Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

His heart was torn between helping his father and defending the capital. He knew that he should prioritize the citizens and protect the capital.

Aadarsh glanced back at the battlefield. He couldn\'t see his father in the chaos of the battle and the dust rising from all the clashes taking place.

He suddenly stopped just before entering the forest.

"I need to help, father." He said.

The soldiers and a commander named Ravi accompanying him looked at him.

"But, Your Highness. We have strict orders to go to the capital right now."

His instincts screamed of something ominous. He couldn\'t let go of the feeling that if he left, he wouldn\'t be able to see his father ever again.

"I know. But I—"

A bloodcurdling scream cut their conversation off.

Aadarsh\'s eyes went wide with fear as his worst fears were manifesting.

He turned his horse around and galloped back to the battlefield. He couldn\'t stop shaking with anxiety and fear.

It was his father\'s scream.

On the battlefield, Devendra raised his sword to fight the duo of Bairam and Babar Khan.

He got down from his horse and pointed his sword, taking a stance ready for fighting.

The twins also did the same and prepared themselves for battle.

Babar looked at the old king with an amused expression.

"AHAHA, old man. I will kill you today."

Bairam also joined in with some taunts.

"Those old rusty joints can barely hold a sword. He thinks he can take on both of us all alone." He spat in disgust. "You Kafirs are too confident."

Devendra stayed silent. All his focus was on the battle ahead of him. He calmed his mind.

A warrior must always keep his emotions in check. It was a simple thing yet so difficult to master.

Babar ran towards him with a powerful swing.

He took a deep breath and completely deflected the swing to his left.

Bairam followed up with a strike to his shoulder, which he twisted his upper body to dodge cleanly.

The duo began to unleash a flurry of attacks but none were effective. He ducked and deflected the coordinated efforts of the twins.

Babar raised his sword straight to slash through him but the king hit the hilt of his sword precisely, sending him staggering backwards. Bairam followed up with a slash at his side.

The king twisted his body at an unnatural angle and put his hands on the ground to kick Bairam in the chest.

Bairam winced in pain from the kick and thought.

\'How is that old man so strong? Isn\'t he exhausted after killing more than 200 soldiers?\'

"This is so fun. I haven\'t fought such a strong opponent apart from Askar," yelled Babar in excitement. His eyes were crazy as he licked his sword in excitement.

Devendra was in the zone. He was seeing everything in slow motion. He could precisely predict each and every attack. His mind raced and found opening quickly. He couldn\'t feel any pain from the gashes and bruises from the battles.

It felt like he was undefeatable in the very moment.

The duo unleashed a sequence of coordinated attacks, with Babar and Bairam switching between offensives.

They couldn\'t land a single critical hit on the king. They were huffing heavily as they both had a single thought in their minds.

\'What a monster!.\'

The old king\'s eyes were crazy. They looked dazed and hollow but they read them like an open book.

Bairam remembered the advice from Askar just before they set out for battle from the Capital of the Empire.

"Don\'t underestimate the king just because he is old. He can kill you with his eyes closed if you leave a small opening to exploit. Don\'t disappoint the Emperor."

He scoffed at Askar\'s advice and shrugged it off as he thought that the king was easy to kill at such an old age.

Little did he know that his overconfidence led him to this situation despite the old age. Both Babar and Bairam were struggling to win against the king.

He cursed himself and charged again at the king with a roar.

"Die!!!"

Babar followed up with a stab. The king deflected Bairam\'s strike and dodged Babar\'s.

The king of Maratha was in a trance. His body was burning and tearing apart from fatigue. The only thing holding himself back from collapse was his mental strength.

Maratha soldiers were motivated and pushed back the Mughals after seeing the king fighting fiercely against the commanders.

Meanwhile, a cloaked figure stood in the middle of the battlefield. No one seemed to pay attention to him drawing his bow.

"This is annoying. I can\'t let the Maratha king win." He muttered. "I didn\'t think the twins were this incompetent."

"I should inform the leader. We need to rethink our plans." He mumbled as he nocked the arrow in the bow and aimed at the Maratha King.

He let go of his arrow, which whistled silently towards the Maratha king\'s head.

"I can\'t disappoint my Liege."

He disappeared into the chaos of the battlefield, not to be seen again.

Devendra sensed the arrow racing towards him and turned to the side to block it with his sword.

The arrow allowed Bairam to get an opening he needed to finish his job.

He stabbed the gut of the king.

"ARGHHH!" screamed the king with pain. His body convulsed in pain. He still had the consciousness to dodge Babar\'s attack.

He tightened his gut and jumped backwards. Bairam\'s sword was stuck in his gut.

Babar picked a fallen soldier\'s sword and tossed it to his brother.

"Old man, your time is up." He sneered.

\'Who shot that arrow?\' He thought in hindsight. The arrow threw the king off balance for a fraction.

Blood started to drip from the wounds and Devendra\'s head was feeling light. His vision was fading. His body could barely keep up with the attacks of the duo.

He was staring at his death.

Babar\'s sword pierced his back. His grip loosened and his sword fell down with a clank.

His body went limp and he fell to the ground with blood pooling from his wounds.

Devendra was remembering the turbulent past. He was a failure. He couldn\'t protect his kingdom from these scum. He neglected his son due to the hardships.

He smiled as he could hear his son\'s voice in his last moment.

\'Aadarsh, I know you will become a great king!.\' He thought.

But to his surprise, the voice became louder.

"YOU BASTARDS. YOU SHALL PAY FOR THIS!!!" Aadarsh roared.

He unsheathed his sword and jumped off his horse.

His eyes were red and his muscles bulged.

Bairam turned to the source. He had a smug smile as he raised his foot to stomp his father\'s body.

"You Brat!!" He yelled.

His world suddenly turned around and his body fell down. He looked down. His leg was separated from his body.

"NOOOO!!! MY LEG!!" He screamed as he squirmed in pain.

"You scum, how dare you attack my brother!!" Babar charged in to save his brother.

Aadarsh turned around and slashed his arm off. His sword and arm went flying off.

Bairam crawled away and shouted. "You fools!! Attack that bastard."

The Mughal soldiers rushed to their rescue.

At the moment, all Aadarsh saw was red. Everyone was a target.

He screamed.

He slashed.

Again.

Again.

The field around Aadarsh was a picture of carnage. The horrified heads rolled in mud along with their broken bodies. the intestines and blood painted the field.

His brother Babar rushed at the prince.

"I will kill you!."

The prince didn\'t even spare him a glance and slashed his neck off.

He was squirming like a chicken that had it\'s neck slashed. Aadarsh stabbed his sword right into his chest many times. The Mughal soldiers froze in fear. Their legs were shaking as they watched their strongest commander being dismembered like a puppet in front of them.

Bairam was horrified as he witnessed the carnage.

\'Askar!! You damn fool. The King was never the threat. It is this bastard.\'

He tried his best to crawl away.

"Spare me!!" He barely croaked.

His body froze in fear. He couldn\'t move. The ground was wet from his pee as he witnessed the Crown Prince\'s sword cutting through the air towards his neck.

That was the unfruitful end of Bairam.

The rest of the Mughal soldiers began to run away in fear.

He stood there, dripping fresh blood of his enemies from his sword.

"Soldiers!! Kill every one of these scum." He roared,

"Father!!" He quickly ran towards his Devendra\'s bleeding body.

The old king was barely breathing. His vision was gone. He could barely talk.

"My….. Son.. Yo- *Cough* here…" He croaked.

Devendra touched the face of his son.

"Father…. you can\'t die here." Tears welled up in his eyes.

"I…sorry… for.. Everything…"

"Father, don\'t go." He cried. "I love you!" He gripped his hand.

Devendra took his last breath with a warm smile as he heard the loving words from his son.

Aadarsh screamed into the chest of his dead father.

The Battle of Patan ended with the victory of the Marathas.

Author Notes:

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