Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

Dark clouds loomed over the city of Vadodara as the neat formation of soldiers marched.

It was the soldiers from the Qutb sultanate going to assist the Mughals by taking over parts of the kingdom.

They took the help of the Portuguese to get some information on their tactics.

The royal army commander of the Qutb sultanate led the vanguard to the capital of Marathas.

His name was Omar. He was the nephew of Maulana Razik.

The commander was in his early forties and had a well-built physique, despite his appearance.

He got his position using the connections of his uncle Maulana Razik. Razik recommended Omar to the Sultan as the royal commander. He was given the position by the Sultan, as he trusted Maulana Razik a lot.

He was the product of nepotism, in short.

He did not have knowledge of strategy like the other commanders, who worked hard to get to their position.

This resulted in poor quality of the commanders as he assigned the people that licked his boots the position in the royal army and this individual was now leading a big battle against the experienced commanders of the Marathas.

He was quite nervous about the battle, as he had heard quite a few stories about the bravery of the Maratha soldiers and their commanders ability to win in unfavourable situations.

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As the royal commander, he was forced to participate in the battle. If he deserted the battlefield, he would be executed for treason by the Sultanate. His uncle also can't save him from this problem.

Omar had no choice.

Facing the Marathas head-on with his ability was like inviting death to his doorstep. This is why Omar had recruited a junior commander he previously didn't promote because he didn't suck up to him.

He was a well-known individual, as he was very strong and well versed in war strategy. But he was hated by the other commanders. The major reason for the hate was their jealousy of his abilities.

His name was Zaid, a commoner from the remote region in the Sultanate.

"Zaid." Omar called him. "What do you think about the Marathas?"

Zaid tilted his head in confusion but answered regardless. "I think they are strong!"

"They have many strong commanders. Which is why they were hard to conquer for the Mughals alone," he added.

"So, who do you think will be assigned to our bordering area? I suppose the Marathas already have a vague idea that we will be assisting the Mughals as well."

"It should be Vasant Pawar. He would be controlling this side of the border. The royal commander and king would be focused on the Mughals since they are the bigger threats."

"I see, so this Vasant Pawar. Do you know anything about him?" Omar asked nervously.

He was briefed on the commanders beforehand by his assistant but that information didn't stick with him, as he thought it would be a breeze to take their lands.

But as time passed, the fear of losing his life and the nervousness settled in and he wanted to survive against the enemy.

"Vasant Pawar is a powerful man. He has only lost 2 battles since he became commander and in both of them he lost because he was outnumbered 3 to 1."

Omar shuddered at the statement. Vasant was an experienced commander and Omar had to fight this beast on the border. He was scared and wanted to desert the battle field at this very moment.

He nervously looked at Zaid.

"So, where do you think Vasant would be guarding?"

"Fort of Nadiad. Since that would be the best option to hold us from marching to the capital."

"I see. How do you think we should approach the fort?. We can't rush in blindly." Omar muttered aloud as he thought of a plan.

"Yes, we can't do that." Zaid also agreed.

"We could use our siege weapons to take out the fort defense but I think Vasant would have a counterplan for that."

"Can't we starve them out?" Omar asked.

"No, that won't work since that is the most basic thing a commander would be anticipating." Zaid said.

"I see, then what would you suggest?"

Omar needed a solution to this situation. He put all his money on Zaid as he prayed to Allah to show him the way through this situation.

'Damn it!! I should have studied instead of playing around with women and slacking off.' He cursed himself.

He gave into his desires and ended up in this situation.

"Commander, we can create a distraction." Zaid suggested.

"Distraction?" He tilted his head in confusion.

"We fight using our siege weapons. We can weaken their fortifications and cause some casualties this way."

"Yes, what next? This is not a normal army we are dealing with." He muttered.

"We use another unit to target to infiltrate the fort through the back during this chaotic situation."

"That's pretty risky."

It was a risky move but it was executed well. This would prove to be a blessing to him. Taking out a seasoned commander would boost his low credibility among his peers.

"Yes, first we have to survey the land using the scouts to look for any tunnels that lead to the fort. There might be some tunnels for escape from the fort nearby."

Omar was surprised at the intuition of the young man, Zaid, and patted his soldier with a bright smile.

"You are a genius. HAHAHA, we can win if you advise me like this."

Zaid also smiled at the sudden praise he got from the commander. "It is my honor to serve the Sultanate, Commander."

"So, we survey the land before the battle. Then we create a distraction and send in a spy unit to get inside the fort and sabotage them."

Zaid nodded and added. "We target their food supplies as they are the most important to hold the fort for a long time."

"I see, this can work. I will make an ambush force and you can lead it, Zaid! What do you say?." Omar said. "You can lead the unit into the fort."

Zaid's jaw dropped at the sudden declaration by the commander. He felt acknowledged and quickly agreed.

"Yes!! I will do that!!."

"Then it's settled." Omar smiled.

He glanced back at the army and commanded.

"Soldiers, march to Nadiad. We will be victorious."