Philip de Oliveyra returned at this time from Candy to his command in the seven corlas, having heard of the insurrection but not of the victory at Gandola, to which place he immediately marched with about 800 Chingalese lascarins.  On reaching the field of battle above 1000 men were found slain, but no indication by which he could ascertain which party had gained the victory.  An inscription was found on a tree, signifying that all the Portuguese were slain, none of that nation remaining in Ceylon, and that Columbo had surrendered to Nicapeti, which startled the Portuguese who accompanied Oliveyra, and gave great satisfaction to his Chingalese troops.  Continuing his march he was attacked in the rear by 300 of the enemy, but on facing about they all fled; soon after which he joined Emanuel Cesar on the river Laoa, and the insurgents fled to the woods.  Cesar and Oliveyra by way of obliging the insurgents to return to their duty, seized above 400 of their women and children; but it had the contrary effect, as all their Chingalese troops immediately deserted with their arms, leaving only about 200 Portuguese.  In this dilemma Cesar marched to the pagoda of Atanagala, not far from Maluana where the general resided, who sent him a reinforcement of 500 men, 200 of whom were Portuguese.

Nicapeti had so much success with the natives that he collected an army of 24,000 men, with which he marched against Columbo, and was so vain of his good fortune that he caused himself to be proclaimed emperor of Ceylon, and transmitted an order to the king of Candy to send him one of his two wives.  The answer on this occasion was, that it should be done when the Portuguese were subdued.  Nicapeti was so enraged at this answer, that he threatened to use the king of Candy like the Portuguese; and on this threat coming to the knowledge of the 2000 auxiliaries from Candy, they immediately returned home.  By these means the two enemies of the Portuguese became at variance with each other, to the great benefit of the Portuguese interests.  Emanuel Cesar being joined by a considerable reinforcement, marched against Nicapeti, and found the road by which Nicapeti intended to march clean swept and strewed with flowers.  A Chingalese who carried intelligence of the approach of Cesar to Nicapeti, was ordered to be impaled, the tyrant declaring there were no Portuguese in Ceylon; but he was soon undeceived, as the van guards of the two armies came in sight of each other.  Nicapeti immediately took possession of a hill with 7000 men, where he entrenched himself; but his works were soon carried, 1000 of his men slain, and the usurper was forced to flee into the woods, laying aside his regal ornaments for better concealment.  The rest of the insurgent army immediately fled on seeing their chief defeated, and the morning after the battle 500 of the Chingalese deserted from the enemy and joined the victors.