the immortal of maluha
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morning breeze caused <strong>the</strong> leaves to flutter. The leaves were green. Shiva stared harder. They<br />
remained green.<br />
‘I know,’ said Shiva, looking at Parvateshwar suddenly, his face luminescent. ‘Why don’t we<br />
use arrows?’<br />
‘Arrows?’ asked a surprised Parvateshwar.<br />
Archery was <strong>the</strong> battle art <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most elite Kshatriyas, used for one-on-one duels.<br />
However, since one-on-one duels could only be fought between warriors <strong>of</strong> equal chosentribes,<br />
this skill was reduced to only a demonstration art <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> crème de la crème. Archers<br />
earned huge respect for <strong>the</strong>ir rare skill, but <strong>the</strong>y were not decisive in battles. There was a time<br />
when bows and arrows were crucial in war strategies as weapons <strong>of</strong> mass destruction. That<br />
was <strong>the</strong> time <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> daivi astras. Many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se astras were usually released through arrows.<br />
However, with <strong>the</strong> ban on daivi astras many thousands <strong>of</strong> years ago by Lord Rudra, <strong>the</strong><br />
effectiveness <strong>of</strong> archery units in large-scale battles had reduced drastically.<br />
‘How can that reduce <strong>the</strong>ir numerical superiority, my Lord?’ asked Vraka. ‘Even <strong>the</strong> most<br />
skilled <strong>of</strong> archers will take at least five seconds to aim, fire and execute a kill. He will not be<br />
able to kill more than twelve a minute. We have only one hundred Kshatriyas who are <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
gold order <strong>of</strong> archers. The rest can shoot, but <strong>the</strong>ir aim cannot be relied upon. So we will not<br />
be able to kill more than one thousand two hundred <strong>of</strong> our enemies per minute. Certainly not<br />
enough against <strong>the</strong> Chandravanshis.’<br />
‘I am not talking about using arrows for one-on-one shooting,’ said Shiva. ‘I am talking about<br />
using <strong>the</strong>m for s<strong>of</strong>tening <strong>the</strong> enemy, as weapons <strong>of</strong> mass destruction.’<br />
Disregarding <strong>the</strong> confused expressions <strong>of</strong> his audience, Shiva continued, ‘Let me explain.<br />
Suppose we create a corps <strong>of</strong> archers <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> lower Kshatriya chosen-tribes.’<br />
‘But <strong>the</strong>ir aim wouldn’t be good,’ said Vraka.<br />
‘That doesn’t matter. Let us say we have at least five thousand <strong>of</strong> those archers. Suppose<br />
we train <strong>the</strong>m to just get <strong>the</strong> range right. Forget about <strong>the</strong> aim. Suppose <strong>the</strong>ir job is to just keep<br />
firing arrows in <strong>the</strong> general direction <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Chandravanshi army. If <strong>the</strong>y don’t have to aim, <strong>the</strong>y<br />
can fire a lot more quickly. Maybe one arrow every two or three seconds.’<br />
Parvateshwar narrowed his eyes as <strong>the</strong> brilliance <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> idea struck him. The rest <strong>of</strong> his<br />
brigadiers were still trying to ga<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>ir thoughts.<br />
‘Think about it,’ said Shiva. ‘We would have five thousand arrows raining down on <strong>the</strong><br />
Chandravanshis every two seconds. Suppose we keep this attack on for ten minutes. An<br />
almost continuous shower <strong>of</strong> arrows. Their irregulars would break. The arrows would have <strong>the</strong><br />
same effect like that <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> elephants in <strong>the</strong> last war!’<br />
‘Brilliant!’ cried Vraka.<br />
‘And maybe,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘If <strong>the</strong> aim doesn’t matter, we could train <strong>the</strong>se archers to<br />
lie on <strong>the</strong>ir back, hold <strong>the</strong> bow on <strong>the</strong>ir feet and pull <strong>the</strong> string back nearly up to <strong>the</strong>ir necks and<br />
<strong>the</strong>n release. As long as <strong>the</strong>ir feet are pointed in <strong>the</strong> right direction, it would work.’<br />
‘Excellent!’ exclaimed Shiva. ‘Because <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong> bows can be bigger. And <strong>the</strong> range longer.’<br />
‘And <strong>the</strong> arrows bigger and thicker, almost like small spears,’ continued Parvateshwar.<br />
‘Strong enough to even penetrate lea<strong>the</strong>r and thick wood shields. Only <strong>the</strong> soldiers with metal<br />
shields, like <strong>the</strong> regulars, would be safe from this.’<br />
‘Do we have our answer?’ asked Shiva.<br />
‘Yes, we do,’ answered Parvateshwar with a smile. He turned towards Vraka. ‘Create this<br />
corps. I want five thousand men ready within two weeks.’