1538, Capital city, Dharanikota Kingdom.
Southern Flank.
Colonel Bheema parried an overhead slash from his opponent's talwar and used his mace to smash into their chest. The force with which the colonel had swung the mace caused his opponent's chest to cave in. Even then there were more to fill in that role.
"Where are those damned reinforcements?!" he shouted at his men, hoping that one of them has the answer. The entire Royal guards were held back from fighting, and the normal soldiers were fighting at a number's disadvantage. How was that any fair?
'Thud!' Bheema smashed open the head of another soldier. A poor young fellow. The only thing that was separating the opponent from his men was an armband and the King they followed. It was honestly a sad deal.
The entire ordeal seemed foolish in the first place. The prince who they thought was dead, was alive. The man who they thought was king, was now their enemy. The world indeed worked in mysterious ways.
"REINFORCEMENTS!!" screamed somebody from the back, causing Bheema to falter a step. 'swish', a sword slashed at him at that moment, and Bheema thanked the gods, he escaped that.
'Thud!' the colonel hit the new opponent in his stomach, rupturing the internal organs in the process. He then turned to look back to see that, Reinforcements had indeed arrived.
"Need a hand, Colonel?" The Prince said as he arrived, leading the entire Royal guards with him. There was change visible on the battlefield now. As the entire left flank bulked up with the addition of new forces, the soldiers fought with renewed vigor.
Enemy POV.
General Sangama Reddy was looking at the battle which was happening right before his eyes. Up until a few minutes ago, there was at least some hope that they could win. But with the addition of the Royal guards, the entire situation in the southern flank flipped.
They were cutting a bloody swathe through his soldiers and showed no signs of mercy. They were on the same side a few days ago. Now they were killing each other for a stupid throne. But such was life. Never was it fair to anybody.
As General Reddy, was observing, he noted the group of his soldiers who were surrendering to the enemy. What happened next had slightly shocked him. The group of people who were leading the enemy wave did not bother to accept the surrender and cut right through them, killing the unarmed soldiers.
If the man who was leading the group was who he thought he was, then Sangama Reddy's plan of feigning ignorance of the prince's return is all but naught. To save the lives of his men, he could only do one thing now.
"MEN! Follow me!" he commanded the soldiers surrounding him and led them to meet the opposing force. If he would be dead anyway, he would make sure it was for a good cause. Maybe, at least some of his past sins would be forgiven for this.
Rudra Deva POV.
As Rudra fought through the opposing forces, he felt a numbness within him growing. Maybe to compensate for that, he started laughing. It started with a small chuckle and had now grown into a wicked laughter that reverberated throughout the battlefield.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!" the laughter echoed, standing out from the cries of wounded soldiers and dying men. The soldiers who were facing him broke down as they saw him cutting through their comrades with no remorse.
Some even tried to surrender, recognizing the prince in the heat of the battle. But Rudra didn't care to stop. He plowed right through them, ignoring the pleading cries of the now unarmed men.
Rudra did not want to stop. He could not stop. If he stops, maybe the growing feeling of emptiness will consume him. He knows that the pleading cries and the bloodshed that was happening before him will haunt him in the coming nights.
Bashir, his new bodyguard was keeping up with him, using the club which was borrowed from Bheema with terrifying strength. Many soldiers from the Royal Guards were also right there, reaping their share of lives.
"HAHAAhaha…haha..ha.." Rudra's manic laughter slowed down as the battle around him also slowed down. What was happening? Were the enemies retreating? As he looked around, he realized what was happening. General Sangama had called for the end of hostilities, and as his soldiers slowly retreated, he was heading for Rudra.
As both sides were trained with the same standards, soldiers on Rudra's side also recognized the call. They also calmed down, taking the opportunity to take care of their wounded.
As the General and his group got closer, the Royal guards around him became agitated. They pointed their weapons at the approaching group. Even Bashir had joined them, seemingly found Camaraderie.
"I just want to talk, Your Highness." the general said as he stood at a distance, standing apart from his group.
"You already conspired against him, Why should anyone trust you?" asked Kadhumalla, who was the leader of the Royal guards. It seems that the general didn't want to reply to the provocation, and just stared at the Prince.
"Tell me General Sangama. What is the reason that you stopped such a pleasant battle? Just as my soldiers were winning too!" Rudra asked the General while being somewhat relieved that he had come out of the frenzy. He was just not himself whenever that happened. His theory was that it was a side effect of dying, not once but twice.
"You are being ruthless with my soldiers. If you were to become king, they would become your citizens too, you know." the general said as he looked at the bloodshed all around.
"Traitors have no place in the kingdom. This is a war, and only a fool shows mercy in the middle of a battle." the prince answered as he also looked around the battlefield.
"Well said, my prince. I am not here to discuss the morality of war with you, however. I am here to challenge you. Man to Man. My only request is to spare my men if I die." the general said, as he looked back at the thousands of soldiers he helped train for the last few years.
"I can just kill you and no one will ever question me about it. " Rudra said and continued with, " But I will honor your request. The soldiers will not be held responsible.". He then Informed his guard to hold back.
"Thank you, your Majesty." the general answered back, referring to Rudra as king for the first time. After saying that, the general held up his sword and ran at the prince.
'clang ' Rudra parried the heavy swing of the general and answered back with a swing of his own. The pair exchanged blows a few more times, and every time the prince attacked, the general always managed to block.
As the confrontation continued, soldiers from both sides started to gather around them, as if they were not trying to kill each other a few minutes back.
As the battle continued, Rudra got tired of not being able to properly attack because of the general's reach. So, he decided to reduce that advantage or take it away entirely. He kicked the general back and lowered his defenses. General Sangama, seeing this opportunity, moved forward and attacked him.
The hundreds of soldiers who were gathered there witnessed an absurd visual before them. Instead of dodging the general's attack, the prince let it happen and got stabbed in the stomach.
The soldiers were just fighting each other. Such sights were common to them now. What was confusing is that, after getting stabbed, the prince continued as if nothing had happened.
Rudra moved at the last second, making sure that none of his vital organs were damaged. Yet, getting stabbed hurt like a Bit*h. It will hurt for a few days, and he will recover. But, he had achieved his goal.
General Sangama's sword was now unusable, as it was lodged in him. Before the General could retract it, he raised his sword and cleaved through the hand holding it.
".....AHH!" the general screamed after being shocked for a moment. The pain had probably not hit the man just yet, as those were the screams of shock rather than of pain. Nevertheless, the pain will never come, as the confrontation is over.
"Your request will be honored general. You have fought well." Rudra said as he raised his sword to finish the man. Realizing what was about to happen, the Sangama Reddy kneeled, and curtailed his screams, accepting his fate.
'Swish.'
'Thud.'
As the general's head had slowly fallen to the ground, the battle also concluded. Around the prince, the gathered soldiers had started to go on a knee, with a hand to the chest, the standard greeting to the royalty.
Even the surrendered soldiers had started to do the same thing, recognizing Rudra as the new king.
Rudra raised his hand to the crowd and only said one thing. "To Dharanikota!".
"TO DHARANIKOTA!!!" the soldiers chanted back.