A dirtied carriage with a tattered tarpaulin that looks like it hadn't been cleaned for months could be seen approaching the walls of the eastern kingdom of the Omod Continent, the kingdom of Garudia, famously known as the 'winged' kingdom. The single carriage made its way to the gates as the guards inspected its insides.

...

The Garudia Kingdom could be considered the 'rival' kingdom of Wolfenstein. Although the Omod Continent boasts the highest population and the second strongest military force throughout Nuwiell, the Wolfenstein Kingdom that holds the title as the strongest kingdom within the Blaz Continent is still too powerful for the Garudia Kingdom to challenge.

Being off in a somewhat secluded position within the westernmost part of the Omod Continent, the Garudia Kingdom had thrived within its independence as it grew to be a strong contender. The early days of the kingdom's establishment had been tough.

Being near the edge of the mountain ranges that separate the Shodan and Blaz Continent, the first kingdom of 'Garudia' had always attracted trouble from gigantic winged creatures such as Griffons and Wyverns, which were the locals of the western mountain ranges. It seems that these creatures had a grudge on any human activity and wreaked havoc on the rising kingdom every now and then.

It was not until one fateful day that the entire fate of the Garudia Kingdom changed. A noble of the rising kingdom had ventured towards the mountain ranges and encountered an object within a cavern that changed everything. A bizarre-looking statue with different patterns of wings, an image of an Ancient Garuda which was said to be a powerful entity on the level of Titan's, was discovered within the caverns.

After carrying this mysterious artifact back to the kingdom, the attacks of those winged creatures had stopped. Instead, they circled around the kingdom as if they were looking for something. Yet they do not dare destroy anything, nor even attack any human that came from within the said kingdom. 

The people within that rising kingdom had then established that the artifact was indeed what brought this blessing. And as time went by, they also discovered that these winged creatures were highly obedient to any person who had touched the mysterious artifact. It is now called The Great Garuda Statue, as it became the emblem of the now powerful Garudia Kingdom.

Although powerful, the sheer amount of military forces the Garudia Kingdom could muster was never even 1/4th of the total raw manpower of the Wolfenstein Kingdom. Even worse for them, during the times of King Louie, garrisoned troops were stationed on the boundaries of the two continents, which served as an early warning system against any attacks that the Garudia Kingdom could attempt.

...

A robed man within the dirty carriage was coughing, and he was suffering from heavy injuries. The soldiers that were stationed nearby immediately assisted the man as he collapsed after getting out of the carriage. 

The insides of said carriage were full of mysterious looking tomes and treasures, but what immediately caught the attention of the guards was the cloth that covered these things. It was a flag with the insignia of the Wolfenstein Kingdom!

Although they took pity on the man, it was obvious that this man was an enemy. They had taken care of his health as numerous knights stood by to stand guard for this person. A few soldiers from the gate had then reported it to their superior, and then it was passed to the king himself, King Ivan Galeon.

"My king, there was a carriage containing numerous treasures within an improvised bag made from a cloth that was bearing the Wolfenstein Kingdom's coat of arms." One of the castle knights reported, "We are currently assisting the only passenger within said carriage. He became unconscious during his arrival, and we have confiscated everything within the carriage."

"Hmm, bring me those treasures, I'll check them out myself, and immediately report to me when that man regains consciousness. I will personally have a talk with him." King Ivan replied as the knight then returned to the temporary shelter where the mysterious man was being taken care of.

It was late in the afternoon when the man had finally regained consciousness. Even though the man was heavily injured with what seems to be scratches and bites from some beast all over him, he definitely still has enough physical characteristics that one could tell that he was at least from a well-off background. Specifically, this man was none other than Louie the 3rd, the former king of the Wolfenstein Kingdom.

He immediately stood up and ran out from this makeshift room. But upon arriving at the entrance, he was halted by dozens of soldiers who were just waiting for him to wake up. Louie the 3rd was still in a daze as he was scanning the area. Although there were numerous knights here, it seems that they were not holding any hostility, even though it was apparent that he was from the Wolfenstein Kingdom.

"Our king wanted to talk with you as soon as you had awoken. Let's go." 

The knight that was tasked by the king immediately escorted Louie towards the capital where the king's castle was located.

Although Louie [1] was still in confusion, he was pretty sure that the direction he took after the attack from the beasts was towards the rival kingdom, Garudia. His sudden arrival would obviously attract the attention of the higher-ups. He was pretty sure that the inspection had revealed his identity as someone from the Wolfenstein Kingdom.

Garudia Kingdom's castles' throne hall

Intently staring at Louie, who was not even bowing to him, King Ivan was inspecting him as this man was acting somewhat 'rude'. He does not seem to have a look that could be mistaken as a commoner. With him acting arrogantly and the fact that he was carrying treasures that were only accessible through the vaults hidden within the king's castle, only one conclusion could be drawn.

"Hmm, it seems that your arrogance is viable... royalty from Wolfenstein, I suppose? Or well, former royalty it seems..." 

King Ivan started talking as he smirked towards the current sorry figure of Louie...

"Heh, So? It's not like I am here as your enemy you know? I was just passing by to give you important information." 

Louie smiled as he replied to the 'insults' of King Ivan.

"Oh? You have my interest... speak." 

King Ivan became curious from just the one word of Louie, 'information'. This was actually something important. Although it had been made known that something that involved the royal lines had indeed occurred within the Wolfenstein Kingdom, who was holding the current throne, or even if anyone was actually handling the empty throne, Ivan was eager to know.

"I'll speak if you return my things. Those treasures aren't yours you know?" Louie replied.

"Do you think you're in any position to start bargaining? And your things? Last time I checked is that these treasures belong to the king of the Wolfenstein Kingdom and not some rag royalty." Ivan laughed as he raised one of his hands.

Blades from gigantic pole spears immediately crossed towards Louie's neck, only stopping a few centimeters away from his skin. 

"Talk and you'll be spared." 

Ivan's expression became serious as Louie's face remained just as arrogant as before.

"Ah, you started threatening me instead? Okay fine 'Your Highness'. I'll talk, I'll talk." Louie raised his hands in dismissal as he smiled. "At least spare me when we're all done here, alright?"

"Depends on the information you have, but for now, you have my word," Ivan replied with a straight face.

Lowering the spears, the discussion between Ivan and Louie spanned till midnight. Information such as the entire course of the events that occurred over a month ago in Wolfenstein was passed over. The name of the new king, who was a total outsider, was also revealed. The news of the garrisoned soldiers in the outpost being called back to the capital and the destruction of some of the temporary strongholds and other military-related locations only rang a single thought within Ivan's mind. The Wolfenstein Kingdom is wide open for the taking.

All the previous problems that they had encountered for starting a war against the kingdom with only an imaginary border separating them were now a blessing for him. No advance warning system? No early defense barriers or soldiers to slow down initial attacks? Even more so, the news of over 80 thousand soldiers perishing during a 'civil war'. The conditions were just too perfect.

It only took three days to prepare the cavalry that was assembled to mount an initial attack on the western side of the Wolfenstein Kingdom, which pretty much only contains the business district now that none of the previous strongholds contain any soldiers.

Although the numbers only amounted to seven thousand, this was not an ordinary army. 5,000 Knight-Griffon Riders and 2,000 Wyvern Riders are what this initial army amounted to. It was powerful enough to take down a small kingdom in a single day! And it would only take two to three days for this group to reach the western part of the kingdom.

This was way too easy for the Garudia Kingdom, and the arrangements did not even take long as this was something they had been planning to do a long time ago yet they never had the opportunity to.

'Ah, this was indeed the perfect kingdom that I could have run into. This king was everything that I had expected him to be. A greedy one.' Louie grinned as he saw the mounting forces of the Garudia Kingdom. Everything that was happening right now would easily benefit Louie one way or another. Regardless which one eats the other, he wins. Louie was now showing a scheming side of his that none have ever seen,

...and it seems, that this might just work.

[1] I'll just refer to Louie the 3rd as Louie, as the other Louie is now dead.