The battlefield was no longer just a war of swords and aura.
**It was a war of the mind.**
And **Manav was the one pulling the strings.**
A single piece of information.
That was all it took.
Late at night, inside one of Vinay's forward camps, a scout ran into the main war tent, his face drenched in sweat.
"My lord," he gasped, kneeling before Arhaan and the other commanders. "We've intercepted a message… The Goodie Hunters' eastern supply line is unguarded."
Arhaan narrowed his eyes.
He didn't speak right away. Instead, he studied the paper in the scout's trembling hands.
An **unguarded supply line**?
That sounded too good to be true.
And in war—**if something sounded too good to be true, it usually was.**
"Where did this information come from?" Arhaan asked.
"The messenger was intercepted on his way back to Manav's main camp. He was carrying this order."
Arhaan examined the parchment. It had **Manav's seal.**
The handwriting was perfect.
The details were precise.
And yet… something felt **off.**
Rudra, who had been leaning against the wall, finally spoke. His voice was quiet, almost indifferent.
"This is a trap."
The other commanders stiffened.
"Are you sure?" one of them asked.
Rudra didn't answer immediately.
Instead, **he stared at the paper for a few seconds before tossing it onto the table.**
"I fought against Manav's forces in the past," he finally said. "He never leaves weaknesses like this exposed."
Arhaan exhaled.
"So, what do we do?"
Rudra tilted his head slightly.
"Spring the trap."
The room fell silent.
And then—**Arhaan smirked.**
He understood now.
**Manav had set a trap for them.**
But they would **set a trap within the trap.**
While Vinay's army debated their next move, Manav sat inside his tent, flipping through reports.
Karael stood beside him, watching him work.
"Do you think they'll fall for it?" she asked.
Manav didn't look up.
"It doesn't matter."
Karael raised an eyebrow. "Then why bother setting the trap?"
Manav placed one of the reports down.
"This isn't about making them fall for anything," he said, his tone cold and emotionless. "It's about planting doubt."
Karael understood immediately.
Manav wasn't just trying to **lure Vinay's forces into an ambush.**
He was **making them question every piece of information they received.**
He was **turning them against themselves.**
Because once **doubt** seeped into an army—**it rotted them from the inside.
Two days later, Vinay's commanders received **another intercepted message.**
This time, it claimed that **Manav's forces had lost control of their western defensive line.**
The camp **descended into chaos.**
"How can we trust this information?" one commander shouted.
"It's the second message in two days! What if this one is also a lie?"
"But what if it isn't? If we ignore this, we'll be wasting a perfect opportunity!"
Tension ran high.
Voices clashed.
And that was exactly what **Manav wanted.**
Doubt.
Suspicion.
Paranoia.
Vinay's forces were **starting to crumble from within.**
While Vinay's commanders debated, Manav's **true mind game began.**
**One by one, he targeted individual commanders.**
A small note placed inside a commander's tent.
A whisper heard in the shadows.
A rumor that spread through the ranks.
**"Vinay doesn't trust you."**
**"Rudra thinks you are too weak."**
**"Arhaan is considering defecting."**
None of these statements were true.
But **they didn't need to be.**
They only needed to make the commanders **think** they might be true.
And once the seed of doubt was planted—
It would **grow into something unstoppable.
The first victim of Manav's psychological warfare was **Commander Feroz.**
For years, Feroz had served under Vinay, believing in his cause.
But one night, a letter arrived at his doorstep.
It had no sender.
No signature.
Just a single sentence.
**"Vinay sees you as disposable."**
Feroz stared at the letter for hours.
And the more he thought about it, the more it **made sense.**
After all, he had always been placed on the most dangerous front lines.
He had never been invited to Vinay's inner circle.
And when he had suggested a strategy last month—**it had been ignored.**
**Could the letter be right?**
Feroz clenched his fists.
He needed to know the truth.
And so—**he began to doubt.**
Exactly as Manav had planned.
While the war of deception raged on, Rudra stood alone on the outskirts of the camp, staring at the night sky.
Arhaan approached him.
"You haven't spoken much since we got here," Arhaan said.
Rudra didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he finally muttered, **"Manav is playing a game none of them understand."**
Arhaan frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Rudra's cold eyes flickered.
"He's not trying to defeat us through battle."
He turned his head slightly.
"He's trying to make us destroy ourselves."
By the time morning arrived, **Commander Feroz had vanished.**
No one knew where he had gone.
But in the distance, inside the Goodie Hunters' camp, a single shadowy figure knelt before Manav.
And Manav, as always, showed **no emotion.**
"Welcome," he said simply.
The first of Vinay's commanders **had fallen.**
And this was only the beginning.