VI.
[Sindh Province. Under the Wicholo heat.]
[Agra led his men through the scorching heat of the Wicholo region. For some reason, there was no breeze to ease the burn of the sun, and the remaining troops of the Gupta Empire's once-great army suffered for it. But Agra did not seem to notice it. In fact, he had been silent for the entire duration of the journey since the escape from the Indus River. The men, in their shattered morale, speculated amongst themselves that their commander had lost his will. Agra did not bother to quell these conjectures, remaining utterly quiet. That did nothing to help troop disposition-- not only were they defeated, but it seemed that they were virtually leaderless. In their march back to Hyderabad, warriors were lost to desertion. Others to grievous wounds suffered against the Huna savages. As they neared Hyderabad, their pitiful disarray was apparent.]
[Those who had remained with Agra sighed with relief when Hyderabad was in sight...]
[The first wind to pass among them came. But... It was cold. Agra halted.]
[Mumbling among the ranks. They knew what was coming... If they weren't inside the walls soon...]
[The sound of sliding metal startles them out of their growing panic.]
Agra: ...
[The Gupta general has turned about, sword in hand.]
Agra: Do you want to hide in that city? Do you want to hide in that box, and die like dogs!? Then be my guest! I am a man of the Empire! If I must shoulder the duties of defending it alone, then so be it! By Indra's will and the creator divine!
[... They were all men of Gupta. Though they wavered where they stood, they prepared to fight...]
[It seemed the enemy had sensed their presence even before the stampede of hooves could be heard. Akhshunwar held the handle of his sword tightly, as he saw the Hephthal's foes charge. At the forefront was Agra himself, yelling to the greatest extent his lungs could. A cornered beast... To be backed into a corner was the exact kind of situation where an enemy could be most dangerous.]
[But the Gupta forces were literally charging at them. To go so recklessly against any cavalry, much less the elites of Pa-ti-yen, was suicide. Not that Akhshunwar believed that they enemy was already defeated, but it seemed like such an egregious decision…]
[It was fortunate that Akhshunwar was only cautiously optimistic about the battle. A hail of awkwardly-shot arrows filled the sky. Knowing that he could not just halt the momentum of his company, Akhshunwar called for the riders to put up their shields. He did so himself, and was soon rewarded for his circumspection when his horse suddenly slumped over, two incredibly lucky arrows piercing through his eyes.]
Akhshunwar: Of course.
[He muttered this under his breath, as his ride collapsed under him. Thankfully, his second-in-command was behind him, and able to direct the path of the cavalry to his rear away, preventing Akhshunwar from being trampled. Cursing, he quickly got to his feet and charged with his men, regretting his luck.]
[It was to be expected that the Gupta army would suffer terrible losses from such an assault at the onset. Indeed, they would not last much longer as one after the other fell. Agra, however, showed an amazing passion for what was more or less a lost cause of a battle, swinging his blade so fervently that none of the passing Hephthal elites could attack him. The Gupta general even downed a few riders, which further incensed him.]
[Then he saw him.]
[Akhshunwar… The blight that caused the gods to forsake him.]
[As Akhshunwar yanked his sword out from the body of a hapless Gupta archer, he heard a shriek from behind. He turned, and was barely able to raise his sword to defend himself against the wild swings of a raging Agra. Forced to step back over a row of corpses that had been his doing, he noted that Agra was certainly displaying the proper violence for a warrior. But his foe’s blade was too clumsy and slow, using force overmuch. Akhshunwar deflected each blow easily, waiting for his chance…]
Agra: Urk!
[Akhshunwar’s sword lashed out, slicing cleanly through Agra’s chest. The Gupta commander stumbled back, and Akhshunwar took this chance to attack again.]
[Agra cried out in pain, releasing his weapon. He was blinded by his own rage, the dust of battle, and the adrenaline that consumed his body. He could scarcely see his hand, vaguely bloodied and causing him pain. Someone grabbed him from behind, and pressed something to his neck.]
Akshunwar: Farewell.
[The whisper was scant, as a blade dug into his throat…]
[The messenger returned from Thar, riding past countless corpses. The great majority of them were of the Empire… That was definitely a good sign. If there had already been a great battle out in the field, then it would be as he’d surmised— the Hephthalites had already started the siege on Hyderabad. Sure enough, there was camp of numerous tents stationed some ways away from the city’s gates. At the edge of the camp, it seemed General Akhshunwar was already waiting for him. The messenger waved the flag of Hephthal over his head, to signify his allegiance. Then, to his surprise, when the messenger was close enough, the general hurled an object into the air. The messenger picked up speed so that he might catch it.]
Agent: Oof!
[He was successful in the endeavor… To then find that he’d caught a severed human head. Specifically, a head that once belonged to one General Agra. Suppressing the urge to vomit, he reared his horse to return to the King, who’d probably already arrived at Bikaner…]
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