Brinda

Raja Bahadur

Fighting without Suraj by his side felt like he took up far more weight than he necessarily should. The King stood akimbo for a moment but shortly swung into action and without notice; his blade still drenched of blood from the last man's throat he had slit and he anticipated more was to follow. The battle had begun and while the henchmen and minions were being cast forward, he still had not made out who the main culprits were.

Swinging his blade to the left, he rammed the edge into the incoming man donning bright blue attire and an insignia different from those from Brinda, before kicking the man to the ground and kneeling on him.

"Who sent you!?" he looked into the mercenary's face and asked.

"You can go to hell! Brinda will be ours whether you like it or not!' the man cried before attempting to strike the King in the face.

King Adigun twisted his arm, broke his elbow and kicked him hard in the face until his neck broke. He turned away to tend to others coming his way. With few warriors fighting the battle with him, things didn't particularly swign in the King's favor. To complicate things, all he saw were mercenaries and not the man in charge.

Bringing down the man in charge would cause the warriors to lay down their weapons, but the one King Adigun fought against was in no mood to fight himself just yet. He was absolutely different from Ambika Devi's father in tactics and he was without doubt willing to sacrifice the lives of others for his cause. It made the situation worse and more dangerous.

Slowly, still weighed by the feeling that he was by himself fighting and trying to win over a Kingdom which its people would rather foolishly let all into the hands of those who meant no good to them, he struck down two more men and then found himself standing before a warrior he knew to be from Brinda.

The King fastened his hand around his blade, counting his breath and feeling an odd sensation of anxiety slowly beginning to trickle down his spine. There was no doubt about what strength his opponent had, and judging by the sight of three dead men from King Adigun's side around him, the King needed to heed caution.

Swinging his sword and bidding his time while he came up with the best strategy, King Adigun tried to reason with the fellow. "What truly spurs your intent to take the throne from me and wage war on your people?"

The man spat to the floor, fastened his grip around his axe and answered, "They stop being one with me when they chose to listen to your crazy talks on preserving women after their men pass. Do you not know what punishment awaits the kingdom from the gods, and do you not know misery awaits a man whose woman isn't burnt alive with him on the day he is to be laid to rest?"

King Adigun stopped walking in circles and stood his ground. "I only ask that life be preserved and nothing more. Look around you and see for yourself just how little whoever is behind this is willing to appreciate the lives of the people of Brinda".

While they were far away from the kingdom's walls, it was only a matter of time before the insurgence would breach it and take control unless they stopped them there and then.

"I know how you feel about tradition and while I don't often respect them, my action in this point in time is for the people and not for myself!" he raged at the man.

The man cast off his clothing to show off his bare and rather intimidating chest; bulked up, larger in frame than the King, and with a menacing blade in his left hand, King Adigun wished he had armed himself with two blades. If he had a weakness, it was against skilled left-handed blade wielders. Yet, he remained undaunted and would stop his enemies at whatever cost necessary.