In the latter years of 007.M31?the Iron Warriors Legion had embarked on a campaign of vengeance. In the aftermath of the Phall engagement, the embittered sons of Perturabo brutally subjugated world after world, seeking to salve their wounded pride by bleeding and humbling the Imperial Fists wherever they could find them. On the world of Hydra Cordatus, the mere presence of the VIIth?Legion's 42nd Company garrisoning the mountain fortress known as the Cadmean Citadel was enough to draw the attention of the Primarch Perturabo himself. In the strategium of the IV Legion's flagship, the Iron Blood, the captains of the Iron Warriors gathered under the gaze of their Primarch to decide whom among them would lead the invasion.?

在007.M31末期，鋼鐵勇士軍團開始進行一場復仇戰(zhàn)役。在法爾海戰(zhàn)之后，滿心憤恨的佩圖拉博子嗣們殘忍地征服了一個又一個世界，無論在何處遇到帝國之拳軍團戰(zhàn)士，他們都會令其流血并將其擊敗，試圖以此來安慰自己受傷的驕傲。在海德拉之心世界上，第七軍團的第42連隊駐守在被稱為Cadmean堡壘的山地要塞中，而僅僅是這些帝國之拳戰(zhàn)士的存在就足以引起原體佩圖拉博本人的注意。在第四軍團旗艦——鐵血號的戰(zhàn)情室中，鋼鐵勇士的連長們在原體的注視下集合起來，以決定他們當中負責領導這次入侵行動的人選。

Perturabo had grown ever more distant from his sons since the events at Phall and many of his captains were eager to earn?their Primarch's favour, thus elevating their position within the Legion. One such warrior was Siege Captain Ascari Valkar, who vowed to Perturabo that he would take the Cadmean Citadel within a week and present the head of the Imperial Fists Castellan before the Primarch. Unimpressed by these arrogant boasts,?Veteran Galan Dion of the Dominators interjected that any direct assault upon the Cadmean Citadel without prior siegeworks and sustained bombardment would incur catastrophic losses to personnel and unacceptable degradation of materiel. Valkar contemptuously dismissed the criticism of the Dominator, Dion's word and that of his brethren holding little sway since the Phall engagement and their failure to contain a VIIth?Legion boarding force that had advanced as far as the Primarch's inner sanctum. The Siege Captain's plan of attack had served him well on hundreds of worlds and would do so again, bringing swift annihilation to the Imperial Fists and a triumphant return to the favour of his Primarch.?

自從法爾事件之后，佩圖拉博對子嗣們愈加疏遠，而他麾下的很多連長也都熱衷于博得原體的青睞——這能提升他們在軍團中的地位。攻城連長阿斯卡里 瓦卡爾就是其中之一，他向佩圖拉博發(fā)誓稱：自己能在一周之內攻下Cadmean堡壘，并在原體面前呈上帝國之拳堡主的人頭。統(tǒng)御者部隊的老兵蓋蘭 迪昂則不為這些狂傲的吹噓所動，他插話稱：不經過事先的攻城作業(yè)和持續(xù)轟炸，對于Cadmean堡壘的任何直接進攻都會導致災難般的兵力損失和不可接受的軍備折損。對于這位統(tǒng)御者的批評，瓦卡爾輕蔑地不予理睬；自從法爾海戰(zhàn)之后，由于未能阻止第七軍團的跳幫部隊一路挺進并沖入原體的內部（私人）圣所，迪昂和他的兄弟們也變得人微言輕。攻城連長的計劃令他在數(shù)百個世界上表現(xiàn)出色，這次也會再度奏效，帝國之拳們會被快速殲滅，凱旋歸來的瓦卡爾則會得到原體青睞。

Growing tired of his sons' bickering, the Lord of Iron decreed that Valkar would be granted the chance to fulfil his vow, but he would do so accompanied by the Dominators who would join his forces in the assault. The Iron Warriors' warfleet soon entered high orbit over the isolated world, having easily obliterated the small flotilla of Imperial Fists frigates and Mechanicum bulk haulers held in geo-static anchor over the Citadel.?

子嗣們之間的爭吵令鋼鐵尊主更為厭倦，他宣布賜給瓦卡爾實現(xiàn)其誓言的機會，但統(tǒng)御者們也會在這次進攻中加入他的部隊，隨同其完成任務。鋼鐵勇士的戰(zhàn)爭艦隊不久后便進入了那個孤立世界的高空軌道，輕松殲滅了帝國之拳護衛(wèi)艦和機械神教大型運輸艦組成的小型艦隊——它們依靠重力錨定在堡壘上空。

The IVth Legion fell upon Hydra Cordatus with overwhelming force, the unequivocal message to the civilian population and Loyalist defenders being that there could be no escape from the wrath of the Iron Warriors. Magma bombs and mass-driver cannons reduced the valleys and agri-settlements filling the world's fertile deltas to arid dust, boiling away the rivers and turning arable earth to barren wasteland. Lance strikes and macro cannon shells, ordinarily used in void warfare against enemy fleets, were unleashed upon the planet from low orbit, wiping entire cities off the surface of Hydra Cordatus. Only the Cadmean Citadel and its surrounding areas were spared the destruction; the Iron Warriors making it known in that way that the death of the Imperial Fists would be a personal matter, one to be settled by bolter and chainsword. After two days of sustained orbital bombardment, Siege Captain Valkar and the 33rd Grand Battalion made planetfall. Thousands of Legionaries marched out of their colossal orbital landers, followed by wave after wave of mobile siege guns and artillery pieces. Alongside them came the Dominator Cohorts, disciplined squads of warriors clad in hulking Cataphractii Terminator plate, who swiftly boarded their Spartan assault transports as soon as they were deployed on the red soil of Hydra Cordatus.?

第四軍團在海德拉之心世界上投放了壓倒性的力量，當?shù)氐钠矫窈椭艺\派守軍被傳遞了一條明確的信息：沒人能逃過鋼鐵勇士的怒火。巖漿炸彈和質量驅動炮將位于這個世界上肥沃三角洲地區(qū)的山谷和農業(yè)定居點炸為干旱的沙地，河流沸騰蒸發(fā)，耕地變?yōu)椴幻脑?。通常在虛空?zhàn)中用于對抗敵軍艦隊的光矛和宏炮，現(xiàn)在則是被從低軌道釋放向了行星，抹去了海德拉之心地表上的整座城市。只有Cadmean堡壘及其周邊的區(qū)域未被毀滅；鋼鐵勇士們通過這種方式讓人們明白：殺死帝國之拳是他們的私事，要用爆彈槍和鏈鋸劍來解決。在進行了兩天的持續(xù)性軌道轟炸之后，攻城連長瓦卡爾和第33大營登陸了這顆行星。數(shù)千名軍團戰(zhàn)士列隊走出他們巨大的軌道空降艇，身后跟著一波又一波的移動攻城炮和炮兵裝備。統(tǒng)御者部隊隨他們一同前來，這些紀律嚴整的小隊中的戰(zhàn)士們穿著巨大的鐵騎型終結者動力甲，一經被部署到海德拉之心的紅色沙地上，他們便迅速登上了自己的斯巴達突擊運輸車。

The assault force surged forwards from their landing zones and without waiting for additional forces to land, Valkar threw the first wave of his troops into the fray. The Iron Warriors made no attempt to cover their approach, but instead charged straight towards the great gates of the mighty fortress. Squadrons of Land Raiders and Rhino armoured transports dropped their ramps to disgorge their Space Marine cargo into the teeth of the outermost Loyalist defence lines. Solar Auxilia from the Chalchidean Grenadiers manning hidden bunkers opened fire with emplaced heavy weapons as soon as the first Iron Warriors appeared in their targeting reticles, blasting dozens of them apart in a storm of lascannon and autocannon fire. Legion Arquitor tanks following in the wake of the infantry returned fire with their Morbus bombard cannons, the pulverising shellfire shattering the gun bastions and burying the Solar Atucilia within under tonnes of choking rubble.?

沒有等待后續(xù)部隊的降落，進攻部隊便離開登陸區(qū)沖向前方，瓦卡爾將自己的第一批部隊投入了戰(zhàn)斗。鋼鐵勇士們并未試圖掩飾自己的前進，相反，他們直接沖向了那座巨大要塞的大門。數(shù)個中隊的蘭德掠奪者和犀牛裝甲運輸車降下了自己的坡道，艙內的星際戰(zhàn)士們一擁而出，正對著最外層的忠誠派防線。駐守在隱藏碉堡中的是來自Chalchidean擲彈兵兵團的太陽軍，一看到出現(xiàn)在自己瞄準標線中的第一批鋼鐵勇士，他們便用安置在碉堡中的重武器開火，激光炮和自動炮噴出風暴般的炮火，炸碎了數(shù)十名鋼鐵勇士。跟在步兵身后的軍團長弓射手坦克開火還擊，死疫型轟擊炮的粉碎性炮火炸碎了堡壘，太陽軍們被埋葬在了數(shù)噸重的令人窒息的瓦礫之下。

It was at this moment that the Imperial Fists revealed themselves, squads of Legionaries appearing on the ramparts of the Citadel to open fire with bolters and heavy weapons on the Iron Warriors below as soon as they had entered the VIIth Legion's pre-determined kill zones. The outer walls were arranged into complex multi-pointed forms that allowed the attacking forces no respite from the withering plunging fire of the defenders. Imperial Fists Legionaries rose from concealed trenches outside the walls, shooting their bolters at point blank range before the Iron Warriors were in amongst them. Battle was joined at close quarters then; a savage and pitiless fight where no quarter was asked or given. Chainswords roared, sparks spraying from armour plates or biting deep into suit seams and neck joints, their wickedly sharp teeth tearing through flesh to unleash fountains of blood. Amidst the carnage, it seemed as if the Citadel itself came alive to repel the invaders; cavernous maws opened in the ground to swallow entire squads of Legionaries before constricting shut and crushing them to death. Graviton pulse generators flared to life within the walls, trapping Iron Warriors in place to be picked off by Imperial Fists snipers or impaled upon stony protrusions that erupted from the ground driven by the will of the fortress.?

此刻，帝國之拳們終于現(xiàn)身了，軍團戰(zhàn)士小隊們出現(xiàn)在堡壘的城墻上。鋼鐵勇士們一進入被事先決定的殺戮區(qū)，帝國之拳們便用爆彈槍和重武器對下方的敵人開火射擊。堡壘外墻被布置成復雜的多尖形式，這使得進攻者在防御者的猛烈炮火下毫無喘息機會。帝國之拳軍團戰(zhàn)士們也從城墻外側的隱蔽戰(zhàn)壕中起身，在鋼鐵勇士沖入他們當中之前用爆彈槍對其近距離射擊。雙方此刻陷入了近戰(zhàn)；在這種野蠻而無情的戰(zhàn)斗，沒有會人要求或給予任何寬恕。鏈鋸劍發(fā)出咆哮聲，劍刃要么從動力甲的甲面上擦出火花，要么就是深深刺入動力甲的接縫和脖頸關節(jié)處，兇惡的鋒利鋸齒撕穿皮肉，令血液噴涌而出。在這場屠殺中，堡壘自身也如同擁有了生命一般對抗著入侵者們：地面上張開洞窟般的大洞，大口吞下整支小隊的軍團戰(zhàn)士后關閉收縮，將其擠壓致死；墻內的引力脈沖發(fā)生器突然開始運行，將鋼鐵勇士們困在適當?shù)奈恢?，以便帝國之拳狙擊手將之狙殺，或是令其被堡壘意志驅使下從地面突出的石質凸起物刺穿。

In the centre of the line, indefatigably roaring his defiance, Siege Captain Valkar led a phalanx of veterans towards the outer gates of the Citadel. There, the enemy's weapons fire was at its most furious and dozens of his Iron Warriors were slain as each formidable row of curtain wall and array of carefully spaced defensive towers offered numerous layers of enfilading fire upon any forces that attempted to assail the gates. The Dominators joined the Siege Captain's assault, their thunder hammers rising and falling upon any Loyalist who stood in their way in a funerary tolling of relentless destruction. Valkar and his men reached the gates first, the veterans reducing the great hinges to molten metal with their meltaguns before battering the gates down with power fists and heavy power mauls.?

攻城連長瓦卡爾身處陣線中央，他不知疲倦地咆哮著挑釁之辭，率領老兵們組成的方陣沖向堡壘的外側大門。此處的敵軍火力最為兇猛，卡瓦爾麾下的數(shù)十名鋼鐵勇士都殞命于此——每一排可畏的幕墻和精心隔開的防御塔都能讓任何試圖攻擊城門的部隊陷入到無數(shù)重的包圍火力中。統(tǒng)御者們也加入了攻城連長的進攻當中，他們掄起雷霆錘，砸在任何擋住他們道路的忠誠派戰(zhàn)士身上，聲響如同（昭示著）無情毀滅的喪鐘之音。瓦卡爾和他的戰(zhàn)士們首先抵達了大門，鋼鐵勇士老兵們用熱熔槍將門上的粗大鉸鏈融化掉，之后用動力拳和沉重的動力槌將大門砸倒。

Immediately, the lead Iron Warriors were thrown backwards as a storm of bolt shells from within the Citadel tore into them. Through the broken wreckage of the gates lumbered five maniples of Castellax battle-automata, the mauler bolt cannons mounted upon their shoulders spitting an unceasing hail of shellfire. An Imperial Fists Forge Lord led these walking engines of death into battle and they drove a grinding wedge into the advancing Iron Warriors. The Castellan?killed their foes with vicious spinning?power blades or powerful shock chargers, ripping the Iron Warriors apart with an inhuman strength against which even the Legiones Astartes could not stand. Imperial Fists reserves advanced behind the hulking machines, squads of breachers locking their shields together to form an impenetrable wall that blocked any further advance towards the inner Citadel.?

但很快，堡壘內射出的一陣如風暴般密集的爆矢彈便擊中了最前排的鋼鐵勇士們，將他們拋向后方。五支堡星戰(zhàn)斗機兵中隊從大門破爛的殘骸中緩慢站起，安裝在它們肩部的重槌型爆彈炮噴射出冰雹般不間斷的炮火。一名帝國之拳鑄造之主領導這些行走的死亡引擎加入戰(zhàn)斗，他們向前進中的鋼鐵勇士們發(fā)起了猛烈的進攻。堡星機兵們用惡毒的動力旋刃或強悍的沖擊電容殺戮著敵人，他們用哪怕阿斯塔特軍團戰(zhàn)士也抵抗不了的非人力量撕碎鋼鐵勇士們。帝國之拳預備隊跟在這些巨大的機器身后前進，破城者小隊共同架起他們的跳幫盾，形成一道無法穿透的盾墻，阻擋任何向著堡壘內側的進一步推進。

The Dominators surged forwards to stop the bloody rampage of the Castellan?and break the shieldwall; Galan Dion pressing on relentlessly with his Cataphractii armoured brethren through a hailstorm of fire unleashed by the battle-automata's weapon systems. They charged the Castellax with a fury born of resentment and shame, venting the frustration of their fall from their Primarch's side on the battle-automata that so closely resembled the Iron Circle that had replaced them. The momentum of the Imperial Fists' counter offensive was lost as the bodies of the dead, machine and Legionary alike, fell by the dozen into the bloody quagmire before the gates of the Cadmean Citadel. In the wake of the Dominators' shock assault, the Iron Warriors re-formed their forces and pressed the attack, but neither side was able to land the decisive blow that would break the stalemate and decide the outcome of the battle.?

統(tǒng)御者們沖上前阻止了堡星機兵的血腥狂暴的屠殺，并攻破了盾墻;頂著戰(zhàn)斗機兵武器系統(tǒng)釋放出的冰雹般的炮火，蓋蘭 迪昂和他穿著鐵騎動力甲的兄弟們無情地前進著。他們懷著誕生自怨恨與恥辱的怒火向堡星機兵發(fā)起了沖鋒，他們在堡星機兵身上發(fā)泄著被從原體身邊降職的挫敗感——這些機器與取代了他們的鐵環(huán)機兵非常相似。帝國之拳喪失了反擊的勢頭，機器與軍團戰(zhàn)士的尸體成打地倒在Cadmean堡壘大門前的血腥泥沼中。在統(tǒng)御者們進行過突擊進攻之后，鋼鐵勇士們重組了部隊，再次發(fā)起進攻，但雙方都沒能發(fā)出打破僵局并決定戰(zhàn)斗結果的決定性一擊。

As the slaughter at the fortress-line continued unabated, the Dominators inexorably fought their way to where Valkar stood?among the few surviving veterans of his vanguard. The Siege Captain snarled into the vox for more reinforcements to be brought in and blamed the state of the battle on the Dominators and their late arrival, accusing Galan Dion of conserving the numbers of his men in a cowardly manner unbefitting an Iron Warrior. Two thirds of the 33rd?Grand Battalion already lay dead or grievously wounded upon the soil of Hydra Cordatus and with the battle lines reduced to a vast bloody impasse of carnage, Galan Dion decided that the Siege Captain's folly would bring about the ruin of them all if it was not halted. The veteran Dominator and three of his brethren menacingly closed in around Valkar who, realising their intent, swung his power sword in wild arcs in an effort to fend off the hulking Terminators. Galan Dion lowered his shoulder and crashed into Valkar mid-swing, disarming the Siege Captain and throwing him off his feet. The Dominators seized Valkar and fought their way clear of the raging battle, losing several of their number on the arduous journey back to the IVth?Legion's landing zone.?

堡壘防線上的屠殺有增無減，統(tǒng)御者們不屈不撓地戰(zhàn)斗著，到達了瓦卡爾所處的位置，他站在先鋒部隊中極少數(shù)幸存的老兵中間。攻城連長中音頻通訊中咆哮著，要求帶來更多的增援；他將戰(zhàn)況歸咎于統(tǒng)御者部隊和他們的姍姍來遲，指責蓋蘭·迪昂以懦弱的方式保存他的士兵，這與一個鋼鐵勇士的身份不相稱。在海德拉之心的沙地上，第33大營中有三分之二的人已經死去或受了重傷。隨著戰(zhàn)線陷入了大規(guī)模的血腥屠殺僵局，蓋蘭 迪昂下了決心：如果不停止進攻，攻城連長的蠢行就會導致他們所有人的毀滅。這位統(tǒng)御者老兵和他的三位兄弟以脅迫的姿態(tài)包圍住了瓦卡爾，后者也意識到了他們的意圖，他瘋狂地揮舞著自己的動力劍，試圖擊退身形巨大的終結者們。蓋蘭 迪昂低下自己的肩膀，撞向瓦卡爾，他繳了攻城連長的械，并將后者摔在腳邊。統(tǒng)御者們控制住瓦卡爾，在這場激烈的戰(zhàn)斗中殺出一條生路。他們在返回第四軍團登陸區(qū)的艱難旅途中又失去了一些人。

There, in front of his personal Stormbird assault lander, Perturabo stood surrounded by his fearsome Iron Circle. The towering battle-automata formed a protective cordon around the Primarch as the Dominators had once done, before their dismissal and replacement. Valkar was tossed to the ground before his Primarch's feet. This time he would have no chance to account for his failure. At the slightest nod of Perturabo's head, the Iron Circle turned their bolt cannons on the Siege Captain?and reduced him?to bloody pieces of ceramite and flesh in seconds. Galan Dion looked to his Primarch for approval, hoping that the worth of the Dominators would be recognised once more, but there was no sympathy in the stony gaze of their father as he ordered the Iron Circle to move into the combat zone and break the deadlock. The Dominators would be sent once again to the front lines to serve and bleed like every other Legionary of the IVth?Legion, for in their Primarch's eyes they were nothing more than fallible flesh and blood, and only iron was eternal.?

在這里，佩圖拉博站在自己的私人風暴鳥突擊空降艇前方，可畏的鐵環(huán)機兵包圍在他身邊。就像統(tǒng)御者們還未被降職和替換時所做過的那樣，這些高大的戰(zhàn)斗機兵也在原體身邊組成了保護性的警戒圈。瓦卡爾被丟在了原體腳前的地面上。這次，他沒機會解釋自己的失敗了。在佩圖拉博微微的點頭示意下，鐵環(huán)機兵將自己爆彈炮的炮口轉向了攻城連長，數(shù)秒內就令其成為了一灘陶鋼與血肉的血腥碎塊。蓋蘭·迪昂望向原體來尋求贊許，希望統(tǒng)御者的價值能再次得到認可，但當他們的父親命令鐵圈機兵進入戰(zhàn)區(qū)并去打破僵局時，他冷酷的目光中沒有流露出贊同。統(tǒng)御者們會被再次派回到前線，他們會像第四軍團中其他所有的軍團戰(zhàn)士們那樣去服役和流血，因為在原體眼中，他們不過是易犯錯誤的血肉之軀罷了，只有鋼鐵才是永恒的。