The Peace and Trade Agreement with the Portuguese.

The sudden increase in the quality of the Mughal cannons did not escape Vijay's eyes. He also received news about the manufacturing of a new cannon being done in Agra. Knowing this news, he grew restless. If the Mughals were also able to manufacture the giant cannon, the military difference between them would be largely covered up. With the more abundant resources of the Mughal Empire, it would take only a few months to manufacture dozens of them.

Realizing that he couldn't wait any longer, he even sent a few of his soldiers on an assassination mission to take out the new craftsman who had arrived from the West. However, this choice ended up costing him more than he wanted. Mohammed seemed to have caught on to his tricks and used Adam as leverage against him, luring his people to attack.

With Muhammad being prepared and Adam being very well protected, the people he sent couldn't even breach the door of Adam's Workshop. This was not all, as even the informants who were deep inside the Mughal rule also got caught.

"Damn it," he cursed loudly, annoyed by the turn of events. "Looks like the battle plan should be based around the guns," he thought to himself. The only thing right now Vijayanagara is capable of that the Mughal Empire is not is the muskets and flintlocks. So, he is contemplating how he could expand this advantage to win the final victory.

While he was in contemplation, to his surprise, Roshan arrived in his room and informed him that someone from the Portuguese Kingdom had come to do business with the Vijayanagar Empire.

This caught Vijay by surprise as he did not know what the Portuguese would want from him. Contemplating the situation, he directed Roshan to bring them in using a merchant ship adorned with a saffron flag, unmistakably signalling its affiliation with Vijayanagar and not a foreign nation. In the worst-case scenario, misunderstandings with the Mughals could escalate into a full-scale war, prompting them to leverage their wealth to purchase Western armaments. Vijay was aware of the Mughal Empire's robust trade relations with the Ottoman Empire and recognized the potential implications of such diplomatic intricacies.

The next day, the Portuguese arrived in the port of Mumbai aboard a conventional merchant ship. A white man with brown hair and green eyes, dressed in unusual attire, disembarked. Surprisingly, the moment the man stepped ashore, he humbly joined his hands in a namaskar posture, a gesture that caught Vijay off guard. He had always perceived Western people as proud and aloof. Now, reflecting on the moment, he realized that in these times, the gap between nations was not as vast as he had imagined.

Although Vijayanagar was still considered less advanced compared to Portugal, the sheer magnitude of its human resources rendered any Western country incapable of confronting a nation with a large population. This was a historical reality that had made Russia feared throughout the ages. Even during the zenith of the British Empire, no one was stupid enough to provoke the Bear on land because of the Russians' seemingly endless manpower and possession of the largest country in the world. Despite being individually weaker compared to their counterparts, the Russians could execute a strategic retreat endlessly inland, forcing their attackers' battlefront to stretch over thousands of kilometres, thereby hindering their logistics supply.

Hence, nobody wanted to mess with China and India. It was only when the British learned about how easy it was to divide the Indians that they launched an all-out campaign against India.

After the pleasantries, he learned that the merchant's name was Thomas Costa, a member of a noble family.

Later, he obtained another important piece of information: Portugal wanted to make peace with Vijayanagara and was ready to sign the peace agreement. This was somewhat surprising, considering Portugal was the first Western power that discovered the sea route to India with the help of the Portuguese Explorer Vasco da Gama. The relations between the two countries had not been good, as Portugal had tried to annex Goa. Fortunately, in this timeline, a war was fought, and Goa was taken back.

Since then, there has been no contact between the two countries. Now, the other party was asking for a peace agreement, which surprised Vijay. However, upon further thought, it made sense because, according to his knowledge, Portugal was now in a delicate state, and the wealth India possessed could bring significant assistance. Considering this, Vijay agreed to a peace agreement between the two countries for five years. He also negotiated a trade agreement with the Portuguese for the export of spices, silk, clothing, and some speciality products.

Anticipating the upcoming threat from the Mughal Empire, Vijay decisively requested artillery. Thomas was taken aback by the request, but having spent a significant amount of time in India, he was well-informed about the current war situation. After some consideration, he agreed, remembering how his Majesty Alphonso had instructed him to complete the deal, even if the price paid was slightly more than expected.

After the continuous war between the Mughal Empire and the Vijayanagara Empire, there were no moves made by both parties, as if they were preparing their final cards. Vijay ordered the production of more standard cannons, giant cannons, and muskets, and placed an order for ten 52-pound Culverin cannons from the Portuguese, which were promised to be delivered in just a month. He was surprised by such a fast delivery speed, but apparently, King Alphonso was also getting ready for something. Fortunately, after occupying Maharashtra, Vijay plundered all the Mughal nobles, making him a lot of money.

It is now the 11th month since the battle between the two empires started. Both empires went into full preparation mode. However, something unexpected happened in the Vijayanagar Empire. Goa, a place occupied by the Portuguese for a few decades until it was won back in battle, proved difficult to manage. The policies stipulated in the capital were challenging to implement in the region. Moreover, Vijay had discovered some suspicious organization pulling the strings in Goa. He planned to deal with this issue after ending the battle with the Mughal Empire.

To his surprise, the puppeteer who seemed to have been controlling the situation in Goa suddenly vanished, making it much easier for the influence of the Vijayanagara government to reach Goa. Additionally, many separatist forces were apprehended, improving public safety. Remembering the goodwill shown by the Portuguese towards Vijayanagara a few days ago, Vijay couldn't help but guess at the connection between these two events.

Now At the end of the 11th month, since the battles started, the whole of Chhattisgarh entered an eerie calm. Yogendra Singh, the only general in Chhattisgarh, also felt the weird atmosphere. Vijay quickly informed him to strengthen the defence line of Ratanpur, knowing that the decisive battle would take place there.