After killing Maharam, Apykarych pressed forward, he was creating havoc. Meanwhile Agastya and Vinashki were engaged in an intense battle with Jairudh. Agastya was displaying great skills; he could cut and deflect arrows fired by Jairudh. In the meantime, Vinashki was firing energy balls at Jairudh. She was being her usual cunning self and was firing and disappearing in the crowd. She knew Jairudh’s devastating skills at using the bow and arrow and therefore avoided a direct conflict with him. In fact, the duo intended to deplete Jairudh’s deadly arsenal so as to engage him in a hand to hand combat.
On the other side, Oniata and Nismibh rode towards each other. They looked even and were both extremely strong. A legendary fight was about to begin between the two.
Meanwhile, on their right, another contest was taking place between the mighty Nirmay and Salem.
Nirmay was a skilful archer and so was Salem. Their arrows collided in mid-air, but after a while Nirmay seemed to be gaining control, he was experienced and had won many battles. His arrows slashed Salem’s bow and soon he was out of his projectiles. Nirmay could have finished off Salem easily but he picked up his sword and marched towards him. Salem looked petrified at the sight as he was an archer, not a hand to hand combatant. He picked up his sword and walked reluctantly towards Nirmay. The general completely dominated the battle; he smashed Salem’s sword, slashed him at multiple places and cut off his head, another fatality for the league.
***Taraksh Vs Zekrar and Vedhas***
So far, the forces of Taraksh were dominating. They looked fierce and unstoppable and the twins could see that, they wanted to intervene and turn things around. They thought of starting with Apykarych who was making his way towards Habud and the twins themselves.
The twins looked for Taraksh from a distance; he was still at the back at his former position. They took this as an opportunity to eradicate the most influential warrior of Taraksh, ‘Apykarych’. They manoeuvred their regiment and started moving towards Apykarych. The twins had little difficulty in making their way to Apykarych and in no time they were facing the unstoppable.
Apykarych looked calm and composed at the sight of the twins, perhaps he was a little over confident. He looked at them and in no time started firing arrows. The twins faced trouble initially as the arrows travelled at an extremely fast pace but in a few seconds they were in control, they extracted Apykarych’s power and started dominating the combat. The royal cavalry did nothing but stare at the competition. In no time the twins destroyed all the arrows of Apykarych. But Apykarych didn’t give up; he picked up his sword and jumped off his chariot, challenging the twins for a face to face combat. The twins had done this many times before and enjoyed complete domination of their enemy. Both casually stepped out of their chariot and walked towards Apykarych. As they approached the old legend, one of the royal guards jumped off his horse, perhaps to support Apykarych. He held a sword, wore a golden armour and walked royally towards the combatants, and the moment Zekrar swung his sword at Apykarych, he intervened and blocked Zekrar’s sword with his sword. The impact was so great that Zekrar felt shivers in his entire body, both the twins looked at the royal guard in awe, they were confused. The royal guard wore a helmet but his eyes looked menacing and they had seen those eyes before, the eyes reminded them of their arch enemy ‘Taraksh’. The twins looked fearful and their fears turned real, the moment he removed his helmet, he was no guard, he was the most powerful King of the World…… ‘Taraksh’.
“Hello Zekrar and Vedhas. I was starting to miss you two,” taunted Taraksh.
The twins were terrified, they had been tricked, the man riding the King’s Chariot at the back of Mahaverna’s army was not Taraksh, but an imposter.
“They are all yours King, finish them soon,” said Apykarych looking at Taraksh, he then casually walked back towards his chariot. The twins didn’t bother; they had their entire focus on Taraksh. They also looked for an escape route and began stepping back. Vedhas then looked at his brother and winked at him, and in a fraction of a second attacked Taraksh, swinging his sword towards Taraksh’s neck. Taraksh blocked the attack with his shield and then in a second stabbed Vedhas. As one brother sacrificed himself, Zekrar tried to escape. The brothers were practical warriors and believed in the strategy of ‘Live to fight another day’. He ran for his chariot but it was difficult to escape from the clutches of Taraksh. The King slid the armour on his back which was attached to a harness and ran extremely fast towards Zekrar, who by now had climbed on his chariot. Zekrar’s charioteer tried to escape, but Taraksh held the wheel of his chariot and toppled the chariot. Zekrar fell and gazed at Taraksh as he walked towards him. Taraksh then stood over Zekrar, held his neck and lifted him up in the air, squeezing his neck slowly, witnessing Zekrar’s life leaving his body.
The alliance was in trouble, they had had five casualties, but it was far from over, as the moment, the twins were killed, Apykarych pressed forward towards Habud, while Taraksh and his royal guards galloped back towards his actual position. The bodies of the twins were dragged and were taken by Taraksh as his trophies.
Jairudh Vs Vinashki
Meanwhile, a fierce battle between Jairudh, Agastya and Vinashki was gaining intensity. Vinashki by now was standing alongside Agastya, in his chariot. Agastya was cutting the incoming projectiles and Vinashki was firing the energy balls. The balls couldn’t be stopped by ordinary arrows and Jairudh had to waste his divinely powered arrows in order to block the energy balls. The fight was bearing no results, Jairudh had to do something different, he meditated and an arrow appeared in his hand, the arrow had a spiked iron ball attached on to its top. The arrow was called ‘Dhrum Astra’. This was a special arrow and exploded on contact. He placed this arrow on his bow and fired the arrow at Agastya and Vinashki. The arrow travelled with speed but Agastya was quick to recognize the arrow and threw one of his axes to block the incoming projectile, but a bit too late, as the arrow exploded near the two. The explosion injured the horses and the charioteer, there was dust and smoke everywhere, once it cleared, Agastya was seen running away in the crowd. He had bruises all over his face but overall seemed fine, while Vinashki climbed a horse and rode away from the battlefield, away from Jairudh.
The archer saw this and immediately stepped out of his chariot, mounted a subordinate’s horse and chased Vinashki. The traitor rode fast and soon moved out of the battlefield. Jairudh followed in hot pursuit and soon exited the battlefield himself. Both rode far off from the battle. Vinashki’s horse was faster; therefore, Jairudh fired an arrow at her horse bringing it to a halt and as the horse buckled, Vinashki fell along with the beast. She was wounded badly and had twisted her right leg making it difficult for her to stand. Jairudh by now had ridden close to her. The moment she saw him, she closed her eyes and started meditating so as to fire energy balls, but Jairudh gave her no chance and fired two arrows which penetrated both her palms.
Vinashki cried out loudly, she tried to take out her Vinasha Shastra but couldn’t because of extreme pain. She knew her time had come. She looked at Jairudh and tried to play her love game again, “I am sorry Jairudh; I was just following my father’s instructions. I didn’t want to kill him. Forgive me! I truly loved you, I still love you, give me one more chance.”
But Jairudh was in no mood for forgiveness. He didn’t even bother enquiring about who her father was. He simply jumped off his horse, took out a dagger and grabbed her from behind. He then kissed the back of her head and whispered, “Why? Why did you do this? I loved you so much.”
Vinashki tried to reply but before she could say anything, Jairudh placed his blade at her neck and gashed her vein. Tears came rolling down Jairudh’s cheek as he did that, while Vinashki wiggled in pain.
Jairudh felt a twinge of sadness as Vinashki breathed her last breath. He had not imagined this when he swore vengeance. Jairudh looked pensive for a while but soon realized that he had a war to win. He climbed back on his horse and rode for the battlefield.
In the
interim, Habud was facing Apykarych. Habud was again huge like his brother, seven feet tall with a frame of a monster. He was massive and fought best with his huge spiked club. The moment he saw Apykarych, he raised and pointed his club at Apykarych and stepped out of his chariot and walked towards the old legend thus challenging him for a hand to hand combat. Apykarych was furious, he didn’t like the way Habud pointed at him, he immediately accepted the challenge. He grabbed his mace (Gada) and jumped out of his chariot and charged at Habud. In no time the old legend attacked Habud, the speed surprised the challenger but he protected himself with his spiked club. Apykarych attacked again and again but Habud protected himself well, the contest continued, it was a show of power and force and both looked even. After thirty minutes of contest, both seemed tired, they had punctured each other’s armour at multiple points, but they kept the fight on. Apykarych though old, was a legend and old legends die hard. He was exhausted but had a stronger will; he used all his inner strength and again started attacking Habud with the same vigour he had showcased at the beginning of the fight. Habud could do nothing, he was not able to swing his club properly and Apykarych wasted no time, he battered Habud badly, it took some time but ultimately Habud gave in, he lost consciousness and fell to the ground. Apykarych then kept his club aside and strangulated Habud until he was dead.
***Nismibh Vs Oniata***
At the same time, at another corner, to the right of Jairudh, another contest was taking place between Oniata and Nismibh. They both clashed their weapons, sword and mace respectively, against each other. Their skirmish was intense, both were powerful, one was stronger, the other was more tactful and the best with sword. Oniata came prepared and avoided committing mistakes the way he had done the last time. He was taking his time; he made Nismibh attack again and again, and once he got tired, he started attacking and slashing him with his sword. Nismibh started defending but couldn’t defend all the slicing, time and again the blade of Oniata hacked his skin at various spots. Oniata was fast, it seemed like he was enjoying the duel as in the arena. Soon with a powerful strike he made Nismibh lose his weapon. Oniata wasted no time and he immediately tried to thrust his sword into his heart, but Nismibh held his hand and grabbed Oniata from below, lifted him up in the air on his shoulders and slammed him on to the ground. The impact was so huge that it broke Oniata’s shoulder and neck. Nismibh then immediately battered Oniata’s face with his boot, rupturing and damaging him badly. By this time Oniata was almost dead and defeated. But Nismibh wanted to finish things completely; he picked up his mace and smashed it on Oniata’s skull. The undefeatable Oniata was finally defeated and tasted his own death.
Soon the news started to spread; Taraksh was surprised at the news of Oniata & Vinashki’s demise. But he was delighted that there were more casualties in the alliance army. He was certain that he would win.
Jairudh, Nismibh and Tung were devastated to hear that Taraksh had succeeded in killing the twins, and that Maharam, Abhustan and Habud had all fallen in battle.
The clash continued for some more time and then ended with the sunset, the horns were blown and the battle was over for the day.
The first day saw huge casualties, thousands perished and others waited for their fate. There were bodies everywhere. Broken chariots, armour and weapons lay scattered. The battle field looked red and vultures could be seen hovering in the sky.
As promised, bodies were collected and burned; all mounted units were given special funerals. The death of the twins was catastrophic for the league. They felt finished and ruined. Many soldiers deserted the camp and the others were highly demotivated.
Chapter XI
Clash of the Legends # 2
The battle devastated the alliance, the legendary twins were dead, and so were many other great generals and princes of league. Queen Samira had lost her son in the battle; she couldn’t continue any more, she resigned and marched away with her royal guards, leaving her remaining army with the league.
Others were also acting like quitters and wanted to desert the league, but it was King Nasahud, who showed great vigour. He stood up and appealed to everyone to stay and fight until death.
“I have lost my sons, Zekrar and Vedhas. They died trying to restrain Taraksh. They died for us……they died for this alliance. They knew that Taraksh had the armour but still fought and died for freedom, for you all. My sons have defeated Taraksh ten times, so what if he defeated my sons once. Taraksh is no god; my sons almost killed him last time. He is a man; he spills blood on being beaten. He can be defeated.
Don’t forget that we have Jairudh, Nismibh and Tung now. We have all heard of their heroism in the arena. We all know that Nismibh’s punch knocked Taraksh cold during the tournament. We all know the way Jairudh humiliated Apykarych during the games.
Today again, they have killed the great Oniata and the mystic warrior woman Vinashki. We can win and we will win, trust these three. Remember running away will not solve the purpose, it may give us few more days to live but eventually, Taraksh will hunt us down. I have lost my sons but I will not leave the gate. I will die before letting my people die. I will stay and fight.”
Nasahud’s words had a tremendous impact on everyone and they all decided to stay and continue the fight. He also recommended Jairudh to head and lead the alliance army. Everyone accepted and Jairudh started with his plan for the next morning.
Meanwhile, back at Yanecrim, at Mahaverna, Shreshtaha was devastated at the news of Vinashki’s death; he held his heart and sulked in to sadness. The otherwise raconteur did not speak. He suddenly felt old, after sitting quietly for hours; he got up, washed his face and tried to be his normal self again.
So far Taraksh’s army reigned superior and their victory seemed certain. The soldiers took rest for a few hours as they were to prepare for another epic battle in the morning.
The next day saw a slightly different arrangement. Apykarych was leading the attack; he was followed by Taraksh, Agastya and Nirmay. While Taraksh held the centre, Nirmay and Agastya were positioned at the right and left respectively. Jivraj and Daksh held the reserve army.
On the other hand, Jairudh lead his army and faced Apykarych, his nemesis. He wanted to engage Apykarych and stop his killing aggression. Nismibh with his militia stood behind Jairudh and acted like muscle in case Taraksh intervened. To his left stood Tung with his troops and to his right stood Samund. Kinnosh and Lakha lead the reserve army.
***Jairudh Vs Apykarych***
Both the armies now faced each other, they all waited for the war horn to be blown. At around seven in the morning, the horn was blown and the armies once again ran in to each other to cut and tear each other apart. Apykarych lead his division well and yet again displayed remarkable skills. He killed thousands and soon made his way to his arch rival, destroying and uprooting all who came in between.
Jairudh too exhibited great dexterity, he was eager to face and kill Apykarych and soon the greatest warriors of their time stood in front of each other. Both wanted to take revenge and both had hatred for each other. While Jairudh wanted his vengeance for his parents, his mentor and his people, Apykarych wanted to avenge his insult at the hands of Jairudh during the tournament.
Apykarych looked at Jairudh and screamed, “This is not an arena son, this is the real thing, the real battle and I’ll show you who is better?”
Jairudh didn’t reply, he just smirked a little, took out his arrow and fired at Apykarych, but Apykarych was quick to respond and in no time, he intercepted the arrow with his arrow. Another set of arrows were fired and yet again the result was the same, Apykarych was swift and so was the young archer. The contest was intense and continued for hours but the duo didn’t seem to be running out of stock or getting tired.
Then came the time for divine arrows, Apykarych teleported a ‘Lakshati’ and fired it at Jairudh who easily countered it with another ‘Lakshati’. These arrows were fired at each other repeatedly but the results were the same, they stood equal.
Apykarych then called for his ultimate arsenal, the Mahakal Astra. The arrow was faster than Lakshati and exploded after penetration, causing multiple irreversible damages inside the body. The arrow had the power to even pierce the armour of gods. But he was surprised when he saw Jairudh teleporting the same arrow. This worried him tremendously. The arrows were fired only to collide in mid-air.
Jairudh seemed to have an answer for each one of Apykarych’s assault. With the passage of time, the veteran warrior started feeling tired, but his adversary seemed full of energy. The revered teacher thought of a tactful retreat, he signalled his charioteer to move away from Jairudh, only to come back with a plan, but Jairudh sensed this and immediately teleported another weapon, called ‘Urjati’. This weapon was invisible and could only be felt; it gave a fatal energy jolt on collision.
Urjati was unknown to Apykarych, he could only see Jairudh throwing something at him with his bare hands and then in a second he felt a massive jolt. He collapsed as if his heart had failed, but after five seconds, the marvel stood on his feet again, this time he looked energy-less, he slowly picked up his bow and placed an arrow on it, but Jairudh immediately fired a ‘Lakshati’ which penetrated the legend’s neck. The mighty Apykarych died on the spot. This was a big win for the league and a blow for Mahaverna as Apykarych was one of their most lethal warriors.
***Tung Vs Epirus***
Meanwhile, on the other end, another contest was about to begin.
Nirmay was a shrewd war general; his annihilation was a necessity for the alliance. Nirmay was an archer but could fight with any weapon. His unit was trained and was causing huge damage to the alliance. And Tung had his eye all set on him. Tung with his unit surrounded and attacked Nirmay’s armed unit in an ‘L’ shaped layout. But the army of Nirmay fought well and kept a close formation. Slowly, after lot of pressure, the formation began to break and Tung with his cavalry entered in to the gap and charged at Nirmay. The moment Nirmay saw Tung inside, he immediately asked a few of his men to surround the chariot and to draw their spears out in order to restrict the cavalry and Tung coming close to him.
Vedic Warriors Page 16