After that, heavy amounts of Indrajit-rank power began to pour out of the bodies of both warriors. The ground split into two colors — on one side the force of fire, on the other the force of lightning. They collided continuously, each trying to push the other back.
Because of this, Indrajit-rank energies began to emit in huge quantities. The surrounding soldiers were affected — blood started trickling from their mouths. To save themselves, they tried to get away from that place as fast as possible.
When King Ambar sensed the power radiating from Somnath, he grew uneasy. King Ambar's strength was three stars less than Somnath's — a very serious problem for the king.
At that moment Somnath launched a deadly, high-risk strike to finish the battle quickly: a paw formed of lightning, charged with potent electrical energy. It was a lower-tier Class-Two technique — a massive paw that advanced rapidly, the size of a house.
During the fight Somnath had already gauged Ambar's power and realized the king was only on the sixth star of the Indrajit rank — a few stars below him. He thought this attack would be enough to kill Ambar.
In response, King Ambar used a mid-tier Class-Two technique, the "Blazing Lion." A gigantic fifteen-foot creature made entirely of fire formed — resembling the head of a mystical lion. As soon as it formed, it let out a powerful roar. At Ambar's command the lion-head forged of flame lunged forward and collided with the huge lightning paw. A heart-shattering explosion followed, and the energies from that blast spread in all directions. With it, both constructed attacks vanished.
The collision caused blood to flow from King Ambar's mouth; he had used seventy percent of his power in that strike. The large expenditure left a negative effect on his body.
When Somnath saw that despite such a dangerous attack he had only slightly wounded Ambar, his pride was pricked. His intent to kill grew stronger.
On the palace roof a man stood holding the king's son in his arms. Nearby was a rank-three mystical vulture. They had just learned that the enemy army would reach the palace very soon.
At that time King Ambar called Raktab over and spoke to him.
"Raktab, I want you to take Nivyansh away from here — take him somewhere safe and train him to become a great warrior, so that one day he can protect this kingdom."
Hearing this, Raktab refused at first.
"Your Majesty, what are you saying? How can I leave you alone like this? I can't leave you to face death by yourself."
Then Raktab offered another suggestion.
"Sire, we want you to take the crown prince and go somewhere far away. I will hold off the enemy army from reaching the palace until then."
But the king shook his head.
"I cannot do that," he said. "Even knowing you might die in the process, I'm ready to face death once more. But how could I abandon my friend who has stood by me through every hardship? I cannot leave him to die alone among the enemy. Besides, you cannot stop Somnath alone. You are only on the fourth star of the Indrajit rank, and my sources tell me he is just one step away from obtaining the Rudra rank. Even if both of us fought him together, we would still not win."
Hearing this, Raktab's eyes filled with tears. The king then left for the battle. He had made Raktab swear an oath — binding him to obey. Reluctantly, Raktab agreed.
Before leaving, Raktab promised that he would always protect the crown prince. A smile crossed the king's grave face and his eyes grew moist. He put a locket and his royal ring on his son, kissed the boy's head, and said through tears:
"Nivyansh, my son — never disappoint your father."
Then he hurried out of the palace, never looking back — because he knew that if he did, he would not be able to stop himself.
Raktab watched King Ambar leave the palace and then turned to his duty.
On the battlefield King Ambar — now smeared in blood — kept bleeding from his mouth; the wounds on his body had covered him in red. Somnath slowly advanced toward the wounded king, intent on killing him. Seeing this, the king gripped his sword tightly.
Somnath taunted him with a cruel laugh: "The rope burned, but the strength didn't go. There's still time — admit defeat and bow your head to me."
King Ambar spat blood and replied, "Admit defeat to you? Who are you? I'd rather cut off my own head than bow before you. Don't you even imagine I'll ever lower my head to you."
Hearing this, Somnath roared in anger, "Fine. Prepare to die. But first I will watch your loved ones perish before your eyes."
So the fight between Somnath and Ambar began again. During one exchange they struck each other so hard they were thrown far apart. Ambar bled again. Somnath mocked him: "What's the matter, Ambar? A moment ago you were full of talk. Did you think I'm the same weak Somnath you once beat? I even gave you a chance so this wouldn't come to this."
When Somnath's gaze fell on Ambar's face, he saw a huge smile painted in blood on the king's lips. He couldn't understand why.
Somnath followed Ambar's line of sight — the king was looking at the sky where an enchanted vulture flew away quickly from the palace. Realizing Ambar had been cunning, Somnath looked back: at that moment the king was using a hidden technique that required some time to activate, which is why he couldn't use it immediately. Once the technique activated, Ambar's strength increased by four stars.
Somnath was stunned for a moment. Then the two launched into a life-and-death struggle so fierce that repeated blasts rang out. Soon the ground was full of cracks and shattered into pieces.
In one attack Ambar managed to land a deep cut on Somnath's chest, after which Somnath's powers began to weaken. A cruel smile spread over his face as he said, "What happened? Ambar — your powers are finished." He sneered, "No matter how hard you try, your power will last only a short while, because you gained it by using a secret technique. It won't sustain for long. My powers are my own — earned by me."
Ambar laughed, "Is that so? This is the first time I've heard someone boast about their own power. Do you really think your empty words can force me back? And I also know how you gained those powers — by groveling at someone's feet."
Enraged, Somnath unleashed a dangerous Class-Two technique: "Thunder Snake" — a colossal serpent of lightning formed in the sky. To fend it off King Ambar used all his strength to create a Class-Two technique: the "Blazing Bird" — a bird of fire that charged and collided with the serpent. But Ambar was weakening; cracks began appearing in the fiery bird. Seeing this, the king grew very worried.
At that moment all his power was spent. Blood flowed from his mouth and was absorbed into the fiery bird, sealing the cracks instantly. With a sudden jolt the bird tore apart the serpent's scales, and then shot straight toward Somnath.
By now King Ambar was extremely weak. The vulture collided with Somnath; despite Somnath's attempts to evade, the bird struck his shoulder. A massive explosion followed, throwing the exhausted Ambar far away.
Silence fell over the battlefield. Where that attack hit, the land was utterly devastated, and a huge cloud of dust rose. When the dust settled everyone was stunned at the sight: a man crawled out of the dust, one of his arms severed, more than half his body badly burned. He was breathing heavily.
A painful scream echoed, and in fury he launched another attack toward the motionless body of Ambar — an attack that would have struck the king. But at that exact moment the sky turned black and a fierce dark storm swept the battlefield, sending dust flying so no one could see. When the storm subsided and Somnath looked where Ambar's body had lain, the king was gone.
Enraged, Somnath shrieked, "Ambar — I will kill you!"
So what will happen now? Will Raktab manage to take Nivyansh away safely? How did King Ambar's lifeless body vanish in that storm? And will Somnath be able to take his revenge on Ambar?
To find out, keep listening. The Heartless Warrior.
With me: Nitish Chandel.