Empire Ascension: The Rise of the Fated One

The morning sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows over the open field as Rishabh approached in excitement with a wooden crate in his arms.

As he neared, he saw Mathew inspecting the testing field. Aditya and Meenakshi behind the cannon at safe distance as they witnessed the bombardment.

Rishabh greeted them with enthusiasm," Good morning senhor," he said with a broad smile. "It’s good to see you so warm and enthusiastic at the start of the day"

Mathew, being serious jotting down the results in his slate, nodded but didn’t smile. "Morning" he acknowledged. "I trust you’ve brought everything I asked for?"

"Yes, senhor," Rishabh replied in a measured tone under Mathew’s sharp gaze. He then shifted his focus toward Aditya and Meenakshi, bowing slightly as he approached them. "Prince Aditya, Princess Meenakshi, it’s a pleasure to serve you, again."

Aditya responded with a nod, while Meenakshi offered a gentle smile of acknowledgment.

Curious, Aditya stepped forward and opened the crate. Inside, three distinct types of grenades were kept together. One was familiar round shape similar to the ones he had suggested earlier. The other two, however, were different.. a cylindrical tube encased in hard metal with a fuse sticking out. One with smaller and other with larger fuse. It looked more like a crude, oversized firecracker, but its design intrigued him.

Raising an eyebrow, he examined the tube. "This one’s different," Aditya remarked, his fingers tracing the cold metal surface. "What is this?"

Sensing his curiosity, Mathew stepped beside him with arms crossed. "While considering your original design, I thought to experiment a little," he explained in a tone of matter-of-fact. "What if we create a simple tube filled with gunpowder, encased in metal? The larger clay bombs we’ve used before were too bulky and heavy to throw effectively. But this..." He gestured to the cylindrical grenade. "This one is comparatively lighter, easier to produce, and works in a similar way. Upon detonation, the metal fragments should act as shrapnel, just like your frag bomb design. I call it simple fuse bomb."

Aditya smiled, appreciating Mathew’s innovative thinking. "It’s a smart design. I hadn’t thought of simplifying it further. Let’s test it and see how it performs."

Mathew handed one of the cylindrical grenades to Rishabh, who blinked nervously as he stared at the unfamiliar weapon in his hand.

"You," Mathew said firmly, addressing Rishabh. "Use it on that empty carriage." He pointed toward the target: a weathered wooden carriage of 5 meter, parked in the distance, waiting for the demonstration.