Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

In a forest near Mosul

"AHH!" Your next read is at empire

A desperate scream was heard, filled with dread and a hint of disappointment.

Ezidi Serwan stood in front of a dead body with a tired expression on his face. 'What does it make him—the eighth?' he thought to himself while leaning onto a nearby tree, panting and out of breath.

Around him, Barzan, Tawfan and other Yazidi warriors were no different either; all of them were dead tired. They had been fighting for the last 12 hours without stopping even for an instant.

From the start of their operation to its end and eventually retreating to the forest, they had been fighting for a whole 10 hours. Unfortunately—or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it—the military elites who had left for Arabistan to reinforce Basra came back and learned about the death of their family.

As one would expect, they went into a fit of boundless rage. Unable to contain their grief and anger, they immediately wanted revenge. Knowing where their enemies had gone, they rushed headfirst into the forest area near Mosul. This was true for many military leaders; even the smart ones who knew from experience that rushing into the forest was a bad decision.

They just couldn't contain their rage, the best they did with their remaining rationality was bring a few platoons with them as they entered the forest.

Unfortunately, their names had already turned black in the book of Yamaraj the moment they set foot into the forest. Even though all the military leaders along with their subordinates still outnumbered the Yazidi people—who had only 1,850 soldiers remaining—they were no match for the Yazidis, who had practically grown up in the jungle and hunted for training and sustenance.

The Yazidis were like elves in the jungle—natural killers with skills derived from their way of living.

Without breaking a sweat and with only a dozen casualties, the 1,850 Yazidi soldiers were able to wipe out nearly 4,800 Zangana army troops, most of them elites of the army and their close confidants.

Ezidi Serwan finally regrouped with his people.

He made sure that everyone was present, and he was also very sad when he learned about the 12 people who had unfortunately died. Thankfully, he recovered quickly since he had already mentally prepared himself for heavy losses. When he started the battle, he had 2,500 troops under his command, but now he was only left with 1,838, which is almost a 30% casualty rate. This was disastrous for his tribe, which had a population of only around 8,600.

Thirty percent casualty might seem like a lot, but it was massive, considering that the death of 662 people meant a reduction of 7.7% of the population. This was especially devastating, given that this 7.7% consisted of all able-bodied, strong men who could become the pillars of society.

Looking at the dead bodies of his companions, Ezidi Serwan looked distraught. "Dear Lord, please bless your children so they do not have such a day once more," he prayed.

Ezidi Serwan had already won, and he no longer wanted to take any risks until his community became more stable.

Barzan, who had recovered his breath, came toward Ezidi Serwan limping, as he seemed to have injured his foot a little. "Chief, should we go back now?" he asked.

Ezidi Serwan was about to nod his head but suddenly thought of something. "No, not yet," he said, shaking his head as he looked toward the city of Mosul.

This reply was unexpected since everyone had already packed up their trophies, thinking it was time to go home. But it seemed the chief had other plans.

Everyone stared at their chief with anticipation and a little doubt.

Ezidi Serwan understood the meaning of the stares directed toward him. "The enemy has stopped rushing into the jungle. They may have already discovered that everyone who left earlier should have encountered an accident. "

"Moreover, most of the people who came after us were the elites of the Zangana family, the nobles of Kurdistan. With these bugs eliminated, the army back in Mosul would be defenceless without a proper leader. "

"I suspect that the elites who remained with their army should right now be fighting for control and have no time to think about us."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Ezidi Serwan turned toward his people. "Do you all know what this means?" he asked.

Tawfan scratched his head. "Does that mean we have an amazing opportunity to completely destroy this army?" he asked. Although he looked tired, his expression became a little excited as he put forward his conjecture.

Ezidi Serwan nodded, but he was not happy; his expression was complicated. "True, this is an amazing opportunity to completely destroy the Zangana Army, but unfortunately, we do not have the capital to do so."

"Even in its current form, the Zangana Army has nearly 25,000 troops. Even if they are not centrally controlled by one leader, a part of this strength is enough to give us a lot of trouble. So, no, we are not going to launch an attack," Ezidi Serwan said.

Immediately, a lot of people let out a sigh of relief, especially Barzan, who wiped the cold sweat that had formed on his forehead. Then he was confused. If not for launching an attack, what else could be the reason to stay back? "Chief, is there anything else we should do?" he asked.

Ezidi Serwan nodded. "Even though we can't do anything about this army, it doesn't mean that others can't."

"Hmm?" Barzan was intrigued.

Serwan explained, "Didn't the Bharatiya Empire promise their support to help us build our own nation, and this nation would be within Kurdistan? Right now, there is such a good opportunity. Wouldn't the Bharatiya Empire, who orchestrated the whole thing, know about this opportunity?

"If I am not mistaken, either the Bharatiya Empire will act personally, or they will use the Zoroastrians down south to do it for them.

"In such a situation, even though we cannot directly fight, if we can lend a helping hand, casualties on both sides could be reduced, and we can initially form our diplomatic ties with the new Zoroastrian power or the Bharatiya Empire, whichever the case, it is very good for us."

Barzan fell into deep thought and felt like it made sense.

Tawfan on the other hand, was simply too happy that he would get a chance to participate in the battle once more. The soldiers, who understood the decision of their chief, did not have much objection either, since they didn't have to participate in the battle themselves.

Once the consensus was reached, the soldiers rested, recovering from their injuries and replenishing their energy.

As expected, nearly five hours later, when the whole of Kurdistan was in chaos from the death of Patriarch Zangana and his family, the army from Baghdad, led by Kaveh Atashban, arrived. Ezidi Serwan immediately ordered Barzan, who had recovered from his injury, to make contact.

Kaveh Atashban was surprised by the sudden request for a dialogue from the Yazidi chief. Kaveh had been informed about the entire battle situation from beginning to end by his cousin, Fariba Atashban. After learning the ins and outs of the whole thing, he couldn't help but feel a hint of admiration for the Yazidi people.

As such, without hesitation, he agreed to the meeting.

The dialogue between Ezidi Serwan and Kaveh Atashban was a pleasant one. Although they had not yet gotten a chance to grow their friendship, a diplomatic connection was successfully established.

As for the battle plan, after discussions between both parties, an alliance was reached.

With the battle officially starting, Kaveh Atashban accepted logistical support from the Yazidi people, who could easily travel through the forest, unlike his army. More importantly, Kaveh Atashban strategically guided one brigade after another into the forest, where the Yazidi people were waiting with sharpened swords.

The battle lasted half a day, and by the end of it, the Yazidi army had completely defeated the enemy. After eliminating nearly 14,620 soldiers, the rest surrendered and were taken into custody.

---

"Hurrah!"

"Long live Atashban!"

"Long live Yazidi!"

Shouts were heard throughout Baghdad and Hamedam. The people, who were happy to have kept their land to themselves, were now even more joyous since it was inevitable that the region controlled by the Atashban family would expand once more, and this time the expansion was huge.

Due to the prior diplomatic connection, the Yazidis and Persians did not immediately get into an argument. Instead, they requested the Bharatiya Empire to settle the matter for them.

"Finally, things have come to a conclusion," Vijay, who had received the report, sighed in relief.

He immediately contacted the Minister of External Affairs Jaishankar and ordered him to lead the negotiation discussions.

To be continued...

P.S I have not prepared the new map yet, if I have time now I will do it, or else tomorrow