Emergency

Just as he was thinking that maybe praying to some God or higher being like Creator to solve the problem, the silent System broke its silence.

"Ding"

"Attention Host"

"Through the radar scans of Kingdom and its surrounding areas, System has located a ship which is nearing the coast and will reach till evening. System wants to remind host to be careful."

Adi was surprised and stunned after hearing the news. After that, he was very concerned about the news. He quickly went to the hall and asked one of the servants to call Pratap urgently.

As he started having breakfast, Pratap soon came in running. Adi motioned him to sit down and finish eating first. After they had their breakfast, he told Pratap the news, "Pratap, we will have an unknown ship coming on our shore."

Pratap was also surprised by the news but was more composed. He asked, "What are your orders Your Majesty?"

Adi was impressed by his composure. He said, "Order men to stay on guard on the shore. Keep some people on the watchtowers. Equip every man with bows and arrows so that we can have enough long ranged attacks.

Also, don't lessen soldiers on the gates. Instead, put more people there. There may be people attacking on the gates and then plan to take us by surprise from the sea. No civilian should be near the shore today. Also, stop all the construction including the dock for the day."

Pratap heard all the orders and assented, "As you command Your Majesty. All men will be on the stand by. I also request that whole Rai should be in state of emergency."

Adi declined, "No need to put Rai in emergency state. Just ask people to stay indoors after lunch. We shall think about emergency after ascertaining the visitors' identity and purpose. If they are not hostile, then that would be great. Otherwise, we will not let them leave here alive."

Adi's tone was chilling at the end. Pratap also had a serious face. He said, "Then I will station men in their places now and keep them ready."

Adi nodded and waved him off, "Go then. The army should be prepared."

Pratap went out and reached the barracks. The barracks were in the castle. As the castle was made for military purpose and it was a big trading area back in the years, the castle had a large barracks in it. Pratap soon reached the barracks and called every soldier for the briefing.

Soon, all thousand men were assembled. All of them were curious and thinking about the reason they were called. If it was a week before, all of them would have been talking and whispering making a lot of noises. Maybe some would be bold enough to make a ruckus.

But now, they were all standing in there position with pin drop silence. Pratap was also impressed with this change and was very proud of it.

He then addressed them, "Soldiers, today we will stop other works. Everyone has to be on full alert for the whole day. We may have to fight in the evening, so today's evening routine will be suspended.

Ajit, another fifty men under you have to be on the city gates. Sean and Uday, all men in your command will be on the shore. Jack, every man from your group will be on the watchtowers near the sea. Ajit, increase the people guarding His Majesty. Also ensure to protect Her Majesty Queen Mother.

Everyone should take their bows and have hundred arrows. Carry the rest of arrows on watchtowers and on city gates. The coast will be cordoned off for the civilians today and there should not be anyone roaming around in the afternoon. Am I clear? Now go to your posts."

Everyone on the Army became concerned when they heard the news. The thought of going to battle and apply the tactics they learned made them eager but they were still a little hesitant.

But as soldiers, they have understood to follow all orders. So they quickly went with their assigned group and stationed themselves on their duty.

Meanwhile, Adi also had to inform his mother Laxmi and the three chiefs, now ministers, Kali, Kaif and Shane about the incoming ship. So he called them for a meeting.

He also asked Dara and Sati to attend the meeting. They were overwhelmed when called but they followed the order. Adi had called them because he chose them for the other departments he had in mind.

Dara was very good with numbers and calculations, so he wanted him to handle the exchequer. Sati on the other hand was a head maid under his mother from her maiden home. According to their family practices, Laxmi had been studying since childhood and with her Sati too had studied.

She was not an expert but she could read and write fluently. As she handled all the maids and servants, she had ample experience on handling people. So Adi wanted her to handle human resource in the territory and be the Labor minister.

Another important reason for selecting them was that he had known them all his life and he could fully trust them. He told them about his thought and offered the two of them. He asked them, "Dara and Sati, I want you two to be the Finance minister and Labor minister for Rai. Are you willing?"

Dara assented right away but Sati first looked towards Laxmi. As she was a maid, she had to ask Laxmi about these decisions. Laxmi was happy that Sati could be a minister. For her, she was not just a maid but also a childhood friend.

So she nodded at Sati smilingly. Sati was also relieved to get the approval. After that she also assented. Then Adi told them about the system and the modules, and they were very surprised. They could not believe anything such as this existed. But they quickly calmed themselves and swore an oath as asked. Thereafter Adi asked the system to deploy the sub-modules.

"Ding"

"Sub-modules for Finance and Labor deployed."

After a small moment of adjusting to the new addition in their mind, they steadied themselves. Then Adi told them about the matter at hand. They discussed the issue briefly and quickly came to a conclusion.

Kali was asked to get all the farm work done till noon only. Farmers will not go to field after lunch. Kaif would also stop the mining work, but the blacksmith shop will keep working. Similarly, Shane will also not go for picking herbs.

They will stay together with Adi to check on the visitors and help if need arises. Laxmi will not take classes today but will stay with the maids under security.

Sati will start working on her department from the next day. Dara will handle the expenditure and other accounts matters after the day. They will be with Laxmi to ensure her safety over everything else.

Adi asked Kaif to equip every person in the territory with weapons. Be it a man, woman, elders or even children, everyone should be equipped with weapons so that they can protect themselves. The small number of soldiers he had was now haunting Adi. If only he had a bigger army, he would not have to go to extreme measures.

Adi dismissed them all except her mother. After everyone left, he looked towards his mother and said in a very serious tone, "Mom, I am afraid that the people may be from Kalinga from the other queens or their children. You have to prepare yourself to run away if the situation goes bad."

Laxmi interrupted him, "I will not leave you here and go anywhere. You are the only reason I am living, so don't say unnecessary things. If anything happens to you, i won't be able to live."

Adi consoled her, "Mom, do not take any steps which will endanger you. I will keep myself safe and you can also know it from the module. If its working, then I am still alive. So, do not worry and be safe."

Laxmi nodded, but was inwardly praying to all Gods that his son must come out of it alive. Adi understood his mother's concern but could not do anything. He just hugged her lightly and calmed her down. He then went to the shore.

He wanted to check on the arrangement of army there. The men had fortified the shore area with stones, sandbags and other things. They had with them the arrows and bows with which they can attack from behind the fortification. The soldiers in watchtowers were also fully prepared.

He checked everything and was satisfied with the arrangements. It was noon now and Adi asked everybody to have lunch. The men should be full of energy when the ship reaches the shore. They do not know if its an enemy or not, so they should be ready for battle. After lunch, Adi along with Pratap, Kaif, Kali and Shane, waited near the shore with the army.