Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

The first barrage of shells dented the enemy infantry and sent them into a panic. Asokan commanded his infantry to take advantage of the chaos and chop their numbers down. The imperial faction's army was bigger than theirs.

Men moved swiftly to load another shell for the cannon. They moved quickly from their extensive practice to handle the cannon shell.

Each cannon was handled by small crews of 5 to 10 members. Since they required loading and wadding to ensure the shell is right in place. Then adjusting the trajectory to avoid friendly fire and lastly firing the cannon. To maintain the speed, the crew was large.

Cavalry charged, bracing their lances, cleaving through the ranks of disorganized infantry, and took down some archers as well. The war elephants tore apart the flanks of the infantry.

The chaos died down quickly as Anand took charge and regrouped the army into better formations, and the archers were pulled to the back to target the mahouts on top of the war elephants. A couple of war elephants were taken out during the retaliation.

Battle raged on as the formations began to change to accommodate for the early losses for the Imperials. The formation changed, targeting the flank of Asokan that was broken more than twice by war elephants and cavalry charge.

Asokan managed to quell the onslaught using his quick thinking.

He initiated a low defensive hollow square to stop the cavalry charge. The pikes were able to beat and injure the horses slightly. The wounds stacked up on the cavalry, leading to less efficient charges onto the flank.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

Cannon shells whistled through the air once again, shattering the ground beneath and killing many in the bombardment.

The ground trembled as each shell landed on their target. Cries of agony spread across the battlefield.

Clashes were getting vigorous as the death toll started to mount up. Bodies were being trampled mercilessly, and a pool of blood was spread across the field.

"SOLDIERS CHARGE." Parvathi ordered.

The soldiers broke through the flank commanded by Parvathi. Tearing apart the shield wall, several enemy archers were caught off guard in the fight, suffering losses. The momentum shifted slightly, but it was quelled quickly by the quick defensive formation of Gopala Sastri.

Asokan experienced more clashes on his side as casualties kept on mounting up as more and more enemy soldiers came in through his flank. It was odd to him.

"So, many have been breaking through this flank," he muttered.

He looked over at the commander and nodded.

The cavalry took a detour, and, under the chaos of another chain of bombardment by the cannons, they managed to find a gap in the ranks of the enemy and broke through and managed to kill the commander in the charge.

The momentum shifted again in favor of the Nairs. Anand Jadhav replaced the dead commander with his bodyguard soon. Damage was done though. Jadhav lost a significant amount of soldiers in the charge.

Time passed as the day started to reach it's end and the sun began setting, casting a golden glow on the bloodied battlefield. The first day of the battle was coming to an end. Asokan noticed more casualties on his side than Parvathi.

The cannons went unusable due to heat after 20 bombardments and had to cool off. The aftereffects of the artillery were visible. The smoke billowed in the evening sky, and the black ash was all over the field.

Asokan overlooked the battlefield and noticed the demoralized soldiers of the imperial faction under the artillery fire of the cannon. The firearms were one heck of an upgrade to warfare.

Their damage was unprecedented; it was easy to demoralize enemies and rout them. The battle was paused as the sun set in the distance. The battle was going to resume in the morning.

Battles were often paused during sunset to respect the traditions, get the rest, and treat the wounded.

The camp was quickly setup at the end of the field. The food to feed the soldiers was prepared by the support crew. Many were injured and were mourning the losses of their comrades in battle.

Even local noble commanders were killed during the day by various breakthroughs done by Imperial despite lacking the firepower. Asokan's flank was swarmed today, while Parvathi's flank wasn't experiencing much fighting.

Asokan definitely found it odd. But he dismissed it.

His bodyguard entered the room hurriedly.

"Lord, here is a message!" he said, handing a folded letter.

"Who sent a message at this time?"

He broke the seal of the letter and skimmed through the contents of the letter. His expression hardened.

Slamming his fist on the armrest of his hand.

"There is no name? Who sent this?" Asokan asked, visibly angry.

"This was given by two individuals. We have checked them for any potential ambush. They have guards but didn't seem hostile."

"Take me to them." He burned the letter in the flame of the candle.

"Yes, my lord."

Meanwhile, in the Imperial faction. Anand Jadhav and Gopala Sastri were having their dinner after the long battle.

"Lord Gopala. Is the finale tomorrow?"

"Yes. HAHAHA," Gopala smirked.

"We have done as you said. I will make significant damage to Asokan."

"Don't worry. Lord Anand. I have already sent a message. Tomorrow, when the battle ends. We will emerge as the Victors."

Anand was still skeptical about the plan. It seemed like a well-thought-out plan. Dwindling the numbers of Asokan Nair was a part of it. But still, it felt like something was amiss. Some variables were left out of the plan.

Suddenly, he remembered the Patwardhans. But quickly dismissed the thought. Anand Jadhav was the one that orchestrated the death of the cousin of the current Patriarch of Patwardhan.

'That coward won't come out. He doesn't even know who killed his cousin.'