Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

Hampi, Vijayanagara Empire.

The sulfuric smell of the gunpowder loomed in the air. Limbs of the soldiers scattered in explosion. Intestines and blood splattered everywhere, soldiers witnessed hell as they saw their comrade blown into pieces right in front of their eyes.

Some soldiers had some parts blown off in the explosion. They fell from the excrutiating pain and blood loss. The morale of the army quickly fell.

Chaos and panic were settling in the soldiers as they tried to escape the brutal scene.

Harsha let out a war cry, commanding his soldiers.

"Charge, my soldiers!" He roared.

Ranks of infantry and cavalry charged into the fray of the disorganized army of the first prince. Havoc ensued as they mowed down the enemy with ease. The fresh legs and stamina of Harsha's army gave a big advantage.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

Another set of explosions ensued on the other side of the backline. Nakul was desperately trying to keep the situation under control.

'What are these explosions?'

He saw iron shells thrown by a couple of soldiers on the other side. The iron shell landed, and an explosion ensued.

It was his first time seeing such a weapon.

"What the hell is that?" He muttered.

"Look close to the wall. Kill them!!!" He screamed at a commander.

Nakul scanned the battlefield. Bhairava kept pushing his offensive; now Prince Harsha had entered in as well. The army had to deal with a two-front battle.

He glanced at Chandra and yelled.

"Control the situation. What the hell are you doing looking like that?"

"Huh?" Chandra winced like he had awoken from a bad dream.

"What should I do?"

"I don't know what to do." He mutters nervously.

Nakul clicked his tongue.

"Move the infantry to the back. Have the archers move in the middle and use cavalry to slow the offensive of Bhairava." He quickly explained.

Chandra was still the face of the army. Nakul's commands were usually done using Chandra.

The formation of his army changed drastically from a single command. The defense became tight, and the troops could hold out better. The shield walls constructed on both fronts were barely holding out.

Nakul watched a man slaughtering soldiers with a crazy smile. It was Harsha; he was going on a rampage. Even veteran soldiers shudder at the sight.

He had already cut down two of the backline commanders charging into the formation like a madman. His actions looked crazy at first, but Nakul could tell that he was performing them with insane precision. Not even a movement was wasted.

Amidst the horrifying clashes of steel, screams of terror echoed occasionally.

Nakul was trying his best to control the damage. He needed to retreat and regroup. So many soldiers had died; the archers and backline troops were dwindled severely.

He watched as the third and last backline commander's head was raised by Prince Harsha.

"Damn that crazy monster!! How did he kill all three commanders just in a matter of minutes?" He yelled.

"Chandra," He shouted at the first prince, looking scared at Harsha. "Retreat back, and we need to regroup."

Chandra was taken back by the sudden informal speech but didn't pry into that and commanded the army.

'Why are the second prince and prince Harsha working together? What the hell happened?' Nakul thought.

"Special unit, clear the other side." Nakul commanded.

The explosions stopped on the other side suddenly as the people just disappeared into thin air.

"Huh, where are they?"

The whole situation was becoming a confusing mess. The retreat was successful, and Chandra's army was able to regroup.

Nakul, anticipating another explosion attack, stationed his special unit to the back of the army. Hundreds of soldiers were lost in the ambush and sudden entry of Prince Harsha.

The army of Bhairava also seemed confused by the sudden appearance of Prince Harsha. The confusion was cleared by a single war cry from Bhairava.

"MY SOLDIERS. DO NOT PANIC. THEY ARE OUR ALLIES."

The war horn blew, and the armies of both Harsha and Bhairava charged at the heavily demoralized army of Chandra.

Both of them were exceptional warriors; Chandra felt terrified looking at the corpse-ridden battlefield.

"DO SOMETHING!!! YOU LOW LIFE!!" He screamed at Nakul.

"We will lose!!! I cannot lose to these bastards!!"

Nakul ignored him, his mind racing to keep thinking of strategies.

He knew the first prince wouldn't be of any use. He began to issue orders to the commanders. Fortunately, most of the commanders recognized the gravity and began to listen to his commands closely.

The clashes were getting desperate as Chandra's army was being pushed back to the walls of the capital city of Hampi.

Nakul cursed his luck. The battle was falling out of his hand as time passed. The problem wasn't the Bhairava.

Just like Lakshmi had predicted, the problem was Prince Harsha. The man was targeting the commanders of each unit, from the junior to senior commanders. The numbers were dwindling, and the control over the army was waning.

Harsha had single-handedly killed over ten commanders just entering the battle some time ago.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

The backline was exploding once again. Soldiers were flying from the powerful explosions; blood was splattered across the walls, and the bodies of soldiers burned to a crisp.

The special unit was wiped out, and the iron shells were thrown from above the fortified walls of the capital into the backline.

Chaos ensued on the battlefield. The commanders were getting killed left and right like flies, and soldiers were demoralized. Some started to run away to survive the onslaught by both princes.

Chandra was watching Harsha from a distance. Some bodyguards stood beside him.

He was watching the man he considered talentless. The person he had looked down. Harsha was ripping apart the battlefield. He was covered in blood having fun killing the soldiers.

A shudder ran down his spine as Harsha's eyes locked on to him from the distance. A crazy smile crossed his face as he raised the head of a senior commander.

Chandra's legs trembled, and his pupils were shaking violently. He was breathing heavily. His heart started to pound faster as time passed.

'I am scared?'

His hands trembled.

He felt like he was staring at the Yama (God of Death in Hinduism) approaching to harvest his soul.

His instincts kicked in, and his legs moved on their own.

Chandra fled from the battlefield.