Princess Fighter: Search for the Throne

Chapter 97: Does Luck Help the Brave?

Royal Park, Capital, Chandragarh

Two hours of preparation had passed and it was time for the three contestants to display their 'new country. At that time, Indrani came there and whispered something to Prince Mithilesh. He frowned for a moment before nodding his head and getting up from his seat.

Then, he followed Indrani out of that place. A pair of eyes sharply watched this happen from the side line!

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Himprayag

Gayatri is reluctantly forced by Ahilya to change her appearance and costume as well. Eventually, the two of them came out of the palace, dressed like famous twin brothers known for their wildly popular bandit game.

With charcoal marks near her eyes and chin, the girls looked like two cute bastards having fun. Sitting on each other's horses, the girls rushed out of the secret exit of the palace.

Although Ahilya seemed to be in a carefree mood, if one paid attention, they would realize that she was holding a sword at her waist and her eyes were alert.

He did not take Gayatri's words lightly and instead used dressing up as a tactic to make the enemy feel complacent.

Since the huts were in a remote uphill area, Gayatri and Ahilya rode their horses hard and at a faster pace than usual.

They prefer to carry enemies on the ground rather than while driving on narrow roads. But to their surprise, they did not meet anyone along the way or when they reached the place where Veer was waiting for them.

With a grim look, Veer bowed deeply in front of Ahilya as she descended and walked towards her.

His heart turned to look at his intense gaze instead of an indifferent gaze directed at him, but he remained expressionless.

Taking a slow breath, Veer began to speak,

"I have received information from a reliable source about the imminent attack on you before this day ends today. I don't have the full details but I know it won't happen to be a frontal attack Please pay attention to the people close to you in the palace."

Gayatri spoke before Ahilya could, however,

"You could've told us this in the palace yourself. Why drag the princess here and endanger her safety?"

Veer reached out his hand and pointed towards the cottage,

"May I invite you two over for tea?"

Gayatri was angry but Ahilya quickly replied,

"Lead the way."

As soon as everyone sat inside, Veer looked at Ahilya and started again,

"What I am going to tell you is an unverified fact now. If you choose not to believe it, I won't regret it. But if you find my words worthy, please help."

Both Gayatri and Ahilya were surprised by his humble and calm demeanor. What happened to that arrogant and indifferent man?

Seeing no objection from Ahilya, he began to speak again,

"The long channel of the kings of Sapsindhu has harbored a burning desire for over a hundred years – to conquer Chandragarh. Until now, we have managed to thwart this dream. But at this moment, we are staring at the real possibility of invasion and defeat. I am aware that there has been no official agreement between Himprayag and Chandragarh, but we need your support NOW. If you help us today, on behalf of Chandragarh, I promise that we will be with you when you need us."

There was absolute silence in the room for the next few minutes. Gayatri looked at Ahilya, trying to think through her thoughts. She did not want her daughter to be involved in any other country matters at all. It has nothing to do with them.

But she was worried that the princess would not think about it objectively, considering that she was infatuated with this man. In fact, he begins to suspect that Veer was sent by Chandragarh to seduce Ahilya!

It was not visible on his face but Shaurya was really nervous right now.

Ahilya's face was expressionless and did not show what she was thinking. But he could see Gayatri's thoughts clearly and knew that he would do his best to divert the princess's mind, should Ahilya choose to agree to her request.

"What's the plan?" Ahilya's quiet voice rang out in the room, breaking the chains of the minds of the other two people sitting there.

"Thank you!"

"Daughter, no!"

Two sets of sounds were heard in the room at the same time.

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Royal Palace, Capital, Chandragarh

"How's the queen doing? I hope it doesn't hurt too much" Prince Mithilesh said in a low tone as he followed Indrani into the palace.

Defending his frown, he turned around and said,

"I've completed the end of my deal, you have to respect yours. Let my family go and give the antidote to the queen."

The prince's lips curled up in a sinister smile and he shook his head.

"Should you not let me see the evidence of my work before you ask me for this? How do I know that you're telling the truth?" She asked.

Indrani's face became uglier as she resisted the urge to hit him,

"He's dying and needs an antidote now. This is why I asked you to come in. Because of your identity, you can't visit the queen in a sick room. Therefore I take you to the side room from where you can see it with your own eyes. "

The prince grinned and said,

"Do you know that I like this angry side of you? Only if you are not this old would I definitely take you back with me to Himprayag to be my woman. Never mind, once this is all over, I'll be visiting Chandragarh a lot. We can always have fun here."

Indrani did not bite the bait and gritted his teeth to remain silent. Once this was done, he would personally take out the sword and push it into his black heart.

Immediately, they slipped into a dark room that had no other openings except a window with curtains. The window had openings to another dark room. Indrani put her finger on the lips, gesturing for her to be silent and gesturing towards the entrance.

Mithilesh sharpened his eyes to see the movement in another dimly lit room.

"Ah... His blood is so much!

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Royal Palace, Chandragarh

A loud shout sounded from the dimly lit room. It was one of the medics who had just shouted. The people around the bed were busy trying to revive the person lying on the bed.

"As you can see, the queen has been spewing blood for the past half an hour. If you don't give the antidote now, it will be too late" Indrani said in an urgent but quiet voice.

The prince looked at her and patted her on the shoulder,

"Right now, you should worry about your family rather than your queen. I'm afraid it's too late for him. Don't tell me that you really thought I'd give you the antidote that ever existed. It's just a way for you to comfort yourself when you stab your best friend and queen in the back."

With that, he left the room. Indrani's eyes flashed full of poison looking at his receding back.

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Himprayag

Gayatri was very upset on the way back from the cottage. He tried to suppress it but in the end, he couldn't hold it any longer.

"Are you so in love with her that you are willing to play such high stakes, leaving behind everything you have accomplished with hard work? Do you know what the consequences are?" he finally asked Ahilya.

Ahilya was silent for a while and it seemed she had no intention of explaining her decision. Gayatri felt the bile rise at the back of her throat.

“I think my father knew the relationship and planning of my half-brother with king Sapsindhu from the beginning. That was why he was willing to let go on the pretext of submitting a small proposal to all countries. He had bided his time until he heard back from Mithilesh posting the success of their plan. I have never been in a race to ascend the throne. He kindly approved my association proposal with Chandragarh to keep me calm all this time. Don't you think so I'll have to pay it back and pay it back with the same coin?" his cold words jolted Gayatri.

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Somewhere in Chandragarh

Chiranjeev tried to remember the route he had memorized repeatedly over the past month on the orders of Guruji Prithvi. While the five of them were given the same map to memorize, Prithvi had provided a modified map to Chiranjeev consisting of paths that were not drawn in other versions of the map. This was the route she had to follow today to take the queen to safety.

Although there were three women on the carriage, it was quite lonely there, with everyone immersed in their own thoughts.

Bela turned her face to look at the queen and asked,

"Are you uncomfortable? I'm sorry for not letting us rest at this point. We are not aware of the penetration of the enemy into the various regions of the kingdom. I'm…"

Rani Samyukta raised her hand and interrupted Bela,

"You don't have to apologize. I am well aware of the danger. How long is the road?"

"It can't be more than a few hours. The entrance to the tunnel begins before the southern zilla border. We have to leave the carriage at the intersection. After that, it runs for about 15-20 minutes before we reach the underground hiding house."

This tunnel and hiding house is a secret project that Prithvi assigned to Saraswati some time ago. He wondered if Prithvi had a premonition about this kind of situation or was it a coincidence?

A few hours ago, during his journey from Gurukul to Prithvi's house, he finally dared to ask about Ramanujam. At his grim silence, he barely managed to hold back the sobs.

Looking out the window of the carriage, he told himself to be firm and not think about anything else. This is not the time to grieve but to take revenge!

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Royal Park, Capital, Chandragarh

When Prince Mithilesh returned to his seat, he immediately requested Prithvi's presence. Not surprisingly, he saw the man retreat. Never mind, it's too late for the intel chief to do anything. With the current incompetence of the ruler, it was only a matter of time before Chandragarh fell.

He looked up at the sky. According to his estimation, it will start now.

In the middle of the park, the jury questioned the three contestants one by one but in the absence of the queen, there was a strange atmosphere around. This is the most important stage of selection and the process cannot be completed without the participation of the queen.

Suddenly, Indrani comes there and whispers something urgent to the event coordinator.

"Consider everything! Due to critical national issues, the queen was unable to oversee the events today. As a result, the same was delayed until further notice," the coordinator announced in the middle of Vaishali's presentation.

"Does Chakra Suraksha's head think that he can stop that from happening? At this hour, the Sapsindhu warriors have attacked the Chandragarh border. I hope that your troops manage to complete their actions in time and survive at least a few hours of this surprise attack. Otherwise, it wouldn't even act as a target exercise for the Saptsindhu army," the mocking words of Prince Mithilesh pierced a needle into Indrani's heart.

Regardless of what happened in the future, he vowed to kill this man with his own hands. It was he who cornered him and made him defect against his country.

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A few miles away

One hundred people who traveled in secret with Prince Mahendra of Saptsindhu now stood in front of him and Sharada.

The prince looked at them and said,

"It is time for us to fulfill the old ambitions of our ancestors. Victory and glory will be ours!"

A loud choir welcomed his words along with the conch's voice. Prince Mahendra wants the royal palace to be able to hear and wait for his arrival.

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Capital city, Chandragarh

Seeing the excited people cheering in front of him, Prince Mahendra recalled the discovery that took place six months ago, leading to today's events. It was an elaborate naval training opportunity in the Sapsindhu sea. It is the same body of water that connects the Eastern zilla in Chandragarh to Sapsindhu. The difference is, the nature of the sea on the east side of the zilla is much more choppy than in Sapsindhu.

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Six months ago, Sapsindhu

It was a bright day and looked festive due to the celebration of the naval fleet. While doing the exercises, the most experienced group of Saptsindhu divers also showed their ability at sea. Suddenly, an officer came to Prince Mahendra and whispered something in his ear.

The prince looked at her in surprise and suddenly stopped the celebration.

"I'm afraid there's been an unfortunate incident in the water. Several naval officers have been injured. We need a clean beach to carry out a rescue mission. I asked all the officials to come back. The celebration has been cancelled at the Prince's order," the event's conductor announced grimly.

After all the civilians and lowly officers left from there, the prince came to the beach and waited for the full report.

Apparently, an abandoned cave was discovered accidentally by a large group of divers during a naval exercise just now. As the water receded, they could see and enter the place.

After exploring the same, it turned out that it was a long underground structure that stretched up to several kilometers. The divers who enter, reappear the impression that this construction is really ancient.

Perhaps, when created, this area was not submerged in water.

Prince Mahendra furrowed his brows and asked,

"Is that possible? Is the sea always there?"

A few days later, the prince, who was also a proficient swimmer, went to explore this underground wonder. After returning from there, the prince ordered the immediate construction of a door to this tunnel that opened into the sea. He just thought of a strange idea!

"Start recruiting as many people as possible from the Eastern zilla in Chandragarh. I need spies on the Chakra Suraksha team, also in the naval fleet on the East coast and as many civilians as you can get. The budget for this is unlimited but I need people who have a lot of losses. Since I am unable to divulge, these people must be 'motivated' enough to betray their country and remain loyal to me" Prince Mahendra issued this order to his spy network.

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Three weeks later

"East Zilla's head, Sharada, has sent a message through our people. He.. uh, he seems very interested in working with us but would like to meet you in person once," the strategy minister told Prince Mahendra.

"Minister, make sure you get your honorific right to someone who might become an important ally in the near future. Arrange a meeting with him in Vayuprastha. Vigilance is easy to set there," replied the prince.

The minister was really embarrassed but he still had other issues to report,

"Princess Kritika appears to have been spotted with her male companion, near the mountainous border area we shared with Chandragarh. I have stepped up border patrols and our people are trying to figure out the exact location. Looks like he's got plans to seek asylum with queen Chandragarh."

Prince Mahendra frowned in displeasure. But then his expression died down. Her foolish younger sister relies on hostility between the two countries, but she may not realize that Sapsindhu enjoys extradition treaties with Himprayag and Chandragarh.

Even if he managed to escape, he could always bring her back. He owed them the humiliation caused by his actions!

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Presently

Prince Mahendra looked sideways at the head of the Eastern zilla with a cynical smile. He found it very easy to work with someone who had a clear and pure purpose.

Sharada wants wealth and has done a lot of underhanded activities in the past to get rich. But in a country like Chandragarh where corruption is severely punished, not many people are willing to help its cause on a larger scale.

Prince Mahendra's offer came to him at a very opportune time and he has no regrets about selling his patriotism to a generous bidder.

"Is there something on my face?" Sharada asked in a hoarse voice.

The pain was scratched all over his masculine face but overshadowed by the determination to succeed. He is here to enjoy his hard work. It would be the greatest irony if he died before seeing success or living in the riches he had done with this hard work. That fucking spy!

A horseman came and told them,

"Greetings to the Prince! Prince Mithilesh has sent a message confirming that the queen is on her deathbed. You can march ahead."

Hearing the report, Prince Mahendra nodded in satisfaction. It's all happening as planned right now.

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Himprayag

"I want to get some rest early tonight. There's a lot we have to do tomorrow morning," with that Ahilya went into the bedroom, leaving the sad-looking Gayatri in the seating area in her room.

"Make sure there is no leniency in the safety of the princess. Get some extra people to stand outside the bedroom door tonight," Gayatri gave instructions to the person in charge of Princess Ahilya's personal security and left from there.

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At midnight, Princess Ahilya's room

The moon has been obliterated by dark clouds tonight.

Even the lights in the rooms looked tired early and shimmered dimly. A long shadow fell on the sleeping woman's body.