Sage, Have You Heard Garuda's Story?

"Let's plant this Wish-Fulfilling Divine Tree here!"

Indra passed through Sudarshana City's thousand gates and headed west into Zalin Garden. Stopping amid a stretch of lush green grass, he spoke.

Outside Sudarshana City, there was a garden in each of the four directions.

The Garden of Many Chariots was a parking ground where countless divine chariots were kept, from magnificent carriages to iron-blooded war chariots.

Rough Garden was where Indra stored his weapons. Indra's Bow, the Divine Spear - Amogha, and the Conch Shell Devadatta were all kept there.

Zalin Garden lay west of Sudarshana City and contained many divine trees.

Indra intended to plant the Wish-Fulfilling Divine Tree in the garden's northeastern corner.

"The Wish-Fulfilling Divine Tree!"

"The Supreme Lord said this tree can grant wishes that conform to Dharma. I wonder if that's true."

Surya stood to one side.

His eyes shone with excitement as he gazed at the glittering treasure tree and spoke.

"Hahaha, of course it is!"

Agni threw back his head and laughed. Pointing at the Gandharvas transplanting the divine tree ahead, he said, "Look, the moment those Gandharvas went over, all sorts of delicious food and fine wine grew on the tree. That is the power of the Wish-Fulfilling Divine Tree."

Surya turned his head and glanced over, smiling. "Heh, how unambitious. Those wishes are far too small!"

Vayu nodded, his face filled with emotion.

"We defeated the Asuras. Now the Heavenly Realm has the Nectar of Immortality and this Wish-Fulfilling Divine Tree. The blessings of the whole world are gathered within the Heavenly Realm."

"We really should celebrate!"

Vayu said.

"Keep the banquet going! Keep the music playing! Keep dancing!"

Varuna, usually so quiet, also laughed with high spirits.

Indra was in a pleasant mood.

The Heavenly Realm was peaceful, the Human Realm was stable, and nothing was happening in the Netherworld.

What a wonderful day this was!

"Praise Vishnu~"

At that moment, accompanied by a cheerful cry of praise.

A plump figure carrying a Veena emerged from one corner of the garden and appeared before the gods.

"Sage Narada!"

The gods naturally recognized the sage and greeted him with their palms pressed together.

Narada smiled with his palms together and gave a slight bow. Then, blinking, he curiously looked around the Wish-Fulfilling Divine Tree. "I heard that you churned this Wish-Fulfilling Divine Tree out of the Ocean of Milk, so I came to take a look."

Hearing this, the gods looked immensely pleased with themselves.

"Sage, please look. This is our Wish-Fulfilling Treasure Tree, personally taken back by the Supreme Lord from Golden-Eyed."

The Sun God shifted slightly aside, proudly revealing the Wish-Fulfilling Divine Tree behind him.

"Sage, take your time looking. You can come whenever you like!"

Agni added.

The gods all wore smiles.

See that?

This was the grandeur of their Heavenly Realm. Even sages had to come and admire it!

Narada's eyes darted about. Then he shook his head, put away his smile, and sighed. "What a treasure. But what a pity... sigh..."

"What happened? Why are you sighing, Sage?"

Indra asked curiously.

The other gods also cast puzzled looks his way.

Narada sighed. "I was just in the Brahma Realm, where I saw Father go to the Netherworld to bestow a boon. The one receiving it was very likely Golden Bed, Golden-Eyed's brother."

"Golden Bed is Golden-Eyed's twin brother, and he is immensely powerful. If he has received a boon, he will certainly come to seek revenge against the Heavenly Realm."

"When that time comes... sigh..."

Narada let out a long sigh.

The gods were stunned at first, then immediately flew into a rage.

Did he really think the gods were soft targets that anyone could stomp on?

"Golden Bed? What does he think we gods are? What does he think the Heavenly Realm is?"

"We have immortal bodies. So what if Golden Bed has received a boon? Does he think he can attack the Heavenly Realm? Golden-Eyed couldn't do it—can he?!"

Surya roared.

As his anger rose, dazzling radiance bloomed from his Golden Armor and illuminated every direction, painfully bright.

"They were given a chance, yet they refuse to stay properly in the Netherworld. Then fight! Fight until it hurts! Fight until they regret it!"

Agni's eyes seemed to spit fire as he shouted.

"Let the Asuras of the Netherworld witness the power of the gods!"

Vayu clenched his fists and said coldly.

Listening to the gods around him, Indra fell into thought. His heart sank, and his eyelid suddenly twitched as he considered the name Narada had mentioned.

Golden Bed?!

That name sounded so familiar!

The next moment, Agni stepped before Indra, slammed his fist fiercely against his chest, and shouted.

"Lord of Heaven!"

"Grant me an army of one hundred thousand Gandharva gods! I, Agni, am willing to lead the army into the Netherworld and subdue Golden Bed!"

Agni shouted angrily.

Vayu also stepped forward and volunteered. "I am willing to serve as the vanguard of the gods!"

"I will drive the Sun Chariot and illuminate the Netherworld for the gods!"

Surya also stepped forward.

His Sun Chariot could illuminate the world, and it would be useful after entering the Netherworld as well.

"I'll go too, to hold down the rear guard for the gods!"

Varuna said immediately afterward.

As the gods spoke, Indra finally recalled Golden Bed's boon.

Not killed in Heaven, not killed on earth, not killed indoors, not killed outdoors...

This guy...

He would be troublesome to deal with!

As Indra thought this and was about to order everyone not to act rashly, a Gandharva suddenly rushed over.

"Bad news!"

"An Asura army from the Netherworld has appeared at the edge of the Human Realm."

This Gandharva divine soldier reported.

Indra inwardly cursed at the news.

It seemed they really were going to fight another battle!

"In that case!"

"If they want war, then war it is!"

Indra said.

"Praise Vishnu~" Narada chuckled. "It seems my information was quite accurate. Now that the Heavenly Realm is busy with war, I won't disturb you any longer."

With that, he pressed his palms together and prepared to take his leave.

But in the next instant, a strong hand tightly gripped Sage Narada's wrist.

"Are you leaving, Sage?"

Indra asked with a smile.

"Hm?"

Narada tilted his head slightly.

"We truly have you to thank this time, Sage Narada. Thanks to you, we learned of the Asuras' movements in advance. But the Heavenly Realm's army now needs someone of exceptional wisdom to guide us."

"The priest must remain at my side. Sage, why not help the Heavenly Realm a little more and accompany Surya and the others?"

Indra said.

Narada tugged at his wrist, but no matter what he did, he could not pull it free.

His smile stiffened slightly.

"This..."

"I'm afraid my wisdom is insufficient!"

Narada said.

"You were born from Brahma's forehead and are a devotee of Supreme Lord Vishnu. Your wisdom is among the greatest even among sages."

"We'll be relying on you this time!"

"I believe Supreme Lord Vishnu will be watching over you!"

The corners of Indra's lips curled up into a brilliant smile, emphasizing the words "Vishnu."

This Enchanting Sage caused trouble everywhere!

Back then, he had talked all of Prajapati Daksha's sons into becoming ascetics, never to produce descendants again.

And now he had come to the Heavenly Realm to incite war.

He had to drag him into this mess!

"But..."

"No buts. The Supreme Lord will be watching over you!"

"This..."

Narada inwardly cried out in alarm.

He had been careless!

"Sage, are you unwilling to help us gods? We gods toil tirelessly for the world. If we cannot receive understanding from others, that is deeply painful. And when I am in pain, I get angry. In my rage, I might lose my reason and do terrible things, such as casting curses—especially on people like Garuda."

As Indra said this, he blinked and looked at Narada.

"Sage, have you heard Garuda's story?"