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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
→Betrayal
===Betrayal===
With those squads and their leaders that were known to be completely loyal to the Emperor on the planet, the Warmaster finally decided to initiate his plan. All communication with the orbiting fleet ceased and the Titans of the Legio Mortis went silent as they sealed themselves against biological threats.{{Fn|1h}} The warships ''[[Vengeful Spirit]]'', ''[[Firebird (Battleship)|Firebird]]'', ''[[Andronius]]'', ''[[Killing Star]]'', ''[[Indomitable Will]]'', ''[[Gauntlet of Spite]]'', ''[[Warchild]]'', ''[[Eisenstein]]''{{Fn|4a}}, and ''[[Conqueror (Ship)|Conqueror]]'' all lowered into low orbit and launched salvos of [[Virus Bomb]]s upon the Isstvan III's surface.{{Fn|1h}} The assembled [[Remembrancer]] Order was present on the ''Vengeful Spirit'' while this happened. After Horus declared his intentions of overthrowing the Emperor, his Astartes went about exterminating the Remembrancers.{{Fn|2a}}
Each virus bomb contained thousands of submunitions, each of which contained deadly [[Life-Eater Virus]]. These sub-warheads detonated in the lower atmosphere and rapidly spreading the phage across the surface. The Life-Eater was one of the most insidious and terrible weapons forged by Mankind, and every piece of organic matter it encountered rotted into liquid refuse within seconds. Billions of Isstvanians died in agony alongside all of the planets flora and fauna. Even the oceans turned into a greenish sludge as all organic matter within rotted away. But the destruction was not over yet. The Life-Eater was intentionally designed so that the miasma caused by its victims transformed into a highly flammable gaseous sludge. At Horus' command, a single [[Lance]] strike was launched from orbit, detonating this toxic stew and engulfing the planet in a tsunami-like firestorm. The resulting inferno engulfed the entire surface of Isstvan III, incinerating its now-empty cities. All that remained of Isstvan III in the afterlife was a dark dead planet.{{Fn|1h}}
