What would happen if you were appointed as a bodyguard for the person you were supposed to assassinate?
Adhiveer is a beloved king. Adored by everyone in his kingdom and beyond.
Shiva, a professional assassin, gets easily appointed as his royal gu...
Near the Raankai River, few men had tented. They had put on disguises to look like fishermen. They were the king's men carrying nets and spears.
" A troop of fifty men would have easily done this. You shouldn't have come all the way here." Said Bhairava as he sharpened his sword with a whetstone.
" This is my birthplace, uncle, and I wouldn't forego a chance to protect it; besides, there is nobody at the palace to miss me. All the people I know and love are here with me" said King Adhiveer as he watched his soldiers lay down a map on the table.
" If you had got a queen, you would have had someone to miss you at home" Bhairava jested." You have had numerous proposals from many of our allies, as far as from the northern frontier kingdoms. I cannot understand the delay."
The King could only smile at this remark." I haven't found what I am looking for. As soon as I do, you will be the first one I tell."
Bhairava pursed his lips and nodded.
Adhiveer just smiled.
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Adhiveer ( King of Merujaya )
They had started their travel Six days ago from the capital city of Merujaya, all the way south to the Raankai River. The king was informed of an intrusion, at the southern borders of his kingdom. He had sent four of his soldiers a few days prior, who had then returned with an affirmation of an intrusion. Twenty intruders had crossed the river and had been staying in a village near the river. They had taken the villagers as hostages, cutting off most of their food supply and livelihood resources.
What had perplexed Adhiveer was why didn't the intruders move any further from that village. And had not captured any other villages nearby. What were they waiting for?
He stood beside the table where the map was laid and observed it. " The village has only one direct path to enter; look here at one side, it is covered with dense forest. The other two sides are covered by the river as it encircles it from West to South." The king said to his uncle Bhairava." I believe we should take a direct approach to this situation." He suggested.
"You mean, heads on?" asked Bhairava.
" I get a feeling that they know we are coming. If we just attacked, it might surprise them and put them off guard. We also have the numbers" Adhiveer said.
"Six men is not a number my king"
"Each of my men is equal to ten men."
"I cannot argue about that" Bhairava smiled.
"Call in the soldiers, I will explain the plan. We will attack at dawn."
At dawn, all six of the king's men, Bhairava and the chief of the army, Sidhraj, gathered at the end of the road that led to the village. They had four archers and two horsemen.
"First Sidhraj and I will covertly search for the villagers. As soon as we secure their location I will send a signal to Sidhraj." Adhiveer said to Bhairava "Do not attack until I send the signal, the safety of the villagers is our priority,"
They went ahead on horseback, carrying their weapons with them. When they were nearing the village Adhiveer let go of his horse. Sidhraj stood with the horses near the entrance of the village.
Adhiveer went directly towards the first empty house that he could find. He went straight to the roof; from there he gauged the perimeter and searched for the tallest house in the village. Then got down and stealthily moved inwards. He climbed to the roof of the house, which was closer to the forest and had the highest rise. He scanned the lanes and searched for the place where a maximum number of men had gathered. If only twenty men had captured an entire village they had to make sure that the maximum number of them were on guard for the hostages. He spotted a large house, in the internal part of the village, big enough to keep all the villagers in one place. Immediately, he took an arrow, tied a red cloth to it, and shot it towards Sidhraj; it hit the ground. And then Sidhraj shot the same arrow towards Bhairava.
That was the signal.
Adhiveer got as close as he could without getting noticed to the building where the hostages were kept.
This building was a gurukul. There was a large tree at the right end of the veranda. The building had a compound made up of thorny plants as it would prevent pests and animals from entering. The large veranda had small fields where the students grew their food. Two intruders were guarding the entrance of the building, four were on the roof, and four were standing at the entrance of the veranda. But where were the remaining intruders?
Sidhraj was close behind Adhiveer. As soon as two of the archers reached them Adhiveer signalled them to shoot at four guards standing at the entrance of the veranda. All of them shot arrows, killing all four of them at the same time. This alerted the four guards on the roof, who now had started shooting arrows at them.
They couldn't enter the premises without being shot at. Sidhraj shot one of the guards at the entrance, he died on the spot, and the other guard ran inside. The king shot one archer on the roof. Six down, fourteen more to go.
Meanwhile, Bhairava and the horsemen entered the building from behind and searched for the prayer hall where the hostages were kept. Bhairava then killed the one guard who had run inside the building. The horsemen spotted the hostages, who were all cramped in the prayer room, and helped them escape through the windows.
Adhiveer and his men were shooting arrows when suddenly they heard a hoard of horses running towards them. Mounted on the horses the rest of the intruders were charging at them.
It was an ambush.
Adhiveer's instinct was spot on. He was the target all along, not the villagers, they were just the bait. He unsheathed his sword and charged towards the intruders. Swinging his sword he jumped and cut across the chest of the first horseman. He whistled for his horse who came running towards him. He pulled out a spear that was hung at its side. With a quick movement of his feet, he hit the second horseman that charged towards him with the blunt end of the spear. The horseman was jolted off his horse. He then charged at him with his sword, pinning the man to the ground. He held his sword to his neck and asked " Who sent you?" Before the man could speak an archer shot him dead from the rooftop. Annoyed at this Adhiveer ran towards the building. His men were fighting with the intruders all the while being showered by arrows from the roof. He was shocked to see three new men and a woman fighting along with his men against the intruders.
Thump
One of the archers from the roof had fallen to the ground. Shocking everyone fighting on the ground. The archers were now aiming at someone else on the roof.
Thump
Another archer fell from the roof. Then another. The showering of arrows stopped.
"Uncle Bhairava?" Cried Sidhiraj. Bhairava came running from the back of the building. If Bhairava was here then who was it fighting on the roof?
A woman jumped down from the roof. She rolled up and landed safely on her feet.
Adhiveer couldn't understand what struck him the most about her, her sheer strength, beauty or the ease at which she moved, making precise strikes on her opponents.
When he looked around all his men were in awe of her. She had captivated him.
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Hope you all like the opening chapter.
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