Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

It was a region close to Daman; cutting it off completely from the hands of the Qutbs could positively impact the Marathas.

The support from the Sultanate wouldn\'t be a problem and the Marathas could focus on the Portuguese base in Damn.

Although destroying a European base would be hard due to the stationed commander in Daman being General Barnabas.

Dhruv had a feeling that even he could be caught offguard by the movements of the Marathas. All he could do was hope for the Marathas to come out on top in the battle. It was a hassle for the Empire to step in and strike a deal with the Portuguese.

And he disliked hassles.

The Agni Sena had spread through the regions of the Sultanate.

Division One was led by Dhruv, marching right towards the Baglana region. He also planned to take regions like Pune and Nasik on the way to Baglana.

Division 2 focused on the regions of Junir and Ahmednagar. They all had quite a lot of garrison units. The rebels didn\'t attack those places yet. So the Empire had to take care of those regions.

The Agni Sena was focusing on the regions with garrisons. They wanted to dwindle the already low numbers of the Qutbs. This would put them in the worst possible situation.

The best outcome out of this situation would be the full annexure of the Sultanate and the war ending with the Marathas and the Empire sharing a border with each other.

Dhruv noticed that the walls of the city were coming into view. He heard that this was one of the most garrisoned bordering cities in the Sultanate.

He had no worries, as they would fail in the battle.

The Emperor\'s plans were thorough. Even his subordinates were exceptional. They wouldn\'t let a single margin of error in their plan.

"Get ready to fight." He roared.

He was expecting a battle from the garrison. The reports suggested that they had veteran soldiers amidst them. Dhruv was pretty confident and wanted to showcase his skill to the Emperor by winning his first ever battle by leading an army.

The soldiers were also excited to fight. They were young and hot-blooded men recruited for serving in the Royal Army.

But to their dismay, the garrison fell with in a single hour. It was the easiest battle in the history of the Empire. The old and fat soldiers of the Qutbs couldn\'t handle the onslaught of the young Empire soldiers.

It seemed to Dhruv that most of the soldiers in the garrison were not selected for physical ability but rather through connections with the higher-ups. It would explain the incompetence of the garrison.

There were only a few injuries and no deaths in the siege. This was the most surprising thing about the battle.

\'Damn it!! This was too easy!! Don\'t tell me rest of the garrisons are going to be the same?\' He thought.

He realized that they didn\'t really require the numbers they put up for the annexure. They could easily take over so many regions with a single division if this was the quality of the troops stationed in the garrisons. Continue your adventure with mvl

Hariharan, the division one commander who came along with Dhruv, came running to him after the battle.

"All the survivors are locked up in the underground prison in the city!"

Dhruv looked uninterested and asked. "What were their casualties?"

"Most of them were killed resisting arrests. The remaining surrendered without a fight. We put them in prison for now." He said it in a single breath.

"This is pathetic for the border city!" Dhruv muttered.

"Yes, indeed, Commander."

"Refill the supplies needed for the journey to Nasik. Don\'t plunder all the grains. Distribute it among the populace. They seemed to be famished."

The state of the city wasn\'t that good. The streets were desolate and covered with diseased people. It seemed like the garrison hoarded the grains and food supplies in the wake of the rebels.

This left no food for the common people in the Empire.

The Empire soldiers found the warehouse during the fall of the city. There were many supplies enough for them to last till the Baglana region and back.

They knew they didn\'t need much as the Yadavas were in charge of the food supplies. So they just took some supplies needed to fill their existing supplies.

The soldiers began to distribute the supplies to the common folk in the city. They were skeptical at first since the Empire suddenly barged into the city and made a mess.

When a hungry kid approached the soldiers and asked for some food.

The soldiers gave it to the little kid with a warm smile on their faces.

The kid\'s face quickly lit up brightly and began to devour it happily. The kid put down his bowl suddenly and tugged the armor of the soldier that gave him the bowl.

"Thank you!!." He then ran away quickly to a corner to eat the food.

The others who saw this quickly changed their perspective about the soldiers and began to approach with their rumbling empty stomachs.

"Stand, in land. There is enough for everyone." The soldier yelled as he put the people in line for the food.

Lots of poor people and elderly folk thanked the Empire\'s soldiers and bonded with them.

Their perception of the Empire changed vastly from this single incident.

Dhruv looked over the situation and smiled.

He then turned to Hariharan.

"Prepare to leave by dawn tomorrow. Leave a battalion to keep order in the city and distribute the rest of the food slowly."

"Yes, Commander." Hariharan said with a bright smile and scurried off.

Meanwhile, in a city in the region of Ahmadnagar. The garrison fell to Commander Raghu, leading the second division of the Agni Sena.

It also lacked quality troops, which resulted in the quick fall of the city. There were some casualties and injuries.

Raghu was one of the individuals that wasn\'t part of the minority that opposed the reform. Despite this, he held prejudice in his heart for the lower castes. He didn\'t see the lower castes as warriors.

He saw them as expendable soldiers for the Empire to exploit. This attitude sickened many in the Army but he didn\'t care. His ability spoke volumes; Raghu was a talented individual.

Despite his initial reluctance, he led division two of the Agni Sena. He didn\'t bond with any of the lower-caste individuals.

He just spoke to them about relaying his orders.

He looked over at the distribution centers set up by the soldiers to give food to the common folk in the city.

Raghu muttered under his breath with a disgusted look.

\'I have to lead these pests! And capture the next region too!\'

\'Why am I stuck with these ones? Commander Dhruv is generous to these pests.\'

He admired the Commander Dhruv. He was young and strong. He climbed up the ranks of the Army with relative ease. Raghu was convinced that Dhruv had the blood of a warrior. He was a talented upper-caste kshatriya.

Raghu usually relayed his orders through an individual named Akash, who was one of the brigade commanders. He was easier to talk to.

He didn\'t speak much and responded to his orders with a simple nod.

Akash completed all his orders with precision.

He waved at Akash and gestured to come close.

"We will be leaving soon!. We have to leave for the Junir region. We can\'t disappoint the Emperor. Wrap up your work and get moving!"

He was already planning on leaving a battalion to take care of the rest in the city.

"We cannot do that." Akash said outright.

Raghu was surprised as Akash spoke to him for the first time since the March to the city.

"Why? Are you disobeying the orders?" He asked.

"All the deaths have been in the 3rd Brigade. We cannot leave till all the rites are done. So I ask you to leave tomorrow at dawn, so we can complete the last rites of our comrades."

Raghu scoffed.

"Just throw them in a pit and light them up. You think pests like you deserve last rites."

Akash\'s brows twitched in anger.

"Commander Raghu, You have gone too far. You have insulted my comrades." He began. "I demand you take back those words and apologize to my comrades," he said in a high-pitched voice.

"What are you going to do? Huh?" He scoffed in disdain.

"I challenge you to a duel right here." Akash began. "If I win!! You shall apologize to my comrades and oblige to our demand of leaving at dawn."

It was an invitation to combat. The traditional way to call for a duel. In the Royal Army, where strength matters, duels were one of the many ways to retain your honor against the others with a showcase of your strength.

Raghu smirked. "I see, the little pest doesn\'t know his place."

"I shall teach you where you actually belong."

He smiled.

"I accept your request to duel."

Author Notes:

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