Chapter 441 - 409: Report From The Front Lines...

(A/N):

Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.

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The prince leaned back with a dissatisfied expression. He knew that the guards were unlikely to change their minds, especially after his earlier attempt to escape. Still, he found the situation terribly unfair.

His father had gone to fight the enemy, the commanders were leading their soldiers, and even the ordinary warriors were doing their part.

Meanwhile, he was being treated as though he might disappear the moment someone turned away.

He glanced towards the entrance again.

"At least tell me what is happening," he asked.

"Has Father defeated Devara yet?"

The guards hesitated.

They had received very little information from the battlefield, and what they had heard was not particularly encouraging.

The battle had begun with fierce fighting between the infantry formations, followed by the intervention of the senior commanders.

More recently, reports had arrived of an extraordinary divine weapon being invoked by the king.

The details were unclear, but the entire camp had become increasingly restless.

"We have not received a proper report, Your Highness," the first guard answered.

"The fighting is still continuing."

"Then Father must be winning,"

the boy declared, trying to convince himself as much as the guards.

"He is the strongest king in our kingdom. He has defeated enemies before, and he will defeat Devara too."

Neither guard contradicted him.

They had served Vrishasena long enough to understand the king’s strength and determination, but they were also experienced soldiers.

They knew better than to make promises about a battle whose outcome remained uncertain.

The prince noticed their silence.

"Why aren’t you answering?" he asked, looking between them.

"You think Father might lose?"

"Your Highness,"

the older guard began, choosing his words carefully,

"your father is a powerful warrior and an experienced king. He has led our army through difficult campaigns, and every soldier here has faith in him. But a battle is not decided simply because one side has a strong king. There are many warriors on the opposing side, and the fighting is still underway. We should wait for reliable news rather than speculate."

The boy frowned, clearly unhappy with the answer.

He turned towards the entrance once more, hoping that a messenger might arrive with some encouraging news.

Then the ground seemed to tremble faintly.

At first, he thought it was another movement of the army outside.

But the sensation continued, accompanied by a strange vibration that travelled through the wooden supports of the tent.

The guards immediately straightened, their hands moving towards their weapons as they looked towards the open entrance.

A moment later, the light outside changed.

The morning sky, which had been bright when the prince was brought back to the tent, now appeared strangely illuminated by flashes of golden and ocean-blue radiance.

The boy rose from his seat and moved towards the entrance, but one of the guards immediately stepped in front of him.

"Stay back, Your Highness."

"What is that?"

the prince asked, trying to look past the man’s shoulder.

The older guard stepped outside for a better view.

His expression changed as he looked towards the distant battlefield, where enormous spiralling formations of clouds had gathered above the armies.

Even from the camp, the extraordinary display was visible.

Brilliant flashes of light illuminated the sky, and distant thunder rolled across the land.

The younger guard joined him, staring upwards.

"Is that an astra?" he asked quietly.

"I believe so," the older man replied.

"But I have never seen anything like it."

The prince pushed forward slightly, attempting to get a better view.

"Is Father using it?"

Neither guard answered immediately.

The boy looked at the sky, his eyes widening as another enormous flash of blue light spread through the clouds.

He had heard stories about divine weapons from the royal teachers, and his father had occasionally explained how great warriors could invoke astras through sacred mantras.

But hearing about them and witnessing their power, even from a distant camp, were entirely different experiences.

"That must be Father’s weapon,"

he said with growing excitement.

"He is going to defeat Devara with it, isn’t he?"

The older guard looked towards the battlefield again.

He could not tell whose weapon was responsible for the immense radiance, nor could he understand why two different colours appeared to be spreading through the heavens.

But something about the spectacle made him uneasy.

"Your Highness, please remain inside. We do not know what is happening, and we must be prepared for any instructions that arrive."

The prince reluctantly stepped back, though his attention remained fixed upon the sky.

For the first time that morning, he was no longer thinking about escaping the tent.

The sight of the enormous celestial formations had captured his imagination completely.

He wondered whether his father was standing beneath those clouds, whether he could see the same extraordinary spectacle, and whether the warriors around him were witnessing something that would one day become part of the stories told throughout Vrishabhapura.

He did not know that the battle was unfolding very differently from what he had imagined.

And while the young prince continued watching the distant sky with faith in his father’s strength, the two guards exchanged another uneasy glance.

They had both seen enough of the battlefield to understand that the enormous radiance above the armies was not an ordinary display of power.

Whatever was happening there, it was far beyond anything either of them had expected when they marched out of the capital.

The conversation inside the command tent was interrupted by the hurried footsteps of a soldier approaching from outside.

Several commanders who had remained at the camp turned towards the entrance as the soldier pushed past the guards, his armour covered in dust and his face bearing the exhaustion of someone who had ridden at full speed from the battlefield.

He stopped before the assembled officers, struggling to catch his breath before saluting them.

"Commander! A report from the front lines!"

The sudden announcement drew everyone’s attention.

Even the two guards stationed near the young prince exchanged glances.

The boy, who had been sitting on a wooden cot and complaining about being confined to the tent, immediately stood up.

"A report from the battlefield?" he asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Does it say whether my father is winning?"

The soldier hesitated, but before he could answer, one of the senior commanders stepped forward and took the report from his hand.

He quickly unfolded the palm-leaf document, his eyes moving across the hurriedly written message.

At first, his expression remained unchanged. However, as he continued reading, the colour gradually drained from his face.

"What happened?" another commander asked, noticing his reaction.

The man did not answer immediately.

He read the report a second time, as though hoping he had misunderstood its contents.

The prince approached them, curiosity overcoming the frustration he had felt moments earlier.

"I want to see it," he demanded.

"Your Highness, this is a military report. You should return to your seat."

"But it is about my father, isn’t it? Tell me what happened!"

"Prince, please. We are discussing matters that—"

"I am the crown prince of Vrishabhapura!"

the boy interrupted, raising his voice.

"And I am asking about my father! You have kept me inside this tent since morning. You won’t even tell me what is happening outside. If there is news about him, I have the right to hear it!"

The commander looked towards the other officers.

None of them seemed particularly eager to explain the situation to the young prince, especially when they themselves were still trying to understand the report.

Yet the message had arrived from the front lines, and there was little point in pretending that nothing had happened.

After a moment, the senior commander finally nodded.

"Very well, Your Highness. You may remain here and listen. But you must not interrupt the discussion."

The prince nodded immediately and moved closer, standing beside the commanders.

The senior officer lowered his gaze towards the report once again.

"Our infantry has been pushed back from several positions," he began.

The prince’s expression changed.

"Pushed back? Why? I thought our soldiers were winning!"

"The allied forces have been coordinating their attacks more effectively than we anticipated. Our commanders have suffered several setbacks, and some of our formations have been forced to retreat."

"But Father is there, isn’t he?" the prince asked quickly.

"He can defeat them!"

"His Majesty is still on the battlefield,"

the commander replied, trying to maintain a composed tone.

"Then everything will be fine!"

The officer paused.

"There is something else."

The prince looked up at him.

"During the battle, His Majesty invoked the Narayana Astra."

A small smile appeared on the boy’s face.

"I knew it! Father has the Narayana Astra. Nobody can defeat him when he uses it!"

Some of the commanders lowered their eyes.

The boy’s confidence was understandable.

The Narayana Astra was among the most formidable divine weapons ever bestowed upon a mortal warrior.

Very few kings could even claim to possess such a weapon, let alone invoke it on a battlefield.

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(Author note:)

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