16 Going For A Walk
The ships of the different planets landed around the Game World at the various points where the Grey Knights had cleared out. The initial wave of attacks that they would have to defend against had been taken care of by the 2nd Legion who kept the skies clear with their snipers and heavy weapons while the ground had dead bodies burned so as to not attract more predators.
Each landing zone had an entire chapter acting as their guards. This may have been overkill for protection but it was more to allow the Grey Knights to further interact with the men and women of the planets. He wanted to show the latter that the Grey Knights were not just mindless soldiers but people who had retained their humanity even after becoming superhumans.
While all of them started to get along, the 1st Chapter cleared out a landing zone for the Military Academy students. The Military Academy was created in order for there to be a standard place of learning for those who wanted to become Knights, Imperial Knights, Grey Knights, or military officers. It granted them training but also allowed them to learn valuable skills such as medical skills, engineering, piloting, and more. Plenty of different courses for different positions.
Even if one did not end up participating in the military, attending the academy was mandatory for educational purposes as well as teaching the citizens important self-defense skills.
Baldur was currently on one of the ships that was bringing in the academy students which was also the STC that Baldur had found when he completed his trials and passed over to Gothea.
These ships were called Drakes and designed to resemble dragons. They were each about 100 meters along with twin, large turbine propulsion systems as well as a few auxiliary propulsion systems as well. Drakes were designed as transport ships that could move incredibly fast but they also carried powerful 'breath' weapons in the form of a Volcano Lance, the type of Lascannon that some Imperial Knights were equipped with. 1
Most of the Drakes were red in color but Baldur had his painted in a custom color scheme of black and light blue.
As their ships landed at the 8th Landing Zone, Baldur got off to see his forces had already set up a temporary outpost on the world. He walked to the entrance of the LZ and allowed the students to gather together before him.
He looked across their faces and saw the different expressions that they had on them. Each one was similar to how soldiers would look before their first battle. Some with fear. Some with excitement. Many acted cool while they were panicking underneath.
Baldur took them all in and nodded.
"Welcome to the Game World. This can be considered your graduation exam if you wish to become a Grey Knight or a promotional exam if you wish to raise your officer rank. For the former, you need to hunt at least a single Class 2 creature while the latter need to ensure your group hunts 20 Class 1s," he informed the teens and young adults
"Form into groups of whatever sizes that you want. If you wish to enter solo, you are free to do so as well. But I want to remind you all, that your lives are your responsibilities. By coming here, you have accepted that death is not only an option but a reality that is decided by the flip of a coin. As prepared as some of you are, this exam is also about luck just as war is. You could be hunting in a previously scouted area but then come across a dangerous predator you had never expected to see," Baldur gave them a small piece of advice. He did not want them to think that battles were always like simulations. Life had moving parts that could not always be calculated.
"Yes, Sir!" the class representative shouted before the rest of the students shouted behind him.
"Then, you're dismissed. You have 7 days to do whatever it takes to pass your exams," Baldur informed them before he left out the main gates with a laspistol strapped to his side and spear in his other hand.
Baldur walked deeper into the forest with his eyes glowing, seeing all the life that was moving around him. All manner of creatures were all around him, studying him and waiting for their chance to strike.
But as Baldur unleashed his aura in full, none dared to approach. They all saw that the small man before them was an apex hunter that they shouldn't try to go after, lest they be hunted themselves.
Baldur continued to take in the sights and walk through the forest by himself until he reached the base of a massive tree. Even compared to the ships that the Grey Knights had arrived on, this tree was thicker and longer than them both. It brimmed with vitality and power.
Baldur rubbed his hands along the bark, feeling the power that the tree was giving off.
"Hello, old friend," Baldur greeted the tree before placing his forehead on it. "You seem to have gained a few new war scars."
The energy around the tree seemed to hum in agreement. Many creatures had tried to cut down the tree over the millions of years it had been alive but none had succeeded.
Baldur stepped back and created a set of wings made out of psionic energy before soaring upwards for several kilometers, flying at an incredible speed. It took him several minutes to cross the distance before he reached the base of the crown.
Baldur flew past the branches until he arrived in the middle of the area where Selene and several Witches had already set up a table.
"Your Majesty!" the women turned to him and bowed
Baldur held up his hand to stop them before urging them to continue. The women did so and finished the setup before they all stood behind Baldur who was facing the east.
The group waited in that position for several minutes until a set of pillars made of some type of foreign material appeared out of nowhere. These blue and black pillars seemed alien in origin. Soon, the pillars began to have blue electricity running up and down them as a blue portal appeared between both of the columns.
Baldur and the others looked on as 3 groups of individuals made their way out of the portal one by one. They all appeared like humans, though slightly taller and with pointed ears, but each one walked with an unnatural grace that couldn't be called human.
These were the Aeldari. Each was from one of the three greatest factions, though not the leaders of their own factions. The Drukhari, the Asuryani, and the Harlequins.
And they were Baldur's greatest allies.
