Fourth Legion: The

"Iron Without!" roared his Legionaries as they advanced, not running, but walking in a relentless, iron wall. The Imperial Fists fired from the breaches, but the IVth Legion simply ignored the casualties. They were used to taking suicide missions, forced by their primarch, Perturabo, to excel in hopeless situations.

The Fourth Legion didn't celebrate. They simply packed their artillery and began moving towards the next fortress, another, more difficult challenge, for they were the masters of iron and the servants of a war that would never end. The Fourth Legion

"Then it will make a louder sound when it falls," Valerius replied, his voice grating like grinding stone. "Iron Without

The planet of Tallarn was already a ruined landscape, but the city of still held, defended by the loyalist Imperial Fists. To the Iron Warriors, the IVth Legion, this wasn't just a tactical goal; it was a personal insult. The Fourth Legion didn't celebrate

The siege began not with a charge, but with a crescendo. For three straight days, the Iron Warriors’ artillery bombarded the walls. Thousands of shells, heavy lascannons, and specialized siege-drills tore into the outer defensive perimeter. The air smelled of ozone, pulverized rock, and promethium.

When Valerius finally stepped into the command center of the fortress, he did not find a desperate garrison. He found a masterpiece of engineering, now ruined by his own superior engineering.

"They have had eighteen months to fortify this position," whispered his second-in-command, Berossus, over the vox-channel.