Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

It was a cold morning as the sun began to rise. The sunlight began to peek through the horizon. Huffs and pants began to fill the training arena.

Harsha was training in his personal area. He was doing bodyweight exercises to keep his body in peak condition always. He focused more on the endurance part of the body, as it was more required for a warrior physique.

While he was standing upon his hands and doing some handstand pushups.

A person suddenly emerged from the shadows, like he appeared out of thin air. It was Rakhtasura. He wore his usual mask and black clothes with red accents.

"Your Majesty, I am back from the mission."

Harsha stopped his handstand and got up as sweat glistened all over his well-conditioned and muscular body.

Taking a deep breath. "So what did you find?"

He had entrusted Rakthasura with a mission to find some dirt and information on the crown prince of the Kasim sultanate and his grandfather, the king of Gajapathis.

"There is concerning news about the Gajapathis."

Harsha wiped down his body with a cloth. "What is the problem?"

"Although it is my hunch. The king is definitely influenced by the prime minister. The prime minister seems to have a political influence that almost rivals that of the crown prince, Lokendra Deva."

"So that's why that senile bastard is still on the throne. He is being used to fuel discord so that the prime minister can eventually take control of the kingdom. Is that what you are getting at?"

Rakhtasura nodded at his statement.

"That is going to be pretty bad for us. We don't really have favorable neighbors in the vicinity. A coalition between the central regions along with the Europeans could endanger the Empire."

"What about the Yadavas, Your Majesty?" Rakhtasura asked curiously.

"They are a new ally. If the odds are not favorable for them, there would be no reason to stand with the Empire in a certainly losing battle and lose their kingdom as a result too."

"I see."

"What about the Crown Prince of Gajapathi's movements?"

"Hard to track his movement. It seems he has taken precaution to avoid leaking his plans, although I did get some information."

"So what is he planning?" asked Harsha, throwing the used cloth on a stool.

"I think he is planning to take the throne from his father forcefully since the prime minister's influence is increasing. He needs to make a move to take the throne."

"Is he gathering support for the throne?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. There is a high chance he would win since the prince is pretty cunning despite his timid demeanor."

"Hooo.. Should we leave them be or intervene in the matter?" He began. "We have some money to spare to throw into a sinking ship."

"There is no need for monetary investment in this." Rakhtasura smiled behind his mask. "I had some doubts a year or two back and have placed some countermeasures to sabotage the prime minister's faction just in case."

"Hooo… Aren't you a bright one?" Harsha grinned. "What about Kasim sultanate's crown prince?"

Rakhtasura's looked serious and disgusted at the same time. Harsha could feel the contempt seeping through his mask.

"That swine is swimming in dirt." He began. "The investigation on his background was certainly disgusting."

"Hmmm.. Disgusting?"

"Rapes, murders, alcohol, drugs, torture, burning of villages due to his whim, and what not. There is too much to list." Rakhtasura spat. "There was a recent case of burning a newlywed couple by that fat bastard because the husband tried to protect his wife from being raped by the prince."

Harsha looked disgusted too. Rape was a heinous crime, and it was done by men who are weak and couldn't control their desires. It was a sign of weakness.

He clicked his tongue. "Definitely disgusting."

"Can I assassinate him?" Rakhtasura asked.

Despite his nonchalant nature. Rakhtasura despised the act of rape. He used to kill criminals who had committed rape without a second thought.

"Killing him at once is not enough. He should feel the suffering of his victims before dying, and there is a person who is raging to take his revenge on that swine."

Rakhtasura stayed silent.

"Is that it?" Harsha looked at him picking up his tunic from the stool and readying to leave.

"No! I think we should support the Marathas against the Mughals." Rakhtasura admitted confidently.

"Hooo… Why do you say so?"

"Isn't it obvious, Your Majesty, the Marathas halted the expansion of the Mughals? We need them to stop Mughals and keep them in check for now."

"Definitely, we are not in a sound financial state to help them, and we are not even connected by land. It is hard to help by sending supplies through the Qutb Sultanate."

"Yes, but I got a better solution than to help them directly." Rakhtasura grinned.

"What is that?"

"The former Emperor and the late first prince used to support the rebels in the Qutb Sultanate to keep them in check. The funding has dried up in recent months as the person used to communicate is under arrest of the Empire." He began.

Harsha rubbed his chin in contemplation. "We fund the rebels to ensure that Qutb Sultanate's army is preoccupied and hope that they end up in another stalemate as usual."

"Yes. That is the plan for now." Rakhtasura admitted.

"If that's the case. There is certainly extra weaponry from the civil war we have no use for; we can give the rebels those weapons as well as some money."

There was a huge purchase of weaponry to fight the civil war by all factions. After the war had ended, there were excess weapons and armor that were seized from the prisoners of war. It was still good armor pieces and weaponry, but the Empire really didn't need it as it already had a stock for the Royal Army.

Rakhtasura turned on his heel. "Understood, I will quickly get to it."

"How do you plan to get the information and contact the rebels?" Harsha curiously asked.

Rakhtasura glanced back with a wry smile. Deadly aura was seeping through his mask.

"Yamaduts have their ways to get information out of our "dear arrested individual." " With that, he vanished from his sight like a ghost again.

"So that's done."