Itch...!

The next day, all the people inside the fort were woken from their sleep by the intense shaking of the ground. At first, the commotion was low, but as the day progressed, the same shaking turned into an earthquake!

"Bong… Bong… Bong… Bong…"

The sound of drums thundered through the skies of Chittod as a massive army of 60,000, which they called the Royal Army slowly approached the walls of Chittod.

All Rajputs watched from the walls as the Khilji army marched towards them including all the lords. The killing intent of the Khilji army weighed on all inexperienced lords like a mountain. By comparison, all the Rajputs looked as stable as a mountain when they looked at the army in front of them.

Maharawal Ratan Simha watched as the horses got closer and closer. Once they reached within the firing range of archers, he ordered his commanders,

"Give them warning…"

When Gora Singh and Badal Singh heard the order, they instantly hollered, "Attack…!"

Thousands of arrows left the walls of Chittod towards the upcoming Khilji forces. The horses that were running at full speed were forcefully stopped by the volley of arrows. All the Khilji commanders that were at the front along with Alauddin Khilji looked at the walls of Chittod with anger.

"Ptui… Malik Kafur… It looks like we have opposition…"

Alauddin Khilji spat on the ground as he spoke to his slave.

"Ji hujur…"

The slave named Malik Kafur said to his sultan. While their sultan looked at the Chittod walls with anger and hollowed,

"Mehmud, take 2,000 horses and take down the fort…"

The Khilji commander Mehmud came forward and said, "Don't worry sultan, before today's sunset, this Mehmud will take the fort down." leaving the Khilji rank with his 2,000 soldiers.

At the same time, people in the fort saw an army of 2,000 march toward them in an orderly fashion. Aarv looked at them with some deep thought.

Whenever the Khilji dynasty army attacked the castle, they would always send a few thousand soldiers to the front. Their main job was to reach the bottom of the castle walls. This method was used to check the fort's defences. If the 2,000 soldiers managed to get to the fort walls easily, that means that the fort's defences were low and the fort could be easily taken down in one whole swoop. If the 2,000 soldiers failed to reach the fort walls, the Khilji forces would not attack that fort and just surround the fort until either the people inside the fort surrendered or died from hunger.

Every Rajput soldier watched these 2,000 soldiers move closer and closer calmly. Just as the Khiljis were 500 meters away from the fort wall, the land under them collapsed, swallowing all 2,000 khilji soldiers.

Alauddin Khilji looked at the scene with a calm face, but there was some anger in his eyes as he turned and ordered his soldiers, "Lay down the siege and cut off all the supplies of food and water to the fort…"

The soldiers obayed his orders and started constructing tents and laying down defences around the camp.

Aarv looked at the working soldiers who were starting to build their camps with interest. He knew that in history, this siege of Chittod lasted for eight months.

While he was still looking at the Khilji soldiers preparing massive tents, other Rajputs left along with their king.

Soon, the day passed, still, Aarv did not move from his place as he calmly watched the Khilji army tents. When the night deepened into midnight, one of the three instructors came to look for him. He said to Aarv worryingly, "Aarv babu, how long are you going to stay here watching…?"

Aarv remained silent, just as the instructor was leaving with a helpless expression, Aarv suddenly asked him a question, "Isn't the Khilji camp too lax…? Are they underestimating their enemy…? or are they just naive…?"

The instructor looked at the Khilji camp which was quiet. He also noticed very few people patrolling around the camp.

"Maybe it's just because the Hindu Rajas never attack after Sunset…"

Aarv nodded at the instructor's explanation, "maybe, but this is an excellent opportunity for us to try out something good…"

A devilish smile appeared on Aarv's face as he took out a small cotton bag from his pocket. "Let us welcome our enemy with a proper gift…"

When the instructor saw the smile on Aarv's face, he felt chills running down his spine… Just to remind the Instructor, Aarv said to him, " stay at least 5 feet away and don't inhale until I say so…"

He did not want his instructor to suffer because of his plan.

Aarv took his cotton bag and stabbed it with an arrow creating a small hole through it. Then he tied the bag to the same arrow while releasing it towards the Khilji camp. The flow of the air also helped him spread his powder to at least 10 tents.

Watching his arrow successfully land, Aarv took out another small bag and did the same thing with it, finally releasing it towards the Khilji camp. Third, Fourth, Fifth… just as he was about to send his tenth gift towards the Khilji camp, a commotion erupted where he shot his first arrow…

"Ahhh…"

"Why is my body aching so much…"

"Ahhh…"

'Has it already started…?' Aarv looked at the commotion with a smile on his face.

The instructor who was right beside him asked him curiously, "Aarv babu… what kind of powder was that…? It is so effective…"

Aarv looked at him and said, "It was just some random plant that I found when I was searching for the Dhotra plant… I think it was called Kapikachhu…"

According to Ayurveda, the Kapikachhu plant's fruits and seeds are immensely helpful in various illnesses, its leaves were notorious for making small rashes on human skin, creating intense itch on the affected area.

"For attacking Chittod, a layer of their skin is enough as a first gift right…?"

The Instructor looked towards Aarv who had a satisfied expression and then looked at the Khilji camp with fear in his eyes.

'Never provoke such a devil…' That was the only thought in his mind…