July 3rd, 1656
The Mughal Empire, region of Uttar Pradesh, the holy city of Ayodhya
Dust and debris filled the air of Ayodhya, the once holy and sacred city of the Bharatiya civilization now in ruins. Streets previously decorated with ornate carvings are now splattered with blood and human bones.
Scavengers atop the trees patiently wait for their turn to enjoy the prey. The morning sun, which should radiate a brilliant amber, is now shining piercingly with the colour of crimson. It was as if even Surya Deva was crying tears of blood.
In this silent city, where death could be found everywhere, there was one place where the sounds of struggle and Bravery were still heard: the temple of Ram Janmabhoomi.
Oddly enough, the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, which should have been destroyed as early as the 16th century by Mughal Emperor Babur, had not been destroyed. Due to a change in history in this timeline, the city of Ayodhya still remained sacred, and pilgrims from all over the subcontinent still visited the holy city for their devotion.
This devotion is exactly what is pushing the residents to fight to their last breath as they now hurdle themselves within the compound of the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple.
One week ago, 30,000 Mughal soldiers suddenly raided the city, destroying everything they saw before their eyes, not even sparing the civilians who had done nothing wrong.
It was a slaughter that took place in the city, and it lasted for a whole week. Blood flowed through the streets like a river. The Ganga Hara River on the western side of the city had become red with all the blood that flowed into it. No matter how unwilling, throughout the week, the people who resisted were mercilessly eliminated from the city.
Now, 24,000 Mughal invaders surround the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, trying to blast open the defences made by thousands of people.
"Jai Shree Ram!!"
"Jai Shree Ram!!"
"Jai Shree Ram!!"
"Jai Hanuman gyan gun sagar
Jai Kapis tihun lok ujagar"
"Ram doot atulit bal dhama
Anjani-putra Pavan sut nama"
The people were all chanting the name of Lord Ram and the Hanuman Chalisa with their hoarse voices. Even though their compatriots were being cut down one after another right before their eyes, their hearts remained united like a single body, their determination blazing like the sun and their will as tough as a sword.
There was not even a hint of fear in their eyes; they were the soldiers of King Rama, their lord.
The Mughal soldiers, who proceeded to maul down these infidels, were greatly shaken by their act of putting down their lives for their beliefs. Their hearts became restless, as even in their teachings, raising a sword against helpless beings was a great sin. Unfortunately, they had orders, and inherently, the living noble lord held more command over them than the divine they believed in.
*Slash!!*
Another group of devotees fell down, bleeding out to death, but even to their last breath, they kept chanting the name.
"Ram, Ram, Ram."
An older man, dressed in affluent attire, was standing on the frontline, holding a shield in his hands, resolutely anchoring himself to the ground, not budging even an inch.
"Hey, you bastards, listen well! Due to the Lord’s blessing, my family and I have lived a very happy and fulfilling life. Sadly my wife just passed away a month ago, and I have nothing left to lose. I have already arranged matters back home and came to visit my God, Ayodhya Nagareshwara Rama."
"I have already determined to dedicate the rest of my life to the Lord and have come prepared, cutting off all my mortal responsibilities."
"Now that you want to destroy my Lord’s home, DO YOU THINK I WILL STAND STILL AND WATCH?"
"HA?"
His eyes were sharp as a sword, and his voice was low and raspy. His shout sounded like a roar.
"COME FORWARD AND CHOP DOWN THIS OLD MAN, AND A THOUSAND MORE OLD MEN LIKE ME WILL STAND UP TO YOUR TYRANNY. YOU EVEN DESTROYED THE HOLY CITY OF KASHI. DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE WON? HA?"
"DO YOU?"
"ANSWER ME!"
Veins were popping on his neck, and blood was starting to ooze out of his nose.
"You will all be buried without a burial ground, die without food, and your soul will suffer without anyone sending you off."
The Mughal soldiers who heard the old man rambling couldn’t help but stop a little and let out a loud laugh.
"Pffff."
"Hey, looks like the old man is joking, and the joke is very good."
"These beastly people think too highly of their false gods. Do they think they can do anything to the soldiers of Allah?"
"Chop this guy first."
The old man, looking at the four to five soldiers who were ready to pounce on him, did not feel scared. Instead, he felt relieved, thinking that even at his last moment, he stood there as a soldier of Rama.
*Swish*
The spear was coming towards him at a fast speed, and he instinctively blocked it. With a crisp crack, his shield was immediately pierced and rendered useless.
Before he could regain his stance, a sword was coming towards his neck. He knew this was his end. He thought of his Lord and his family for the last time and happily accepted his death.
Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.
"Boom!"
A loud explosion suddenly pulled the attention of the Mughals to their rear. The old man, who heard the explosion, curiously opened his eyes and saw that his attacker was distracted by the explosion. Taking this opportunity, he swiftly fell back. As he fell back, the sword that was about to chop off his neck sliced through his hair, and he fell back with a thud.
The old man, along with the devotees, looked to the rear, their eyes wide open and hearts pounding.
Under the burning crimson sun, two figures—one in black armour with an unusually long sword and another in bright red armour with two swords—looked like divine beings descending onto the earth, tasked with defending the honour of their Lord.
These figures seemed like hope in a desperate situation, rekindling the fighting spirit of the devotees.
"Unsheath!!"
The figures were none other than Sarvesh Rana Vikrama, the Sword of the Empire, and Vijay Devaraya, the Crimson Knight.
"Swish!!"
The blood blade of Vijay and the dual blade of Sarvesh sliced through the air and slashed a group of Mughal soldiers to death.
"Ahh!!"
From the viewpoint of the devotees, heads started to fly up in the air, and blood splattered all over the place.
*Slice!!*
All they heard were constant sounds of blades slicing apart human flesh into multiple pieces. The two heroes fighting looked like Bengal tigers mercilessly hunting down their prey.
"Ohhhh!!"
The devotees exclaimed as they immediately fell to their knees, their chanting becoming louder and stronger. Vijay and Sarvesh, who heard the increasing intensity of the chant, felt as though limitless energy was poured into them. The speed of their actions increased, and their minds became clearer.
Both of them were in their optimal states.
*Slice!!*
Against these two monsters, the Mughal soldiers only had an average lifespan of five seconds in front of the Sword and the Crimson Knight of the Empire.
Seeing the headless corpses in front of them, the Mughal soldiers at the rear were greatly shocked. Unfortunately, before they could react, a cold light passed through their eyes and they felt a chill on their necks. Trying to see what it was and looking at their hands, they saw blood. Before they could process what was happening, their bodies stopped responding as they fell down lifeless.
The armour of Vijay and Sarvesh was soon drenched in blood, their bodies moving with amazing speed, pushing adrenaline and hormones to the maximum.
"Chop!"
"Chop!"
"Chop!"
Sarvesh and Vijay were like sharp swords cutting through butter. Alone, they created a small slaughter zone within the battlefield.
Vijay let Sarvesh who had dual swords and amazing fighting ability rampage on the battlefield while he, using his heightened census and danger perception, covered both himself and Sarvesh, forming a deadly combination.
Soon, the Marine reinforcements under Sarvesh numbering 5,000 joined the battle and immediately overwhelmed the Mughal soldiers who were already startled.
Initially, Vijay was not expecting to reclaim Ayodhya immediately, as it was inconvenient to travel so far inland to defend a city of honestly speaking not great military importance. But everything changed when the city of Patna was conquered.
Vijay now had extra power that he could allocate. Hence, he was not willing to see the holy city of Ayodhya, which had immense cultural and civilizational significance, be destroyed by the Mughal Empire like Kashi was. Therefore, he immediately switched the strategy of his Agra battlefront from offence to defence. In the meantime, he had ordered 100,000 soldiers from Patna to rush over immediately.
Additionally, the route for these soldiers to march was chosen in such a way that they would pass through various battlefronts of other generals, helping them in the process.
Currently, the battle group arriving from Patna is only a few hundred meters away from the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, as the first stop of this army of 100,000 soldiers was Ayodhya.
"Mansabdar, another army is approaching at 3 o’clock, east."
The Mughal leader was overwhelmed and asked hesitantly, "How many?"
"Over, O-One Hundred T-Thousand, sir."
The Mughal leader was instantly petrified, knowing they would be slaughtered if they continued their operation. He resolutely raised the white flag and admitted defeat. Unfortunately, though, he had done too much, and no flag could save his life now.
With the Marines from the south, the devotees from the north, the Ganga Hara River to the west, and the army of 100,000 from the east, the Mughal army of 30,000 troops was completely blocked off from any exit.
*Slash!!*
They were ruthlessly butchered; not a single Mughal soldier survived.
Blood ran through the streets of Ayodhya for the second time that day. The holy city had been turned into a city of death and destruction. But this time, the residents celebrated. The old man, who had managed to get back onto his feet and kill two Mughal soldiers, raised his bloodied hand high into the air and screamed:
"Jai Shree Ram!"
The devotees, whose emotions were already riled up, immediately started repeating the chant after hearing the heart-piercing roar of the old man.
"Jai Shree Ram!"
Vijay and Sarvesh, who were drenched in blood and grey matter, were greatly stimulated by the emotion and started repeating.
"Jai Shree Ram!"
The 100,000 soldiers that had just arrived, looking at the death and destruction near the temple and greatly inspired by the emotions, started to chant.
"Jai Shree Ram!"
Ayodhya regained its freedom. The Army of Lord Ram achieved victory that day. And that day would also be celebrated as the Independence Day of the state born out of Uttar Pradesh.
P.S. Thank you, ABHI29 for the Pizza!