Ding…

After piecing together all the information recorded in the history books, just as Aarv wanted to ask more about the present situation, a new system prompt appeared in front of Aarv's eyes.

[ Historical Quest: Fort of Dharur]

Quest description: Mughal forces have invaded Beed and are 20 kos (roughly 60 km) away from the fort of Dharur. Make war preparations and defend the fort of Dharur as long as possible.

Your individual performance will determine the rewards you will get at the end of the quest.

Quest completion ranks:

Rank D: defend fort of Dharur for 1 month.

Rank C: defend fort of Dharur for 2 months.

Rank B: defend fort of Dharur for 3 months.

Rank A: defend fort of Dharur for 5 months.

Rank S: defend the fort of Dharur and make the Mughal army retreat from the Beed district.

Rewards: Unknown [ player must wait for the quest to be completed.]

[ Mission failure: failure will result in the player being permanently banned from lord game mode ]

Aarv looked at the quest window with a thoughtful gaze. He has to defend the fort of Dharur for at least 1 month to pass the historical quest.

"It is manageable…"

Aarv had the confidence to defend the fort of Dharur for 1 month without any problem because not only did he have knowledge of the future events, but he also had knowledge of modern military strategies.

"Sagarrao, Tell khajindar (treasurer) to report here immediately. Also, ask for all the lohars (blacksmiths) present inside the fort to visit me personally."

"Yes my lord…"

The old man named Sagar Rao left the killedaar's office.

After about half an hour, Sagarrao came back again with khajindar.

"My lord…"

Both of them bowed respectfully at Aarv. Aarv looked at both of them and nodded.

"The food stored inside the fort…"

While talking, Aarv looked meaningfully at the treasurer.

"How many days will the food storage last?"

To the question, the treasurer replied proudly,

"According to my calculations, It can last us for a year and half my lord…"

Aarv expected no less. He knew that during olden times, the fort of dharur was a commercial hub for the whole Beed district. People from all over the Deccan plateau came to the fort of Dharur for commercial reasons. So aarv asked his second question.

"And if we include the people inside the dharur village..? How many days can the supply last..?"

"If we include 60,000 people in the village, the supply lasts us at most 5 months. With a little rationing, we might be able to stretch it to 6 months."

The treasurer replied.

After getting his answer, aarv looked in the distance lost in his thoughts. He knew that in defending Dharur fort, the village of Dharur located just 1km away was the key. Because, all the families of soldiers, as well as the main chamber of commerce, were located inside the Dharur village. During the battle at Dharur, the Mughal commander led his army towards Dharur village instead of Dharur fort. He killed all the families of soldiers inside the village disheartening the soldiers protecting the fort.

Because of low morale, the fort of Dharur fell in just 7 days. Marhamat Khan made his way in with a party of men and scaled the walls of the fort from the riverside allowing Mughal soldiers to breach the fort on 17th Jan 1631.

After pondering for some time, Aarv got back to his senses and ordered Sagar Rao,

"Order all the pethas (Bazzar) to move inside the fort. Also, order all the villagers to move inside the fort. Use any means possible. Remember, you only have 3 days. Also, have the people surrender all of their rations and food supplies. Treasurer, you will be accountable for the tasks."

"Yes my lord.."

Both men bowed in unison accepting their orders. The treasurer left the office but saguaro stayed looking a little doubtful. Looking at the doubtful look of the old man, Aarv said,

"You can ask your doubts…"

Sagarrao looked at Aarv a little frightfully but still asked in a low voice,

"Lord, if there are enemy soldiers mixed with the civilians…"

He left his sentence incomplete. Aarv gave a surprised look towards his helper. He knew that disguising soldiers as civilians and then breaching forts from inside was a great tactic in the art of war.

"I have thought of such a possibility, you don't have to worry."

Although infiltrating forts was an easy task, this strategy only worked in medieval times. With an observant eye, one could easily determine a seasoned soldier from a normal civilian. Their posture, their way of walking and talking even a seasoned spy might get caught if he was not careful of such things.

Sagararo bowed after hearing Aarv's reply. This time he felt that his lord was somewhat different from the past but he didn't say it out loud.

"Also… where are the blacksmiths I asked for…?"

Aarv asked the old man to which he replied,

"They are waiting outside for your orders my lord…"

Aarv nodded, "Let's go" and walked out of his office. There were a total of 50 people waiting outside of the main building. As soon as they saw Aarv they bowed deeply and said in unison,

"Killedar…"

Aarv nodded and told them to stand up. Then he looked towards Sagar Rao,

"Sagar Rao, bring me paper and ink…"

After acknowledging his order, Sagar Rao left the scene. Within 5 minutes, paper and ink were placed in front of Aarv. he took the paper and ink and drew something similar to a modern-day caltrop on the paper. He adjusted its shape to make it easier for medieval blacksmiths to make the caltrops. He then handed the four-pronged caltrop design to the blacksmiths.

"Make as many of them as possible. We need those things to win our war."

"As your wish my Lord."

One of the old blacksmiths replied to Aarv while taking the design from Aarv.

All the blacksmiths left with the old man while discussing the design of the caltrop.