Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology - Chapter 868

Chapter 868: Agni goes into battle 6
Moments passed, and the soldiers stopped coming to the central district of the city. Looking around, Agni could tell that there were only around 2,000 or a little more in front of him, huddled together. The remaining soldiers must have ignored the warnings and still ran away, but he could not blame them, since when it comes to life and death, it can make people do things that they otherwise would not. The only thing Agni feels for them is pity, since he is completely sure that the Ottomans rushing from the east will devour them alive.

“Alright, here’s what we’re going to do.”

He spoke out, his voice not loud, but as if it was a ripple in the calm lake, it continued to silence all the people who had gathered around, who were talking with each other in loud voices, worried, scared.

Agni looked at the faces of Kattappa and Lieutenant Colonel Sri Ram Kakkar, nodding, signifying that they, along with everyone else, were listening with their ears wide open.

He knew that he had to stand up to the occasion, since he was the reason why all the people, instead of rushing into the wilderness, had gathered in the central district, once again putting themselves in mortal danger. Well, he knew that they would be in mortal danger even if they ran away, but the soldiers did not know that, so he stood up to the occasion.

“Even if none of you complain, I could tell that the lot of you are blaming me for putting you in danger of life and death, since by this time, you would already be in the wilderness, running back to the base.”

There was silence in the air. A few lieutenant colonels clenched their fists and nodded silently as if to agree. Agni could see all this, but he did not blame anyone. “What if I say that the enemy was not reinforcements coming to support the Ottomans in the city, but the army of several generals, numbering several hundred thousand?”

The words were like shockwaves that ripped through the mental defences of the soldiers. Some smart ones had already thought of this, like some Lieutenant Colonels, the moment several warning signals went up in the sky in the east, but the vast majority of the soldiers were completely oblivious to this information.

“Oh Lord, is this true?”

“No! This can’t be.”

“What the prince said is true.”

“Lieutenant Colonel?”

“It is very likely that there are several hundred thousand troops coming from the east.”

The soldiers did not believe it at first, but with the lieutenant colonels coming forward to vouch for Agni, more people started to believe the truth, and the truth was horrifying. They began to panic, collapse onto the ground, not knowing what to do. However, in this dire situation, they slowly started to focus on Agni, the prince of the powerful Akhand Bharatiya Empire. He was the one who brought them all together. He must have a solution, they thought, their glances drenched in a rich flavour of hope.

Agni could feel that his shoulders were becoming heavy as more and more soldiers looked towards him. ‘So this is what Father felt like?’ He had commanded people before, as he ran a commercial business employing hundreds of people. But this was the first time that he was responsible for the lives and deaths of over 2,000 people. The weight of responsibility was heavy. He marvelled at how his father managed to command an army of a million people.

Coming back to his senses, he spoke out, “The reason I know of the arrival of the enemy reinforcements is because I have received the information from my very own channel about the three generals mobilising their troops and setting off towards the west,” he said as he motioned towards Kattappa.

Kattappa’s expression did not change. He knew he did not find out anything except the part where several hundred thousand soldiers were coming to cut them into pieces, but he was not going to refute his prince. He knew that he was looking to establish credibility using himself.

The agreement of Kattappa really worked wonders. As a secret organisation directly under the command of the Bharatiya Empire’s royal family, it commanded trust and legitimacy. The soldiers who were still not believing in his tale slowly came to the eventual realisation of the truth, and it was bitter. In fact, Agni wasn’t entirely sure that it was the retreating army of the three generals, but logically speaking, there was no other explanation apart from that.

Now that Agni had convinced at least a vast majority of them, he spoke out his plans, “If we all scatter into the wilderness, we die. If we hide in the city, we die. If we try to kill the enemy by using guerrilla tactics within the city, we die. If we hide in the city in the homes of the civilians, once again, I am sorry, but we die, as there are really not many trustworthy civilians in this city. But I have a plan, a plan that just may—will work.”

All ears were glued to what he was saying. Every time he said “we die,” the air of desperation and depression only increased, even to the point of making it palpable. Some of these soldiers had already considered several of the options the prince mentioned the moment they heard that an enemy force of several hundred thousand was out to rid them of their existence, but now, hearing that it was futile, their emotions became turbulent.

Agni continued, his voice cutting through the air, “We will build a wall in this city that does not have a wall, so impenetrable that no one dares to cross it.” The reactions were intense—confusion, doubt, anger—everything directed towards him. But Agni knew that he could not stop his speech midway, as it could lead to consequences he did not want to see. Just before the voice of discontent and distrust rose, Agni continued with only a breath’s gap, “This wall I speak of is not a wall built of cement and stone, or even of wood. It will be made up of the element of nature, one of the most unrelenting—fire itself.”

Lieutenant Colonel Cyrus, not uttering the words that were in the back of his throat, waited, seeing what more the Prince of Bharat had to say.

“The city had no wall, yes. But the eastern region of the city is the place where the poor people live. The houses there are very tightly packed to each other, not to mention almost all of them do not have proper roofs—they either have a hay roof or a wooden one.”

“So we burn all the houses on the edge of the eastern end of the city in a total semicircle until the central region of the city. Use oil to douse the houses, let them burn more vigorously, not giving our enemies a chance to infiltrate.”

People slowly started to understand his plan. Gears in their minds began to spin, calculating whether the plan was really feasible.

Lieutenant Colonel Cyrus raised his head. “And we escape from the western side of the city?”

Agni shook his head. “No, the strength of our enemy is so great that they could circle the city from all directions. Escaping from the rear is something they’ll expect. We’ll have to do something they will not expect—break through at a single point where there is the least number of Ottoman troops’ resistance. This is our only way.”

“So you suggest, Your Highness?”

“I suggest that we break through from the east—the direction where our threat is coming from. This will be the place they will least expect us to break through from. Not to mention, there is a high chance that due to encircling the city, they have spread their army thin at certain points, especially at the points where they are not expecting us.”

Silence fell upon the central district once again. The soldiers and the special forces were in deep thought. The plan of His Highness was laid before them to bear witness.

“It is a dangerous plan, it is a mad one even, but the rumbling under our feet says that we no longer have the luxury to choose. If anyone does not have a better plan, we will go with His Highness’ strategy,” Lieutenant General Cyrus spoke, breaking the silence. Sriram Kakkar, an equally respected lieutenant colonel in the special forces, raised his hand and made his stance clear—that he would stand with the Prince of the Bharatiya Empire.

Soon, although reluctant, everyone was down with the strategy.

Agni knew that he had no time to hesitate. He gave his orders rapidly, “Lieutenant Colonel Kakkar, scour all over the city as quickly as possible and round up all the horses. We will use them.”

“Lieutenant Colonel Alvaidi, collect all the water in the wells. We have to be drenched in it to be able to rush through the wall of fire.”

“Lieutenant Colonel Cyrus, have your men evacuate all the people in the far eastern dead zone of the city and light up the fires. Use a little gunpowder if you have to.”

“Lieutenant Colonel Yusufani, herd the civilians of the city to the west. Have them run out the moment the enemies are in our vicinity.”

“They should scatter some of their forces if they think that we are among the civilians.”

“Although in this way, a lot of civilians will be harmed, and most of them will get butchered, we have no other choice.”

To be Continued…

P.S. Next one will be last chap of the arc