The Tyrant's Reward

Chapter II: His majesty, Flippy

A few hours prior to the princess of Euphrosyne's birthday celebration, a young ruler from a far away kingdom had traveled long and treacherous lands to reach the outskirts of the kingdom of joy. Preparing him and his men for battle. 

The kingdom was surrounded by a great forest, rumored to be infested with many savage beasts and all types of deadly vegetation. Regardless of these dangers, the merchants and inhabitants of Euphrosyne seem to be able to slip in and out of the forest unscathed. Many other rival kingdoms had attempted to infiltrate Euphrosyne in the past but have all failed. Nevertheless, the young lord was far more different and determined than those other monarchies when it came to overcoming difficult obstacles such as these. Unbeknownst to the outside world yet known by his people, the King of Tree Bark was a highly remarkable strategist and a man who surpassed all when it came to combat.

Thus, before traveling to the kingdom of joy, he had already devised a plan long before the princess's anniversary. Three months ago, the king sent out 100 of his men to infiltrate Euphrosyne as survivors of tragedy and then lay low as casual civilians until further notice. This will allow him to gather more intel on his soon-to-be conquered territory and how the forest operates. Throughout those months of receiving letters from his men, he'd gain a helpful amount of information and warnings about the kingdom of Euphrosyne. 

With these letters, he learned of the several traveling routes leading to the kingdom as well as tips on how to deal with the hostile creatures and plants living within the forest. However, an equal amount of rebellions were formed against his plans after some of his men had formed a certain bond with the kingdom. There were furthermore suicide notes written by those who have felt guilt in participating in his highness' schemes. It was unlike anything his highness has seen. How odd, why feel so deeply for a home which is not yours? 

One by one, his men began to fall into the welcoming arms of the kingdom of joy before a war had even broke out. Despite his men dropping like flies, the young emperor persevered and was able to develop a full-fledged plan to overtake Euphrosyne with the little men he had left residing in the kingdom. 

So with two weeks before the great day, the young man dressed himself in his most cherished armor and rode a top his mighty steed alongside his trustworthy advisor to Euphrosyne, leading a fleet of hundreds to battle.

Back to present day, his highness divided his men into five groups: one to inform those undercover to come join them in battle, another to position themselves for ambush and the rest to go patrol and secure all the exits, preventing any escapees or messages from fleeing the kingdom. When all was set in motion, the young lord ordered his men to find anything that would resemble a secret entrance to the castle. 

During the months of receiving letters, one of his men had mentioned there being an odd hatch in the middle of forest before he reported dead. If his intuition was correct, which was usually the case, that hatch had to be an exit to one of the palaces escape tunnels. All castles are designed with escape routes incase of emergency. But seeing as the land of Euphrosyne was such a massive and vulnerable territory, he came to the conclusion that some of those routes were either red-herrings or layered with booby traps to compensate for the lack of supposed surveillance. If he wanted to succeed in his take-over with little to no difficulty, he needed the blueprints to those underground tunnels.

The men he brought were all incredibly strong valiant loyal and heavily trained warriors, yet the king didn't find them fitted for the task at hand. So once his men had found a strange hatch buried in the forest's woods, his highness changed out of his bulky armor into more casual fabrics before entering the anonymous tunnel. The reason for not sending any of his men to go in his place or to accompany him throughout the catacombs was to minimalize the chances of losing any necessary manpower during his take over.