Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

Chapter 158: Rebels

The Zirnia village was located close to the border between the Qutb sultanate and Yadava kingdom. It was small village with less than a hundred inhabitants. The border patrol was nonexistent in the region due to the large cover of the forest close to the border.

Two individuals stood on the Outskirts of the Zirnia village. Both of them clad in the leather armor and had swords hung on their waist. A few other members were on the tree scouting for targets as the night sky was coming into view.

"When will they come? Is this just a ploy to find us and rat us out? Brother Nishant,"

Nishant was the vice leader of the Rebel group situation on the border with the Qutb Sultanate and Yadava kingdom.

"Be patient, Mukesh," said Nishant, focusing on the task at hand.

Mukesh was a commander for the rebel group who came along as a bodyguard for Nishant.

"But.. Don't you think this is a bit sketchy considering how they ghost us for a while without funding and start it again abruptly?" Mukesh began. "This time a different person is leading the talks as well."

Nishant nodded, agreeing with Mukesh. "Yes, it seemed sketchy, but we have no choice; we need funds and weapons to get our revenge from the Sultan."

"Hmm.. Have you met that new guy." Mukesh asked with a curious expression.

"Yes, I was with the leader when the new guy who was leading the group came along."

"How was he? Was he strong?"

"He was terrifying! It is healthy for our group that we don't have him on our bad side," exclaimed Nishant, shuddering, remembering the incident from a few weeks ago.

A few weeks ago, at the base of the Rebel group, a discussion was underway to rebel against the Sultanate.

Nishant sat with the leader of the rebel group, Kashyap. The leader of the rebel group was a man in his early 30s who had lost his family due to the tyrannical schemes of the sultanate. He swore to take his revenge on the Sultan and made a small rebel group with similar-minded people.

Slowly they had gained momentum and went from a small group to a large rebel group operating in a large chunk of the Sultanate.

"Leader, We need funds to survive. The merchant that gave us the funds is no longer in contact. The group will break the operations without the funds. This is an urgent issue," said Nishant.

Kashyap looked serious. He knew the gravity of the situation, as the rebel group needed the funds to expand and fight against the Sultanate. Your next read is at m v|l-e-NovelFire

"Damn it!" he cursed. "Why did that merchant go silent without notice?"

"Leader, I think it has something to do with the recent civil war in the Empire." Nishant claimed.

The funding stopped when the civil war had begun and it was very likely the merchant was from the Empire instead of the Yadava kingdom.

"We have to find another way to fund the group quickly!!" said Kashyap. "Do you have anyone on the list willing to fund us?"

"There are some! But not sure!" responded Nishant with a dejected look.

"Don't worry. I can help." Whispered a hoarse voice in the ears of Nishant.

Both Nishant and Kashyap scrambled at the unfamiliar voice, turning their heads to the masked man standing right in front of them.

"Wh-who are you?" Nishant asked as he tried to stand up and fell down, tripping on the table.

"I am just a friendly soul!"

"Where are guards?" asked Kashyap, unsheathing his sword.

The masked man chuckled. "Your friends are asleep on the floor. Give them a blanket; it is not good to sleep on the floor."

He walked towards Kashyap.

"Sheath your sword. I have come to talk." He said coldly.

Nishant and Kashyap could feel the bloodlust with each word uttered by the man.

They knew he could kill them if he wanted. They comply with the request and sit down.

The masked man also sat down on the chair as two other masked individuals entered the room and stood beside the man.

"I will fund your group," he declared.

"Wha–"

The jaws of Nishant and Kashyap dropped to the ground as the sudden declaration.

"Don't believe me?" The masked man asked, titling his head.

He took out a pouch filled with gold coins from his coat and put it on the table.

"You can have this as an advance!"

"What?? Are you with the merchant from before?" asked Kashyap nervously.

"Yeah, sadly, the merchant has health problems and sent me!"

Both stayed silent, taking in the information. "Why are you helping us?" asked Nishant.

"Don't ask too many questions. Answer if you need the funding or not!"

"We need it, sir," Kashyap agreed.

"There you have it. The leader seems somewhat understanding of the situation." The masked man said, eyeing Nishant with a cold gaze.

He continued turning to Kashyap. "This time, we will give you better support. We will be providing you with weapons, information, and funds."

"Weapons??."

Kashyap and Nishant were surprised; weapons were powerful assets and they required a lot of funding. If they were providing the weapons, they had to just invest most of the funds in taking out the strategic locations.

"Expect it to arrive in 2 weeks on the outskirts of the Zirnia village."

The masked man left.

Kashyap and Nishant were still taking in the information. They had made a lot of progress towards the goal just in a few moments.

Kashyap turned to Nishant. "Did you want to get us killed? We were surrounded by his men and you opened your mouth to ask dumb questions."

Kashyap had noticed that they were already surrounded on all sides by the masked people.

It was clear as day that the man was a high-standing individual with a lot of power behind him.

Nishant thoughts were interrupted as Mukesh whispered.

"The caravan is here." He exclaimed.

"Finally." Nishant heaved a sigh of relief.

It was led by a different masked individual this time. They were strong; the masked men didn't speak a word and began unloading the weapons and money to the caravan of their group.

They left without a single sound.