How Baahubali:The Conclusion should have ended

Chapter 12

"Bhallaladeva couldn't have gone far. There are 3 exits to the kingdom. We can split into 4 search groups-one for each exit route and one for search within the kingdom. I am well acquainted with the forest route. I shall lead the search group along that route" said Jayavarma. Kattappa and Anila agreed to this and commanded one search team each with around 20 soldiers per team for the other two escape routes. Shivudu with the rest of the soldiers began investigating various hideouts and were vigilant about any suspicious movements within the kingdom. "If any of our groups spot Bhallaladeva, a message must be instantly delivered to the rest of the groups. Every search team should carry a war trumpet, a delivery pigeon and have a soldier dedicated to personally deliver the message to me" commanded Shivudu before the various search groups dispersed along their respective routes.

As Jayavarma headed towards the forest, he noticed horse footsteps along the mire leading to the jungle. The footsteps disappeared as the jungle started, indicating the escape to be on foot along the jungle path. Jayavarma ordered two of his soldiers to climb the nearby palm trees to get a view of any movement further in the jungle. "I see a few human footsteps ahead, towards the Parvati valley exit" shouted one of the soldiers. Jayavarma ordered his team to split into two, sending them over the east and west shortcuts of Parvati valley that they were well acquainted with. As the two paths converged towards the valley's exit, they could distinctly notice someone swiftly moving among the trees with a gold-clad armor. "That's it. That must be him. He is the only one who has the golden armor with the ruby jewels embedded onto it", yelled one of the soldiers. They noticed that the person started slipping into the jungle with a swifter movement upon spotting them. "I think it is time to notify the rest," said Jayavarma, releasing his pigeon and ordering two of his unit members to blow the war trumpet and deliver the message to Shivudu respectively. Meanwhile, Kattappa's unit through the main entrance noticed similar horse footsteps disappearing into the barren battlegrounds. Kattappa along with 3 other soldiers took the route towards the nearby hilltop and spotted a person matching Bhallaladeva's personality with a similar golden armor. "Are you sure?" asked one of the soldiers before blowing the war trumpet. "We don't have time to be sure" replied Kattappa before releasing his pigeon. A similar sighting was encountered by Anila, who took the trade route heading towards the subordinate kingdom of Hosala. His unit blew the war trumpet and delivered the messages, as soon as it spotted someone with golden armor escaping on a horseback.

Shivudu with the rest of the army searched every nook and corner within the kingdom, while the people of Mahishmati volunteered to identify Bhallaladeva. They heard the war trumpets and got the messages from the three escape routes within a short gap. The soldiers were bewildered and Shivudu was lost in deep thought upon getting messages from all three routes. "Bhallaladeva has identified 2 look-alikes whom he has planned to use in emergency situations. Two of these are distractions he seems to have set up in planning his escape" said Sripaada to Shivudu. Shivudu told the army generals to send larger army units of a few hundred soldiers each in all the three directions immediately and ordered them to bring Bhallaladeva alive or dead." He then gazed at Devasena to see if she has any suggestions. Devasena replied, "This whole thing can be a distraction for something big. You stay here Mahendra. Let the experienced army generals lead their most trusted units in the three directions" she said, while she thought to herself that they are still missing something. As Devasena had rightly anticipated, Ugrasena, Shumbha and a few other trusted generals of Bhallaladeva planned for an attack and capture Devasena as soon as Shivudu, Kattappa and other major leaders left the kingdom. They were disappointed to see Shivudu still guarding the kingdom and were waiting for the right opportunity to attack.

Jayavarma with his search group laid a trap for the suspect escaping through the jungle. They managed to throw a net over him from the trees and pounced over him from all sides. Upon inspection, they were shocked to know that it was the look-alike of Bhallaladeva. Kattappa managed to successfully hit a few tranquilizer arrows onto the escaping suspect, which made him collapse onto the ground from the horseback. His search group too were shocked to know that it was the look-alike of Bhallaladeva. Anila's unit was trying its best to capture the suspect alive using ropes while chasing him. Meanwhile, it began to become clearer to Devasena, what the missing link was. "What could be the safest camouflage when a whole kingdom is looking for you? Who is the one that everybody pays the least attention to?" were the questions she has been dwelling over. At once she called Shivudu and said, "Mahendra! Bhallaladeva is aware that large groups would be sent in search of him. In such a scenario, the place one often overlooks is the search group itself. Bhallaladeva must be within one of these search groups." Shivudu wondered about how this could be possible, since the respective group leaders have selectively chosen the best of their men, "Unless!". As Anila's men approached closer to the escaping suspect, Anila slowed down his horse to inspect the surroundings. He noticed something odd about the formation of his search group. Upon counting, he realized that there were 21 of them. Before he could react, he saw the heads of two soldiers ahead of him roll over the ground. Within moments, there were arrows fired in all the directions barely sparing anyone alive. Though Anila and one other soldier managed to guard themselves partially, they were wounded nevertheless along with their horses. As the truth dawned upon him that only Bhallaladeva is capable of firing arrows so precisely in all the directions, he observed a sphere protruding through the soldier beside him as he was raised into the air. Bhallaladeva single-handedly lifted the soldier over the sphere and threw him at a distance while smirking at Anila. "So much struggle for this? You couldn't see when I joined you in between and you won't be able to see when I take over my kingdom" said Bhallaladeva while riding alongside Anila. As Anila raised his sword, Bhalla said "Spare yourself the trouble. Your death won't be so easy" and threw one of the ropes around Anila's neck. The knot quickly fastened around his neck as Bhalla pulled him towards and dragged him alongside, as he rode towards Hosala kingdom.