A massive star map unfolded in the center of the screen, with Istvaan III suspended quietly like a scorched skull.
Around it, the fleets of the four traitor Legions circled like a pack of greedy sharks.
[Many believe that the resistance on Istvaan III was merely the final roar of the "War Hounds" within the World Eaters Legion.]
[This is a misconception.]
[If the counterattack of the World Eaters was a blazing fire, then the loyalists of the other Legions were indestructible rocks.]
[The flames of loyalty ignited simultaneously within the ruins of the four Legions on that cursed land.]
On the screen, the emblems of the four Legions lit up in sequence, only to be swiftly split open by golden cracks representing the "Loyalists."
The camera quickly panned across several scenes.
To the north of the ruins of Choral City, a group of Death Guard wearing off-white Power Armor, but no gas masks, were constructing a defensive line.
They were silent, resilient, and as immovable as rock.
[They were the "old guard" of the Death Guard.]
[Many of them did not hail from Mortarion's toxic homeworld of Barbarus, but from Terra.]
[They were the true "people of the Emperor," veterans who had fought side-by-side with the Emperor himself in the fires of the Unification Wars.]
[They still remembered their Legion's former name—the Dusk Raiders.]
They rejected the culture of "resentment toward all things" brought by Mortarion, and they refused the tactics of turning themselves into biochemical weapons. They longed for an era of only honor and resilience.
[Their loyalty belonged first to the Emperor and the Imperium. Only then did it extend to the Primarch they called "Father."]
[When their father's orders conflicted with their oaths to the Emperor, they chose the latter without hesitation.]
[Most notable among them were the loyalists of the Emperor's Children.]
[Among all the traitor Legions, the proportion of loyalists within the Emperor's Children was the highest.]
[It sounds absurd, but it is a fact. More lethally, among this group of purged loyalists, the number of commanding officers was enough to make any military observer shudder.]
[One third.]
[A full third of the Emperor's Children, including numerous Captains, senior sergeants, and veterans who truly understood the "art of war," stood on the side of Tarvitz.]
[Saul Tarvitz.]
[Solomon Demeter.]
[Rylanor.]
[A series of high-ranking officers.]
[From this moment on, although the Emperor's Children remained powerful, they lost the art of command, they lost strategic depth, and they lost the rationality and discipline that sustained "perfection."]
[They devolved from an impeccable Legion of perfection into an unpredictable mob that relied solely on brute force, combat drugs, and sonic weaponry.]
[In the coming Horus Heresy, they would no longer be the sharpest scalpel in the Warmaster's hand; instead, they would often become a burden to the entire rebellion due to their chaos and lack of discipline.]
[Horus's original plan was to completely purge the loyalists on the surface of Istvaan III within two days using Virus bombs and Orbital bombardment, then lead his "purified" and united grand fleet in a lightning strike against an unsuspecting Terra.]
[Because of Angron's impulsiveness, because of Tarvitz's warning, because of Loken's command, and because of the tenacious will to resist shown by these "veterans."]
[This swift purge turned into a meat grinder that lasted for three months.]
[Three months!]
[In a desperate situation with no supplies, no support, and even toxic air.]
[The tens of thousands of loyalist warriors led by Tarvitz, Loken, Demeter, and others utilized ruins, underground tunnels, and fortified bastions to pin down the main traitor forces—who outnumbered them several times over and possessed orbital support and Titan Legions—deep in the mire of Istvaan III.]
[Until Terra finally reacted.]
[Rogal Dorn was able to send out an alert to the entire galaxy, summoning the Raven Guard, Iron Hands, Salamanders, and other nearby Legions to suppress the rebellion.]
[Horus finally lost his patience, or rather, he finally realized he had wasted too much time in this pit.]
[He forcibly dragged the frenzied Angron back to the ship.]
[Then, he ordered the final, absolute Orbital bombardment.]
[This time, it wasn't Virus bombs, but a Macro-cannon salvo powerful enough to overturn the very crust of the planet.]
[Amidst a sea of fire, Saul Tarvitz stood with his brothers.]
[They were still alive, the only survivors left in this glorious last stand.]
[He gathered these warriors together—Luna Wolves, Emperor's Children, and even a few shell-shocked War Hounds. Tarvitz noticed there were no Death Guard among their ranks.]
[They had all been slaughtered in the trenches by their own father. This was the end; they all understood it, but no one spoke it aloud.]
[He already knew every single one of their names.]
[Before, they were just mud-stained faces in the endless days and nights of the battlefield, but now, they were brothers—warriors going to their deaths together with honor.]
[The flashes of explosions bloomed in the northern part of the city. Meteors pierced the dark clouds overhead, and through the holes they tore, bright stars could be seen.]
["Did we give them a lesson?"]
[Captain Solathen asked.]
["Was it all worth it?"]
[Tarvitz thought for a moment and replied,]
["Yes, we gave them a lesson, one they will never forget."]
[A faint smile appeared on the corner of Tarvitz's mouth; he knew he had remained loyal.]
[He had held out until the very last moment.]
[At this moment, his only hope was that Garro would successfully complete his mission to deliver the news and bring victory to the Imperium.]
[As the explosions rang out, the figures of Tarvitz and the loyalists vanished into the sea of fire.]
[No one knows his final fate, and no one ever found his body.]