Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Dakshin Bhartiya Empire, Near the coast of Oman, Arabian Sea.

|| 1655 Vedic Calendar, three months and one week after the New Year ||

Gangadhar stood on the battleship, deep in thought, contemplating something significant.

After the previous sail-by operation, Admiral Gangadhar now knew what to do; he ordered the frigate to retreat back to the fleet. A plan was brewing in Gangadhar’s mind, but as he was about to give the orders, his movement stopped midway as words failed to come out of his mouth. The plan he had devised was exceedingly risky, with the potential for high casualties.

Hence, he hesitated, but still, he overcame it. A few moments later, he steeled his determination and called for Sarvesh. Sarvesh, promptly responding to the summons, arrived and saluted Admiral Gangadhar, standing at attention. He awaited the admiral’s instructions, noticing the unusual expression on Gangadhar’s face. Sarvesh sensed that his Excellency might have bad news for him.

Seeing the determined expression on Sarvesh’s face, Gangadhar couldn’t help but hesitate once more. "Am I doing the right thing?" he thought. At this moment, the difference between a seasoned war commander like Logananda Senapati or even Kiran Pujari could be seen very clearly when compared to him.

Although Gangadhar had participated in many naval battles, he had never faced tough decisions like the one he was about to make today. Even though he was very talented, experience could not be substituted by anything, including knowledge passed to his mind by Vijay.

Vijay’s knowledge only helped Gangadhar have a broader vision and the capacity to think outside the box, but still, he needed sufficient command experience to utilize all his knowledge.

Gangadhar clenched his fist as he finally explained his plan to Sarvesh.

Having fully absorbed the plan, Sarvesh’s expression became complex. He grappled with conflicting emotions; hesitancy and fear swirled within him at the prospect of confronting such a daunting challenge, yet his innate personality kicked in, compelling him to embrace the opportunity to witness the triumph of the ultimate duel. Ultimately, his innate resolve prevailed.

A smile slowly spread across his face as he disembarked the ship and boarded a sloop, ready to face the unfolding events with unwavering determination.

As Gangadhar watched the sloop-carrying Sarvesh depart, he couldn’t help but admire Sarvash for his bravery. On one hand, he felt relieved that Sarvesh had accepted the order without any hint of fear, driven by his inherently reckless and brave personality. Gangadhar was certain that if it were the tactical-minded Gautam or the scheming Akhil, they would have hesitated and not followed the plan.

Only Sarvesh had the capability to execute his plan effectively. However, On the other hand, this realization also brought forth a wave of worry. Gangadhar couldn’t shake off the nagging concern that his plan was extremely risky and posed a life-threatening danger to Sarvesh. Doubts crept into his mind as he questioned whether he had made the right decision.

Moments later, a shift occurred within the Dakshin Bhartiya Empire fleet as it split into two directions. One of the divided battle groups broke off to form its own separate battlegroup, setting course towards the rear of the Ottoman fleet formation. Akhtar Noman found himself deeply perplexed by the unfolding events.

Based on his assessment, he had anticipated that the enemy fleet would persist with their sail-by strategy, as it had proven effective thus far. However, now, observing the retreating ships, he couldn’t help but mock, "Is the Dakshin Bharat Empire afraid of incurring such small losses?" His voice was loud.

"Hahahahah," his subordinates erupted into laughter upon hearing their commander’s comment, sharing in the sentiment of superiority over the Bharatiya navy.

"Hehe," Akhtar himself chuckled at the sight of the Bharatiya Empire ships retreating. Despite still having half of the fleet around him, he felt they posed no challenge. Bolstered by this confidence, he ordered Abbas to accelerate the fleet.

The Ottoman fleet, previously moving at a steady 3 to 4 knots, suddenly surged forward, maxing its speed to around 6 knots. Gangadhar, noticing this change, ensured that the Dakshin Bhartiya Empire fleet kept pace. One advantage the Dakshin Bhartiya Empire held over the Ottoman fleet was its speed; even the slowest battleship in their possession could easily match the pace of the Ottoman ships.

Sarvesh, having boarded the Dutch battleship and assumed command, led a fleet consisting of 12 frigates and 90 sloops. Positioned at the rear of the Ottoman ships, he brimmed with anticipation, clenching his fist in excitement for the impending actions.

He passed on his orders with an eager smile on his face as his personality of wanting to wage a slaughter took over his normal intellect. "The battleship will spearhead this charge, the frigates will act as the shields, and the sloops will take cover behind the battleship and the frigates."

The subordinates were stunned by this order. "What is the commander thinking?" the sailors thought. But the old subordinates of Sarvesh knew exactly what was happening, as they were aware of what type of individual their commander was. Being with him for so long, they even acquired some of the attributes of their commander.

Preparations were made quickly. The sloops retreated to the back, and the frigates started to get aligned and ready for a charge.

"Your Excellency Akhtar, look," Abbas pointed as he called for Akhtar’s attention.

Akhtar, upon Abbas’s call, noticed the commotion at the back of the fleet. Looking at the formation made by the Bhartiya Empire, he couldn’t believe what was happening. "Are they looking for death?" he thought to himself, shocked by what the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire was doing.

Just moments before, he had joked that the Navy of the Dakshin Bhartiya Empire were all cowards, but looking at their actions now, they were not cowards but lunatics who sought and welcomed death. "What is their plan?" Akhtar muttered to himself, extremely confused by the circumstances.

Back at the Bharatiya fleet, the formation was finalized as the sails were hoisted, propelling the battle group forward at a brisk pace of 7 knots, swiftly gaining ground on the Ottoman fleet. Sarvesh’s grip tightened on the deck with each passing moment, a malevolent grin spreading across his face.

Observing the approaching fleet, Akhtar remained perplexed by the enemy’s strategy. "Did they truly seek their demise?" Akhtar thought. Despite their flanking manoeuvre granting direct access only to the three battleships at the back of their defensive formation, it still pitted three battleships against one. Moreover, the smaller ships seemed to be lurking behind the battleship.

Akhtar couldn’t comprehend this tactic. If it were up to him, he would deploy all the smaller ships as cannon fodder while keeping the battleship at the rear to maintain the attack.

He shook his head after not being able to figure it out. Seeing how the Bhartiya Navy had reached the range of 1200-1000 mtrs, he ordered, "Fire!"

The cannons roared again on the sea after a brief interval. Sarvesh on the battleship looked at the cannon shots coming right at him. His excitement grew as he couldn’t help but roar like a lunatic.

" Hahaha! "

" HAHAHAH! "

" Come on! "

Nearly 50 to 60 cannon shots surged towards the battleship and the frigates. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

" Crash, crash, crash! "

Numerous collisions resounded as the Dutch battleships sustained significant damage for the first time.

A cannonball narrowly missed Sarvesh’s head, striking the deck and leaving a gaping hole in its wake.

*Shing!*

Instead of succumbing to fear or panic, Sarvesh unsheathed his Talwar and pointed it towards the Ottoman vessels, roaring,

" Come on, give me everything you’ve got! "

" Is that all you have, you bastards? "

" Your guns don’t even scratch an itch! "

His voice echoed throughout the fleet as sailors and officers regained their morale, which had waned due to the severe damage sustained. In this initial exchange of fire, two frigates were hit at critical locations and sank along with their crews.

Currently, they were only 900 meters away from the Ottoman fleet. The fleet commanded by Sarvesh soon retaliated with a relentless barrage of cannonballs from their 30-kilogram calibre cannons. The battleship, boasting multiple cannons and remaining unaffected by recoil, unleashed a rapid succession of fire.

"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!"

The remaining frigates also joined in the exchange of firepower as they closed the distance. With the need for pinpoint accuracy reduced, their cannon reload time accelerated. The Ottoman battleship suffered further damage as a mast was struck, collapsing onto several sailors.

"ah" *splat*

The sailors were immediately crushed to death as their guts poured out from the weight of the massive mast.

On the Bharatiya side, eight more frigates met their demise, along with the majority of their crews, swallowed by the whirlpool created as the ships sank.

"glu glu glu"

A few of them were stuck inside the ships as they choked to death. The Dutch battleship in the Bharatiya fleet sustained extensive damage, its structure appearing fragile, with the risk of further hits causing it to take on water. Amidst the chaos on the deck, stained with blood from fallen comrades, Sarvesh’s usually loud and obnoxious demeanour transformed into one of fury.

"Come on, come on, come on, just a little more, only a little more," he muttered to himself, resembling a hungry wolf closing in on its prey. His fists clenched tightly around his Talwar, poised to strike at any moment.

Reaching the 500-meter mark, there was a change in the Bharatiya fleet. They were now in range to use short-range ammunition.

*Chang*

The cannons, which were left operational, were cleaned and loaded with a new type of ammunition. Some ships loaded grape shots, while others loaded canister shots. The battleship had infantry shot, chain shot, and bar shot loaded.

"Boom boom boom boom"

Suddenly, a different sound came out of the cannons, a dull rumbling sound.

Akhtar was shaken. Why was the Bharatiya Navy still not retreating despite taking so much damage? He could see at a glance the current condition they were in. They could not last until they could reach his formation.

"Wait, reach the formation?"

"God damn it."

"Noo! What have I done?"

He berated himself internally as he finally grasped the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire’s strategy. Regret flooded his mind as he wished he could rectify his errors, but it was too late. The positions of the personnel couldn’t be rearranged so swiftly.

In frustration and anger, he pounded the deck of the ship. He seethed with self-reproach, realizing that their potential loss rested squarely on his shoulders.

As fear crept into his heart, he noticed a peculiar sight from the corner of his eye: projectiles of various colours and shapes hurtling toward the rear of the warships. A sense of foreboding gripped him. Before he could comprehend the situation, chaos erupted at the back of the formation.

P.S.Ottoman Formation (PC Format)

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P.S. 1 day to go to the exam, and I decided to not study module 3 because it was too hard, but I completed mod 4 today thank god it’s an easy chap, today my prep for math should be over, and tomorrow I will revise for a final time.