Chapter 199: Chapter 197: Kidnapping Princess.... Resistance They Didn’t Expect...

(A/N):

Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.

Guys I hope you put more comments and power stones... Which will encourage me...

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The masked men remained perfectly still.

No one answered the queen.

No one argued.

"...."

"...."

"...."

For several long moments, the only sound inside the pavilion was the frightened breathing of the young boy whose neck was still held beneath the dagger.

Then...

The leader slowly glanced toward the men standing around the pavilion.

It wasn’t an obvious movement.

Just a slight tilt of his head.

A signal.

Every one of the masked men understood it immediately.

The leader’s eyes narrowed.

"So be it."

Almost at the same instant, all thirty men reached beneath their cloaks.

Instead of drawing swords...

They each produced a small green sphere, no larger than a lime.

The objects looked as though they had been molded from dried herbs mixed with clay.

Devara’s eyes narrowed.

’Smoke pellets... Interesting.’

Without giving the royal guards even a heartbeat to react...

The masked men smashed the spheres onto the ground.

Crack!

Crack!

Crack!

Thirty pellets shattered almost simultaneously.

A thick green smoke burst outward with astonishing speed.

Within moments, the entire royal pavilion disappeared beneath the dense cloud.

The noblewomen screamed.

The maids instinctively gathered around the queen.

The guards immediately drew their swords.

"Protect Her Majesty!"

"Watch the exits!"

"Don’t let them escape!"

But inside the smoke...

Visibility dropped to almost nothing.

One couldn’t even see a person standing a few feet away.

The air filled with the sharp scent of crushed herbs.

"Cough..."

Several people began coughing as the smoke irritated their eyes.

Then...

The sounds of battle erupted.

Clang!

Steel struck steel somewhere inside the smoke.

Another clash echoed from the opposite side.

A guard shouted in pain.

Someone cried for help.

The frightened voices of the noblewomen mixed with the loud commands of the soldiers.

"They’re over here!"

"No!"

"They’re moving toward the entrance!"

"Stop them!"

Another metallic clash rang through the pavilion.

A table overturned with a loud crash.

The display of jewelry scattered across the carpet.

Someone screamed again.

Outside the pavilion, more royal guards heard the commotion.

Within seconds, dozens of soldiers rushed inside.

"What happened?"

"Protect the Queen!"

"Surround the pavilion!"

Their arrival only added to the chaos.

Unable to distinguish friend from foe through the smoke, soldiers continuously bumped into one another.

The sound of swords colliding echoed repeatedly as silhouettes briefly appeared before disappearing once again into the green mist.

Standing amidst the confusion, Devara remained surprisingly calm.

He closed his eyes.

"...."

Instead of relying on sight...

He listened.

Footsteps.

The movement of cloth.

The direction of the screams.

The flow of air disturbed by rushing bodies.

Every sound painted a clearer picture than his eyes could.

’Three heading toward the rear... Five moving left... The leader...’

His ears caught the faint sound of someone being lifted.

’The child...’

Then another softer sound.

The rustle of expensive silk.

’Princess...’

Before he could move...

The smoke suddenly began thinning.

Fresh air rushed into the pavilion through the entrance and the openings in the roof.

The green cloud gradually dispersed.

One figure after another became visible again.

The overturned tables.

Scattered ornaments.

Broken chairs.

Royal guards standing with drawn swords.

Frightened noblewomen huddled together.

"...."

"...."

"...."

Queen Devayani immediately looked around.

"Indhumati!"

No answer came.

Her eyes searched desperately through the pavilion.

Then... She noticed something.

The frightened young boy... Was gone.

Princess Indhumati... Was gone as well.

Not a single masked man remained inside.

All thirty had vanished.

It was as though they had dissolved into the smoke itself.

For one brief second...

Complete silence filled the pavilion.

"...."

"...."

"...."

Then the queen’s voice rang through the tent.

"Guards!"

Every soldier immediately turned toward her.

"The princess has been abducted."

"The child has also been taken."

Her expression remained remarkably composed despite the obvious worry in her eyes.

"Seal every entrance to the royal encampment."

"No one leaves the village. I want every patrol doubled."

"Dispatch cavalry immediately."

"Search every road."

"Every forest trail. Every abandoned shrine."

"Search every cart leaving the festival."

She pointed toward one of the captains.

"Inform the king at once."

"You..."

She pointed toward another.

"Sound the emergency horns."

"The entire army is to begin a coordinated search."

The captain struck his fist against his chest.

"At once, Your Majesty!"

Within moments, the pavilion emptied as officers rushed to carry out her orders.

Outside, loud war horns echoed throughout the festival.

The cheerful music that had filled Mallikavana only minutes earlier abruptly stopped.

Panic slowly began spreading among the villagers as soldiers sprinted through the streets shouting orders.

Meanwhile, Queen Devayani slowly turned toward Devara and Shakuni.

The two merchants had remained quietly near the edge of the pavilion throughout the incident.

She took a slow breath before speaking.

"I thank you for your cooperation."

"I’m afraid the royal family now has matters that require our full attention."

Her tone remained courteous despite the crisis.

"You may return to your stall."

"If necessary ...we shall summon you again."

Devara respectfully folded his hands.

"We pray for the princess’s safe return, Your Majesty."

Shakuni bowed as well.

"May the gods guide your soldiers."

The queen acknowledged them with a silent nod before immediately returning her attention to issuing further orders.

Without another word, Devara and Shakuni quietly stepped out of the pavilion.

The moment they emerged outside, they saw the entire royal camp transforming before their eyes.

Soldiers mounted horses at incredible speed.

Messengers raced in every direction.

Commanders shouted instructions.

Archers hurried toward defensive positions.

The peaceful festival had, within the span of a few minutes, transformed into a kingdom-wide manhunt.

As the two merchants walked away from the royal encampment, neither spoke for several moments.

Only after they had reached a quieter path did Shakuni glance sideways at Devara.

He already knew...

His king’s mind had begun working long before anyone else realized what had truly happened.

The walk back to the merchant stall was unusually quiet.

Neither Devara nor Shakuni spoke.

The lively conversations that normally accompanied their stroll through the festival streets were absent today.

Around them, the atmosphere of Mallikavana had changed completely.

Only an hour earlier, the streets had echoed with laughter, music, and cheerful bargaining between merchants and customers.

Now...

Groups of soldiers ran from one end of the village to the other, questioning everyone they came across.

Royal horns continued sounding at regular intervals, warning every patrol to remain alert.

Soon the news of kidnapping of the princess travelled around the village.

Villagers gathered in small groups, whispering among themselves.

"...Did you hear?"

"They kidnapped the princess... Inside the royal camp itself..."

"How could thirty men get through all those guards?"

"No ordinary bandits could have done something like that."

Rumors spread faster than wildfire.

Each version became more exaggerated than the last.

Some claimed hundreds of attackers had stormed the camp.

Others insisted the kidnappers had used dark magic.

A few even whispered that demons had descended upon the festival.

Devara listened without reacting.

"...."

Shakuni walked beside him with folded arms, equally silent.

The two finally reached their modest merchant tent.

Before entering, Devara casually glanced over his shoulder.

The royal guard assigned to escort them had maintained a respectful distance throughout the journey.

The moment the two merchants stepped inside their tent, the guard remained outside for a few moments before looking around the area one last time.

Satisfied that nothing appeared unusual, he quietly turned and walked away.

Only after his footsteps disappeared into the noisy streets did Shakuni speak.

"So..."

"They were watching us."

Devara nodded not taking it seriously.

"It would have been stranger if they hadn’t."

"The attack happened while we were inside the queen’s pavilion."

"We were among the last outsiders present."

"It is only natural that they would investigate whether we shared any connection with the attackers."

Shakuni slowly sat down upon one of the wooden stools.

"They suspect everyone."

"They should. They were on a right track."

Devara replied calmly.

"If I were responsible for the investigation... I would have done exactly the same."

He poured himself a cup of water before taking a slow sip.

"The kidnappers entered the royal encampment without raising a single alarm."

"They knew the layout."

"They knew where the princess would be."

"They even knew how long they could remain inside before reinforcements arrived."

He slowly placed the cup back onto the table.

"That isn’t the work of ordinary criminals."

Shakuni looked toward him.

"The mole. You mentioned."

Devara nodded once.

"Whoever it is... they’re positioned close enough to the royal family to obtain military information. Or to manipulate it to his own benefit."

"The attack confirms our earlier suspicion."

Outside, another war horn echoed through the village.

Shakuni sighed he really wanted to see how his brother in law’s brain works.

"The entire kingdom will be searching for the princess tonight."

Devara quietly looked toward the entrance of the tent.

"Yes... But I doubt they’ll find her by following ordinary roads."

Far away from the frightened villagers...

Hidden deep within the Flower Forest...

A narrow opening lay concealed beneath a cluster of thick flowering vines.

From the outside, it appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary patch of dense vegetation.

Only someone who knew exactly where to look would notice the faint stone staircase descending into the earth.

One after another...

The masked men disappeared into the hidden passage.

Torches mounted upon the damp stone walls illuminated the underground tunnel with flickering orange light.

The passage stretched deep beneath the forest before eventually opening into a vast underground chamber carved from solid rock.

Only after reaching the safety of their hideout did the men finally remove the cloth masks covering their faces.

Several immediately collapsed against the walls.

Others groaned in pain while clutching fresh wounds.

One man’s shoulder had been sliced deeply by a sword.

Another pressed both hands against a bleeding cut across his ribs.

A third limped badly, leaving drops of blood across the stone floor.

The man leading them looked around with an irritated expression.

"So many injuries..."

One of the followers sat down heavily.

"I still can’t believe it."

Another cursed under his breath while wrapping cloth around his arm.

"Neither can I. We entered a pavilion filled mostly with noblewomen."

"I expected frightened screams."

"Not resistance."

The leader glanced toward the unconscious figure lying upon the stone floor.

Princess Indhumati.

Even unconscious, one hand still remained tightly clenched.

The leader slowly shook his head.

"What a troublesome woman."

Another follower touched the deep cut running across his cheek.

"If she hadn’t been carrying that ornamental sword..."

"I’d still have both ears."

Several of the others laughed bitterly.

"Ornamental?"

One of them lifted his torn sleeve, revealing a long slash running almost the entire length of his forearm.

"She nearly took my hand off."

Another removed his broken shoulder guard.

"I’ve fought trained warriors."

"I’ve fought mercenaries."

"But I didn’t expect a princess to fight like that."

The leader snorted.

"She wasn’t trying to escape."

"She was trying to kill us."

Several of the men instinctively looked toward the unconscious princess with newfound caution.

One of them muttered,

"If our leader hadn’t acted... this mission might have failed."

The leader nodded.

"She was stronger than the reports suggested."

He recalled the chaotic moments inside the smoke-filled pavilion.

While everyone else had been blinded by the green smoke...

Princess Indhumati hadn’t simply waited to be rescued.

Instead...

She had immediately drawn the short sword hidden beneath her ceremonial dress.

Using the confusion to her advantage, she attacked relentlessly.

Three men had fallen before anyone even realized she was fighting.

Another received a deep stab wound to the thigh.

A fifth had barely escaped after she slashed across his shoulder.

The leader still remembered the brief flash of steel emerging from the smoke.

Fast.

Accurate.

Without hesitation.

In the end...

He had been left with only one option.

Using the smoke as cover, he quietly circled behind her.

Just as she prepared to strike another attacker...

He brought the hilt of his sword crashing against the back of her head.

She staggered.

Her weapon slipped from her fingers.

A second blow rendered her unconscious before she could recover.

Only then had they managed to carry both the princess and the young royal child into the underground passage.

The leader looked toward the unconscious princess once again.

A faint smile slowly appeared.

"You certainly made us work for this..."

he muttered quietly.

"But... you’re finally here."

None of the men noticed that somewhere far above them...

Perched upon the branch of an ancient tree overlooking the hidden entrance...

A lone eagle silently watched every movement below with sharp golden eyes.

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(Author note:)

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Guys I have a new fic which named: Karuppan: King of Openings.