Chapter 204: Aziz Shah's woes

The Qutb Palace was a mess after the death of Zafar Shah. The news spread like wildfire that the rebels assassinated the Sultan in the heavily guarded palace.The capital was a mess as the ministers began to flee from the sultanate because of possible repercussions from the rebels.

In the bordering regions, the local nobles had already fled when they saw the Empire's army invading deep into the Sultanate territory. They knew that there was no way the Sultanate would be able to fight the Empire.

Every noble big and small knew of the strength of the Vijayanagara Empire. It rivalled that of the Mughals and was one of the strongest powers, if not the strongest, in the subcontinent.

The defeat of the royal army had made a dent in their morale. Now with the Empire's invasion. It was spelt doom for the Sultanate.

On the outskirts of the capital. A merchant caravan was heading towards the borders between the Qutb Sultanate and the Amir Sultanate. It was heavily guarded by hundreds of soldiers, dressed in black and equipped very well.

"Haa… This is so messed up." Aziz sighed. Enjoy more content from мѵʟ

He lifted the covering in the caravan to look back at the palace.

The kingdom was destined to fall.

'It's all your fault, father.' He thought.

He had lost his affection for his father a long time ago. He felt no emotion for his father. His mother, on the other hand, passed away when he was a young child.

He didn't consider his half-siblings his family, as they all resembled his father's personality.

Aziz recalled the incident of that fateful night. The rebels, the masked man, and his strength left a deep impression on him.

"Who even was that bastard?" He mumbled.

The masked man was different from the rest of the group. Aziz fought some of the rebels on the way to the chamber. None of them were even on the level of a veteran soldier.

But that man was different.

His sword arts were refined and his movements were of an elite soldier.

'I would have died if he was serious.' He gripped his neck and winced, remembering his strength.

Darkness began to consume the light as the moon began to shine it's glow on the tall trees. The caravan stopped for the night to rest.

Aziz exited the carriage to find his group getting the tents ready and began to make food for the night.

He looked back at the dark forest path they came through. The capital city was nowhere to be seen.

They came a long distance from the capital city.

He looked up at the dark sky, with stars twinkling.

'No use fretting about the past.'

His right-hand man, Aditya, emerged from the shadows.

"Your Highness, we have some urgent news."

"I told you to address me differently. I am not a prince anymore."

Aditya nodded and changed his tone.

"The Vijayanagara Empire has invaded. They already took over half the regions near the border with the Yadavas and the Empire."

Aziz looked bewildered.

The masked man, the organized rebels, the maratha war, and the Empire invasions.

All pieces came together to solve the complex puzzle. The Empire took advantage of the situation to take over the Sultanate.

The masked man should be an elite soldier from the Empire advising the rebels.

'That explains why the rebels were so successful this time.'

He shuddered at the prospect of an 18-year-old Emperor planning this far.

"So, we were dancing in their palms the whole time."

"The Sultanate is doomed. They can't even defeat a Maratha commander. Let alone a commander from the Empire. They will successfully annex all the areas."

"So, we are letting them take over without a fight?"

"Aditya!! You know it very well. We don't have the strength to take them in a fight. The man from yesterday was likely from the Empire."

"He was? Wasn't he a rebel?"

Aziz scoffed. "Such a strong man, a rebel?"

"He is from the Empire, and I am sure. He isn't even the strongest one among them. They have a lot of monsters. I would rather not fight them, knowing that we would lose."

Aditya didn't say a word after receiving a convincing answer

They both chatted, walking around near the camp.

Suddenly the breeze strengthened and trees rustled.

A hooded figure stood before them; their dress was blending into the shadows.

Aditya's hand quickly went to his sword at the sight of the unknown man.

"Keep your weapons sheathed. If you want to live."

Aziz put a hand on Aditya's shoulder.

They were surrounded by men.

They were stealthy.

"Who are you?" asked Aziz.

"You don't need to know about that. We are just here to relay some information from our Liege."

"Your Liege?"

"Yes,"

The man threw a letter at Aziz.

He caught swiftly. The letter didn't have any distinct seals or names. It just had his name written on it.

It seemed like they wanted to hide the identity of their "Liege."

Aziz scruntized them for a bit.

'Their clothes are peculiar. Are they not from here?'

None of them looked hostile but he felt that they were pretty powerful. They all had an air of elite soldiers.

The one in the middle that handed him the letter had the same demeanour as the masked man from the palace.

'He should be strong as that man.'

"Now that you have received the letter, our job here is done."

He turned to leave.

"I hope your answer won't disappoint our Liege." He said, glancing back coldly. "Watch your back at night, Aziz Shah."

He walked into the woods and disappeared.

The other presences also disappeared without a sound.

Aditya, on the other hand, took a large breath of relief.

"Who?" He asked with a flushed face.

"Do I look like I know them?" Aziz shrugged. S~eaʀᴄh the nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

He looked at the letter and broke it open.

Aziz skimmed through the contents of the letter and his expression turned very grim.

He crumpled the letter after reading.

'Haaa.. why do I always attract the attention of these types of people?'