Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

Hampi, Vijayanagara Empire.

The battlefield was a chaotic mess from all the new corpses mounting up as time passed and blood caked the ground. The sun was high in the sky; the intense warmth of the sun fatigued the soldiers even further.

Nakul was going crazy trying to reel in the situation. The first prince had fled the battlefield, and most of the commanders were dead. Harsha and Bhairava were wreaking havoc. The demoralized army wasn't listening to orders. Most of them were fleeing, trying to save their lives.

"That damn bastard ran away. This is impossible to deal with all alone. This battle is a lost cause."

A single thought ran through his mind. It was Lakshmi, like that even Nakul abandoned the battlefield.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the battlefield. Harsha was having fun stretching his limbs and killing people. He liked to fight.

His mind was made to fight. But recently he enjoyed the aspects of building up an army and commanding people. He also liked the political aspects of the Empire. He didn't dabble too much into politics, in his opinion.

But it was evident he was intrigued by the political challenge an emperor faces. He wanted to know more about it. He also liked the fact he could build something like a fuse grenade in this medieval era.

He wanted to experiment more with this. Harsha wanted to use his ability to push the limits of technology in this era. He wanted to lead a kingdom and dabbled in politics. It seemed amusing, and he wanted to satisfy his curiosity.

Harsha was a lab rat in his previous life, longing for freedom.

Now he longed for something that would satisfy his curiosity. There was a subtle change in him. He could also feel it; he was having fun fighting after a long time. He was enjoying the struggle to win against Lakshmi.

Harsha noticed Chandra running away from the battle field. He was disgusted by it as he left his army to die; he hated cowardice.

He looked over at Bhairava, who was slashing off the neck of the last commander in his side.

Harsha screamed.

"Bhairava, Chandra fled the battlefield."

Bhairava, upon hearing this, turned around to scan the battlefield to find Chandra's visage. He spotted him entering the city with his bodyguard.

His horse galloped at his command, accelerating and breaking away from the army towards his target, Chandra.

"Madhav, take control of the army." He ordered.

"Yes, Your Highness." Madhav wasn't informed about the deal with Harsha. It came as a surprise, but he listened to Bhairava without any fear. He trusted the decision made by the prince.

Bhairava still remembered the death of his trusted aide, Arjun. Harsha stabbed him right in the heart, instantly killing him.

Arjun was his trusted aide for a long time. He didn't know why he would betray him at first.

His face went pale as he saw Harsha grin looking at the corpse of Arjun.

"Why did you do that?" he asked.

"Why? Because he was the one leaking information to Lakshmi!" Harsha responded.

"Ha-Ha, how do you know about that?" Bhairava asked, his voice trembling.

"As I said. I wasn't just sitting idle for the past few days. He is a spy planted by Lakshmi."

"But–"

Vikrama, who stood beside Bhairava, put his hands on his shoulder and tried to console him.

"You can connect the dots. You have someone capable of doing that close by."

"I found out this information in a simple way. Our scouts saw him exchanging information with a hooded figure just before dawn."

"To think, he of all people would be the one to betray me."

"Betray? He was never loyal to you!" Harsha said with a grin.

"Think back to when you met him and why did you take him under your wing."

Bhairava met Arjun during the last Hoysala war. He was fascinated by the strong warrior wreaking havoc and given a title by fellow soldiers, "Butcher of the South."

After meeting him at the battlefield. Bhairava decided to make Arjun his aide. His strength was unmatched, and he was the perfect person he was looking for at the time. Now that he thought about it. He had no hesitation or questions about joining.

It was like he was waiting for Bhairava to ask him to join his faction. It turned out he was the naive one; the fact that he was a Lakshmi pawn took his heart by storm. He had lost one of his longtime partners and his mother in the span of two weeks.

"That said, don't go after Lakshmi. I will personally take care of her." Harsha declared walking off, leaving him with the corpse of Arjun.

Back to the present. Bhairava followed Chandra into the city of Hampi. The city was practically empty due to the looming civil war. Most of the citizens stayed indoors till the fighting ended.

He could see Chandra going towards the palace in a hurry. He quickly followed suit to exact his revenge.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield. Harsha stopped fighting after killing the last commander of the army. The victory was already in their grasp. All the commanders of the enemy were running away. It seems like the man who was leading Chandra's army from the shadows had also abandoned, since the army fell apart very quickly.

He scoffed at the lackluster battle that he experienced. He was now regretting his decision to wait. If he knew that taking on the first prince's army would be this easy. He would have taken the fight on day five.

He clicked his tongue.

'No use of thinking of the past.'

Victory was evident by the momentum gained by his army.

"Tarun, take control of the army. I will go finish the final battle of this war."

The final battle was yet to take place. He was yet to meet the mastermind behind this huge ordeal. The person who single-handedly manipulated and played the whole empire in their palms.

The woman who started the Civil War. The person he wanted to fight the most. The biggest obstacle on his way to the throne

The eldest child of the Emperor and the half-sister of Harsha, Lakshmi Deva Raya.