Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology - Chapter 1093

Chapter 1093: The Olympics (3) Flame relay

27th March 1692

Athens, United Greek Socialist Republics, UGSR

The Airavata Stadium, a colossal feat of engineering capable of accommodating over fifty thousand spectators, stood as the grand venue for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Newly built by the Bharatiya Empire, the stadium had only just been commissioned for use, gleaming with the pride of fresh craftsmanship and capabilities.

It was a radiant, cloudless day, the kind of clear, golden morning that seemed made for celebration, a perfect day for an Olympic spectacle.

Inside, every seat was filled. The crowd buzzed with excitement as the announcer’s powerful voice echoed across the vast arena, proclaiming the arrival of each nation. His words were repeated by aides stationed throughout the stands, ensuring that no corner of the stadium missed a single word.

Down on the field, the procession of nations began. As each country’s name was called, its athletes emerged from the tunnel in perfect formation, led by a flagbearer proudly holding their national emblem tall and upright. One delegation after another followed, their footsteps steady and rhythmic, as the parade of the world unfolded before the cheering crowd.

The audience was composed of European nobles, elites of the Bharatiya Empire, and wealthy guests from the Ming Empire, Southeast Asia, and even royal families from distant lands.

” Ewe, will those monkeys be participating as well? ” A woman showed a look of disgust and squelched her face as she looked at the black athletes from the Kingdom of Congo.

Her husband, who was right next to her, showed a similar look of disgust, ” I never understood why the Bhartiyas, despite their might and advanced intelligence, would mingle with subhuman species like these. ”

A Bhartiya merchant sitting right next to them, hearing the words that were coming out of the well-dressed husband and wife, felt disgusted. He didn’t know the Europeans would stoop so low. If he were back in the empire, he would directly report these people to the police, but unfortunately, he was already warned that people like this would exist, and the best thing to do was to ignore them because the Greeks themselves had a slight tendency to look down on the blacks.

” Could you please talk in a lower voice? ” In the end, he could only ask them to talk in a way that he couldn’t hear.

Baron John Edward and Baroness Martina Velveska were offended that a commoner had the audacity to ask them to speak quietly. However, upon realising that the man was from the Bharatiya Empire, and noticing that his attire, though less flashy than theirs, was far more expensive, they had no choice but to swallow their displeasure and turn away with a huff.

This scene was simply a microcosm of the Olympic ceremony. A lot of things like these happened, but given that the organising committee had already predicted what could happen when the eastern and western cultures met, they had prepared for as many eventualities as possible.

Time slowly passed, and the ground became much fuller with athletes from different countries standing in representation.

” Now, please welcome the athletes from the Akhand Bharatiya Empire. ”

Hearing the announcement, everyone’s eyes were directly focused towards the entry tunnel.

Even the athletes on the field turned to look in curiosity, eager to see what the team of the mighty Bharatiya Empire would look like.

Then, accompanied by a marching band, the saffron flag bearing the Ashoka Chakra appeared beneath the sunlight like a blazing sun rising from the shadows. It was carried by a young boy, barely fifteen, yet he held it with pride and marched with steady, disciplined steps.

Behind him, the athletes of the Bharatiya Empire followed, radiating confidence and pride. Indira Chauhan, dressed in the saffron blazer of the empire, noticed every gaze fixed on their group and couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. Bhima Thakur clenched his fist, grinning from ear to ear.

After the thunderous applause for the first two teams, the crowd had grown quieter, offering only polite claps for others. But the moment the Bharatiya athletes stepped onto the field, the deafening cheers returned. The Bharatiya spectators, who made up nearly forty percent of the audience, rose from their seats and roared in unison,

“We win, we win, Bharatiya Empire, we win!”

“We win, we win, Bharatiya Empire, we win!”

Slowly, a chant began to take shape, and it was like a shot of adrenaline that was injected into the bodies of the Bharatiya athletes. It had an extremely demoralising effect on the hearts of other athletes, but there were some who got excited thinking about defeating the Bharatiyas.

Thomas Evans was one such person. He was not intimidated at all. He was extremely confident in his pole vault. He knew that he was the best in the world; he just had to prove it. Diga Ivanov was another. A faint sneer curved her lips; she couldn’t wait to defeat the Bharatiyas in the very sport they had invented!

The ceremony went on as one country after another was called out. Finally, the moment everyone had been waiting for arrived: the flame relay was about to begin! The kings, emperors, and leaders from every corner of the world started making their way to the VIP stands, their presence drawing murmurs and gasps from the crowd.

Then suddenly, a thunderous wave of noise erupted.

“Wait, is that him?!”

“Look! It’s the Emperor of the Bharatiya Empire!”

“Oh my god, he’s actually here!”

“His Majesty himself! How incredible!”

“Look at him, he looks so majestic!”

The crowd was in awe. The roar of excitement spread through the stadium like wildfire, drowning out even the announcer’s voice.

The athletes of different countries all directed their gazes towards the VIP section, curiously looking at the Emperor of the Bharatiya Empire, the living legend of the world.

Vijay felt the gazes of the stadium directly towards him, but he didn’t flinch. Instead, after greeting Vedant and Tanvika, he led Kavya to her seat, and he himself sat down.

” Long time no see, Vijay. You don’t look anything like your age at all, ” Peter came forward with a smile and complimented. Looking at him, Vijay couldn’t help but sigh. Peter was now an old man, and unlike himself, who had been genetically modified due to time travel, Peter was a normal man. He looked exactly like a sixty-year-old, with wrinkly skin, grey hair, and a slightly dull complexion, but thankfully, due to advancements in medical sciences, he could expect Peter to last another ten to twenty years.

Vijay hadn’t appeared or even set foot on the European continent ever, so the European monarchs were looking at him with curiosity.

Some nobles, came forward either to get closer to Vijay or to establish a personal connection. They sent their grandsons and granddaughters, or sometimes came directly themselves, to greet him and exchange a few words. Frederick William, in particular, had sent his grandson, the next heir to the Prussian Kingdom. Vijay responded to everyone who approached him with a few polite words before turning his attention back to the Olympic ceremony.

For the torch relay, athletes from different countries had been selected at random to run in the different stretches of the relay. The flaming bin that was brought from Olympia was used to light up the torch, and the first athlete to hold the torch was a Portuguese athlete called Sophia Silva, a rugby player. A lot of people, especially the Europeans and some of the Bharatiyas, felt dissatisfied that it was a woman who was the first to hold the torch, but they had no say in the matter, so their dissatisfaction ended after a few words of disgust.

Sophia Silva could feel the gazes of scrutiny from all around, but she did not budge. She had had to deal with such gazes all her life, when she decided to go to college, when she decided to pursue her higher studies in the Bharatiya Empire, and even when she decided to participate in the Olympics despite being a noble. People always looked at her just like now, but it did not matter; what she thought was the only thing that mattered.

She ran without changing her expression, with a slight smile on her face, her eyes full of defiance. Maybe because her emotions were firm enough, Kavya felt attracted and touched by that determination. She was the first one to stand up and clap, and soon, emulating her behaviour, the women of the Bharatiya Empire who saw her as the leading figure stood up and clapped as well. The men had no choice but to join in.

The emotions Sophia felt right now were complicated. She was both grateful for the support she received and also emotional, feeling validated that she had not taken the wrong step. She was right.

She passed on the torch to the athlete called Kojo Bharathwaj from the Chari Kingdom, a vassal of the Bharatiya Empire in Africa.

Kojo ran In large strides, he heard that people like him were despised and were not even treated as human in Europe, but after actually coming to Europe, he realised how true those words were. Growing up in the tribe without a father or mother, he had to fight for everything. He had developed a skeptical attitude, so when he attended school and when the Bharatiyas taught him all sorts of things, he did not immediately believe it. He thought, how could the Europeans treat him like an animal? How was that even possible? But only after he represented his kingdom in the Olympics and came to Greece did he understand the truth. He saw with his own eyes how so many black people just like him were driving carriages for the white people, some even looking so haggard that they would drop dead the next moment.

He was angry, so angry. For them, he would run. Despite not being good at cardio, he would run. Even if there was a chance of overexerting himself, he would run, for he was now the face of the black people, and he had a lot to prove.

After Kojo, the torch was handed to a Korean athlete named Hawan Oh. When Hawan was first told he had been selected, he hadn’t thought much of it. He was simply instructed to run a short stretch within the stadium and pass the torch to the next person. It hadn’t seemed like a big deal at the time. But now, running alone in front of thousands, with every eye fixed on him, his heart pounded wildly in his chest, and not from the exertion. After all, he was a long-distance runner. It was the weight of the moment that made his pulse race.

Thankfully, his suffering ended when he passed the torch to the final person, the Philippine archer Vastav Aquino. Vastav lit up his arrow with the torch, aimed at the cauldron placed in the sky right below the Olympic rings, and shot.

‘ Gasp! ‘

The audience were on their feet as the arrow took a parabolic arc and firmly landed within the cauldron, bursting into flames.

‘ Clap! ‘ Clap! ‘ Clap! ‘ Clap! ‘

Loud shouts immediately reverberated throughout the stadium, and even Vijay was on his feet. He was extremely happy that the ceremony went so well.