Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

The sounds of the metal echoed through the small field. The soldiers stood in a circle, looking at the fight happening.

It was the duel between Akash and Commander Raghu, the second division commander of the Agni Sena. He was known to be a talented individual in the Royal Army despite his inherent prejudice towards the lower caste.

Everyone had to acknowledge the talent Raghu possessed.

He was an arrogant prick that was never pushed to the limit by anyone. This made him lazy, despite his goals. He got everything handed on a golden platter due to his talent.

Raghu never had to work too hard to achieve his goals. He was convinced that this was because he possessed the blood of a Kshatriya.

He deflected strike after strike from Akash with ease. He had a smirk on his face.

'This bastard isn't even that good.'

Akash, on the other hand, wasn't as talented as Raghu but he worked very hard to reach his position. He had sunk countless hours swinging his sword and learning sword arts.

Raghu deflected a slash at his shoulder to the other side with a flick on his wrist and kicked Akash right in the gut, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Get up! Don't you want to teach me a lesson! HAHAHA!"

The beating continued as Raghu toyed with Akash, kicking and stomping him without mercy.

The other soldiers watched the one-sided beating with a grim expression.

"Should I stop the bastard?" Narayana asked.

He was transferred to Division 2 and was working his way up to the top like the Emperor advised.

"No, let's watch. He isn't done," said Varun.

They just acted as normal soldiers. No one really knew their real strength either. The duo were trained under the direct supervision of the Emperor. Despite the training, they both didn't really have a grasp of their own strength, as their comparisons were monsters like Emperor and Viswa.

"What would Viswa do if he was here?" Narayana exclaimed, remembering the fights.

"Um… I don't think that guy would be able to survive against Viswa. It would be like a tiger against a deer."

"Let go of me, you scum." Raghu yelled.

Akash gripped his leg with all his strength. He still had a fearless gaze. He was covered in mud and bruised all over.

Raghu stomped his back, breaking away from his grip.

"You think you can win against me?" He laughed.

"I will win." Akash screamed and got up staggering.

He gripped his sword and ran at Raghu.

Each of his slashes was done deftly.

Raghu blocked the slash to his side but he was pushed back by the force behind it.

'Did that bastard's strike get stronger?'

He began to block the desperate strikes of Akash.

'It's faster. What the hell?'

Raghu was pushed back with each powerful swing. Little did he know it was due to his own lack of training.

He didn't know how to handle such situations because he never duelled stronger people and didn't bother to train harder as well.

Raghu stumbled over a rock as he was panicking by the sudden tenacity of Akash.

He fell on his back and Akash was about to take a swing at him. He took out a dagger that he kept hidden for safety and threw it right at the face of the Akash.

Akash barely deflected the dagger and staggered by the sudden dagger throw.

It was considered cheating in honorable duels to use any weapon other than the ones that were mutually agreed. The use of concealed weapons went against the code of conduct during these duels.

Raghu had broken the rules of the duel.

He got up and charged at the bewildered Akash, sending him crashing to the ground. Raghu finally pointed his sword at him and exclaimed.

"I won!!"

Akash's grip loosened and he was breathing heavily. His body was tired from all the beatings. He couldn't muster up the strength to get up.

'I lost..'

He thought.

The soldiers looked away in disgust. Murmurs also broke up among the crowd.

"Won? My foot!"

Raghu turned his head around to see a tall and imposing figure walking towards him.

"You cheating, brat. You really had the gall to claim victory after that little stunt," said Narayana.

"Who are you?"

"I am Narayana, a normal soldier." He began. "Cheating weasels like you don't have the right to lead an army."

"What do you know? You are just a normal soldier."

Raghu was furious. His face was red from anger and he gripped his sword tightly.

"Don't taunt him too much, Narayana. He is just a brat." Varun commented.

"Only the weak ones cheat."

'Brat? Me? I am the commander. I am stronger than you guys. I have the blood of Kshatriya.' He thought.

Out of anger, Raghu swung his sword at Narayana.

Narayana dodged it easily. He was used to faster and more precise swings from the Emperor and Viswa. This was just a child's play for him.

"Hoo.. you want to fight?"

"I will kill you! How dare you talk like that to me, the commander?" Raghu screamed as he swung his sword faster and stronger at Narayana.

Narayana kept dodging it and commented. "Your sword is weak and slow. It won't reach me."

He finally sidestepped the stab.

"Your arrogance brought this upon you."

*THWACK*

'Did I get hit by a boulder.'

Raghu couldn't breathe. He felt the fist of Narayana connect precisely through his thick leather armor.

*Cough*

*Cough*

His sword fell down as he was violently coughing on the ground from the force of the blow.

Narayana grabbed him by his hair.

"You barely took a single blow, you brat." Smirked Narayana.

He drove another punch into the gut of Raghu. The commander collapsed, passing out from the pain.

"You didn't have to go that far." Varun shrugged.

"Brats need to be taught some lessons."

"Just like you in the past?" Varun chuckled.

"We don't talk about it. It's all in the past. I am a changed person."

"Sure Sure."

Varun glanced back at the bewildered soldiers. They just witnessed a normal soldier knock out their commander with two blows.

They could hear the impact of the blow and couldn't help but wince, feeling second-hand pain.

"What are you guys doing? Treat both of them."

The soldiers scrambled to take Raghu away and began to help Akash get up on his feet.

Varun smiled and announced.

"The Brigade commander, Akash, won the duel."