Suradutta"s corpse was burnt with rituals.. Pinaka couldn"t eat or sleep during the night... so were many soldiers.. the scene they witnessed was one that could not be forgotten.. Badshah Khan went to meet Pinaka, he said, "your majesty, the decision you took was absolutely right.. punishment for betrayal should be harsh.. you need to set an example.. but don"t punish yourself by depriving yourself of food and sleep.. since you have not eaten, the Princess too didn"t eat, many soldiers too refused to eat.. " Pinaka stood up, he said, "what? soldiers didn"t eat? the war continues tomorrow.. they can"t starve.. come with me Khan.. let"s meet them.. "Pinaka went to the barracks.. all soldiers gathered around him.. he said, "brothers.. it"s important to punish traitors.. he not only betrayed us.. he betrayed our mother land in the face of enemy.. no one understands the value of life more than me.. only to avoid heavy casualties ,with great efforts I brought in the war elephants... they were the game changer for us.. enemy tried to eradicate that threat through Suradutta.. it"s only fitting that he died.. if we don"t eat and rest well tonight.. the war tomorrow will turn in Zaffar"s favour.. everything I did and everything you did during the first day of war will be wasted... come.. let"s all eat together tonight.. "
Samyukta and all the Royal family members sat together with the soldiers and ate as equals... Pinaka said, "from today, all of us will sit and eat together.. no more discrimination.. everyone is equal.. " soldiers cheered..
Bashah Khan was very pleased.. no future emperor would speak in such a way.. one who treated his subordinates with love and respect would become a great leader.. Pinaka was shaping out into one great leader..
Post dinner.. everyone was in a good mood.. they lit a huge bonfire and started telling war stories.. Badshah Khan was very good at that... he brought with him lot of tales from middle East.. all the soldiers heard to his stories with rapt attention.. he had good skills..
Pinaka and Samyukta retired to their tent.. Samyukta asked, "so what is the strategy for tomorrow? " he looked at her and explained his plan.. her big eyes became bigger.. she was in awe.. he said, "let"s go and discuss it with the generals.. "
The generals took some time before understanding it completely.. Samyukta and Pinaka explained everything patiently.. they were sure that tomorrow would be a tough day for Zaffar and his men..
Dawn came, with it came the war.. Zaffar trained his troops hard .. even Shah"s forces started understanding how Zaffar"s men fought.. together they were confident to face the unified army..
Pinaka blew the conch announcing the beginning of the war.. Zaffar came forward along with his men.. The unified army was ready.. there were archers mounted on horses.. Zaffar cried.. "shields up.. " his men followed.. Pinaka cried, " aim.. and lose.. " clang.. clang.. clang.. the shields were pierced through like a hot knife cutting through b.u.t.ter.. they didn"t shoot arrows.. they threw specially designed spears.. the spears had huge pointy tips made of a special alloy that was able to cut through the shields of Zaffar"s men.. they felt exposed.. then came the round of arrows.. all the arrow heads were wrapped in bits of cloth dipped in oil and they were lit with fire before shooting.. many of Zaffar"s men caught fire on the spot.. their horses threw down the ryders in fear of fire and ran helter Skelter..some of the men died in the stampede..Zaffar was angered.. he roared and shouted.."don"t fall back.. he wants us to retreat.. but I want you to fight.. he is a coward.. he knows that his men cannot fight you on equal standing.. that is why he keeps designing these clever strategies.. each one of you is equal to ten of his men.. come on.. imagine that its just another village.. let"s go and loot them.. let"s plunder them.. death to Hindustan..! " he cried, his men repeated, "death to Hindustan" and charged forward..