Few days back in Rewari, 26th Feb 1557.

  As the st rays of dusk settled through the branches of trees, revealing the towering fortified walls beside the Sahibi River, Rao Kishan Pal stood with his elite force of two thousand in formation outside the cannon factory, beneath the two towering statues of warriors beside the giant entrance gate

  As the gate slowly creaked open, Crown Prince Randip Mal emerged, approached his uncle, and respectfully touched his feet. Rao Kishan Pal blessed him and embraced him warmly.

  "Uncle, why have you come here suddenly with your royal guards?" Randip inquired with curiosity.

  Rao Kishan Pal handed him a parchment and replied, "The king has ordered me to reinforce the security here with my soldiers. There are some minors uprisings but my brother says its important to be careful in the time of imperial inspection."

  Randip examined the parchment, noting the royal seal and the content, and smiled warmly.

  "That's a great news. More the hands, Merrier the strength. Welcome, Uncle. Welcome."

  Trusting the authenticity, he allowed them to enter the factory perimeter. As Rao Kishan Pal crossed the threshold, a faint smile of satisfaction crossed his face. He had successfully surpassed the first hurdle of entering the heavily secured factory.

  Few moments ter

  The dining hall was a grand guest room, lit by dozens of oil mps that cast a warm glow over the richly decorated space. Long wooden tables were adorned with fine cloths, and ptters of delicious food were arranged in an inviting dispy. Silver piyahs (long metallic gsses) filled with wine and ptes piled high with delicacies were served for the feast.

  Rao Kishan Pal, dressed in his finest attire, greeted each guest with a warm smile. His elite guards, dressed in ceremonial uniforms, stood discreetly around the room. As the key officials entered, they were met with cordial hospitality and guided to their seats.

  Among the guests were Prince Randip and Security Head Rishabh Gupta, both looking forward to the evening's festivities. Rao Kishan Pal frowned in the absence of Mathew, but he kept that to himself.

  As the guests settled in, the air filled with the pleasant aroma of the feast. Rao Kishan Pal stood and raised his piya. "To the prosperity of Rewari and the strength of our defenses," he toasted.

  The guests echoed his sentiment and began to drink and eat.

  Unbeknownst to them, the food and drink served at the feast had been carefully prepared by Rao Kishan Pal's trusted aides. In the kitchen, they had discreetly added a small dose of opium to the dishes and beverages. The opium, dissolved in wine and mixed into the rich fvors of the food, was consumed without any suspicions.

  As the dinner progressed, ughter and conversation filled the hall. The guests, including Prince Randip and Rishabh Gupta, enjoyed the vish fare, unaware of the sedative coursing through their veins. Rao Kishan Pal moved among them, refilling piyahs and encouraging them to indulge.

  Within minutes, the effects of the opium became more pronounced. The guests' conversations grew quieter, their ughter softened with time. One by one, all the key officials began to slump in their seats, overcome by an irresistible drowsiness.

  Prince Randip's head nodded forward, and he leaned heavily on the table. Rishabh Gupta tried to stand but staggered, his legs no longer able to support him.

  Rao Kishan Pal's elite guards sprang into action. They moved swiftly and quietly, lifting the unconscious officials from their seats and carrying them to a secure room within the factory. The guards acted with precision, ensuring no one was alerted to the takeover.

  With the key officials sedated and safely secured, Rao Kishan Pal surveyed the room. The remaining former loyalist guards, seeing their leaders taken hostage, took their swords out.

  Rao Kishan Pal stepped forward. "There is no need for conflict," he warned. "Stand down, and everything will be alright."

  The former loyalist guards, recognizing the danger of resistance, slowly lowered their weapons. Rao Kishan Pal's men took control of the factory, securing all entry and exit points. The takeover was complete, and the cannon factory was now under his command.

  Suddenly, his loyalist reported, "Your majesty, everyone has been taken care of. The factory has been captured with minor resistance, but there is no news from the chamber of the chief architect."

  Rao Kishan Pal looked at the unconscious Prince Randip and his aides in the secured room, tied with a satisfied smile. He turned and replied with a calm voice as he patted his loyalist, "Send more, let's take a look."

  Meanwhile in the chamber of Chief

  As the guards stormed into the office menacingly, their swords gleamed in the dim light. An earthen pot flew through the air and crashed into the face of the first guard, bewildering him.

  Mathew, aware of his advantage in the confined space limiting the number of guards, stood prepared at the doorway in the stance of Musti Yuddha, the ancient martial art of close-fist combat.

  He taunted, "If you think I'm an easy target, let me bring you back to reality. Come and try."

  The first guard lunged at Mathew with a swift horizontal ssh. Mathew sidestepped, grabbing the guard's wrist in a powerful grip and twisting it, forcing the guard to drop his sword. Using the momentum, Mathew delivered a devastating elbow strike to the guard's temple, knocking him out cold.

  Another guard thrusts forward, Mathew swiftly sidesteps, avoiding the deadly bde. Closing in rapidly, he capitalizes on the guard's momentum, unleashing the Tajaskara punch, a devastating straight blow connecting the jaw. The guard staggers, reeling from the impact, before Mathew delivers a decisive kick to his midsection, sending him crashing into his comrades.

  "He knows martial arts, careful everyone," the guard warned.

  A devilish grin spread across Mathew's face as he gestured with his fingers to come.

  This time another guard thrusts his spear forward, Mathew reacts swiftly, evading each slice with practiced ease. Despite the flurry of attacks, he maintains his composure, seamlessly weaving between the strikes. As more soldiers pour in and attempt to encircle him, Mathew adapts to the changing momentum, moving back and dodging the spear. With precise timing, he seizes the weapon mid-swing, using its momentum to draw the soldier closer. A quick elbow strike to his chin followed by a swift kick to the torso swiftly clears the path.

  With a powerful throw, Mathew throws the spear towards the entrance, where it embeds deeply into the wooden door, effectively blocking the passage.

  In the midst of the chaos, guards inside the room advance towards Mathew, swords drawn. Outside, others struggle to dislodge the spear, their efforts proving futile against its firm grip on the door.

  Despite the obstacle, they manage to slip under it and enter, albeit one by one due to the restricted passage.

  This time the burly guard tried to grab him from behind, Mathew quickly shifted his body, making himself harder to hold onto. With a powerful elbow strike to the ribs, he broke free from the guard's grip. Then, he twisted the guard's arm and flipped him over his shoulder, smming him onto the ground. With a snap, Mathew twisted the guard's head and killed him in process.

  "Hah! No matter how many dogs come in a group, they can't compete with a tiger," Mathew mocked as he moved back, distracting the guards while he discreetly slid his hands into his inner pocket of kurta.

  Realizing he was outnumbered, Mathew knew fighting unarmed would be futile. From his inner pocket, he retrieved the Bagh Nakh, a lethal gift from his mentor which resembled a ring having small but sharp cws.

  Falling for Mathew's taunt, a guard charged at him, attempting to fnk his right. Mathew dodged the attack and swiftly sshed the guard's arm with the Bagh Nakh, the cws tearing through flesh with deep cw marks.

  Guards gasped in shock with the appearance of the deadly arm, "Careful everyone, fnk him from all sides."

  With the Bagh Nakh in hand, Mathew became a whirlwind of lethal motion. He ducked under a spear thrust and countered with a precise ssh across the guard's leg, causing him to colpse in pain.

  Mathew, sensing the attack from behind, swiftly rolls to his side just as the soldier's talwar slices downwards, narrowly missing him and hitting the ground with a resounding thud. Seizing the opportunity, Mathew sweeps his leg(Janu Ba), knocking the soldier off bance and sending him sprawling to the ground. With the speed and precision of a striking cobra, Mathew lunges forward, driving the Bagh Nakh into the soldier's neck, neutralizing the threat.

  Using his legs for leverage, Mathew kicks in the air, rolling up to his feet and gaining a solid stance,(Padagata pravesha) ready to face the next attacker.

  With limited space, the guards couldn't effectively coordinate their attacks. Mathew took advantage of this, moving with the fluidity of a seasoned fighter, slicing while dragging or grabbing, anyone who came near his radius of wild dance. The remaining guards circled warily keeping some safe distance.

  A particurly aggressive guard tried to ssh at Mathew's midsection. Mathew parried the blow with his arm by hitting the blunt side, then used Padaghat, a forceful kick to the guard's knee, breaking it and causing the guard to colpse in agony.

  Mathew spotted a decorative Urumi, its long, flexible bde coiled like a serpent, hanging within reach on the wall. With lightning reflexes, he seized the sword with his free hand and unleashed its deadly potential. The whip-like bde danced through the air, slicing through armor and flesh with lethal precision. Guards fell back, their faces contorted in fear and pain. Those attempting to enter even halted in terror, retreating to call for reinforcements.

  "What getting scared?" he scoffed as he threw the Urumi aside and taunted, "Alright, I will only keep this toy for now. Come entertain me."

  A guard attempted to stab Mathew with a dagger. Mathew grabbed the guard's wrist, twisted it, and delivered a crushing elbow strike (Bahu Vidya) to the guard's face. As the guard stumbled back, Mathew followed with a rapid series of punches (Dridhi Patra) to the abdomen, piercing him with his Bagh Nakh and breaking his ribs from the other hand.

  Another guard, seizing the opportunity amid the chaos, tried to fnk Mathew. Using a combination of Musti Yuddha techniques, Mathew dodged and executed a swift leg sweep (Janu Ba) to trip the guard. He followed this with a devastating knee drop to the chest (Janu Nera), breaking the guard's ribs and ending his life.

  Only two guards remained, their movements hesitant and fearful. One wielded a sword, while the other brandished a khukuri, a long dagger. They moved cautiously, attempting to fnk Mathew. Mathew, breathing heavily, observed them like a hawk, tracking their every move.

  The guard with the sword retrieved a chakram, a disk-shaped bde, from his back and hurled it at Mathew. With effortless grace, Mathew evaded the projectile and swiftly dispatched the guard with an upper strike by impaling the cws to his chin as he closed in to try his chance.

  The final guard, armed with a khukuri, charged at Mathew with a frenzied roar. Mathew met him head-on, deflecting the wild swings with the Bagh Nakh. Employing a quick disarmament technique (Shu Harana), he disarmed the guard and delivered a fatal strike, sshing his face twice before delivering a decisive blow to the throat.

  "Bunch of chickens," he scoffed.

  The st of the guards fell back. He stood amidst the pile of corpses, his clothes spttered with blood, the Bagh Nakh still dripping crimson liquid.

  At that moment, Rao Kishan Pal entered the office, dragging the bound and gagged Prince Randip Mal behind him. "Enough, Mathew," Rao Kishan Pal decred.

  "Surrender now, or watch the prince lose his head."

  Breathing heavily, Mathew leaned against the nearby table, his gaze fixed on the captured prince and let the Bagh Nakh slid from his hands. Meanwhile, the spear blocking the entrance had been removed, allowing more rebel guards to enter. Taking a moment to regain his composure, Mathew straightened up as the soldiers closed in on him, their swords pointed at him with all angles.

  Wiping the blood from his face, he said with an unwavering gaze, "It's not the prince's life you want. Tell me how many cannons in working condition you need to set him free."

  Kishan Pal scoffed, "You think you can bargain with me at this point? How amusing."

  Mathew smirked, "Don't think you can use a single pouch of gunpowder without my permission. You can have the metal clunks as much as you want."

  Kishan Pal mocked, "What do you mean? We have everything we need and don't need you, except to keep quiet and surrender."

  Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed with a boom that shook the room. Debris and dust filled the air, and the walls trembled. Everyone struggled to maintain their bance, and the rebel guards pressed their swords against Mathew' neck as the situation calmed down.

  Shortly after, a loyalist of Rao Kishan Pal came running in, breathless. "Your majesty, the gunpowder storage room has being blown up to bits. Someone has set it abze."

  Mathew grinned . "Do we have a deal?"

  *************************Author notes:Musti Yuddha, an ancient Indian martial art (>1500 BCE), focuses on close combat and hand-to-hand fighting techniques. It emphasizes using the body's natural weapons, such as fists, elbows, knees, and feet, to strike opponents effectively. Musti Yuddha practitioners are trained to maximize leverage, speed, and power in their attacks, making it a versatile and formidable fighting style. Some martial arts considered descendants of Musti Yuddha include Karipayattu, Varma Kai, Gatka, Pradal Serey and Muay Thai