Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

Chaos ensued from the sudden attack.

The panicked soldiers began to back away and the commanders were trying their best to calm the situation down.

Aadarsh looked down from the wall.

He turned to his father, who was also unsure what to do.

"Father, focus on the siege. I shall take down these nuisances. Trust me."

Aadarsh took a deep breath and quickly jumped down the wall.

He unsheathed his sword and roared.

"Soldiers, Regroup!!. I will assume charge."

The panicked soldiers regrouped at his command quickly.

"Kill those scum!." ordered Aadarsh.

He quickly went towards the warehouse. The special unit of the Mughals were wreaking havoc in the area.

They already killed a couple dozen soldiers and refugees in the area.

They were covered in crimson as they equipped the armor of the fallen Maratha soldiers.

Aadarsh sprinted towards a mughal soldier. He jumped and slashed his sword through his neck.

The soldier\'s head rolled onto the flame doused floor.

Every special unit soldier looked at him in awe and fear.

They all had a single thought as they watched his cold gaze fall on them.

\'He is dangerous.\'

They exchanged glances and decided to take him down together.

"You kafir, I will kill you." Screamed a soldier as he lunged at Aadarsh.

Aadarsh sidestepped his stab and changed his grip stabbing his back.

"Annoying pests!"

The Maratha soldiers watched this in awe as their prince cut down the invaders without any hint of fear.

"HELP THE PRINCE!!" roared the soldiers as they charged into help Aadarsh.

The soldiers clashed with the special unit and pushed them into a corner.

The Marathas surrounded them and began to kill each one of the mughal soldier.

Aadarsh took out his pent up anger on the mughals. He stabbed and slashed at every soldier till he was dyed in red blood.

After killing all the invading pests. He looked up at the sky and sighed.

"These pests won\'t do it. It was barely a fight." He mumbled.

Despite the battle being easy for Aadarsh. It was a tough fight for the other commanders and soldiers.

Aadarsh didn\'t know that the special unit soldiers he had killed were one of the best in the Mughal Empire.

He also had no idea about his own strength since anyone in the Maratha kingdom could hold their own against him.

"We are done here,"

He wiped his sword and left the scene.

Their supply warehouse had been taken out. Their week\'s worth of supplies were cut short to a single day.

Now they couldn\'t fight a prolonged battle.

Devendra looked at his son heading back after finishing the fight. He had to take a important decision.

They had to finish this battle today or else it would become inevitable that they lose.

"Father, the supplies are gone." He muttered with a disappointed expression.

Devendra cursed himself. His own nature came to bite his back. The mughals exploited it. It was his fault and now he had to take the responsibility and finish them.

"I will take care of it."

Meanwhile in the Mughal camp. Bairam was laughing hysterically as he watched the smoke rise from the town of patan.

The plan had succeeded. The special unit had done its part.

"AHAHA, The kafirs are done for. We shall win, Inshallah."

The Mughal soldiers also witnessed smoke rising from the fort.

They cheered and charged at the fort with renewed determination.

They wanted to witness the downfall of the king of Marathas.

"Brother!! Can I fight now?" Babar asked curiously.

"Not yet!!"

"Darn it, I was so excited."

"It\'s just a matter of time before they fall."

Their conversation was cut short by the thundering roars of the cannons spitting out iron shells.

The right side of the fort walls already crumbled under the onslaught.

The shells landed on the crumbled part. Another layer of fortified wall stood strong under it.

The king had already taken measures and added another set of fortifications. Although not as strong as the first one.

Bairam cursed out loud.

"What the fuck?"

His face twisted into a scowl.

"That damned old fox."

At the fort, the first layer of walls cracked under the barrage of cannons.

The siege towers were burning as the Marathas used oil pots and fire arrows.

Two battering ram were destroyed by the trebuchet and catapults.

But they had already done significant damage to the gate. The third battering ram was charging with a huge shield wall.

It was a precarious situation for the Marathas.

Their defense was failing, their supplies were cut short by sabotage. The only success they had so far was dwindling the numbers of the enemy.

Devendra couldn\'t afford to let the soldiers become demoralized. He had to win the battle in this situation.

So he prepared for battle.

"Father, What are you doing?"

"I will take them head on, we can\'t prolong this battle."

"That is risky, please wait till we take their cannons down." Aadarsh warned his father.

"We don\'t have time." He began. "You understand the situation very well. We can\'t afford to wait. You have to go to Karnavati."

"I cannot leave you here all alone." Aadarsh said with a concerned expression.

The king patted his son\'s shoulder and with a warm smile.

"You are way too young to be worrying about this old man."

Aadarsh knew that he wouldn\'t be able to convince his father.

He looked down on the ground with a dejected expression. He was cursing his inability to take the burden off his father\'s shoulders.

"Boy, don\'t look so sad. Trust me this is nothing but a test from Mahadev to test my resolve."

Aadarsh nodded and decided to go with his father\'s decision.

The soldiers below stood determined to lay their lives to defend the fort.

Despite the setbacks, every single one had a glint of trust and determination left in their hearts.

"Soldiers, brave hearts of Marathas." roared Devendra, his voice echoing through the fort.

"We will show our might to these bastards. Let\'s take them head on."

The soldiers quickly turned their attention to the king.

They all could see the change in the King\'s face. It wasn\'t a normal situation. They could sense something wrong but their trust in their king was unmatched.

Not one soldier put their head down and stood tall in face of the imminent danger.

"I am going to be honest this time. The battle might be our last. I cannot guarantee you victory."

The commanders went wide-eyed by the statement.

But before they could interrupt.

One soldier shouted. "Will it help our motherland survive?"

"Maybe, I am not sure."

"Will it help to buy time to protect the kingdom." another one yelled.

"Yes, it will."

"Then, there is only one answer. We shall follow you till the depths of hell to protect what\'s ours." Yelled the third soldier.

The soldiers roared. Their screams shook the fort.

"HAR HAR MAHADEV."

"HAR HAR MAHADEV."

"HAR HAR MAHADEV."

"Open the gates. Let\'s show the bastard how mighty the Maratha army truly is."

\'I am truly lucky to have ruled such a wonderful kingdom.\'

To the surprise of the Mughal soldiers bashing the gate. The gates creaked open. The shielded soldiers near the gate gave way.

The Maratha soldiers swarmed the battlefield with a war cry.

The sudden attack of the Marathas caught them offguard

The Mughal shield wall was broken by the onslaught as the Marathas hacked them to death.

Bairam Khan witnessed the situation with his wide open jaw.

He didn\'t think that the king would think of taking the battle head on.

Hundreds of soldiers poured into the battlefield.

"What the hell!" screamed Bairam. "Is he suicidal to go up against our numbers?"

Babar raised his sword. "Let\'s kill that old man, Brother."

"Yes, now is the time to show that old fox his place beneath us!"

Bairam had an overwhelming advantage with his numbers and cannons. He was confident of his victory over the king of Maratha.

Finally he could beat Askar khan and do something he has yet to achieve.

\'This will show you not to underestimate us.\' thought Bairam

He raised his sword and screamed.

"Soldiers, Charge and kill those bastards."

The Mughal soldiers brandished their swords and charged into battle with a war cry.

But they had no idea how fierce the Maratha could become to save their kingdom.

All the attention was on the swarming Maratha soldiers and the king coming onto the battlefield.

Bairam didn\'t check the eastern side.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

Explosions rocked the Mughal backline.

The shockwave reached Bairam who turned his head towards the source.

Their cannons were all up in flames. The cannon crew were being hunted down like prey for predators by hundreds of Marathas coming out of the eastern forest.

"What the fuck is happening?"