Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

The men leading the army were Raj Patwardhan and Viswa. Viswa, experiencing his first ever battle, was obviously nervous. The major reason for his nervousness was not the fight itself, but it arose from the pressure of commanding an army for the first time.

He was a novice in war; despite this, he was tasked with the daunting task of commanding an army by Harsha.

Viswa was in his tent looking through the book that detailed various war tactics. He had been preparing for the worst for a few days now.

'Haaa. I hope I do well.'

Various negative thoughts raced through his mind. But he managed to keep them in check somehow. His goal was to show the prince his worth. Winning the battle and taking an oath of life to the prince has been his vision for some time.

According to the spies information. There were 4 armies heading to Mangalore. Two from the Cochin Faction and two from the imperial faction. The Cochin faction's members were Ashokan Nair and Paravathy Nair, and the Imperial faction's members were Anand Jadhav and Gopala Sastri.

The stakes were huge. Both Nair families were known to be fierce fighters; the power they wielded was no joke. The numbers the imperials had were also staggering; their armies outnumbered the Nairs by a lot due to the abundance of wealth and population in their region of control.

Third-party intervention by Viswa in this situation with a smaller army was a death sentence in itself if he didn't time the entry correctly.

If he went in too early, he would find himself in a tough spot where he had to battle more numbers from each faction to win, and if it was the opposite, he wouldn't have the element of surprise and wouldn't disorganize them. Because the victors could regroup easily after routing the enemy forces.

It was a tricky situation.

Raj Patwardhan entered the tent with an energetic face. He had completed all the tasks given to him by Viswa. The preparations were done, and the restocking was done way all under Raj.

The Patriarch respected the work ethic of Viswa. He was just so similar to the Prince in terms of hard work and did his task diligently. His prejudice of Viswa being a lower caste faded long ago.

Viswa glanced up at Raj Patwardhan.

"What happened? Lord Raj?"

"The preparations are complete."

"Any information about the battle? Has it started?"

"The scouts did say they were close by. We can expect them to start on the plains north of Mangalore."

"Plains? Hmmm!!" Viswa paused and pondered.

"Nairs are adept in guerilla warfare. So Anand wouldn't take any risk!"

Fighting Nairs in the forest was a death sentence.

A man hurriedly entered the room with a parchment scroll in hand. He slightly bows to Viswa, as the man was a regional leader, and hands Viswa the scroll.

"Leader, this is an urgent message; we need a quick reply," he said, taking a deep breath.

Unfurling the scroll. Viswa began reading in silence. The tension grew as time passed, anticipating his answer to the message.

"Ok, fine." He put down the scroll. "Is he alone?"

"A lady is with him. That's it."

"Hmm!! Lead the way." Viswa said, getting up from his chair, "Lord Raj, you also join us. It's important."

Raj Patwardhan nodded and followed Viswa and the regional leader.

The man led Viswa and Raj to a tavern in the town. The wooden furniture smelled of old wood. Two hooded individuals were seated on a table. The man went and whispered something to the two individuals.

They moved to a more private setting. The guard duty was overlooked by a unit assigned by Viswa.

The regional leader who led them left hastily, leaving the two individuals with Raj and Viswa.

Viswa straightened his posture and folded his arms.

"You can take off that disguise!"

Taking the hood off the individual. Raj's eyes widened in surprise.

The individual was the third prince of the Empire, Alfonso Deva Raya.

"So, why do you wish to speak to us?" Viswa asked bluntly.

"Hooo. You are rude to a prince!" Alfonso retorted.

"Your Highness, we don't have time for games!" Viswa clicked his tongue and changed his tone to a more formal one.

Alfonso's expression hardened.

"First. Where is Harsha?"

"Why does it matter? Your Highness?"

"So I assume he is safe? Thank Lord Krishna!" Alfonso exclaimed and added, "So I came here to share some information at a cost!"

Raj remained silent. Viswa was the one leading the conversation. Both Viswa and Raj knew about the third prince's tie to the second prince.

"Why would we trust you? You are allied with Bhairava." Viswa stated bluntly.

Alfonso sighed.

"It was a mutual agreement. Now it has been fulfilled! I am not associated with him anymore!"

Alfonso took something out of his pouch and placed it on the table.

"Here is the report that would help you in Mangalore."

"I still do not trust you!" Viswa said, glancing at the report.

"Fine! It's up to you. If Harsha is headed to the capital, the winning of the Mangalore battle is very necessary." Alfonso put his hand on the report and pushed it to Viswa.

"This contains some important information about the supposed plan in Mangalore. If it succeeds, not only Harsha but also Bhairava would be dying!"

Alfonso's eyes were filled with seriousness. Viswa could feel the sharp intent.

"If whatever you said is true! What do you want in return?"

"I want to accompany you to Mangalore for now! I have a plan." Alfonso said.

Raj looked at the prince.

"Your Highness. We really have no reason to trust you right now! Even if this is true."

"You guys look at the report first. If the plan of Mangalore is successful. Our ashes will be flowing in Tungabhadra!"

Viswa finally caved in and skimmed through the report. His expression hardened.

After reading the report, he knew what Alfonso meant, and if this information was true, then the tide of the battle would change.

"Ok! I will cooperate with you. But you will be under constant surveillance!"

Alfonso smirked.

"Those were the words I wanted to hear."