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Chapter 127: The Last Battle Part: 3 (Vol 2 End)
As the battle raged on, enemy troops steadily advanced toward the city wall. The infantry at the forefront began to feel a sense of relief, anticipating an end to their suffering. "Gulug," sweat trickled down their faces as they felt their goal getting closer, just within their grasp. However, their hopes were abruptly shattered.
Observing the Mughal soldiers nearing the wall, Ramaiah Senapati issued a command, "Grenade team, launch!" The grenadiers hurled frag grenades into the approaching army, resulting in a series of explosions. "Boom, boom, boom." The potato-sized objects soared onto the crowd, causing numerous blasts throughout the area. Those directly impacted by the grenades were propelled meters away, their bodies blown to pieces, and even those who managed to evade the direct blast weren't spared. The shrapnel within the grenades exploded in various directions, causing injuries, and in severe cases, instant death.
The already precarious situation for the Mughal army became even more challenging as they reached mere meters away from the base of the wall. "Is he going to die just like this?" a soldier on the frontline thought, unable to shake off his dread and the fear of his imminent demise.
However, the next moment brought a glimmer of hope to him and his comrades. Their large cannon, which had ceased firing due to overheating, recovered, and the bombardment resumed. To avoid harming their own forces, Iqbal directed the cannon to target the topmost part of the city wall, not to breach it, but to eliminate the artillery on the wall and to distract the soldiers on it.
"Boom, boom, boom."
The strategic move completely shifted the tides of the battle. Ramaiya's attention soon fell on the remaining cannons of the Mughal Empire. Unfortunately, Ramaiya Senapati felt defenceless, as their cannons had yet to recover and were still too hot to be used safely. He had perused the technical documents related to the giant cannon the other day, which explained that continuous strain could lead to the cannon exploding without the need for enemy intervention.
Feeling helpless, Ramaiya looked sideways towards the direction of his father, Logananda Senapati, to see his reaction. However, Logananda, unusually calm, was trotting around as if he was waiting for something. From the back of the Mughal Empire, towards the northern hills, there was a glimmering arrow that could be weakly seen from their vantage point.
Seeing this scene, Logananda smiled, knowing that his plan was about to be completed. He took a specially prepared arrow, lit it with a certain colour of flame, and then fired it.
In the Mughal camp, the moment the arrow was fired from the enemy fort, both Muhammad and Iqbal knew that something was not right. Iqbal quickly turned to look around, and as he looked in one direction and then another, at the corner of his eye, he could barely catch a glimmering object toward the northern hills. He rubbed his eyes to confirm his suspicion. Seeing the flaming object, which looked like an arrow, disappear on the horizon, he quickly ordered his brigade to form a defensive formation around his majesty Muhammad and retreated. The soldiers on the frontline did not know why their commander had left the battlefield, but soon they got the answer they were dreading. It would have been better if they had never known it.
"His Majesty abandoned us," the soldier at the rear of the army said to himself sadly as he slowly came to the realization.
"Boom boom boom"
The echoes of explosions resonated from the hills in the north. The blasts of this cannon were distinct, louder and deeper sounds than any cannon they had heard before, just like a giant beast waking up from its slumber. It sounded visceral. "Swish!" The cannonball, a size larger than their own, arrived in a split second. The shots were targeted at the artillery positioned at the rear of the Mughal Empire army. Despite the compromised accuracy at such a considerable distance, the cannon was faced in a way that, from its vantage point, all the cannons were clearly visible. "Bang!" The cannonball hit one cannon and bounced out to hit another one. This simultaneous impact took out several pieces of artillery at once.
Soldiers attempted to rescue the cannons, but amidst the explosions on the battlefield, the chaos prevented horses from coming anywhere close. With the Mughal Empire's artillery compromised, Marshal Yogananda swiftly ordered the cavalry to charge. Now that the artillery was down, the side door of the city wall swung open, allowing the 10,000 cavalrymen to charge.
With their pikes pointed perpendicular to them, the cavalry charged at high speeds in a uniform manner, resembling a massive train hurtling towards a vicious collision. The cavalry mowed through the disoriented enemy forces, trampling them like bugs under the relentless charge. Even the artillery seemed feeble for a moment as bones broke beneath the hooves of the horses. "Crack....!" Despair hung thick in the atmosphere.
After just a few rounds of charging, the remaining soldiers' mental defences crumbled. Faced with no prospect of victory or retreat, the enemy soldiers collectively dropped to their knees, raising their hands and relinquishing their weapons. It was a captivating sight as thousands of enemy soldiers knelt in blood, hoisting a white flag in surrender. Witnessing this unexpected turn, the soldiers of Vijayanagara were momentarily entranced by the scene unfolding before them.
"Yess, aaaaaahhhh !"
Cheers broke out throughout the battlefield. The war that lasted for a year was finally over, and they had emerged victorious.
Vijay screamed at the top of his lungs, pushing his fist towards the air, releasing all his frustration from the past year. He had suffered a lot—sleepless nights, multiple assassination attempts, and most of all, missing his wife.
No longer able to contain his joy, Vijay quickly took Marshal Logananda's hands and congratulated him heartily.
It was Logananda's contribution that saved the battle at the last moment. Logananda, upon hearing the king's congratulations, smiled a little. "Thank you, Your Highness, but we still let the king of the Mughal Empire and his general slip away. I am sure they will not let this matter go so simply."
"Don't worry, Marshal. They have lost a hole chunk of their empire. Moreover, their casualties are greater than ours. It will take at least five years for Muhammad to recover from these losses, and by that time, we will also be ready."
Listening to this, Yogendra nodded in agreement.
That night, a celebratory banquet was held to commemorate their hard-fought victory. The elephants, which had been sent out in the morning before the battle began, returned to the camp alongside the disassembled cannons.
Logananda noticed a hill at the northern end of the battlefield and formulated an idea. Considering that the newly procured cannons boasted longer range, accuracy, and power compared to the conventional ones they used, he envisioned using them for long-range sniping from the hill, which was 700 meters away. The challenge at that time was the uneven terrain, hindering the carriages from being pulled. Consequently, the decision was made to disassemble the cannons into parts and transport them using a group of elephants.
Two elephants carried the barrel of the cannon at a time, with a rope tied to both ends of the barrel and placed on both elephants in a linear line. This method facilitated the crossing of the challenging forest terrain, ensuring the cannons reached their strategic position atop the hill. An engineering corps was also dispatched along with rangers to clear out any scouting party of the Mughal Empire, allowing the cannon to be assembled on the spot on the northern hills.
Fortunately, it all worked out for the better.
Within two years, Vijayanagara had successfully acquired four new territories: Sri Lanka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh. This accomplishment marked a significant boost in strength for the Vijayanagara Empire. However, before capitalizing on this success, the empire will need a period of reorganization and the assimilation of its newfound spoils in the upcoming years.
---------------------------------End of Volume 2---------------------------------