Empire Ascension: The Rise of the Fated One

Kashmir border,capturedfort inKohala Valley, morning of April 22, 1557

In the small, sunlit room of the wooden chamber, Faujdar Phula Singh sat upright on a plush cushion.

His body was wrapped in bandages, and his left arm was gone, yet his posture remained straight which showed no indication of weakness.

Sunlight poured into the room where he and the seven sardars gathered around, wearing their chainmail armors. Of the original ten, only these seven had survived to stand with their commander.

News had just arrived that enemy scouts had been spotted below. With reinforcements yet to arrive before evening they faced a significant challenge to hold off the ladakhi forces that threatened their newly captured fort.

Finally, Phula Singh broke the silence.

"Sardar Bhola," he commanded, "report on our current situation."

Bhola offered a quick nod before speaking. "Sir, we have 700 soldiers fit to defend the outpost, though another 320 remain wounded and are being treated by the medics. We’ve positioned 30 falconet cannons to cover the enemy’s line of approach.

From the prisoners captured, we’ve learned that the approaching force is likely under Commander Ranchit Bagga who is leading a force of 3,000 soldiers and additional 50 cannons who were expected to arrive today’s morning as reinforcement."

Phula Singh listened with an unreadable expression as he absorbed the news. He muttered under his breath, "So they have already arrived and are gauging our strength. Luckily, their cannons aren’t a threat, but the numbers..."

He turned to Sardar Pratyush, newly appointed by Rudra to oversee logistics and the siege crews provided by the Hindshakti Company.

"And what’s the status of our artillery?" he asked in steady voice but edged with urgency.