Kingdoms Union Gestrae HQ, La Ferdina An emergency meeting was called upon in the aftermath of the news of the Northern Expedition being wiped out in the unpopulated island of Flashia. The subject of discussion by now is completely obvious to everyone.

The Empress of La Ferdina didn't want this meeting as she is seen facepalming, but nevertheless, it had to be called upon for the best. Reine Bethune would stand up from her seat amidst the chattering in the room.

"All representatives..." said the Empress "May I have order so we could start this meeting?" at which the room gradually went silent "Thank you" and after that, she would clear her throat as the meeting officially starts.

"I have called upon this emergency meeting of the Kingdoms Union Gestrae today, is what I admittedly don't want, but had to address. Yesterday, the Fideral Republic of Flashia has officially wiped out our hundred thousand-strong Northern Expedition"

The news was indeed bad, REALLY bad as this uncivilized nation had possessed some kind of capability to wipe out the entire 7-nation-army.

"However, they could only achieve that by the fact we sent so little troops while they had a million soldiers. So we must present a united front against this barbarian nation and traitorous Esterria, and only then we could finally conquer this republic!"

The state members' representatives nodded to the words of Bethune, as they had their hopes up amidst the uncertainty.

"Oh and another thing, we will need support from the rest of Kingdoms Union, for I, Empress of La Ferdina believes that with all the might of our Union, the conquest of Flashia will be more inevitable!"

As the Empress finished up on her speech, a chuckle was heard among the representatives. There was no one but the King of Naeslagtland himself, Madsen IV.

"What is the laughing matter here King Madsen?" the empress asked with annoyance in her tone.

"Please, the conquest of Flashia will be more inevitable? Ridiculous I say!" the King boldly proclaims "They did not win because they had numbers on their side! They actually had significantly less soldiers fighting there! Even if we had the support of the strongest, none of us would be able to emerge victorious, much less a pyrrhic one..."

Though not the first time over the time period of a few months, Reine was thrown into a rage once again. Significantly less soldiers fighting in the island? She thought Madsen's claim was far more ridiculous than any monarch should have been.

"And before you ask for evidence, here is my proof!" as he raised up a paper in his hand, not giving the Empress a chance to say anything further "This is a document from Esterria, collected by, and translated by the Royal Intelligence Corps of Naeslagtland..."

He then clears his throat before proceeding: "Reports on the Battle of Gevaka, also known internally as Operation Firestorm. Approximately 3 thousands troops were sent to secure the coastal area, then an additional 2 thousands arrived afterwards. At the end of the battle, Kingdoms Union Gestrae Northern Expedition suffered hundreds of thousands of loss in personnel while Flashia only had 123 wounded and 40 deaths in return"

With the words read loud and clear, gasps of shock would erupt.

"NONSENSE!" yelled the Empress "All of those thing are just baseless propaganda designed to instill fear into us! To make our unity against hostile elements weaker!"

"If I were to be honest, I would have thought that too" replied the King "But we checked not not, not twice, not even three times, but eight times and all have confirmed that this is the case whether you like it or not... Now if you excuse us" as his entourage stood up from our seat "We have our own affairs to deal with.

Madsen IV along with his companions started to leave the room, before the King stopped before the doorway.

"One more thing" said the King of Naeslagtland as he turns around "If the Federal Republic of Flashia comes to you, do not come to us and beg for our help" and then he turned back, continued his way out, officially ending Naeslagtland's participation in the meeting.

An atmosphere of uncertainty fell upon the meeting room. The Kingdom of Naeslagtland is not what you call weak, being considered the 2nd most powerful country in Gestrae after La Ferdina. With their backs turned against KUG, Reine Bethune's worries is only increasing.

Nonetheless this meeting must go on, with their belief that Flashia will eventually fall to them still holding firm, even if Naeslagtland is no longer on their side.

...

"Your majesty, are you sure you're making the right choice?"

"...Admittedly, I have made mistakes before, but this is not one of them, I'm sure of it"

...

"The occupiers coming from the continent of Gestrae is no more.

Just this morning, the Federal Government had announced they have completely retaken the island of Gevaka from an alliance known as Kingdoms Union Gestrae, 4 months after the island was invaded by several foreign armies, including the superpower of the region, La Ferdina.

The retaking of the island of Gevaka in Agevær was said to be a joint effort between various units and branches of the Defense Forces, most notably the Marinesoldater Overfaldsenheder of the Marine who taken part in the initial stage of the counterattack.

It also has been confirmed that all structures built will be demolished, as the island itself is a National Park. In addition, the Defense Forces, particularly the Home Guard would occupy the island for longer as they had also launched another operation to eliminate pests that came with the invaders alongside civilian efforts.

"If we don't put those rats under control" as the Ageværan Home Guard Commander, Oskar Erdahl puts it "Then who knows how our Gevaka would end up!"

We now move on to Esterria. The Commonwealth Government has announced that they have achieved full victory with the defeat and surrender of the Esterrian Associations of Slavers, who flew the white flag around the end of the Second Battle of Pannerden. "Havenklein is once again ours" said the Royal Family regarding the war, while a victory parade is also in sight.

In the meantime, the Federal Government would also reconfirms travel restriction against the following countries for Flash citizens: La Ferdina, Saogaulia, Gošbania, Hendrolis, Varika, Ensande and Salderra" - Dagen Begivenheder 24/7

...

With a disaster on their hands that could be a catalyst for worse things to come, the Kingdoms Union would decree that surviving spies from another one would be gathered for questioning, believing that some of them might have done something that could have resulted to this, worse, it could be intentional...

Corveiros, Saogaulia, 19/7/1702 In response, the Saogaulian Royal Government sent a certain man out in the evening to pay a visit to one of their own spies that managed to slip past Flashia's fishing net.

The man in question has a single red shoulder cape on his left, which symbolizes his status as one of the elite Royal Guards. And it's because of this, bystanders often avoid him as much as possible, fearing that they might do something wrong and thus would have to suffer severe repercussion for it.

He eventually arrives at his destination, a house where the man who retired from espionage after all that resides. The guard then proceeded to knock on his door and then wait for him. The door opens and he would be facing a bearded man who immediately recognized him as one of the Royal Guards.

"...You're a guard?" questioned the bewildered former spy, shocked that one came to him today. He just maintained a cold demeanor, staring at him as he nods.

"Well... come in" as the man fully opens the door and gets out of the way for the guard to enter.

The guard enters the house, not even making eye contact with the former spy as he closes the door. The red cape makes his way to the living room, in which he noticed two men already there before him.

"Err... ola!" said one of the strangers in a clearly Naeslagtlandic accent, stressing the first syllable of their word for 'hello'. The guard then turns toward the spy, giving him a glare, getting the message across without speaking a word.

"S-sir" the bearded man nervously answered "With all due respect... t-these are my friends I made from Naeslagtland, I-I met them when I was working there with our counterparts..." to which the guard gave thought of it for awhile before simply nodding, accepting the answer he had received. He would sit down on one of the chairs in the room, making himself comfortable here.

The drinks, as it seems, had already been served, as a teapot was already on the table, along with some cups. The former spy would sit down on the chair, directly facing the guard.

"S-So... what is the purpose of you coming here, sir?" he asked.

"Well, Mr. Carreira" he would reply "As you might have known already as you have previously worked with us, I did not come here to have a small talk" as the guard puts his hands to chest level, creating a raised steepled fingers gesture "So I will be straightforward for you... you are being detained for suspicion of treason..."

The atmosphere in the house just plummets, and it seems the Naeslagts picked up on this judging their facial expression in response. The former spy looked at the two guests, then turned back to the Royal Guard.

"...Is it really serious?" intent on getting a confirmation.

"The King's order is always serious and absolute" replied the guard "Now may I lead you away? Do not worry, it won't take long, and perhaps you would be let go if proven innocent..."

Carreira would contemplate with himself, only being able to nod.

"Understandable but... I'm not sure if you're going to be alive to do that..."

The guard didn't really get it at first, but a few seconds later, he realizes it was a blunder all along. As he jolt himself from the seat, his peripheral vision would register one of the Naeslagts swiftly pulling out something out of his coat. And before he could properly do anything, a bullet made him meet his end, effective immediately.

...

Smokes of the suppressed pistol rises, as the Royal Guard would sit down there, lifeless with blood pouring down from his head. He holsters the 22. LR pistol, once again concealing it in his waistcoat.

As it turns out, these 2 are not Naeslagts at all. They natively speak the same language, sure, but they are not from there in any form and shape.

"By the gods, I did not think of your weapons being that silent!" commented the Saogaulian spy, or rather in this case, defector.

"Shh!" replied the other Flash operative "Keep it down will ya? Don't want to alert anyone else here..." as the one who fired the shot begins to remove the body from the chair.

"I apologize, got a little excited... so what shall be our next move?"

"We have to get the hell out of here" while the body would be carried away "It won't help us if we waste more time like a camper" as the operative pulls out his radio.

"This is Vector-3-3, give me a SITREP"

He then stands in silence awaiting a response.

"Zeta-2 here, got no problem going on here"

"Vector-3-1 reporting, got some hiccups here but we're close to extraction point so we're good"

From the looks of it, everything has been going well on their side.

"Copy, Vector-3-3 are also good here, out"

As he puts away his radio, his partner came out of the basement entrance, raising a thumbs up, a signal that he's ready for the next action.

"Alright, follow my lead" as the operative would lead the 2 others to the back of the house. Outside is just an ordinary carriage, with the only difference between it and others is the fact that Flash operatives is the one behind the horses, disguised of course.

First, the 'quiet one' got on the carriage, followed by Carreira, who'd also help the other operative up. The agent that speaks would then approach the rider and gives him a tap to the shoulder, signaling them to go.

The horses would begin taking their steps, the wheels roll on the ground below. The three make themselves comfortable on the carriages, sitting on any spot they could find with the leader up front, next to the driver (or rider maybe?)

"So how do we get out of here?" inquired Carreira again.

"Well, we need to move to a certain point, and board a chopper where we will be flying-"

"Wait, wait, wait, flying? Wouldn't the mana detectors detect us?"

"Well, we thought so, but that chopper has been sitting there for hours and no one seems to bat an eye from what we can see"

The defector was then reminded of something: Flashia is a land of absolutely no magic. They don't even have mana in its people and in their anything to begin with. All of their assets products of mechanics without a single trace of magic crystal. Part of him doesn't want to believe it, but alas, they were undeniably a lot more advanced even without magic.

The Saogaulian then sits in silence, acknowledging that he got the thing wrong and that there's basically no risk of being detected. He would wait and let the Flash Operatives do their things, as the defector look forward to a new life up North.

"...Vector-3-3, interrogative, is the LHD near and on standby?"

...

Minvennped, Agevær, 19/8/2017 Minvennped is the state capital of Agevær as well as one of the trading ports where Flash and Esterrian merchant ships dock, as they load and unload their cargos, and then set sail once more. One of the ships though, isn't Flash nor Esterrian, but instead, it bears a flag unfamiliar to Flashia.



Nobody from Flashia knows what this ship is exactly from as information is still limited outside their border though they definitely know it's not a warship to begin with. But the Esterrians at the port do. They knew the flag that the ship has as its ensign as it nears the port to dock. What they didn't know though is who's on the ship.

"So we are here..." said the Naeslagt Foreign Minister "This is Flashia am I correct?" to which the captain nodded.

"I believe so sir"

As they near the dock by the seconds, they could see their counterparts on the port looking at them, confused as to where they had come from. The Esterrians though just stares at them in suspicion. The wooden ship of Naeslagtland would drop their anchors upon being close enough to the platform, that's one part of securing the ship's placement done.

The Foreign Minister steps out of the ship and into the Flash port, as he was met with someone approaching him in grey and blu-ish pants.

"Uh... sir, might I ask you where are you from and what's your business going here?" said the man in the Inter-Civilized Language.

"I am Gjermund Sagen of the Naeslagtlandic Kingdom's Ministry of Foreign Affairs" he answered in Naeslagtlandic. The man seems to have been surprised, most likely due to the fact this unknown guest speaks the same language as he does.

"Well then... you said you're from Ministry of Foreign Affairs is that correct?" Gjermund then nodded to his words "...And you're from Naeslagt Kingdom?"

"That is correct"

The man stille seems to be a little bit confused, as he looks away for a moment, tapping his feet as he thinks about it. And then, he shifted his attention back to the minister and his accomplices as they come up from behind.

"I want you to follow me, I'll get you in contact with the authorities" as the man in grey turns around and walks away, with the Naeslagts following close by. They would follow him to a small building, where there's other people, seemingly taking their breaks.

Gjermund walks around as their Flash counterparts eye them in curiosity, just like those outside when they first arrive. He looks around the building interior, being impressed by its interiors, and then, something had caught his eyes.

"This is a map of Flashia am I correct?" said the minister.

"Yep, it also includes some other countries in Gestrae, including your country... Naeslagtland is it...? Was gifted to us from an Esterrian sailor"

"I see..."

As his entourage looks around, Gjermund noticed the man using some sort of manacomm, but more compact. The minister assumed that's what he meant by 'getting in touch with the authorities', by contacting the government of Flashia.

He would then find and sit on a sofa, the entourage still touring the building. Gjermund then brought out his hand clock, opens the cover and check the time. Obviously being in a different country meant that he would have to adjust his clock, so he looked up and attempted to ask someone about the time.

That is when he saw a display of shifting numbers. With every second passed, the first number would shift to the next number. When it got to 59, the next number was... 00, with the next number also shifting to the next number.

That told him right away, that it was in fact, a clock, an unconventional one at that. Despite their inherent lack of magic as rumored later confirmed, they were able to make a clock superior than that of even Verdecana, causing a rather welcoming surprise.

As the seconds still passing by, Gjermund immediately began working on adjusting his clock, and he did this until he got it just right. It might still has an error of at least a few seconds off or so, but it wouldn't matter much as they are left waiting for their counterparts.

...

With the rebellion crushed, the fog of war would clear up to illustrate an image of a torn apart region. Buildings and towns, especially in the Central region of Havenklein had been subject to mass destruction caused by both sides when the fight was still on. But even in this plight, there are still hope.

Pannerden, Havenklein, Esterria With the population that lived here finally able to return to the region that they called home, the people would begin working to clean up the mess and restore much of the Havenklein they had knew with the Royal Army of the Commonwealth.

As for the troopers, it is expected that a big number of the military will be staying here for more than a month, and justifiably so as fears loom around the further Western small-scale insurgency and another potential KUG-supported rebellion that will rip the region apart again, if not anywhere else.

"The Royal Army as I've heard, is planning a gradual withdrawal of majority of the army soon" said Piet as he stands guard with the lieutenant "...So what would you do when we eventually leave this place sir?"

Vincent van Kuik thinks for a bit, try to come up with an answer. And then he gets one.

"...I'll leave the army and go home" much to Piet's dismay.

"Wha- wait, w-w-why?"

"I had fought in the war for gods know how much I spent here" as he would look over Konink who is joining the townspeople in their restoration efforts "It just makes me want to go home the more I spend in this region with all the things I've seen. Besides, there will be a time where your field beret turns into a civilian cap"

Piet couldn't argue against that, as he maintains his silence after that.

"So what about you?"

"Hah...? I... think I'm going to stay for awhile..." Piet replied "I feel like I'm not ready to go back to being civilian yet..."

Vincent simply smiled.

"Don't worry, I know how you feel, a portion of me is also still worried of how I would do when I return home..."

They continued watching over the area, providing security for the workers, while wyverns patrol above them and the self-propelled vehicles pass by, as the rebuilding efforts are going strong.

...

The Naeslagtlandic diplomatic party at Minnvenped is on what could be argued their most comfortable ride ever as the Foreign Minister is just simply amazed with all the features that this particular black self-propelled carriage had if one could call it that.

Temperature of the interior remained at a constant level of cool, the seats made of leather and there's this screens that comes with applications. Granted, it's not that useful for these Naeslagts, but still could be something to appreciate. All these features aren't usually found in carriage, or even in first place, and to top it all off, this is just one of the common carriages that citizens here seem to possess.

The carriage began to slow down, as outside the window to their right is a gate and a sign with golden letters, spelling 'Staten Agevær' and 'State of Agevær' just below it. The gate would be opened up by itself, the guard with a strange musket just kept his face forward.

After it fully opens, the carriage started moving again, but slowly as they enter the area of this government building. The vehicle steered left as the another black vehicle left the area in front of the entrance, looks like a part of the party had already arrived.

The carriage then stops at the front of the entrance, the guard standing to the left of the entrance went over to the vehicle and opened the door for the rest, as they would then step foot outside once more.

The guard in grey closes the vehicle's door, turned left by 145 degrees before returning to his previous position. With all of the diplomatic party being gathered here, the Foreign Minister of Naeslagtland with his entourage continued onto their path.

"Well gentlemen... this is it, this is where history shall be written"

...

Einskirka Royal Castle, Einskirka, Esterria The young queen of Esterria is in her room, pacing back and forth, thinking of good lines for her coming speech. With the end of Havenklein War, came with the end of her biggest burden since her coronation. And while it is indeed a wonderful news for Marie III, her responsibility had not end yet as the face of the Commonwealth.

As part of the victory parade, she is supposed to be delivering a speech before the Royal Army would march down to the square, a part of the never-ending responsibilities of the Commonwealth of Esterria's head of state.

Because of this, pressures were still on her, in the level that was only outdone by her immediate coronation and the outbreak of the Havenklein War. Marie looked up and down, letting out a deep breath afterwards, worrying about the big day.

A knock could be heard on her door soon afterwards.

"Your majesty, are you there?" said a voice behind the door. It took awhile but Marie seems to have realized who it was.

"Mr. Kiel, is that you?"

"Yes, your majesty, it's your prime minister speaking" confirming her suspicion "I will have to make it a bit short but I have some news that you might want to hear"

"...I'm listening"

"The King of Naeslagtland, Madsen IV will be coming to Esterria"

The news was a surprising one for the queen in her teenage. She had long knew that out of all the state members, Naeslagtland was the most sympathetic KU country out there, but the king coming to Esterria? That's something no one had imagined.

"...They said that this is to strengthen diplomatic ties after Naeslagtland stormed out in the middle of a meeting, or so I've heard"

So that's what got their Naeslagtlandic counterparts turning to Esterria, the same country that was branded a traitor by the rest. Marie pondered about it a little, before she made a decision.

"Very well then, arrange a meeting on my behalf... I will go get ready"

"Yes, your majesty"

Footsteps are then heard, fading away in each steps as the Esterrians now have another job of the day to do.

...

The Naeslagts looked around the room as they wait for their Flash counterpart. Once again fascination took a hold on the diplomatic party, particularly with the lights and furnitures here, it all looked like they travelled into the future... and in a way, they kind of did.

What is truly amazing for them is that all of the things here are possible without even a singular spot of magic, which made everyone in the room wonder, how is it posssible that Flashia got to the point where they are today?

'Could it be because without magic that there was demands for such advancement?' Gjermund thought to himself before a door creaks open, shifting their attention to the ones entering the room.

"Good morning gentlemen" a grey-haired man with a pair of glasses opened up in ICL "My name is Oliver Magovac, the Foreign Minister of Flashia, nice to you meet you gentlemen"

While they were indeed anticipating to talk with someone from their Foreign Ministry, they weren't expecting the Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic himself.

"If I'm being honest I did not expect this meeting to come up so suddenly" as he'd take a seat opposing his Naeslagtlandic counterparts "I thought I went to Agevær for some simple business. Alas, time proved me wrong... Anyways let's get to the point shall we?"

The Naeslagt Foreign Minister nodded to the word of his Flash counterpart, while taking out the paper he kept for this meeting.

"On behalf of the Kingdom of Naeslagtland, I, Foreign Minister Gjermund Guldbrandsen, would like to request the diplomatic relations to be established with Flashia along with trade deal between us"

Magovac would nod in acknowledgement as Gjermund would clear his throat in preparation for the next thing on the table as he brought up the paper.

"In my hand is a draft of the Flashian-Naeslagtlandic Treaty, which aims to establish diplomatic as well as trade relation between the Kingdom of Naeslagtland and the Federal Republic of Flashia. First of all, the Royal Embassy of Naeslagtland shall be established in the capital and in return, the embassy of the Federal Republic will be hosted in our capital. Secondly, Flashian merchant ships-"

"I apologize to interrupt, but the correct demonym is Flash, not Flashian..."

"Ah, I see... my fault then... As I was saying, Flash merchant ships shall be granted free access to Naeslagtland's ports and Naeslagtlandic ships shall be allowed on Flashian docks. Thirdly, no tariff shall be imposed on either goods. Fourthly, both sides shall receive protection of any kind when entering one of the both parties territorial water, and finally, citizens of both countries reserves the right to enter in and out of each other's borders"

Oliver Magovac nodded to the listed conditions for the treaty, before then speaking.

"I must ask before continuing on with this, do you have slavery back in your country?"

"Well, we do have some slaves market-"

"Then get rid of them"

A shift of tone completely caught the Naeslagtlandic diplomatic party's off-guard. It was clear to them that Flashia does not allow slavery, and cannot tolerate it.

"W-Wait, could you tell me the reason why we should outlaw it?" a flabbergasted Gjermund demanded an answer.

Oliver sighed.

"Okay, how do I put it this way...? Slavery takes freedom away from many people, and those many happened to form the populace of Flashia today, in fact, my ancestors at some point had chains on their neck. Because of that, we could not allow slavery to exist here, with such a decision made centuries ago, and we will refuse to work with anyone who still uses such inhumane method"

Gjermund was a bit saddened, but he was able to understand the reason behind it.

"So... only if we made slavery illegal that you would sign it correct?"

"That is correct, we are still interested, but we cannot continue until that issue is all worked out"

The Naeslagt Foreign Minister nodded turning to his entourage as they shared the same expression of disappointment.

"Very well then, I will notify the King about this..." as the Naeslagts stood up from their chair "It's been an honor working with you Minister Magovac"

"It's been an honor working with you too Mr. Gjermund"

Both parties began to take their leave as they headed for the door, with the Flash comes out first and the Naeslagts second.

"Well, we hope you have a safe stay and trip here" Oliver remarked "I hope to work with your Kingdom further"

Gjermund nodded on his counterpart's last remark, as they call it a day at their job. It wasn't a successful one, nor a failure, it's just one obstacle that prevent this from going any further, but... at least it had a good start.

"Oh right" Oliver turned around "If you want, you can stop by Boksvåken Street if you want to see a little military march there"

"Much obliged for the suggestion..." he would reply before going his way "...Could use some newspaper to read... now where's that shop he told me about again?"

...

"Your majesty, news from the diplomatic party to Flashia has arrived"

King Madsen IV along with those accompanying him on this trip, have arrived in Einskirka, the capital city of Esterria.

"Were they successful?" replied the king.

"They were... close"

Madsen was obviously disappointed of this outcome.

"So they failed... was it because our deal was not attractive enough for them?"

"No, you got it wrong... Your Majesty, it has to do with slavery itself or ratherthd legality of it"

The King was rather surprised that a rather trivial thing such as slavery is a big deal for Flashia.

"So you are saying that slavery must go if we to be able to work with them?"

"That is what Sir Gjermund told us, Your Majesty"

The King turns away for a bit, possibly contemplating about the decision. He then nods before letting out a deep breath and turning back to his assistant.

"If that's what they want... I better prepare myself to draft a decree then. Remind me that when we get back"

"Of course, Your Majesty"

The King and his company then continued onto their destination: The Royal Castle of the Commonwealth. As they got closer, the large gate opened up for them, and the guards turning to the Naeslagts as they stood on the sides of the hallway.

They walked and walked before they eventually reach the meeting room, where another guard opened the door for them. Inside the room is Minister Gessel and the queen herself.

"We, the Commonwealth of Esterria, welcomes the representatives from the Kingdom of Naeslagtland" announced the Esterrian minister.

The King bowed, the Queen bowed, both monarchs were ready themselves for today's meeting, as the representatives all took their respective seats.

"To start this meeting" Madsen IV began "I think we should reiterate why we are here today with you: We are here to re-strengthen the relationship between the Kingdom of Naeslagtland and the Commonwealth of Esterria to a similar if not the same level as the one prior to the Kingdoms Union's embargo"

Marie III nodded.

"Very well, we shall begin"

One of Madsen's entourage stood up, holding a paper in his hands.

"First and foremost, we would like to officially reopen the Naeslagtlandic embassy in Einskirka as part of the effort"

"We can arrange that to happen, anything else that you would like to request?"

"Ah yes please, we would like it if trades were also re-established between us"

The Esterrian minister nodded, but he can't help but wonder about something.

"We can also do that, but I must ask you a question: Why come to us? Did something happen in Kingdoms Union Gestrae?"

The Naeslagts were silent. They looked at each other, their face do not seem to be happy about the KUG being mentioned here. Alas, they could not keep their Esterrian counterparts under the dark.

"Their arrogance has reached a beyond saving level" The King himself would give out an answer "They're all blindly leading their countries to the graves. I tried to warn them, get them to fix all that was done. But they would not listen, and my patience had ran out, that is all I could say"

Gessel nodded to the words of Madsen IV. To the Esterrians, it seems that Naeslagtland had enough with what the KUG is doing, so much so that they turned to a country branded as traitor by others.

"I see... Is that all of the requests you made to us?"

"That is correct, we believe it's the best way for the time being as we rebuild it up from the start"

The Queen of Esterria could only nod, but she has one request in her mind... well, more like a suggestion.

"If you can, can you send a contingent of your soldiers to upcoming military parade next week? I suppose it helps that it would symbolize our rebuilding of relations"

The Naeslagt King was now more than happy to do so.

"That is certainly possible under my vision"

The meeting between Naeslagtland and Esterria as it seems is reaching its end. It was admittedly short, but it ended great for both of these countries, as the ties between the two is forged again after the slavery abolishment in Esterria.

"One more thing before we end this though" King Madsen IV remarked as he put a compilation of papers on the table, sliding it to the Esterrians "I thought this will be important for this time around... Let's just say we borrowed these before we met at La Ferdina"

Then, the King stood up, and then his entourage. The Esterrians would also stand up from their seats. They bowed to each other in respect as they wrap up the meeting.

"We will be taking our leave from here, it has been quite an honor working with you" as the Naeslagt representatives leave the room, having achieved their goals in the meeting.

Gessel would pick up the compilation and opens it up, revealing a little something that the Gestraen branch planned for them.

"Your Majesty... all this is a plan to invade Esterria..."

The young queen had her eyes widened to the words of her Prime Minister. The papers had confirmed her suspicion that the Kingdoms Union is out for her country, and although they do possess the best equipment out there, she would not allow herself to be caught off-guard here. A quick though flowed through her minds before the queen speaks again:

"Notify the Royal Army to be on high alert immediately! Focus our troops to our Southern borders!"

"Will do, Your Majesty, anything else?"

The queen then thinks a little bit. Marie thought of any actions that she could do to ensure Esterria would be as ready as possible for defending the Commonwealth if such a plan is executed. Eventually, a light bulb came.

"...You know what? How about making that treaty we talked about official...?"

...

A diplomatic mission came back with a result of almost achieving the desired outcome, with the only obstacle being that slavery still being legal back home. Gjermund and his party are to go home after this, but it will be a waste if they don't see more of what Flashia has in store.

Because of this, he and others went to the Boksvåken Street, as Oliver Magovac told them to go to see their military on the march, which is apparently simply called 'the Defense' (from Forsvaret). Judging from the name alone, their military seems more of a defensive force than ones for subjugating others. Quite ironic he thought to himself considering what went down in a certain island, but it could be that offense might actually be the best defense after all, no matter how counterintuitive it is.

The Naeslagtlandic diplomatic party would wait and wait behind the rails alongside the crowd already gathered here, being watched over by men with red berets and black brassard that indicates them as Military Police, anticipating the uniform of their armed forces. Gjermund then hears the sound of brass instruments and drums, they're getting nearer to them.

Then the marching band came into view, utilizing what it looks like a straight-legged step, lifting the foot by an inch off the ground. They were wearing a grey uniform with black pants, black ties and a berets with silver emblem. He could not make out what it looks like as they went.

As the music continued onwards, another contingent of soldiers are seen, this time wearing a distinctive uniform of green-black-brown pattern, wearing black berets on their head. These soldiers had black muskets displayed in front of their chest, stock held by the dominant hand and the other swinging along. Their foot would be lifted higher off the ground with the knee bent but lower leg staying somewhat perpendicular to the ground as with the foot being parallel.

When they got closer, the marching song switched, and after a little bit of a fanfare, these soldiers started singing to what it seems, a familiar tune for the troops:

"Kord võitles Põhja-Enesmaal kaugel Jani steppides Üks vapper koormi pataljon Lauldes laulu kuradist. Meid paisati itta kord läände kõikjal seisime kaljudena Ja ka Steltheli sood ja Renkassõ Ei meid iial unusta saa. Rünnakrelvade terasest tulest Kostab leekides kuradi naer Ha-Ha-Ha! Sirgub vabadus idu ei murta neid ridu Kes Koormi eest andnud on kõik."*

Gjermund and the rest of Naeslagts wasn't able to understand what they were singing about, but the language certainly does remind the Foreign Minister of a certain ethnic group that spoke a similar, if not the same language as they do.

The soldiers of green went by, more of the same followed with the same kind of weapons, just with different colored berets, not much to say here. And then a peculiar group of soldiers in tan, with a more conventional pattern wearing what it looks like a combat uniform.

To top all this, these soldiers use a different black musket, still the same layout of the box being in front of the trigger, but also with a piece of steel sticking out the right sjde. They held said muskets in the same fashions as the other, pointing the weapon to about 45 degree up to the left.

They march past to reveal another one of square pattern, armed with a shorter version of the muskets of the first two formation, wearing berets of maroon color.

'Are they of airborne forces?' thought the Foreign Minister of Naeslagtland. He doesn't know why he immediately thought of something from the air, maybe their patch with wings depicted may have something to do with it.

Their steps continued to clamp in sync to the rhythm of the hand while the other contingent of troops followed behind. The soldiers were wearing another different colored beret, in navy blue as it seems to indicate them as some kind of naval forces.

These 'naval forces' had a completely different gun on their right hand, the box being behind the trigger. A peculiarity as it spawned some more questions as to why such a design feature made it to this weapon

After all the troops had already gone by, it was now the self-propelled carriages' turn. These carriages looked nothing like what they had, with them having features that those from Gestrae don't, such as the built-in lights.

They do have bigger glass windows though, which would've suggested that they're less than armored by the 'Civilized Regions' standard.

(And they were right in a way)

After the formation of the iron carriages went away, there were bigger iron carriages. Again they have a relatively bigger set of windows, but for some reason, the exterior tells them it's actually more armored than what they think.

Up next were seven-wheeler, not 4 like others, but 7 full wheels. If it was Gestraen, it would've been too heavy with their size and the number of things here, but alas it still moves at around the same speed without even struggling.

The next vehicle added 2 more wheels bringing up to 8 with a big 'head' and some kind of gun too large to be considered a normal yet too small be a cannon on the front, aiming up. itself.

As it turns out, it was only the beginning as one with an unique way of moving entered the scene. It had more smaller wheels, but it rolled over something that resembles a caterpillar in terms of how it moved.

This one has a different smaller 'head', but in terms of weaponry, it remains similar to the previous one, which implied that 'head' size doesn't really matter for mounting a weapon.

And then there's this monster. 7 wheels on the ground, a giant head, and a big cannon. This one caught the Naeslagts entirely off-guard, as from their knowledge, no such carriage had any comparable weapon integrated into the vehicle.

It's extremely big and heavy but still strong and perhaps might be just holding back on their potential. A scary opponent for the Naeslagts if they were up against these guys, which only made them glad they had not let any of their troops to fall to these monstrosities.

'Could it be the rumored iron monsters?'

The parade is small and relatively short, but it was enough to plant a whole load of wonders in the minds of the Naeslagts that came from the South regarding their forces. The fascinations with the military of Flashia would grip on the Naeslagtlandic diplomatic party for long, and it sure will make them remember today's trip to Minvennped.

'...Now what was I going to do again?'

...

*Based on Eesti Pataljon (Enesmaa = The empire that lost against Flashia in the First Webtanan War, Koormi = Kormland)

Equipment used during parade (just gonna skip to real names) HK416A5 (both 14.5 and 11-inch barrel variant) HS Produkt VHS-2 Military W461 G-Wagon Patria Pasi KTO Rosomak CV9040 Leopard 2A4