Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 867: Agni goes into battle 5

Imperial capital Bengaluru, Akhand Bharatiya Empire

For any kind of news to reach the capital of the Bharatiya Empire from the battlefield in the Middle East, it takes at least 5 to 6 hours using the most expensive communication method that is currently available, and that is the fireworks communication systems designed by the Sri Manjunatha research firm of Commander Akhil.

Vijay had no clue about what was happening in the Middle East. The last major report he had received was about Generals Kaprulu Mustafa Pasha, Uzun Ibrahim Pasha, and Salim Al Abdullah Rahman Pasha mobilising their troops and putting them in standby. Although he did not understand the logic behind the Ottoman Empire deciding to attack the Bharatiya Empire's western border at this unusual moment, he chalked it out to the Ottoman Empire becoming desperate and trying to gain a foothold in the Bharatiya Empire and offset the losses by plundering the rich Bharatiya Empire's territories.

When he came to such a conclusion, he shook his head with disdain and laughed it off, looking down on the Ottoman Empire, which had underestimated his empire's defences. "Just because the Bharatiya Empire did not continue to attack, did they think that we are weak?" Vijay proclaimed when he received the intelligence.

However, as if the god himself was punishing him for his growing complacency, starting from the middle of the night, a sense of urgency slowly crept into his heart, making him uneasy for some reason. He set off to the Simhasana Bhavana several hours earlier as he had lost all his appetite. But as time went on, the uneasiness only increased instead of decreasing. He knew that something had gone wrong somewhere, which he was not aware of.

He tried very hard to remember all the details in recent times, no matter how minute, but in the end, he could not pinpoint anything that would threaten his life, as the sense of uneasiness he was feeling currently was very similar to the sense of danger he felt whenever his life was threatened.

"Could it be someone I care about is in danger?" This idea suddenly popped up in his mind, and the moment it appeared, a sense of clarity washed over him. He does not know why, he couldn't put his finger on it, but he could confidently tell that he had figured out the root of his unease.

'If I am indeed feeling uneasy because someone very close to me is in danger, then who could it be?' A face immediately appeared in his mind. "Oh no!"

An expression of panic finally appeared on his face. "Quick! Set off to Mangaluru!"

The carriage driver did not know what had happened to make His Majesty so nervous, but without asking any questions, he followed the orders and quickly turned the horses around, getting on the exclusive lane and increasing the speed. Consequently, without delay, Vijay had his Royal Guards send a message through the emergency line of the Arkha Dristhi communication channel for carriages to be arranged at several intervals throughout the journey from Bengaluru to Mangaluru to not waste any time resting the horses, as well as to keep the fastest Surat-class clipper in the empire in standby at the port.

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Qom

Agni could see that Kattappa was uneasy and worried, but he would not change his decision. Instead, he fell into deep thought, trying to conjure up a way to save as many people as possible and survive the current perilous situation.

"Immediately summon all the special forces and the troops to the centre of the city. I want those troops who are waiting at the ambush points to arrive as well."

The arrow was on the string, and there was no time to hesitate, so with desperation, Kattappa recalled all the agents and soldiers he had brought along with him in order to safeguard His Royal Highness, while Lieutenant Colonel Sriram Kakkar used his own methods to send the message to all the special forces squads in the city to gather.

In the meantime, Agni turned back and ran towards the centre of the city, followed closely by Lieutenant Colonel Sriram Kakkar, Kattappa, and the group.

As they ran forward, a few Ottoman stragglers came across. Kattappa immediately acted as he ran forward at the fastest speed, holding a pistol in one hand and a sword in the other. With a single motion, two heads fell down. The blood scattered, but Agni, as if he had not seen anything, continued to run forward, not minding the hot blood that had spilt on his uniform.

'Could scattering in all directions work? No, that is definitely not possible, especially when the size of the enemy is in the hundreds of thousands. A single sweeping search would be enough to catch all our soldiers, no matter how skilled we are in guerrilla warfare.'

'In that case, what else can we do?'

Thinking about countermeasures, Agni had fallen into a deep thought, but the orders he had issued were already having massive effects in the city. As the Ottoman soldiers who were still in the city were taken aback when the Bharatiya invaders suddenly turned around and came back once again to attack them, they were caught off guard, unable to resist. The attack at early dawn had left most of the elites of Qom, along with the best soldiers who were protecting them, slaughtered. Those who remained were simply normal soldiers of the Ottoman Empire, whose skill level couldn't even reach that of the recruits in the allied army.

With the alliance soldiers fighting with their backs against the wall, death looming in their faces, they did not hold back, and they gave their all to completely slaughter the remaining Ottoman troops on their way back to the central district of the city.

Agni's brain continued to simulate multiple possibilities as if he were a supercomputer.

'Can we barricade the city and defend it until the reinforcements arrive?'

'No, that doesn't work either. The reason why so few of us came was precisely because Qom was easy to attack, as it did not have a city wall. Hence, the task of eliminating us will only be made easier for the Ottomans.'

'What about allowing the Ottomans to enter the city and killing them within?'

'No, that doesn't work either. Only the special forces have complete knowledge about the layout of the city, while the rest of us know only its main paths and not its hidden alleyways and shortcuts.'

'Can we hide within the homes of the civilians?'

'Possibly, since there are still over 60 to 70,000 civilians living in the city, and providing refuge to roughly 3,000 people shouldn't be too hard. Even if a lot of us are caught, it should not be a problem for several thousand people to still survive. But the problem is, this is a city that was previously occupied by the Ottomans, and all the people in it are thoroughly brainwashed by the Ottomans to believe that we are heinous monsters who butcher and slaughter everything in our path. With such ideological training, can we really trust the civilians?'

He shook his head, already having the answer in his mind, 'Of course not.'

He thought long and hard, putting forward many ideas and rejecting them all himself. If anything positive came out of his deliberation, then it is that he gained more confidence to safeguard himself and his small group of people who were around him. All he had to do was trust his senses, see whose aura was more trustworthy, and seek refuge with that person. He had come across several civilians along the way, and he had already monitored all their auras. He had already shortlisted 5 to 6 households that could be trusted, but this was the last option he wanted to choose.

Moments later, the group was finally at the central district of the city, where hundreds of thousands of soldiers were pouring in every moment. Agni was not too difficult to be identified. Looking at the amber eyes that revealed their edge, now that the spectacles were no longer there to cover them, was enough to show the people who the young man was.

The Lieutenant Colonels of different squadrons, followed by Sergeants of different squads, came forward, informing what they knew so far and waiting for the orders from His Royal Highness.

The situation was dire, and the lieutenant colonels, who were middle-level officers in the military, naturally knew it. They already did not have much hope to get out alive, but since the Prince of the Bharatiya Empire was among them, there was a glimmer of hope for survival. What if the Ottomans did not kill them but captured them and used them as bargaining chips to negotiate with the Bharatiya Empire, since the Prince of the Bharatiya Empire is present among their ranks? Most of the soldiers—almost 70% of them—were not from the Bharatiya Empire and were mainly from the Kingdom of Persia and the Kingdom of Lalishsthan. They had respect and gratitude towards the Bharatiyas, but they did not have undying loyalty to the point of giving up their life to safeguard someone else's interest. Hell, even the Bharatiya Soldiers might not have such a resolute will.

The time ticked slowly, every second feeling like an eternity. Sweat trickled down Agni's forehead, signifying how much he struggled in coming up with a solution. But no one blamed him, since even if they looked back at all the military strategy books they had read, nowhere did it mention how to survive in their present situation. Their current condition is akin to a chicken whose neck has been clasped, put on a wooden log, where the only thing they can do is wait until the butcher brings down his arm of destruction, sealing their fate for good.

"If only there were a city wall," Lieutenant General Cyrus muttered with a pained look.

Hearing Cyrus, the sense of desperation further deepened.

However, as if the idea was an ember that lit up the forest, Agni's eyes brightened. "That's right. The only thing we need to resist the enemy is a city wall, but since we cannot get a permanent one that we can use for a longer time, can't we make one temporarily, making it impenetrable at least for a while, directing the attention of the enemy elsewhere?"

'Yes, this can work.' His heart rate began to quicken. The idea he came up with, although extremely dangerous and some might even consider him a madman, logically made sense, and his instincts kept telling him that there is a fair chance it would work, and a chance is all he needed—he would grasp it no matter what.

To Be Continued...