Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

Hampi, Vijayanagara Empire.

Dark clouds loomed over the battlefield. The usual brightness of the morning faded. Strands of sunlight filtered through the dark clouds. The atmosphere felt like a nasty omen was cast upon the battlefield.

The bodies of the slain littered the battlefield. The rancid odor of the rotting flesh and mucus was nauseating.

Neat columns of soldiers marched to the battlefield. The morale was pretty low on both sides. The last two days of battle ended in stalemates with no real advantage to either side.

As deaths piled up on both sides. The burden was being felt on the soldiers. The morale was at its all-time low. Both sides were probably going for a battle that wouldn't end for days or even weeks.

Bhairava knew he had to make a significant dent to Chandra's army and take an advantageous position.

He looked up at the dark, ominous clouds. If rain would start, the cannons couldn't be used properly

Even with oil-soaked tarps, in heavy rain the match would become damp. The gunpowder will absorb moisture, making it susceptible to misfires. So the cannons couldn't be used in heavy rains.

Bhairava had to find a way to get a significant breakthrough before the rain.

The third day of the battle of Hampi had begun with the shrill sound of the war horn echoing through the battlefield.

The battlefield became a blur for a second. Hundreds of soldiers were rushing at each other, brandishing their swords. The ground trembled under the charge of the war elephants and cavalry.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

Cannon shells landed on the enemy. The iron shells blasted away scores of infantry into the air, many dying to the cannons. Smoke billowed from the cannons, leaving a sulfuric scent of gunpowder in the air.

Archers from the cover showering a hail of steel in the ranks of the enemy's defensive tortoise formation. Some arrows found their way through the gap in the armor and killed soldiers. Many were injured from the arrows because the cannons disoriented them.

Bhairava was actively participating in the battle, slicing apart foe and foe. His golden, detailed armor was covered in a scarlet hue.

Seeing an opportunity on the right flank. Bhairava looked over at the commander of a war elephant unit.

"MAHOUTS CHARGE AT THE RIGHT FLANK."

The war elephant unit quickly understood the prince and began to charge at the right flank. The elephants smashed through the pike shield walls with ease. The elephants trampled the soldiers, crushing their bones under its weight.

The elephants ran amok on the right flank. The elephants tore apart the ranks of the infantry with ease.

Archers were quickly made to fend off the war elephants. The damage had already been done. Many soldiers were killed in the charge, and many were injured.

The war elephants retreated with some casualties in the charge. But it had been a successful charge.

*BOOM*

The cannons roared back into life, taking out many soldiers on the frontline.

Rain started to drizzle. The icy water droplets were falling to the ground. A slight drizzle started as the dark cloud still loomed over the battlefield.

The cannon crew took out the oil tarp and began to cover the match of the cannon. The gunpowder was shifted under a small makeshift tent created by the logistics crew.

Bhairava clicked his tongue, glancing up at the sky.

"Damn it!" he muttered.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

A sudden explosion in the backline of the Bhairava army rocked not only Bhairava but also nearby soldiers.

Bhairava turned his head to look at the explosion.

"What the hell?" He shouted.

Meanwhile, a few minutes ago. Chandra received a message from his sister to let Nakul handle the task.

Chandra prepared a small crew that could operate under the orders of Nakul.

Nakul wasn't a skilled fighter. He was more into strategic planning and business. He was planning a nasty ambush on the second prince's army. He didn't want to disappoint his master.

"Your Highness. I expect a good distraction for this plan to work."

"Distraction?" Chandra asked.

"Divert the second prince's attention to something else before we can strike them."

Chandra pondered for a while. No plan came into his mind to distract Bhairava for a while.

Nakul sighed deeply.

"Your Highness. At my signal, open up the right flank for a brief minute. That's all we need."

"Oh, that can be done easily."

The plan Nakul had hatched up was simple and easy. The right flank breakthrough would be a small glimmer of hope extended to the second prince. Desperation would make him use every opening to his advantage.

While the crew took a detour to the backline of the army. Even then, there was a special unit in place to protect them from ambushes.

But that didn't matter since Nakul had a Trump card.

The support crew was pushed ahead due to the pushback on the first prince's army after a successful breakthrough.

This was the perfect chance for the ambush to commence.

They charged at the cannon crew. Brandishing their lances to impale and stab some of the cannon crew.

Just before they had charged. Some of the ambush unit members doused a cloth in oil and wrapped around a thick wooden stick and lit it on fire.

The support unit of Bhairava's army was too late, reaching to protect the cannon crew. Half of the crew was wiped clean in the first attempt.

The worst was yet to happen.

The ambushers threw an oil-doused cloth into the gunpowder case.

What ensued was a loud explosion in the backline, killing many.

Some cannons become obsolete after the huge explosion.

The support unit came to guard the remaining cannons. Unfortunately, the ambushers were done with their task and quickly retreated back into the forest.

Bhairava looked at the situation. He was visibly angry about the situation. Some of the cannons had melted due to the heat of the explosion.

"Damn it! They got us!" He cursed.

He could notice the oddities on the battlefield. One or two times may be a coincidence, but a third time meant that something was certainly fishy.

At this point, Bhairava did come to the conclusion that his plans were getting leaked to the enemy.

There was an insider in his army and a higher-up at that.