Tensions Escalate

After Salah told several senior Mysore officials his plan and adjusted the details, he hurried back to his lodgings to report the operation to Lafayette.

After he left, Sheikh Khan watched his carriage recede, then turned to the men beside him. "If this goes smoothly, we can send Jahan Zeb tumbling into hell."

The thin officer replied with some hesitation, "But merely abducting the people due to be released doesn't seem safe enough..."

A cold sneer flashed in Sheikh Khan's eyes. "These Europeans are certainly clever, but they aren't decisive enough. We'll do things our own way and make sure Jahan Zeb has no chance of turning the tables!"

"What do you mean?"

"Here's what we'll do..."

The others nodded repeatedly as they listened.

The next day.

The southeastern outskirts of Mysore City.

A full four or five thousand people had gathered in the open ground outside the city's largest prison, all craning their necks expectantly toward the prison gates behind a dozen or so guards.

Today was the day the government had announced it would release the people arrested for spreading rumors. More than 370 people were to be freed.

This allowed the people of Mysore, who had been weighed down by fear lately, to breathe a little easier. Aside from the prisoners' families, even more had come to witness the release with their own eyes.

After Tipu Sultan reprimanded him to his face, Jahan Zeb had already ordered an end to the arrests of rumor spreaders-after this period of harsh crackdowns on rumors, he believed that even if the arrests stopped, no one would dare casually discuss the British anymore.

However, the administrative system had been considerably less efficient this time. His orders had only been strictly enforced in Mysore and Seringapatam, while troops in more distant