Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

The town of Patan already had fortified walls. It was fortified by the Marathas as it was close to the border region and it being a town made sense for it to become a fort shelter when the Mughals invaded.

Aadarsh stood on top of the fortified wall, gazing at the open field stretching towards the horizon. It was clear that the Mughal army was marching towards the town of Patan.

\'Can I take on the burden that my father carries?\' Aadarsh doubted himself.

He was strong, but he had never taken on huge responsibilities like his father. From a young age, Aadarsh grew up watching his father fight day and night to preserve their homeland.

Aadarsh always tried his best to be of use to his father. He trained to become strong and brave like his father. He wanted to ease the burden his father carried.

Despite growing so much in the past few years. He never felt like he took off the burden from his father\'s shoulders.

He was secretly envious of the new Emperor of Vijayanagara. He dug up some information about him after listening to the praise of the diplomat. The Emperor was barely an adult yet he took over the throne from his father and brothers.

The Emperor was apparently adept at warfare and battles, as he defeated both the first and second princes in the civil war.

The main factor was that the Emperor took the throne after defeating the second prince of the Empire, who was widely reputed in the subcontinent. It was said that defeating the second prince face-to-face was as tough as defeating Krishna Deva Raya.

Aadarsh also wanted to be strong like the Emperor. He also wanted to protect his loved ones from harm, like his father. He wanted the power to stand up against the Mughal scum.

It was truly amazing to know about such a powerful individual. He felt inferior at first knowing about this information but instead of turning it into a bad emotion, he used it as his motivation to grow stronger for his kingdom.

\'Haaa. No use thinking about that now.\' He shook his head and focused on the cool breeze of the morning.

He looked back at the town. There were many refugees in the small town. The Mughals were burning down every village and plundering it to the core. The refugees were taken in to the town and given shelter.

The scouts already notified them that the last group of refugees were taken into the town of Patan. He waited for Askar\'s army to show up.

He was nervous to fight Askar Khan, as he had heard of his strength. Not many people matched equally to his father on the battlefield.

The battle would be bloody and one of the biggest battles in the history of the kingdom. Their survival depended on this battle with Askar Khan.

The Mughal Emperor trusted Askar Khan, so he would be sending the best weapons with him. He had a sneaking suspicion whether the Mughals had acquired cannons for the war.

The Portuguese were involved with the Mughals and Qutbs so it wasn\'t out of the question that they supplied the Mughals with cannons for siege use. It would be dangerous for the Marathas to face the cannons.

He had witnessed the power of cannons in the Portuguese ships. They were destructive weapons capable of turning their fortified walls into rubble. If the Mughals possessed the cannons, it would spell doom for them.

Aadarsh was also worried about the refugees caught up in this battle. The Mughals were trying to rile up and mess up their supplies by burning down the villages in their ways.

He knew that his father would take in the refugees at all costs. The supplies have to be rationed to meet the requirements of the refugees.

Aadarsh hoped that it would at least last till the battle.

Dark clouds began to hover over the town. He could feel something ominous in the air.

A man appeared beside him on top of the fort wall.

"Prince, His majesty has summoned you to the camp."

"What happened?" He asked curiously.

"The king has called the final battle meeting. It seems that the army is approaching towards the town," said the man with a nervous expression.

"Ok, let\'s go."

They both went towards the main camp.

He entered in silence. Every commander was seated in silence, awaiting his arrival. His father was also dead silent, looking at the map laid on the table.

Aadarsh could see the sparks flying in the air due to the tension seeping out. He took a deep breath and sat down.

Devendra looked serious.

"So, since everyone is here. Let\'s begin the final meeting before the battle commences."

Aadarsh rubbed his chin.

"Do we have any information on the Mughal army yet?"

"No, Son. But they are closeby since the last group of the refugees are from a village just half-day away. So it is safe to assume that the Mughals would be reaching Patan soon."

"What happened to the scouts? No information from them?"

"Scouts!! We have lost contact with them. So they might have been caught by the Mughals."

Aadarsh frowned. "I see,"

Devendra scanned the room and pointed at the map of the fort. His finger indicated the southern wall of the fort.

"The Mughal army would be coming from this direction, in my opinion."

A commander raised his hand. "We have already increased the fortification efforts and allocated more troops to the southern wall."

"That\'s great."

"How do we take down Askar?" asked a commander with a nervous look. "We couldn\'t defeat or take him hostage till now. Now with the possible support of the Portuguese. It could be harder than ever to defeat him."

Devendra clenched his fist. He also knew that taking him down would require many sacrifice. The previous battles ended in stalemates. Devendra can\'t afford to end this battle in a stalemate. It would just spell doom for the kingdom.

He had to win against Askar for the sake of the motherland.

"As long as I am alive. The Marathas shall not fall. I will take down Askar Khan this time." Devendra said as he slammed his fist into the table.

The commanders weren\'t convinced; as compared to Askar, the king was way past his prime.

Aadarsh sensed the tension and intervened.

"Trust Father, Has he lied to anyone?. If he says he will defeat Askar. He will do it."

"But, Your Higness…."

"That\'s enough. This time is different. I am here. I will fight alongside my father."

The commanders nodded along, agreeing with Aadarsh. They all knew about the strength of Aadarsh. They saw the future king in him. The wall that protected the Marathas from dangers.

Devendra looked thankful. He knew that this battle would take a toll on his body or it might be his last battle.

He trusted Aadarsh; his son was stronger than him at his prime.

"We have a way to control the cannons. It is risky but we can try it," said Aadarsh.

Devendra was surprised, as it was his main concern.

"How?"

All the commanders also looked eager to learn the method.

"I surveyed the land around the town. The northern side has dense foliage sprawling towards the eastern wall."

"Yes, it is a difficult trek through the land," said a commander.

"It would be the best way to send a unit right to their backline."

"Ah, I see but even with that. How can we stop the cannons? We can\'t take any catapults through the eastern side," asked Devendra.

"Father, what do they use in cannons?"

"Shells and gunpowder."

"Exactly, we just have to light up their gunpowder. It would make their cannons useless."

The commanders exclaimed. It was a sound strategy, although a little bit on the riskier end. If the commander notices the soldier\'s beforehand. It would be countered easily.

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It all depended on the surprise factor of the unit.

"I already informed the special unit to begin their work," said Aadarsh.

He knew it would be accepted by the King so he already ordered them to get to work.

His father smiled. "You did well, my son!"

Suddenly a ring went off in the town. The bells began to ring all over the town.

It was the bell indicating the arrival of the Mughal army.

Everyone\'s expression quickly turned serious.

They all left without a word to their respective posts to prepare for the battle.

Aadarsh quickly went to the southern wall to check the army.

He climbed up the wall and looked down at the ground shaking under the march of the Mughal army. They were in neat and proper equipment.

Aadarsh squinted his eyes to focus on the man leading the army with distinct gold plated armor and a white horse to stand out from the crowd.

His mouth went wide as he saw the man leading the charge.

"Bairam… Khan??"