‘You are right, Parvateshwar. Let’s do that.’

Meanwhile, the Chandravanshi cavalry on the western flank, sensing the hopelessness of their charge, began to retreat. Some Arishtanemi riders moved to give chase but Vidyunmali stopped them. As the Chandravanshis retreated, Vidyunmali ordered his troops to wait at their present positions, lest the Chandravanshis launch a counter-attack. Seeing their enemy ride rapidly back to their lines, Vidyunmali ordered a withdrawal to their initial position on the flank of the bow formation.

The Chandravanshis facing Mayashrenik, however, were made of sterner stuff. Despite taking severe casualties, they fought grimly, refusing to retreat. Mayashrenik and his men fought fiercely, holding their enemy. Suddenly, the hail of arrows stopped. The archers had been ordered to stand down. Now that their mission was accomplished without their intervention, the Chandravanshi brigadier ordered a retreat of his cavalry. Mayashrenik, in turn, withdrew his troops quickly to his earlier position to prepare for the main charge, which he knew was just a few moments away.

‘General, shall we?’ asked Shiva, nodding towards the left flank.

‘Yes, my Lord,’ replied Parvateshwar.

As Parvateshwar turned to mount his horse, Shiva called out, ‘Parvateshwar?’

‘Yes, my Lord.’

‘Race you to the last line of the Chandravanshis!’

Parvateshwar raised his eyebrows in surprise, smiling broadly. ‘I will win, my Lord.’

‘We’ll see,’ grinned Shiva, his eyes narrowed in a playful challenge.

Parvateshwar rapidly mounted his horse and rode to his command on the left. Shiva, followed by Vraka, Nandi and Veerbhadra rode to the right. Prasanjit geared his tortoise corps in the centre for the attack.

‘Meluhans!’ roared Shiva, dismounting smoothly. ‘They lie in front of you! Waiting to be slaughtered! It ends today! Evil ends today!’

‘Har Har Mahadev!’ bellowed the soldiers as the Meluhan conch shell, announcing the Suryavanshi attack, was blown.

With an ear-shattering yell, the infantry charged towards the Chandravanshis. The tortoise corps moved in their slow, yet unyielding pace towards the Chandravanshi centre. The sides of the bow formation moved quicker than the centre. The cavalry cantered along the flanks, protecting the infantry from an enemy charge. Courageous remnants of the third and fourth legions of the Chandravanshis meanwhile were rapidly reforming their lines to face the Suryavanshi onslaught. But the mass of dead bodies of their fallen comrades did not allow them the space needed to form their traditional Chaturanga formation, which could have allowed some lateral movement. They were huddled together in a tight but thin line before the Suryavanshis were upon them.

The battle was going almost exactly as per plan for the Suryavanshis. By the time they reached the Chandravanshi line, they were in a tight, faintly curved line of trained and vicious soldiers, with their flanking line of light infantry being slightly behind the level of the slower moving tortoise corps at the centre. The unstoppable tortoise corps tore ruthlessly into the Chandravanshi centre. The shields provided protection for the corps against the best Chandravanshi swordsmen, while their trishuls ripped through the Swadweepans. The Chandravanshis had but two choices. Either fall to the trishul, or be pushed towards the sides where the Suryavanshis were now bearing down hard on them. As the centre of the Chandravanshi army broke under the unrelenting assault, the Suryavanshi flanks tore through their sides.

Shiva was leading his flank ferociously into the Chandravanshis, decimating all in front of him. To his surprise, he found the enemy lines thinning. Letting his fellow soldiers charge ahead of him, he rose to his full height to observe the movements. He was shocked to see the Chandravanshi line opposing him, moving towards the centre. They were attacking the only exposed flank of the tortoise corps, their right side, which could not be protected by shields. Someone in the Chandravanshi army was using his brains. If any of the tortoises broke, the Chandravanshis would swarm through the centre in a tight line, devastating the Suryavanshis.

‘Meluhans!’ roared Shiva. ‘Follow me!’

Shiva’s flag bearer raised his pennant. The soldiers followed. The Neelkanth charged into the sides of the Chandravanshi lines bearing down on the tortoises. Caught in a pincer attack between the trishuls and the charge from Shiva’s flank, the spirit of the Chandravanshis finally broke.

What was a mighty Chandravanshi army was now reduced to independent stragglers fighting valiantly for a losing cause. Shiva and Parvateshwar led their respective sides to complete the job. The victory was absolute. The Chandravanshi army had been comprehensively routed.

CHAPTER 24

A Stunning Revelation

Sati rushed out of her tent, followed by Krittika and Ayurvati.

‘A little slowly, Sati,’ cried Ayurvati, running to keep up. ‘In your condition…’

Sati turned and grinned back at Ayurvati, but did not reduce her pace. She sprinted to the royal tent where she had been informed Shiva and Parvateshwar had reached after the declaration of victory. Nandi and Veerbhadra stood guard at the entrance. They moved aside to let Sati in, but barred Ayurvati and Krittika.

‘I am sorry, Lady Ayurvati,’ said Nandi apologetically, his head bowed. ‘I have strict instructions not to let anybody in.’

‘Why?’ asked a surprised Ayurvati.

‘I don’t know, my Lady. I am very sorry’

‘That’s alright,’ said Ayurvati. ‘You’re only doing your job.’

Veerbhadra looked at Krittika. ‘I’m sorry darling.’

‘Please don’t call me that in public,’ whispered Krittika, embarrassed.

Sati pulled the curtain aside and entered the tent.

‘I don’t know, my Lord,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘It doesn’t make sense.’

Sati was surprised at Parvateshwar calling Shiva ‘My Lord’.

But her joy at seeing Shiva safe brushed these thoughts aside. ‘Shiva!’

‘Sati?’ mumbled Shiva, turning towards her.

Sati froze. He didn’t smile when he saw her. He didn’t have the flush of victory on his face. He hadn’t even got his wounds dressed.

‘What’s wrong?’ asked Sati.

Shiva stared at her. His expression worried her deeply. She turned towards Parvateshwar. He looked at her for an instant with an obviously forced smile. The way he usually smiled when he tried to shield her from some bad news. ‘What is it, Pitratulya?’

Parvateshwar looked at Shiva, who spoke at last. ‘Something about this war troubles us.’

‘What could trouble you?’ asked a surprised Sati. ‘You have delivered the greatest victory ever to the Suryavanshis. This defeat of the Chandravanshis is even more comprehensive than what my grandfather achieved. You should be proud!’

‘I didn’t see any Nagas with the Chandravanshis,’ said Shiva.

‘The Nagas weren’t there?’ asked Sati. ‘That doesn’t make sense.’

‘Yes,’ said Shiva, his eyes carrying a hint of foreboding. ‘If they are so thick with the Chandravanshis, then they would have been there in the battlefield. If they were being used by the Chandravanshis against us, then their skills would have been even more useful in the battle. But where were they?’

‘Maybe they’ve fallen out with each other,’ suggested Sati.