Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

22nd August 1659

It is the day of the battle, the day when the future of the Bharatiya Empire is about to be decided. Sharks on the coast of Madagascar suddenly became active; maybe they could sense the upcoming bloody feast. Crows in the sky began circling around the four islands neighbouring Madagascar as if they were waiting for something to happen. The Anti-Bharatiya fleet, totalling over 226 ships spread across four different islands, eagerly waited for the enemy to arrive.

"Deacon, please, you don't have to do this. You are making a big mistake," Maximilian V, standing on the dock of Mauritius, tried for the last time to convince Francis, the person who held control over the 19 Holy Roman Empire naval vessels.

"Hmph!" Sadly, though, Francis snorted in disdain. "Traitor! How dare you take the side of the enemy despite being a representative of the Holy Roman Empire? How dare you support the infidels?"

He raised his chin high with arrogance. "Who are we? We are the defenders of the Roman Empire, the greatest empire in the world and God's chosen successors."

"We are the ones who are destined to rule the world! How dare you agree that these infidels would occupy an ocean for themselves? Have you no backbone?" He stared daggers into the soul of Maximilian.

"Sigh!" Maximilian didn't get angry, since this was the same reaction he had gotten every time he tried to persuade the deacon to stop his idiotic behaviour. But sadly, he failed every time.

Maximilian V turned around and left in disappointment, but looking at the naval ships of his nation, which were only recently bought for the sole purpose of trading with the Bharatiya Empire, he turned back, still with a little unwillingness in his heart. "Deacon, don't you realize that His Majesty Leopold wants to have a good relationship with the Bharatiya Empire? Now, taking advantage of the fact that emergency communications are not possible, why are you acting completely contrary to His Majesty's intentions? Why are you feeding into the one-sided dislike of Admiral Mitchell against the Bharatiya Empire?" He pointed his finger at the deacon, trembling with rage.

Looking at those eyes that looked at him like he was some sort of criminal, Francis immediately became humiliated and angry. He hated when someone pointed fingers at him; it always reminded him of the scrutinizing gazes of his colleagues and the so-called nobles judging him like he was some sort of sheep to be slaughtered. "Maximilian, you are not arrested; is this why you dare to run your mouth and interpret the intentions of His Majesty according to your own ideas? You traitor! You scum! The reason why His Majesty put me here was to keep the Bharatiya Empire in check."

"If not, why would he assign the nau and the galleon of the Portuguese, bought at a high price to this godforsaken region?"

"Huh!"

Maximilian's mouth was wide open. This level of delusion made him dumbfounded. What else could he say? If possible, he immediately wanted to scream, "To trade," but looking at the expression on the deacon's face, which looked distorted like that of a madman, he completely became silent.

Unfortunately, this made Francis think that he had won. "You know what, Maximilian? I don't even care if you're the ambassador chosen by His Majesty. After I tell him your deeds, he will punish you anyway."

"Maybe if I lock you up, I may even get some additional credits." Francis clapped his hands, and a pair of guards promptly arrived and dragged Maximilian away.

Maximilian did not say anything. In the end, he could only let out a depressed sigh. As he knew the strength of the Bharatiya Navy, he did not have confidence in the Anti-Bharatiya fleet winning.

---Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The disturbance caused by the argument slowly died down,

The captains and the sailors of the Anti-Bharatiya Alliance waited with bated breath on their battleships on the coast of various islands. Fortunately, their wait wasn't long, as a Delhi-class battleship of the Bharatiya Empire, with all its might and glory, waving the blue naval flag of the Bharatiya Empire adorned with an Ashoka Chakra, appeared on the horizon of each of the islands.

Hands immediately tightened, and faces suddenly became serious as the captains commanding the naval vessels became alert, their eyes blazing with the will to fight and adrenaline coursing through their blood, filling their hearts with excitement.

"Voor God en Vaderland!" (For God and Fatherland)

General Van Goen of the Netherlands roared.

"Vaderland!" the Dutch sailors passionately responded.

"God Save the King!" Captain Edward Nelson of Britain rallied his men.

"Ahhh!" the British roared at the top of their lungs.

"Vive le Roi!" (Long live the King!) Captain Abraham Duquesne screamed.

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"À la victoire!" (To victory!) the French naval officers passionately responded.

"Adeste Romani!" (Romans, come on!) Michiel de Ruyter roared.

"Barbarus!" the German sailors screamed at the top of their lungs, although they were the smallest navy in the islands, with only 19 ships divided across four different islands, their voice and roar weren't less than the French.

---

The Bharatiya Navy was divided into four different battle groups, one battle group for each island that had to be conquered.

Commander Gautam was commanding the battlefront which had gone to Mauritius, as well as having influence over the battle group which had gone to Reunion. A couple of high-ranking battle group captains commanded the battlefronts that had gone to Camaros and Mayotte. Staying behind was a battle group composed of different naval vessels that were kept in reserve in case any battlefront needed immediate support.

Time slowly ticked by, and the distance between both parties closed in.

"Commander, we are in range," an artillery captain operating the 40-kilogram monster cannon inquired.

Gautam shook his head. "Not yet!" he said.

However, Captain Pushpa, commanding the battle group at Camaros, made a completely different decision.

"Fire!" he said, his eyes blazing.

"BOOOM!"

"BOOOM!"

The two 40-kilogram cannons came to life and woke up from their slumber. Red-hot cannonballs flew through the air at unimaginable speeds and whizzed into the enemy naval fleet.

Its aim was the large Brederode-class battleship of the Dutch.

"Bang!"

The 40-kilogram cannonball hit square on the deck, destroying everything that was in its way. Wood, metal, human bodies—it did not matter; it tore through everything.

In fact, when it reached the lower floors, it even ignited a barrel of gunpowder as it created sparks due to the impact.

"Ahhh!"

The sailors who had even been near the vicinity of the cannonball were obliterated. They lay dead, motionless, with splinters of wood and wounds of burns all over their bodies.

As for the ones who survived, they cried in agony.

The captain of the Dutch battleship looked at the sinkhole in his deck with his eyes wide open and then at the frigate next to him, which had begun to tilt and sink into the Arabian Sea. Then he looked at the Bharatiya Battle Group with a hateful gaze.

"Charge forward!" he ordered.

If it was any other ship that had been hit by the 40-kilogram monster cannon, one shot would have been enough to puncture the deck and put a hole through its hull. But the Brederode was not any other ship. It was a 2000-ton behemoth, newly built by the Dutch. In fact, being inspired by the Bharatiya shipbuilding, it even implemented semi-compartmentalization.

The semi-compartmentalization of the Dutch is quite similar to the Bharat in its way, where it is laid out with watertight compartments. But unlike the Bharatiya warships, the ship is not compartmentalized throughout. Instead, the watertight sealing is only given to a few crucial areas in the ship that are strategic and for compartments that are closer to the hull, which are more likely to take in water.

The Brederode battleship unfurled its sails and moved forward, unfazed as if it hadn't just taken the biggest blow right to the chin.

---

The Bharatiya captain was surprised when the Dutch battleship looked unaffected by his attack. It was a little demoralizing, but seeing the sinking Dutch frigate, he felt better.

"Fire! Fire! Fire!" he roared as the distance between the two battle groups closed down to only a few hundred meters.

"BOOM!" "BOOM!" "BOOM!"

The monster cannons of the Bharatiya Empire continued to roar, and they continued to wreak havoc on the enemy.

The situation was very similar in other battlefields. The Bharatiya ships dominated, but the advantage did not remain one-sided for long.

"Oh Lord nooo!"

"Ahh"

"Devaa"

"Ah"

Cries of agony were heard from both navies. The smell of death permeated the battlefields as the sharks started to feast on the bodies that fell into the water, while the crows and vultures dived down to enjoy the bloody feast.

The Pune-class battleship and the Delhi-class battleship of the Bharatiya Empire were the main vanguard of the battle. They were responsible for holding back the Dutch Brederode, British Royal Charles, Holy Roman Nau and Galleon, and finally the French Soleil Royal.

P.S. To be continued...