Chapter 264

"Of course, He does indeed most often appear before the world in that same form."

After seeing Drona off, Hebe hadn't even had a chance to rest when the next visitor arrived.

Upon seeing the other person's identity, Hebe sat back down behind the beaded curtain.

Before long, Shakuni, chuckling as he rubbed the long dice, walked into the astrology hall.

During a break from his expedition against the Yadu Clan, he also took the time to return to the Gandhara Kingdom.

Shakuni inherited the throne there and exhumed his parents' remains, carving them into these two dice.

Without a doubt, these were extraordinary objects. Hebe could sense a faint influence from them.

It was because Shakuni controlled the dice that Yudhishthira and went bankrupt.

"Hehe, Master..."

Shakuni sat before the beaded curtain. "I have completely subjugated the Yadu Clan; I should have completed my mission, right? However, I do not know whether that brat 'Krishna' is alive or dead, so I still need you to perform a divination for me—"

"Krishna not dead."

"What?"

Shakuni was shocked. "You're not lying to me, are you?!"

Why would I need to lie to you?

Hebe shook her head. "Did you leave the Yadu Clan at one point?"

"Broken..."

Shakuni's expression froze.

He remembered that he had returned to Elephant City not long ago!

Is this the reason Krishna fled?

Hebe looked at Shakuni, whose expression was one of surprise and uncertainty, and shook his head slightly.

Shakuni was able to suppress Krishna as a result of multiple factors.

Hebe's guidance to Shakuni was influenced by the Sage Path; while Shakuni's conquest in the name of the Kuru Dynasty was influenced by the Authority Path.

The influence of various paths interacted, with "Shakuni was in the Yadu Clan" at its core, suppressing Krishna and binding him to a mortal body.

However, when Shakuni departed, the remaining influence was no longer sufficient to bind Krishna was then able to break free.

"Master, is there any way to remedy this?"

Shakuni's expression was ferocious. "Krishna?"

"You can't do it."

Hebe replied, "If you lose this opportunity, you will never be qualified to compete with Krishna again."

Of course, Hebe wasn't disappointed. The reason was that even if Eris was demoted, she was still a formidable rival in the Lostbelt.

If Shakuni could defeat Eris... Hebe could tell this joke for a lifetime.

Moreover, Shakuni has indeed done a good job. In the original epic, Krishna had the powerful support of the Yadu Clan.

Now Krishna is all alone, relying Pandavas for survival, which is extremely embarrassing.

Shakuni slammed his fist on the table with a vicious punch.

Damn it!

He took out a few gold coins, threw them on the counter without even looking at them, and then quickly ran towards Duryodhana's residence.

Hebe's gaze followed closely behind.

"Nephew, my dear nephew!"

Shakuni swept in like a whirlwind, shouting, "You're in trouble!"

The Duryodhana, Duryodhana, was shocked. "What the hell?"

Shakuni pressed down on Duryodhana's shoulders. "You fool, how can you still have the leisure to sit here and play with the maids? How can you sleep at your age!"

"Uncle, please explain clearly what happened."

After dismissing his Duryodhana, he put on his trousers and asked, "What could possibly make the wise Shakuni so alarmed?"

"The Pandavas are about to obtain their own peerless strategist."

Shakuni, panting heavily, said, "I've done everything in my power to wipe him out on the Yadu Clan's side, but he still managed to escape... I'm afraid I'm no match for him now, so I've come to say goodbye. We'll never meet again—"

"Hey hey hey hey Uncle! You're my real uncle, my mother's own brother!"

There were many people earlier, but now Duryodhana, so they immediately kneel down at Shakuni's feet.

He hugged her leg tightly. "If you leave, who will help me?"

Shakuni was originally disappointed with his students' lack of progress, so he used a strategy of retreat to advance.

Seeing Duryodhana in this state, he sighed and turned around to help Duryodhana up, "My good nephew, do you think your uncle doesn't want to help you? But look at you, so dejected. It's just that you lost to Arjuna in the arena, what does that matter!"

"But, Uncle."

Duryodhana sighed, "We've only just returned to Elephant City, Arjuna won once. Next year it will be twice, and five years from now it will be five times."

If things continue like this Arjuna will eventually become Ravana.

As the Rama, I have truly defeated you, truly.

Shakuni sighed deeply, "I've discovered that you, my nephew, are truly inflexible. I told you to display the demeanor of a king, and you actually thought you were the Rama. I told you to use scheming and plotting, and you focused solely on playing the scheming game."

"Can't you just use both of them together?!"

If Shakuni hadn't Duryodhana to defeat Nandi, he would have really wanted to jump up and hit his nephew on the head.

"Then, what do you suggest we do?"

Even Duryodhana got a little angry from being scolded, and said, "I'll do whatever you say."

"That's one of your strengths, my good nephew."

Shakuni closed his eyes slightly, "Now the time has come for us to resort to violence..."

"Are you planning a direct coup?"

Duryodhana.

Shakuni rolled his eyes speechlessly.

He now fondly remembers the days when he and Krishna were intellectually matched in the Yadu Clan, where at least they were evenly matched in terms of intelligence.

"Are you awake? What do you think is the reason the Kuru Dynasty has existed to this day?"

Shakuni said with exasperation, "It's that old codger Tianshi! Even though I hate him to the extreme, I have to admit that without Tianshi, the Kuru Dynasty would have been destroyed long ago!"

"With him here, do you still want to send troops to Elephant City? Do you believe that a single word from Tianshi can make your personal guards defect?"

"I thought you wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to recuperate under the Tianshi..."

Duryodhana to resist the muttering and grumbling.

"Is Tianshi injured?"

Shakuni raised an eyebrow. "That's good. At least it makes it easier for us to execute the plan."

Immediately afterwards, Shakuni revealed his entire plan.

He discovered a form of punishment among the Yadu Clan: confining criminals in easily flammable cells and burning them alive.

Arjuna has just received a reward, and the Pandavas are also thriving, which is a time of great pride for them.

But if we build a palace with flammable materials, invite their whole family to move in, and then burn them all to death in a fire to make it look like an accident, wouldn't that solve this problem once and for all?

Chapter 318 What did I do wrong again?

That's how the Lac Palace was established.

Under Hebe's watchful eye, the Pandavas moved in without any resistance.

Krishna should be able to see that this is a trap.

It's easy to see that he either wanted to turn the tables on them or had other plans.

"Perhaps it's a combination of both."

Hebe thought to herself, "If that's the case, Eris should be in the palace of the King Wooden Pillar right now."

Her guess was absolutely right.

At this moment, the handsome young man, wearing a golden crown and with peacock feathers tucked into his sideburns, was persuading the King Wooden Pillar.

He lavishly described Drona's martial arts skills and the power of his magical artifacts, and also depicted Karna as incredibly brave and terrifying, in short, making the King Wooden Pillar tremble with fear.

In fact, there is no need for Krishna to say more.

The constant stream of news coming from Elephant City had already terrified King Wooden Pillar, making him unable to eat or sleep.

No, buddy.

If you had shown your skills earlier, you would have been a guest of honor wherever you went.

Why do you have to harm your brothers like this?

Things have come to this... King Wooden Pillar looked at Krishna.

"Master, if I were to surrender now, showing courtesy and laying down my arms, could Drona spare my life out of consideration for our past friendship?"

Of course, the King Wooden Pillar's tone wasn't so humble, but the meaning conveyed between the lines revealed his weakness.

Krishna twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a slightly sarcastic smile.

That might actually work.

If King Wooden Pillar apologizes and backs down, agreeing to fulfill his promise to cede territory to Drona, the latter will most likely forgive and forget.

Drona was not the kind of Brahmin with burning desires, and he most likely wouldn't want the land of the King Wooden Pillar.

But you can't say that, otherwise what will happen to your own plans?

Krishna chuckled, "I'm afraid that won't work. Drona harbors deep resentment towards you for the humiliation you suffered back then, Your Majesty."

The King Wooden Pillar muttered to himself, "I knew it, I knew it... But is there any way to remedy this?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, yes."

Krishna clapped his hands. "Why don't you hold a grand sacrifice to please the gods?"

A look of joy immediately appeared on the face of the King Wooden Pillar.

Yes, he himself was determined not to be able to beat Drona.

But if he could pray to the gods through sacrifice to obtain a child who could defeat and kill Drona, wouldn't that solve the problem once and for all?

At four o'clock in the morning, Karna saw the sacrificial altar being erected in the palace of the King Wooden Pillar.

"King Wooden Pillar reacted so quickly."

Drona sighed with regret.

Once the sacrificial platform is erected, it signifies the start of the sacrificial process.

Sacrifice is sacred and inviolable, a principle also recorded in the Manusmriti. As a great Brahmin, Drona would certainly not intentionally break the rules of the game.

Noble wars around the world generally followed this seemingly outdated set of rules.

Without exception, they all eventually descended into an irreversible state of "collapse of ritual and music".

In the center of the sacrificial altar, Krishna stood on the left, while King Wooden Pillar personally threw spices, gems, gold, and silver treasured from the kingdom's treasury into the fire.

The flames shot higher and higher, like a mountain peak reaching the sky, or a grand gate.

An astonishing heatwave surged forth, soaking the King Wooden Pillar in sweat from head to toe.

He roared out his wish, "Give me a child who can defeat Drona!"