the time to think about Mom and Dad."

Sun Qian looked at the giant mechanical egg. He could sense that countless small soul furnaces, which served as the power source for the demon engine, were now all fused together under the interference of a powerful will.

"Next, it's time for this long, crowning ceremony's final act."