Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 753: Diederik van Lyndon (1/2)
Trincomalee Port, Anuradha Puri State, Akhand Bharatiya Empire
A large merchant sailing boat of at least a thousand tonnes docked at the port of Trincomalee early in the morning, accompanied by the unusually foggy weather.
Trincomalee Port, recently upgraded from a medium-sized port to a major port, is now one of the only two major ports of the island state of Anuradha Puri, alongside Colombo. It became a prime focus for the Ministry of Transportation due to ongoing efforts to integrate with the Southeast Asian economy.
Located on the eastern coast within a large bay area, Trincomalee Port offered significant advantages for expansion, as it required neither manual dredging nor large-scale construction. Its geographical position also made it more accessible for merchants travelling east or arriving from the east, providing added convenience, even if only for a few hours.
The ship immediately caught the attention of the people because nearly half a dozen white men were getting down from the ship. If it was only the white men, it wouldn’t have caused such a commotion because even though the port is still not too popular with the white folks, they are not too uncommon. But the white people this time were all bandaged in various places as if they had just been in an accident.
One person among the white men, who appeared to be the most injured, limped forward with great difficulty, wincing at every step. However, there was something unusual about him—it was his eyes. Despite only appearing for a split second between the gaps of the people, it was astounding that they were like those of a hawk, coldly observing everything around him with calculated precision, as if nothing could escape his notice. Anyone who met his gaze would unconsciously feel a slight panic, like a helpless sheep locking eyes with a lion. Fortunately, though, his inability to hide his stare didn’t cause him any harm since his unusualness was covered by the group surrounding him.
"Please stop!"
Suddenly, their group of seven people was stopped by a Bharatiya man wearing a white uniform but with the same symbolism, one would see on a police uniform.
"Please accompany me for a small inspection," he said with a cordial smile on his face.
The limping man stayed in the middle of the group. He did not talk but just kept staring at the officer. He knew what this guy’s job was—it was to make sure that no fugitives arrived in the Bharatiya Empire. He had already researched it before he came to this empire, so he already knew what the next questions were about to be .
"Please hand over the identity documents you have been issued" the officer requested, maintaining a cordial smile.
’As expected,’ the one who was limping in the middle of the group’s eyes flickered silently as he tapped the back of the tall guy in front of him. ’This should work, or else...’ His expression turned ruthless.
The tall man quickly understood what he had to do; he immediately held his waist while feigning pain and moved forward. He was about to bow down out of respect, but suddenly he stopped as he felt a hint of irritation in his throat. ’Cough’ ’Cough’—he held his chest with his mouth twitching, with a hint of red visible at the corner of his lips. "Cough, I am sorry, sir, but this is the first time all of us are setting foot in the Bharatiya Empire, therefore we don’t have the identity cards yet."
"Eh!" The officer immediately frowned. He looked at the group of guys with scrutiny. "Is that so? Then how do you explain the direction and the place from which you are coming? As far as I know, the ship is from the Kingdom of Mindanao. You guys won’t say that you have travelled through the Pacific Ocean, will you?" His words sounded like a joke, but no one could see amusement in his expression.
The limping man’s eyes radiated a dangerous light for a split second, but he quickly hid it. ’It will work,’ he comforted himself.
"Um, sir, we did go through the Bharatiya Empire’s Customs Office located in Madagascar, and there we did get our identity card. But the reason why we did not come to the Bharatiya Empire was because we had to reach the Kingdom of Mindanao as quickly as possible because an auction was going on for a very valuable gem that our master had taken a liking to. It is his marriage, you see—he wanted to impress his wife."
The officer suddenly cut the man off as he did not want to hear a whole backstory from these guys. "Then where are those documents?" he asked, becoming a little impatient.
"I’m coming there, sir. We were able to buy the jewel at a high price as we intended, but on our way back from the auction house to our ship, we were unfortunately caught in an incident of rebellion that had erupted in the capital of Mindanao.
"Unfortunately, in this incident, not only were we all injured to varying degrees, but all our personal belongings, including the clothes we wore, were robbed.
"Thankfully, despite the rebellion, our ship was untouched due to there being a Bharatiya vessel docked nearby, so we were able to receive a loan from a local merchant and come back to the Bharatiya Empire."
The guard was surprised. He had a thoughtful look on his face. "Give me all of your names just like you had given at the customs in Madagascar. Once I receive confirmation, I will issue the identity documents for you all." Your journey continues with novelbuddy
The man who came forward immediately smiled. "Thank you, sir, but if it is not too much to ask, could you please provide us with some food and accommodation? We have been starved since morning as our rations, which we bought with a loan, have dried out."
The guard nodded with a hint of pity. "Yes, do not worry. You can all stay temporarily in the administrative building. There are a few guest rooms in it."
"Thank you, sir. Thank you very much."
The next situation was as expected. All their names were collected, and all seven of them went to rest in the administrative building. A few days later, the guard reached out to them with good news.
"Congratulations, we found your names in the database."
Saying that, he handed over identity documents to each one.
"This is your new identity document, which can not only work in the Bharatiya Empire but also if you want to travel to any Southeast Asian country. Keep them carefully, do not lose them," he said as he further extended their stay by a week and left.
The man who was limping then let out a sigh of relief, as if a boulder of burdens had been suddenly lifted off his shoulders.
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"Huehhhh."
"It’s finally done—we don’t have to hide any longer,"
he declared as he sunk into the bed.
"We are very fortunate, Your Highness, that those Prussians decided to show up in Mindanao."
The limping man, who was none other than Diederik van Lyndon, one of the three kings of the three Dutch Kingdoms, nodded with a smile. "That we are. If it was not for them, we would not have been able to get our names cleared so quickly."
Thinking about it, Diederik felt emotional, recalling all the hardships and the ups and downs he had endured to reach his current position. He never imagined that one day he would rise from a small captain in the Dutch colonial army to become a king.
He never expected the Bharatiya Empire to launch an all-out attack on his small kingdom, nor did he foresee embarking on a stunning adventure between life and death, eventually reaching the Kingdom of Mindanao. He could never have imagined meeting someone like Sultan Abdullah Mohammed, whose volatile situation was like a powder keg ready to explode.
Most of all, he would never have expected Abdullah Mohammed to actually incite a small-scale riot. He could not have predicted encountering a group of Prussians returning from an auction, nor that he would ruthlessly butcher them and seize their identities—seeing in that act an opportunity to clear his name and secure a fresh start. Back then, after coming across the Prussians, learning their general details, and understanding their intentions, Diederik decisively chose to take action. Although he was not able to keep the priceless jewel since it was taken away by Abdullah Mohammed, he was able to steal their identities. Additionally, in order to cover up the small details that would be noticed when comparing the database with that of the Prussians, Diederik injured himself as well as his team to look as believable as possible. What’s more, in the whole process, except for their team and Mohammed Novan, no one was aware of what they did.
If it was before, he would have never done such a thing, but after getting a taste of power, his worldview was drastically different—he would do anything to get back to the place he once was.
to be continued...
