‘We’ll see,’ grinned Shiva, his eyes narrowed in a playful challenge. Parvateshwar raised his eyebrows in surprise, smiling broadly. ‘Race you to the last line of the Chandravanshis!’ ‘General, shall we?’ asked Shiva, nodding towards the left flank.Īs Parvateshwar turned to mount his horse, Shiva called out, ‘Parvateshwar?’ Mayashrenik, in turn, withdrew his troops quickly to his earlier position to prepare for the main charge, which he knew was just a few moments away. Now that their mission was accomplished without their intervention, the Chandravanshi brigadier ordered a retreat of his cavalry. The archers had been ordered to stand down. Mayashrenik and his men fought fiercely, holding their enemy. Despite taking severe casualties, they fought grimly, refusing to retreat. The Chandravanshis facing Mayashrenik, however, were made of sterner stuff. Seeing their enemy ride rapidly back to their lines, Vidyunmali ordered a withdrawal to their initial position on the flank of the bow formation. As the Chandravanshis retreated, Vidyunmali ordered his troops to wait at their present positions, lest the Chandravanshis launch a counter-attack. Some Arishtanemi riders moved to give chase but Vidyunmali stopped them. Meanwhile, the Chandravanshi cavalry on the western flank, sensing the hopelessness of their charge, began to retreat. If their lines are also broken, confusion would rein right into the heart of their troops.’ We can get the weaker sections in the fourth legion as well. We should also let half the archers raise their range a bit more. I want the third legion devastated as well. ‘Do we stop now and charge, my Lord?’ asked Parvateshwar. When their shields were not strong enough to block the arrows, they used the bodies of their dead comrades. Some of them, however, grimly and courageously, held on. Their legions were bleeding to death or deserting in great numbers. The archers meanwhile had begun their onslaught on the third legion of the Chandravanshis. Mayashrenik and Vidyunmali fought ferociously, holding the mammoth Chandravanshi force at bay. But to their misfortune, they had run into the fiercest brigadiers amongst the Suryavanshis. The Chandravanshis were throwing all their might into breaking through the line that protected the archers. Horses, with their riders missing, attacked as if their own kves depended on it. Soldiers, with limbs hanging half-severed, continued to battle away. They fought desperately, like wounded tigers. A few more minutes of the Suryavanshi archers’ assault and the batde would be all but lost. The Chandravanshis knew they had to break through. Meanwhile the Suryavanshi and Chandravanshi cavalries were engaged in fierce combat on the eastern and western ends of the batdefield. ‘Higher range, my Lord?’ asked Parvateshwar, pre-empting Shiva’s words.