Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

Dark clouds loomed over Karnavati as the impending war was closing every day. The patrols were becoming more frequent and the security at the palace was heightened to avoid assassination attempts from the Mughals.

Hundreds of clans pledged their support to defend their motherland from the invaders and began to enlist in the army without any pay. Their dedication and loyalty to the throne were unmatched.

A young commander in his early twenties had eagerly joined to defend his motherland from the invaders. His name was Shivaji Bhonsle. He became the junior commander after a test of strength.

Despite his young age, he was strong enough to go against numerous soldiers at once and his allegiance to the throne of the Marathas was unmatched.

It was his first real battle against the invaders. He was nervous as he prepared to do his best, although he was physically strong. The experience from the battles brought you a long way.

He talked to his seniors to realize that most of them were also nervous but they didn't show it on their faces. He admired the mental toughness of the soldiers who were going to war despite knowing they could lose their lives.

They did it for their land, children, and wives. The barbaric mughals did unspeakable things to the women and people where they conquered.

This was one of the major reasons that women committed suicides or burned themselves to save them from the humiliation of being sex slaves.

Shivaji had learned of these horrors recently. He always wondered why the wives of the slain warriors committed suicide by burning themselves.

'So this was the reason for that.' He pondered.

"I will protect this land with my life," he mumbled.

A commander heard his mumbling and patted his back with a hearty laugh.

"You brat, you barely got any hair on your chest and you want to give your life for the land." He said with a grin.
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"Commander! I will give my life if it protects the land."

The commander ruffled his hair with a warm smile. "Let the seniors worry about that. You guys are our future. Ain't that right, guys?" He said, glancing back at the veteran soldiers.

"Of course, we need brave young men like you to lead our armies after all, Shiva." A veteran soldier commented.

"Well, he is one to follow his words. After all, he inherited the name of Lord Mahadev." another chimed in.

"Learn from him, you fools. He is young and trains a lot more than you all combined," said another soldier, teasing the other two.

"Hey, we train hard too." They both said in unison.

They had some friendly banter, which was their source of relief in these turbulent times.

The soldiers waited for the orders to depart to protect their border, as they had already gotten the information of the army preparations in various regions in the Qutb Sultanate and Mughal Empire.

Portuguese were undetected for now as they were covert and efficient in masking their preparations from the spies of the Marathas.

Meanwhile, in the Royal Palace, the planning was going on in the presence of the king.

The numbers were in the favour of the Mughals and Qutb, along with the Portuguese. They might have some access to the weapons of the Portuguese.

Although not confirmed by the spies. The Qutbs didn't really possess the artillery, and on the other hand, the Mughals only had some crude artillery, which wasn't much effective, which gave them some relief.

The planning stage was crucial. They also had to defend three sides, two from land and one from water. The Marathas also had fewer numbers to defend their land, which made it even more difficult. Their navy was also very weak compared to the Portuguese.

"How do we counter the Naval problem?" asked Aadarsh.

"Should we evacuate the port city and form a barricade away from the port?, Your Majesty." asked Baldev.

The king stayed silent as the Portuguese navy's might was well above their field of expertise.

It was suicidal to take them head-on with subpar ships and weaponry.

"We have to go with the barricade. We cannot win against the Portuguese in the sea. It is futile to even commit our men to this endeavor."

Naveen spoke up.

"Your Majesty, I think we have a chance at sinking their ships."

"What?? Really?" Aadarsh asked with a surprised look on his face.

"Continue, Naveen." The king said.

"So, I heard some interesting things from a merchant from the Empire about a certain exploding weapon."

"Exploding weapon??"

"Yes, and you can throw them over long distances." Naveen explained. "It is also easy to make."

"How did they merchant know about it?" Aadarsh asked with a skeptical look.

"He was at the site of the last battle of the Civil War in the Empire and saw them used in person."

Little did Naveen know that the merchant he spoke to was a member of the Yamaduts dispatched to help take down the ships of the Portuguese once they heard that they would be also joining the war against the Marathas.

Rakhtasura anticipated the ships from the portuguese to take over the port of Surat. So he dispatched a member to pose as a merchant and leak the information of a fuse grenade to the Marathas.

"You can make it by filling gunpowder in an iron shell and attaching a wick to it."

Naveen put down the design of the ironshell that he got from the merchant for a good fee.'

"This seems quite a small weapon. Can it damage the huge ships of the Portuguese?" asked the king.

"We can attach many of these smaller shells to a long wick and light it up. Then use a catapult to throw it directly at the Portuguese ships."

"Oh… But would it do any significant damage against the bigger ships?"

"I don't think the Portuguese have their big ships here. They would use third-rate or at most second-rate ships to take over the port. We can sink third-rate ships and damage the second-rate with this."

"Prepare it as soon as possible. We shall use them against those Mlechhas."