Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

In the city of Illichpur in the Qutb sultanate. The city lay bare and desolate on the bright sunny day. The streets were riddled with corpses of soldiers from the garrison in Illichpur. The rebels had begun to take over the cities in the Qutb Sultanate.

The rebels were taking over city by city and the soldiers of the Qutbs were nowhere to be seen as they were fighting a war with the Marathas. The garrisons could barely handle the onslaught of the well-equipped rebels.

They even had strategies to take over each city and town. They used their extensive intelligence network of people to gather information and use it to their advantage. On the other end, the garrisons had no information on their movements.

Kashyap's rebel group was responsible for taking over the regions bordering the Yadavas, including the regions of Illichpur, Handia, and Mahadeo, along with others close to the border with the Vijayanagara Empire.

They were operating well, as they had gotten the regions of Illichpur and Mahadeo under their control already. They were ready to take over the last major region in the Sultanate.

It was Handia and it was a well-guarded area under the garrison of a man named Yusuf. He was an old man with a very shrewd mind. He had caught many rebels through his life and was one of the important targets for all rebels.

Kashyap and his group were making their way towards the garrison of Handia. The battle against Yusuf would be tough but they had to win for the sake of the people. The Sultanate's policies just drive more people to the grave.

The exorbitant tax regime, the vulgar treatment of women, and the attempts of looting temple wealth by the Sultanate.

Kashyap overlooked the small city of Handia, where the old man Yusuf was stationed.

The news of the rebellion should have spread to the man. He would be on high alert for any upcoming raids.

"This will be our toughest battle," he mumbled.

"We had to defeat that old man someday." Nishant nodded by his side.

Kashyap and Nishant had worked for years to put on the rebel group. Their sole goal was to ensure that their people lived in better conditions. They didn't want the future generations to suffer the same plight under this rule.

Kashyap glanced back at the nervous soldiers in his group.

"Guys! We haven't lost a single battle. Why do you all look sad?" He asked with a smile.

A soldier answers. "Yusuf is scary. He doesn't let you go if you fell for his trap."

"Hoo.. Have you fought against him before?"

"Yes, Leader. We were in a different rebel group at the night. The old man made a secret plan by planting a spy amongst us."

"What happened after that?"

"They caught the leader and tortured him to get information. They used it to capture most of the rebels. Thankfully, I escaped from that mess." He exclaimed.

Kashyap took a deep breath, reaffirming himself with determination.
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"Prepare to march. We shall take over the city soon."

They decided to take Yusuf's army head-on. Kashyap's group marched towards the city in hopes of finding and killing Yusuf.

As they approached the entrance of the city. The gates were wide open and there were no guards near the gate.

"What happened here?" muttered Nishant with an unreal expression.

Near the entrances of the city were 5 corpses lying riddled with stab wounds and clean cuts on the necks.

"Infighting?" asked Kashyap with a confused look.

"You think that stubborn man would ally?"

"No idea," shrugged Kashyap.

They ventured into the city to investigate. Hundreds of corpses of garrisons were lying with clean cuts in the middle of the streets. It was done very cleanly, as if it were planned very well. There were no signs of struggle.

That meant that the garrison was taken care of with relatively ease.

"Be alert," ordered Kashyap, sensing the seriousness of the situation.

Everyone unsheathed their swords. They took their stances and scanned their surroundings for any threats.

They went towards the city plaza.

Kashyap gasped aloud as his gaze fell upon a body hanging on the wooden flagpost in the plaza.

It was Yusuf. The old man they were hunting. His body was hung on the city plaza. He could see the signs of torture on the old man. It seemed to be a onesided beatdown he had endured.

"Leader…." Nishant muttered. "We are surrounded."

Just then Kashyap realized hundreds of men were surrounding the plaza. They wore black clothes and had weapons unsheathed. They were ready to fight. Kashyap could feel the bloodlust coming from each man.

They had taken over the city.

'Who are they?' He thought as his gaze fell upon a man in front standing by the flagpost.

"Are you the rebels that bastard prepared?" asked the man walking towards them with confidence.

"Bastard?"

The man sighed deeply.

"The masked one!! That one"

Kashyap nodded.

"Hoo.. Then you can leave. I have taken care of this area. The masked man said you weren't capable of taking down this bastard so I took him down. Now scram!"

"Huh?" Kashyap and his group looked surprised.

"Who are you??" asked Nishant. "You can't tell us to scram just because you are related to that masked man."

The man dressed in black glanced back at Nishant. "Me? Related to him? No and watch your mouth next time if you don't want to die." He said it in a commanding voice.

Kashyap intervened. The man in front of them wasn't normal. The masked man wasn't a normal man either. They were clearly people of high standing sent on a mission in the Sultanate.

Taking out Yusuf meant they were experienced in warfare. Meanwhile, their group was clearly inexperienced compared to them.

"Sir, We will take our leave. Thank the masked man for his undying support." Kashyap said with a curt bow.

"Leader you do—" Nishant's words were cut short by a glare shot by Kashyap.

They turned to leave the city.

"It doesn't hurt to let you know something!!" The man said. "March to the Capital."

Kashyap stopped to listen.

"The Empire will be here soon."

"Empire?"

"Yes!! I am here on the Emperor's orders," declared the man.

It was Karna.

He was tipped off by Rakhtasura that the rebel plan would fail if he didn't take down the man called Yusuf.

He rushed to the scene and took out the old man.

"The Vijayanagara Empire will be taking over the Sultanate."