Challenge Accepted
Baldur got dressed and went down to join the table. Both his mother and Selene sat next to the head of the table with his inner circle spread out and seating in between men of the Luna Wolves and Storm Walkers, though Dogan and one of the Grimes sat on the side of Selene and Jendi to provide them with some space.
Everyone turned to him and nodded at the king. Baldur nodded back, eyeing the new Astartes before sitting at his seat. Once he was down, the maids brought forth the food so everyone could eat. It was naturally in their training not to serve food before the king had arrived.
With the food served, everyone ate in surprising peace. Baldur had expected Leman or one of the Space Wolves to act up and have to be put down like the dogs they were.
It was when Baldur was escorting Horus and Ferrus back to their ships along with the Legion Commanders who now served under Baldur, that Leman made his move.
He arrived on the planet with his two wolves by his sides, standing before the others with his arms crossed. When his eyes landed on Baldur, Leman and the wolves let out a growl. In response, Baldur sent out a wave of telepathic energy in the form of a scream that caused both wolves to whimper and fall to their knees from the sudden attack.
"Good dogs," Baldur humiliated them without carrying about his brother's position or who was around. "I let you get away with that once because I didn't want to start off on a bad foot. But I suggest you learn some self-control before you end up getting killed, Leman."
Leman drew his blade, ready to charge over to Baldur and avenge his wolves but Horus stood in front of him.
"No!" Horus told Leman, hoping he could stop the pair from fighting. Leman was not being smart about it. Baldur had his entire Legion, his serfs, and many other forces around him that could simply jump the Primarch. And to make it all worse, Baldur had Psykers under him.
Leman looked at Horus before looking over his shoulders and at Baldur.
"Bastard," Leman spat at Baldur. "I want to issue a challenge to you."
"What do you have in mind, Mutt?" Baldur shot back
"Let's compete to see who can conquer the most planets in the name of the Imperium," Leman proposed with a glare. "The winner will have the other kneel before him in front of all of our brothers."
Baldur chuckled when he heard Leman's idea. Something like that meant nothing to him. He wasn't just sitting around. He had been calculating and planning his campaign for some time now, even sending out scouts to do reconnaissance on planets.
From his planning, he was confident that he could take over more at least 40 planets and systems in the first year.
"Fine with me. What's the time limit?"
"3 brothers," Leman proposed. "We wouldn't want you to have to only kneel in front of Ferrus and Horus now, would we?"
"Deal," Baldur accepted the time limit. Going by how long it took to find each of them, he had about 10-15 years before the competition would be over. That was more than enough time to crush Leman and the Space Wolves by a large margin, to the point where they would be unable to even look him in the eyes when the results were announced.
Horus looked at the pair and wondered how he was going to report the situation to the Emperor while Ferrus wanted to join in but he knew that he couldn't match either of them. His Legion was too small compared to both of theirs and he had no military knowledge, meaning he had to learn how to properly lead armies.
With the deal complete, Leman and his pair of wolves left before Horus and Ferrus left as well. With their departure, Baldur focused his attention on getting his forces ready. He distributed his 12th Chapter to remain in the Feluc System to act as its protectors while the main army was away as well as train the newest members. He also organized about a 1/3rd of his Knights to remain in the system to support the 12th Chapter.
The rest of his forces were divided into 16 fleets, being led by the 11 Chapters, Dogan, and each of the Legion Masters from the 4 Legions under Baldur, though he mixed in his Grey Knights, Knight, Imperial Knights, and the War Hounds between each fleet.
In total, each fleet had about 3,000 Astartes within them with an additional 1,800,000 Knights accompanying them. As the Feluc System consisted of Knight Worlds, many of its members were part of the military. Even as each world had a few hundred million members, their militaries were each around 6 million Knights, making up about 2% of the populations. (1.8= 2(7x~6/3)/16 for those that like maths)
Each fleet was also supposed to pick up members of the Imperial Army on planets along the way, that would further bolster their numbers, making each fleet have about 2.5-3 million soldiers/knights in total.
While all of that was occurring, a secret ceremony was taking place in the castle. Besides Jendi, only Baldur and Selene were present in the room. Most marriages were private affairs, only being known to others when the couple announced it to them and showed off their new weapons.
Jendi watched with tears in her eyes as Baldur presented Selene with the staff he had crafted for her. It was slim and elegant but anyone could see how useful of a weapon it could also be. And when Baldur showed her how the crystal and some parts changed colour when magic was flowing through it, both women were shocked into disbelief. They had never seen something occur like that before.
Selene grabbed the staff and traced her fingers over the moon, reading the vows that Baldur had carved into it. She couldn't help but let the tears she was holding back fall from her eyes.
'As mysterious as the moon. As ever-changing as the moon. More beautiful than the moon. I shall gaze upon you for the rest of my life.'
Baldur smiled smugly as he took in the sight of Selene being speechless for once.
"Well?" he asked playfully. "Is it my victory?"
Selene wiped the tears from her eyes and shook her head. She refused to lose to Baldur
"Not at all. I'm was just crying cause you stole your idea from me!"
Selene uncovered her blade which was revealed to be a giant sword, only able to be wielded by Baldur. If any other would have tried to lift it, they would have surely been crushed under its weight or at the very least, be unable to properly fight with it.
The handle, guard, and centre of the blade were all black, while the edges of the blade looked as if they were covered in a layer of blue frost. Selene injected a small amount of Psyker energy into the blade, immediately lowering the temperature in the room by at least 10 degrees.
Baldur walked over to to the blade and ran his fingers down the centre where the runes were inscribed.
'Mysterious as the moon. Cold as the moon. But forever my beam of light and my love.'
Baldur engraved the words into his heart before pulling Selene in for a kiss. After stealing her breath for several seconds, he moved his mouth next to her ear and whispered into it.
"You know this means you can never escape from me, right?" Baldur asked seductively, his low voice heating up her ears
Selene responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss of her own.
"I should be the one saying that to you," Selene told him boldly
With the wedding over, the duo went to Baldur's personal Drake with their weapons in hand before heading up to the Invictus. It was time to begin their next adventure.