A foothold

At this point, Takshaka's hostility towards Bai Mo and the others had greatly diminished. After learning the whole story, he even felt some sympathy for the guy named Karna and thought Karna, who had agreed to such an absurd thing, was a fool.

In his heart, Takshaka secretly Dhritarashtra's name in his little notebook.

Originally, the relationship between Khandava Forest and Hastinapura was one of tacit peace. Because of Indra, there was no rain in the area, and given the numerous dangers, naturally no one would come to live there.

Khandava Forest is indeed within the sphere of influence of Hastinapura, but no one has ever conquered this land before. But now, the balance has been broken, and it was Chiguo Dhritarashtra the first move.

Takshaka felt that Karna was just a hothead who had been used as a pawn; the main problem was Dhritarashtra, who had caused all of this.

His eyes darted around, as if he were pondering something, but this was not the place for such plans. He sighed deeply and said to Bai Mo:

"So, you really want my land?"

Bai Mo nodded. Since they were already here, it would be quite troublesome to make Karna refuse, given his personality. Bai Mo didn't want to directly order him around as his master.

Moreover, Karna most likely saw this as a trial.

"I won't ask for much, just the area of five villages. And, during this period, Karna can temporarily ally with you, fulfilling one of your reasonable requests."

Bai Mo spoke up, but Takshaka clearly didn't think much of the alliance and only had one reasonable request. This wasn't entirely up to the other party's opinion. Just as he was about to bargain, Indra slapped him on the forehead again.

"Ah, Indra, is this how you treat your allies?"

"That's right, be grateful, you fool. Hurry up and agree." Indra glanced at Bai Mo and continued, "Karna is that Surya's son, you're not at a disadvantage."

Takshaka said somewhat indignantly, "In that case, you should at least demonstrate the strength to become an ally, right?"

With a clang, a golden crown landed in front of Takshaka. Takshaka's eyes widened instantly. His hands trembled as he picked up the crown, examined it carefully, and then asked tentatively:

"This is... Yao Lian's crown? He's dead?"

Is this enough?

Takshaka swallowed hard, seemingly wanting to say something, but seeing this, Bai Mo reached out and a dagger appeared in his hand. The moment it appeared, Takshaka felt a fear originating from within, as well as a suffocating sense of oppression.

This was Nidhogg's Bite. The oppressive aura of the black dragon Nidhogg and Jormungandr made Takshaka almost breathless. Only now did he realize how foolish his actions had been.

Would someone capable of defeating the Yao Lian care about their small territory? Would someone possessing such a divine artifact care about them?

Is that enough?

"Hey, what you're saying is true. Khandava Forest will always welcome him and his friends. Maya, go out and help them. They want to build a nation, and you'll definitely be able to help."

Thus, the matter was successfully resolved. Bai Mo left with Kama and Maya, feeling relieved—at least this time the problem wasn't solved with violence.

Takshaka wiped the sweat from his brow and turned to Indra, sighing:

"Indra, the God of Gods, please forgive my misunderstanding of you. You are an excellent ally, and I am willing to hold a sacrifice in your honor."

Indra waved his hand and said, "What? Is this the first time you've known about my greatness? And you're kind of amusingly stupid. Faced with that kind of alliance, even though it's only a minor connection, you actually tried to bargain."

You have no idea what an opportunity you almost missed. Hmph, those guys at sea would be willing to pay a price far beyond your imagination if they could get an opportunity like yours.

Leaving behind these cryptic words, Indra vanished in the form of lightning.

Outside, Bai Mo also brought Maya to meet Karna. By this time, Karna had already become friends with the people Bai Mo brought.

"Everything is resolved. Now that you've established yourself here, you need to manage your relationship with the snake clan well. Takshaka won't make things too difficult for you."

Bai Mo brought Karna the promise from Takshaka, and Karna was very happy. He put his hands together in a gesture of respect to Bai Mo and said, "Thank you for your help, Master. If it were me, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to achieve such an effect."

"That's true. If it were you, you'd probably start fighting with Takshaka in less than three sentences."

Kama said irritably, clearly still holding a slight grudge against Karna for his previous high-EQ remarks, and Karna nodded in deep agreement.

That's true.

"So you do have some self-awareness after all."

Maya stepped forward and bowed deeply to Karna. He was not a powerful figure like Takshaka who would fight against enemies; for him, it didn't matter who he sided with.

This guy is also the son of the sun god Surya, so his background is definitely worth investing in.

"Lord Karna, shall I begin construction now? Just give the order, and I will immediately build you a magnificent palace that surpasses even the Hastinapura."

"Surpass Hastinapura? That's not a good idea. Dhritarashtra very sensitive and even somewhat insecure. Surpassing Hastinapura might hurt his fragile heart; he might think I'm provoking him."

Karna was somewhat worried, while Bai Mo patted Maya on the shoulder.

"I didn't send you here to build a city, Maya." Then, Bai Mo waved to the people, and those who had followed him from Kingdom of Magadha immediately came over, looking obedient.

"Karna, did you tell them about the order here?"

Karna nodded and replied, "I've made myself clear. Here, status isn't determined by caste, but by ability. There are no worthless individuals pampered in high places, nor are there any hidden talents."

"That's right, and knowledge and skills won't be kept secret." Bai Mo patted Maya and smiled at him, "You will build your own cities and do it yourselves. Maya, your job is not to build cities, but to teach them how to build them."

I need not only your abilities, but also your knowledge.

"If you can accomplish this, you will be a respected teacher in this city. Of course, you must discard your past as Asura."

Bai Mo doesn't intend to simply build skyscrapers in Maya from scratch. He believes in teaching people how to fish rather than giving them fish, so that the city can become a cradle of talent.

Maya was highly skilled in illusion and construction. During the great war between the Asura and the gods, the Tripura he built left the gods helpless. In the end, it was Shiva who had to intervene to destroy it.

Subsequently, Bai Mo used Magnetic Field Power to create a house that was large enough to shelter from the wind and rain. The initial work still needed to be done well. Meanwhile, in the Khandava Forest, many snakes brought over some forest fruits and vegetables and their strangled prey.