Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

Hampi, Vijayanagara Empire.

The second day of the battle for Hampi was underway. Both armies fought with renewed determination on the corpse-ridden battlefield. The smell of the decayed corpses was permeating the air.

Vultures and crows circled the sky to feed on the dead. During prolonged battles, the last rites of the dead happened usually at the end of the battle. The victor usually cremated the bodies of the fallen in a huge funeral pyre.

The atmosphere was eerie as the screams of agony and clashes of metal filled the battlefield again. The loud bang of the cannons made the earth tremble.

Numerous soldiers were trampled mercilessly by their own allies and enemies in the chaotic frontline.

Chandra's army was greeted with a hail of steel right onto their close-knit shield walls. This was coupled with the shells of the Culverins. They made a dent in their shield wall, and the arrows picked apart the infantry through the gaps.

Just before the second day of the battle commenced, Bhairava discussed the strategic changes that were being implemented by Vikrama with the commanders.

A terrain map was laid out on the table with a location marked. Vikrama pointed at the location and began to elaborate.

"Lord Madhav. We will have you stationed at this location before the battle commences."

Madhav was a local noble commander in the army of Bhairava.

He contemplated for a while and asked. "What do I have to do?"

"Lord Madhav. Once the battle starts, we need your unit to post to the far north of the battlefield using the forest cover."

Madhav quickly understood the gist of the plan. They wanted to pick apart the backline troops and destroy some of the first prince's army supplies.

"But the forest strip is well narrow and close to the city walls. Isn't it very prone to detection?"

"Madhav, don't worry about that. We will have them preoccupied. If you feel like it is impossible. Retreat." Bhairava declared.

"Understood, Your Highness."

"Moving out. We need to change our approach. Chandra has numbers and supplies. It does seem he has bolstered his numbers a lot more than we anticipated."

A commander raised his hand hastily.

"Your Highness, There were new commanders also. We have noticed some changes to the old positions that were initially informed by the spies."

"I see.."

Something happened during the short time. Bhairava could feel the change in strategy. He knew Chandra wasn't better than him in warfare. They anticipated the first day's strategy and put up a solid defense.

They were getting easily torn apart during the first few clashes during the start of the battle. Vikrama changed the formation and tweaked the tactics in between the clashes to regain their upper hand.

'Is he anticipating my moves and strategy?'

Bhairava still had the edge in the battle due to his cannons. The cannons were a huge asset on the battlefield. Many of the first prince's soldiers were not accustomed to the cannon that would occasionally cause disorganization within the front lines.

Bhairava exploited these openings to dwindle down their numbers.

Just like the first day. The skrimishes were ending in stalemates. It was similar to yesterday's situation. Chandra was anticipating his strategies in advance with insane accuracy. It did feel odd to him.

Today he had unleashed a beast into the battlefield. Arjun, his aide and bodyguard, was a skilled warrior. He had earned his nickname "Butcher of South." by his extensive display of brutality coupled with skill on the battlefield.

Arjun was killing numerous soldiers with ease. His swings were precise, targeting the vital points and gaps of the armor of the soldiers. He occasionally used his shield to block stray arrows and throw spears from the enemy.

Meanwhile, Madhav was rotating through the small strip of forest to ambush the backline of the enemy. He chose a small cavalry unit for the job; since the strip of cover was too little, having a bigger unit meant easier to detect.

Madhav had finally made his way to the backline of the enemy. He first scanned the surroundings for some threats or scouts before proceeding with the ambush.

His goal was to burn down some of the supplies in the backline and kill as many supporting soldiers stationed in the back.

Madhav looked at his soldiers, ready to fight.

"Charge!"

They burst out into the backline charging, brandishing their lances. Some soldiers had oil-doused lamps to set their supplies on fire.

Madhav and the unit should have done their goal easily. To their horror, this wasn't the case. A pikeman shield wall was already in place. It was as if they had anticipated the plan again.

It was too late to stop the charge. Several members crashed into the shield wall as the pikes punctured the horses and threw the soldiers down only to be picked off by skrimishers.

"Regroup!" yelled Madhav.

He managed to quickly maneuver his soldiers around and do a counterattack. This time they managed to succeed. They broke through and set fire to the supplies.

The goal of killing many of the backline troops wasn't successful. The attack was a partial success. Madhav saw more reinforcements arrive.

"Retreat!" He ordered.

They went back into the forest, using it to navigate back to his army.

Bhairava looked over at the battlefield dejected. Every strategy he used was being struck down with ease. Madhav had failed to kill many soldiers in the backline. Although the sabotage of supplies was a success, it wasn't enough to make a dent in Chandra's army.

'What the hell is going on!!.' Bhairava cursed.

The desperate clashes were coming to an end for the day. As the sun was falling down over the horizon. The sounds of steel faded into nothingness. The screams and cries of despair were no longer bellowing through the battlefield.

The field lay bare with countless corpses at the end of Day 2 of the battle of Hampi. Vultures and crows prey on the remains of dead corpses.

Despite the battle ending in another stalemate for the second day.

But Bhairava had found out an important clue to the puzzle.