Editing Isstvan III (section)

==The Battle of Isstvan III==

After securing the outer reaches of the system, the combined Legion fleets assembled in orbit of Isstvan III. Horus laid out his plan of attack. The Death Guard would break through the Choral City's outer fortifications and eradicate or contain the garrison there. The World Eaters would storm the city itself, aiming to sever the transport arteries that the rebel troops would use to move reinforcements. The Emperor's Children would execute a surgical strike against the Precentor's Palace, Praal's residence and seat of power. Finally, his own Legion would attack the Sirenhold, a huge temple/shrine/tomb complex carved into the mountains to the east of the city. This complex had been abandoned after the Imperial takeover, but it had apparently been rebuilt and reinforced; Horus told the assembled commanders that he sought to tear the heart out of the rebellion by destroying its most sacred fane.

Secretly, however, Horus and his brother primarchs were planning to use the campaign to purge their legions of [[Traitor Legion Loyalists|those Astartes who would never turn on the Emperor]]. This was reflected in the order of battle for the planetary assault. The assault forces from each legion were chosen apparently at random, with squads and companies being arbitrarily plucked out of their regular assignments and mashed together into new units. For the more perceptive men among the loyalists, this was their first hint that something was off about the whole thing. After a preliminary bombardment, the assault force was sent in. Despite some initial disorganization, the World Eaters and Death Guard ground steadily through the Choral City's defenses. Captain [[Lucius]] of the Emperor's Children slew Governor Praal in single combat, and the Sons of Horus seized and held the Sirenhold. At this moment of apparent triumph, however, Horus showed his hand. Virus bombs rained from the orbiting fleet onto the surface of Isstvan, unleashing the dreaded Life Eater virus into the atmosphere. The people of Isstvan III died in terror and agony as the Life Eater disintegrated people, animals, plants, and even bacteria at the cellular level, reducing them all to volatile sludge. Forewarned by [[Saul Tarvitz]], many of the loyalist Astartes managed to take shelter, though hundreds were caught in the open and died with the rest of the planet. Horus then ordered the ''Vengeful Spirit'' to turn its guns upon Isstvan, igniting the volatile gases produced by the virus bombs and triggering a planet-wide firestorm that scoured Isstvan III to bare rock.

Despite this overkill, the loyalist Astartes managed to survive the bombardment and immediately hit their voxes to scream insults and questions such as "what the actual fuck bro?" at the orbiting fleet. Horus was prepared to order another bombardment until Angron took his legion down to get things done [[Rip and tear|his way]], forcing the Warmaster to commit to a ground campaign to finish the job. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, the loyalist Astartes tied their traitorous brethren down for months, inflicting heavy casualties and delaying the start of Horus' offensive into Imperial space. Finally, the Warmaster realized that he needed to stop dicking around and ordered his troops withdrawn before dropping another bombardment on the planet, and so Isstvan III was left as a dead, lifeless rock.