Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Śaṅkhapattana (Shark Bay), Western Suvarṇadvīpa (Australia)

The sun was shining brightly, and the birds in the sky were chirping loudly. The waves crashed into the shore, and the smell of salt wafted through the air. Śaṅkhapattana was a small town in the Western Suvarṇadvīpa frontier of the Bharatiya Empire. It is located in a large bay capable of harbouring several vessels without any infrastructure construction.

A Bharatiya vessel slowly approached Śaṅkhapattana Bay and quickly docked itself by coupling the port anchor.

Bharatiya military soldiers got out of the ship one by one, all wearing green camouflage uniforms with serious expressions on their faces while being fully decked out.

A middle-aged man with a few strands of grey hair folded his hands as he watched the disembarking soldiers with a serious and resolute expression on his face.

The soldiers who disembarked from the ship quickly lined up in neat square rows and columns in a newly cleared-out opening in the middle of 20 to 30 small wooden houses.

Śaṅkhapattana was a town that was only recently built after the Emperor of the Bharatiya Empire allowed for immigration to Suvarnadvipa to begin.

"General, all the soldiers have disembarked. They are awaiting your orders."

The general let loose his hands and stepped forward resolutely. "Listen up, everyone. The task is very simple. The Śaṅkhapattana town, where we are currently located, happens to be very close to the settlement of the indigenous people, only a few kilometres inland."

"After observing for several weeks, we are aware of two warring tribes in the region, more specifically, the Noongar and Yamatji. Usually, their fights would have nothing to do with us, but since the population of the two tribes combined is less than 5,000 people, with the warriors present numbering less than 800 to 900... "

"The command centre has given the order to assimilate the tribes and employ them to build better living infrastructure for the immigrants who are about to arrive in a couple of months."

"With that being said, the war between the Noongar and the Yamatji tribes is a very good opportunity for us."

"We will put an end to the war and use deterrence and a show of strength to forcefully assimilate them."

"Both the Noongar and Yamaji tribes are nomadic coastal dwellers who are proficient in fishing as well as hunting. They do quite a bit of land management, and they believe in animism and totemism. They have something called the Dreamtime belief, which is a law based on kinship and totems."

"Their culture and way of doing things is very unique and different from the culture of the Bharatiya Empire, but it is inherently not opposed to anything in Sanathana Dharma. So, command orders are to allow them to have autonomy in their way of life while making them gradually accustomed to how we do things in the coming weeks."

"Enough said! Let's roll!"

"SIR!!!"

The soldiers immediately responded and walked towards the muddy path.

---

Wardan Maarlak, the young chief leader of the Noongar tribe, squinted as he eyed his enemy a few hundred metres away.

Marrga Bunba, the tribal chief of the Yamaji tribe, had a scowl on his face as he roared, "Surrender, Wardan, or face death like your father!" His fists were clenched, and his body was tense as if he was ready to move at any time, radiating primitive bloodlust.

Wardan Maarlak sneered, "The child of the Maarlak tribe would rather die on the battlefield than surrender like a coward! Do your worst, you monster!" He screamed defiantly, and turning to his people, he roared, "My people! This is the day! This is the day that we butcher our enemies, and this is the day when we create a legend by being victorious!"

He looked forward with the determination to die. "With the ancestors and the totem spirit by our side, charge with me!" He ran forward with great momentum while the warriors of his tribe screamed at the top of their lungs and ran from behind.

Marrga Bunba immediately smiled as he picked up his sledgehammer and ran forward. His warriors were not far behind.

The ground was rumbling with the momentum of the charge. Dust rose up and filled the air, making it hard for outsiders to see.

The two tribes were about to collide.

"Bang!!!"

Suddenly, several thunderous sounds like bolts of lightning immediately caught the two chieftains off guard. They stopped on their steps and looked around to see what was going on, but to their shock, a few warriors from both tribes had fallen down in a pool of blood.

Their eyes widened, and they looked horrified. Wardan looked at Maarga with fear, while Maarga looked at Wardan in panic.

They both thought the totem priests of their tribes had simultaneously used totemic magic, killing the warriors beside them by mistake. They thought that the target was actually them, but for some reason, the magic had been missed.

Just when the tribal leaders were about to internalize what had happened and restart the charge once again, they were shocked when thousands of men, all wearing green clothes, ran in between them and pointed long, hollow sticks at them.

The tribal warriors and their chieftains did not understand what was going on. They were too stunned to react. Suddenly, they heard a shout coming from a middle-aged man among the mysterious men.

"FIRE!!!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The thunderous sound was heard once again. It immediately startled everyone present. All the warriors panicked and shivered. They felt the spears in their hands had suddenly become a lot lighter. Bringing the poles down, they were horrified to discover that the spears they were holding upright had been pierced through or the spearheads had totally gone missing.

Marrga Bunba and Wardan Maarlak immediately understood that it was not magic that had killed their companions, but whatever these mysterious magical men were using.

The thunderous sound did not stop. It came in volley after volley, all aimed a few centimetres above the heads of the tribal warriors. The tribal warriors, unable to bear the nervousness, immediately sprawled on the ground, covering their ears while huddling in a fetal position. There were only a few people left standing on their feet; among them were the two tribal chiefs Marrga Bunba and Wardan Maarlak. They soon discovered that these mysterious men didn't want to kill them—if they did, they would have already died. But still, they bent their backs so as not to accidentally get hit by whatever was coming out of those holes.

The general, looking to his left and right, nodded in satisfaction.

"At ease, soldiers," he ordered as he snapped his fingers, and his lieutenant brought along with him a young tribal boy.

Looking at the boy in the arms of the mysterious men, Wardan was extremely surprised because he knew this boy—it was the son of his bodyguard. A few weeks ago, he had gone missing. People in his tribe speculated that he had gone in search of medicinal herbs and had succumbed to wild animals.

But now, looking at him alive and well, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

The general nodded at the boy, whom he had rescued when he first set foot in Śaṅkhapattana from the mouth of a crocodile. It was hard at first to communicate, but thankfully, after a month of continuous learning, the boy had learnt the Bharatiya language enough to understand what he was saying.

"Translate it for me," he ordered.

The boy quickly nodded. He then took a look at his father, who was looking at him with his mouth wide open. He smiled at his father and waved his arms.

"We are the army of the Bharatiya Empire."

"It is an empire located several thousand kilometres to the west of your land."

"As of now, this region belongs to the Bharatiya Empire, and all of you are its people and citizens."

"Both of your tribes, as far as I know, follow the rule of survival of the fittest. So, following the same rules, please admit defeat."

Marrga Bunba immediately growled, "And what if we don't?"

The general furrowed his brows; he did not understand, as expected, so he looked at the boy and gestured with his eyebrows.

The boy replied, "The chief is asking what if he does not surrender." The words were intermittent and had an unusual accent, but they were still understandable.

Hearing the question, the general wasn't angry. Instead, he smiled and looked at the burly, fierce-looking middle-aged man. He immediately pulled out the pistol in his holster, pointed it at the man, and—bang—he pulled the trigger.

"Ah!"

Marrga Bunba was startled and flinched, briefly fearing that he had died. But fortunately, he had not. He felt a sting in his ear and was shocked to discover that the edge of his ear had gone missing, bleeding profusely. He looked at the middle-aged man holding the hollow smoking weapon in horror.

"If you don't, you will die here today."

Looking at his enemy who was beaten so badly, Wardan Maarlak's heart was beating rapidly. He immediately understood that he had no choice but to listen to the words of these people today. 'Maybe I should surrender. Hopefully, too many people won't have to die,' he thought. 'But since the boy Koora has not been tortured, they shouldn't be bad people... I think.'

"We Noongar tribe surrender!!" he immediately cried out as he knelt down. What he was doing was very shameful because his tribe's name translated to the word "strong," and now he was displaying the epitome of weakness. But when the enemy could wipe out his whole tribe without leaving a single soul behind, he had no choice but to be weak.

He understood the meaning of the saying: one should only stretch their legs as far as the bed allows.

Maarga Bunda, still feeling the sting, quickly understood the situation, knelt down while trembling, and uttered, "The Yamaji tribe surrenders as well."

Hearing the translation, the general smiled with satisfaction.

"Very good. Excellent."

"Now, all of you will live according to the rules and regulations of the Bharatiya Empire. There are too many to count, but you will learn as we go."

A few days after the incident, a part-time school was established in both tribes, and adults were forcefully sent to school for a couple of hours a day to learn how to speak the Bharatiya language.

Additionally, construction projects began where the tribals were ordered to clear out the forests and dig the foundation for a cement factory to be built, along with other infrastructure.

The tribal chiefs and the tribals, looking at the paper in their hands that they had received in exchange for their hard work, did not know what to do. However, they soon stored the paper, which felt like leaves, in their homes and forgot about it. After all, even though the work was hard, they were fed delicious food, and their lives hadn't changed too much. Instead, their convenience had increased since they no longer had to go hunting or fishing, as the entire population of the two tribes was now completely employed by the outsiders. The food they provided was very delicious and abundant.

To be continued...