Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

*CLASH*

*CLANG*

Sounds of steel and groans filled the surroundings as an intense duel was taking place in the training arena of the Royal Palace.

Viswa, clad in his leather armor, was dueling with the duo Narayana and Varun.

He was now able to take the duo on in a duel.

He was blessed with monstrous talent in sword arts, coupled that with his routine that mimicked Harsha's. That enabled him to become a master swordsman

There were a handful of people that could best him in a fight in the Empire.

*SWISH*

Viswa twisted his body, dodging the slash by Narayana by a hair's breadth. Varun swiftly tried to stab at his back.

He jumped anticipating the stab; he quickly landed and swept Narayana off his legs

Varun stepped in, trying to keep the offensive up, trying to bide time for Narayana.

Viswa just deflected his slashes with ease.

He slashed at Varun's shoulder, which was blocked, and with a flick, he smacked the wrist of Varun with the flat side of his blade, sending the sword scattering away.

Viswa collapsed onto the hard floor of the arena with a sigh of relief.

"I finally won."

Varun and Narayana teamwork drastically improved over time; Viswa, for the past few months, had been struggling to win against the coordination.

He had finally taken a win for the first time.

Varun got up with ragged breaths

"You rascal, you improved this much in just a few months."

Narayana cursed. "Damn it, I lost."

Viswa had a smug look on his face. "Hu hu… I finally beat you brothers."

"Sure. You won after so long. You were losing too many times before." Varun teased him.

"Hey!! It was 2 vs 1. Of course I would struggle."

"You are talented like His Majesty; you should be able to handle more than 2."

"Sure.. Sure."

Despite their looks, Varun and Narayana were strong warriors themselves and could take on multiple soldiers of their own. So Viswa was incredibly strong. He didn't know how strong he was since he looked up to Harsha, who was an anomaly.

Viswa suddenly remembered something he had forgotten to say to the duo in the heat of the duel.

"Oh!! I came to say something to you guys today. His Majesty has something for you guys!" He exclaimed.

"What is it?" They both asked in unison, tilting their heads in confusion.

"You are relieved of your duties as Royal Guard as of now."

Their faces twisted in bewilderment. They couldn't grasp the statement. They were suddenly fired from their positions. Everyone in this position would be surprised.

"Wh- What do you mean relieved of duties as the Royal Guard?" Varun asked.

"What? Why?" asked Narayana

Viswa looked puzzled for a second. "Why? Because you are not fit for the Royal Guard position now!"

"We did our best!" They both exclaimed.

"Why are you surprised?" Viswa muttered aloud. Suddenly realization dawned upon him. He worded it in a very wrong way.

"Oh…. Wait, you are relieved of your guard duties and moved to the Royal Army."

"Huh? Royal Army??" They both exclaimed.

"Yes, His Majesty has ordered you both to join the royal army and climb up the ranks of the army. He thinks you are not fit for the Royal Guards since it is a waste of talent to keep you guys here." Viswa finally explained.

"You damn bastard.. You had me worried for a second." Varun smacked his back.

"Sorry, I didn't word it right." Viswa mumbled, wincing from the strong smack.

Viswa turned to leave. "I got to attend to other matters. The commander will be leaving today; you can also leave with him. This is a great opportunity. Let's meet at the top." He smirked with a hint of challenge in his voice.

"Haaa…. I won't be the one losing. I will become a commander," exclaimed Varun confidently.

"I will be waiting at the top, brothers." With that, he left the arena.

Viswa continued his routine as always. He was assigned a room in the servant complex, despite his stature as the Harsha's butler. He was constantly discriminated against, apart from Varun and Narayana. He was kept apart from the fellow staff because of his lower caste status.

This didn't hinder him a bit. He became mentally strong to the indifference of others. He was useful for the most important person in the Empire, and that was Harsha, the Emperor.

He changed a lot from serving Harsha. His timidity and unsure nature evaporated as he got the will to take a decision and follow through without any fear.

He didn't give a damn what others thought of him. He would do his job and maintain his efficiency no matter who tried to sabotage him. There were some attempts, making him fail in his task to show his bad side to Harsha.

In the end, he would complete the task somehow. He would find a way. This treatment could be stopped by a single order from Harsha, but he didn't want it. He wanted to show the world that this wouldn't deter him from achieving his goals.

His goal of eradicating caste discrimination would be a pipe dream if he took the help of Harsha for achieving his goal. He had to show the other lower caste members they could also achieve what he had done.

"I will be their goal. Their light out of the abyss that society has created." He muttered.

Viswa's got to his tasks after his morning routine. It mostly included paperwork assistance for Harsha and planning and monitoring the information from Karna and Mithun.

He was also handling the shipyard corruption case right now. He had arrested four nobles, and their family properties were seized.

Harsha had ordered him to set an example so they wouldn't try to pull this sort of move again. He made sure the soldiers whipped them publicly for 5 days in the middle of the city.

The local nobles who heard of this news were now scared of the strict action on corruption. This led to a sharp decrease in corruption. It was not a long-term solution, but it definitely would work for a while.

Seized assets were used to fund the shipyard's maintenance and skilled craftsmen. He was in charge temporarily for the matter.

His days usually ended with him gazing at the beautiful night sky in the Royal complex in calmness, reaffirming his goals.