Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

It was a warm and bright morning; the trees rustled under the occasional breeze. The tension in the air was palpable. The capital city of Karnavati finished it's preparations for the upcoming battle.

All possible men were recruited from the capital to supplement their numbers. They prepared all the supplies needed to last for a month by rationing their goods. The soldiers stood on the fortified walls of the city, gripping their spear in nervousness and anticipation.

Their defenses were set up properly as Baldev managed to buy them sometime.

A young man stood on the highest vantage point of the walls.

He carried a huge burden on his young shoulders to protect the citizens of Karnavati.

The soldiers looked up to him.

But Shivaji didn't lie to himself. He was scared—very scared. His hands and legs didn't stop trembling for a whole night. He couldn't sleep well. His mind was hazy.

'I have to win.'

That single thought raced through his mind. He was repeating this in his head to calm himself down. The fate of the citizens and the kingdom lay on his shoulders.

He was just an inexperienced man but something in his heart said that he could pull them out of this situation. He was ready to give his life if it meant the citizens could smile warmly.

'Is that smoke?'

He could see dark smoke billowing in the distance. His face twisted as he quickly understood the implications. Although the villages were evacuated. They were burning everything on the path to the capital.

'These scum.'

He cursed inwardly.

The Maratha soldiers also noticed the smoke and looked at him for orders. The scouts were yet to come back from their search but it was clear from the smoke. They were close to the capital.

"Prepare for battle." Shivaji blew his war horn.

The Marathas moved with determination in each step. They began to load up the trebuchets, cannons and catapults

"We shall show those Mughal bastards the power of Marathas," yelled a soldier as he loaded the catapult.

"JAI BHAVANI" yelled another.

The maids were used for logistics purposes. They prepared the beds and clothes for the injuries. They were moving quickly at the blare of the war horn, setting their things up for the battle.

Head maids from the palace were there to help them, as the queen overlooked the complete process.

The oil pots were being prepped along with the few fuse grenades with some excess gunpowder they had for the crude cannons. The cannon crews moved the iron shells in a cart towards the fort from the warehouse along with the gunpowder.

Archers took their places and moved their pile of arrows.

The gate was reinforced by the soldiers. Heavy infantry and pike shields were stationed right in front of the gate.

Defense was set up in neat formations. Shivaji looked around to see anything missing in his defense

"Prepare a barricade." He ordered from the vantage point.

The heavy infantry near the gate scrambled at his order and put wooden railings and barricades near the gate. It was crucial to have a second line of defense once the enemy breaches the gate.

Shivaji already anticipated that Askar would be able to breach the first line of defence.

The Mughals almost had triple the number of troops than them. It was going to be battle to the death. He needed to defend the capital till help arrived.

There was already a message that the prince was on his way back to the capital with his army.

'I have to protect till the Prince arrives.'

The ground shook, and the trees also shook in the distance. Dust rose in the sky and the heavy breeze covered the area in dust.

Shivaji watched the Mughals swarming into the battlefield. He saw hundreds of troops exit the forest facing the fort. Siege towers and cannons came were being pushed and more troops entered the battlefield.

They were almost triple the numbers of the Marathas.

Askar rode his horse in the back with a wry smirk on his face, staring at the fort from the distance.

'Finally here. I will take down this wretched place. That way, my victory will be sealed in history. HAHAHHA.'

He thought.

He was on his way to become the most accomplished commander in Mughal history if he could pull off the historic victory at Karnavati, an impenetrable capital city.

It hasn't fallen since it became the capital of the Marathas, even when they were reduced to a tiny bit of land. Karnavati never fell to the invaders.

He was going to change it today. He was feeling confident about his victory. He was facing an inexperienced child on the other end.

But Askar learned from his previous mistakes and decided not to underestimate the person and decided to go all out from the beginning of the battle.

"Tsk. I have to finish before the reinforcements arrive."

He scanned the top of the wall to see the status of the defenses.

Askar was impressed that it was well setup by Shivaji. Everything was loaded and the soldiers were alert.

'He doesn't seem to be a complete novice.'

He thought.

'This might take sometime. It might take a day or two if he manages to defend well.'

"Make camp." He yelled out an order.

The soldiers began to make camp in front of the capital entrance. They were well outside the range of the crude cannons and other defending weapons.

The tents were quickly setup by the soldiers and they rechecked their equipment.

"Bring out the siege weapons."

The siege weapons rolled out into the open and were prepared right in front of the eyes of the Marathas.

After a few moments of preparation, they set up their camp along with the supplies.

A soldier came to Askar. "We are ready to fight, Commander. Everyone is prepared to move and defeat the Kafirs, Inshallah."

Askar smiled. "Right!."

"Send the messenger. We will claim victory this time."