Chapter 7

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"Hmph! How dare you compare yourself to the revered Lord!"

Garuda snorted coldly, standing tall and unyielding. He took two steps back, fixing a defiant gaze on Indra.

The proud Golden-winged Great Roc would never submit to Indra!

"I'll find my own way to break the curse!"

With that, Garuda spread his wings and took off, his enormous wings cutting through the sky as he left the heavenly realm.

"Sigh~"

The Sage of Sacrifice watched Garuda's retreating figure and couldn't help but shake his head, letting out a long sigh.

With Garuda gone, his task of mediation seemed impossible to complete.

Now, he could only advise Indra and the other gods to seek out Lord Vishnu in the Milky Ocean.

"Indra, now that you and the gods have lost your powers, and Lady Lakshmi has also vanished because of you, the Asuras have similarly lost their strength. This is detrimental to the universe's development. You must go to seek an audience with the Lord as soon as possible..."

The Sage of Sacrifice earnestly advised.

Indra, listening to the Sage, was suddenly struck by an idea.

"Wait!"

His eyes began to shine as he raised his hand. "What did you just say?"

"I said you must go to seek an audience with the Lord?"

The Sage of Sacrifice responded, puzzled.

"No, the sentence before that."

"This is detrimental to the universe's development?"

"No, the one before that!"

Indra shook his hand, urging him to continue.

The Sage of Sacrifice blinked, thinking hard. "The Asuras have also lost their strength?"

Clap!

Indra clapped his hands, a light of realization dawning in his eyes.

"If the Asuras have lost their strength, then they won't attack the heavenly realm. If so, I don't need to worry as much."

Indra felt a bit relieved.

But he still dared not be complacent.

As far as he knew, this era was one of burgeoning life and vitality. Countless races were thriving on Earth, and Vishnu had only incarnated once so far as the fish Matsya.

The fish had saved the ancestor Manu from the great flood.

The second incarnation, the turtle Kurma, had not yet appeared, as the gods and Asuras had not yet churned the ocean of milk.

The remaining incarnations were even further off!

"The current king of the Asuras is the first-generation Asura, Hiranyaksha!"

"Hiranyaksha had the strength to lift the entire Earth, imprisoning the Earth Goddess and causing the sea to flood the land. Vishnu incarnated as a boar to defeat him, but even he was affected by the curse."

"Probably, maybe, possibly stronger than me!"

Indra pondered.

There were many conflicts between the gods and the Asuras, but these were mostly minor skirmishes between their followers.

The main deities had yet to engage directly with the Asura king.

Indra was uncertain about Hiranyaksha's strength!

As the sons of the sage Kashyapa, Hiranyaksha's power was on par with theirs. If Hiranyaksha undertook intense austerities and received blessings from Brahma, they might not be able to match him.

"I still need to secure those blessings first!"

"It's all Garuda's fault for wasting my efforts!"

Indra fumed inwardly.

He had spent so much time in austerities, only to be interrupted by that bothersome Garuda.

"Indra!"

Seeing Indra lost in thought, the Sage of Sacrifice called out, concerned. "What's wrong? Are you worried about the Asuras?"

Indra nodded, casting a quick glance at Surya, the Sun God.

He was indeed worried and needed to find a way to obtain Surya's divine armor.

However, his current power of austerity was insufficient to convince Surya to bestow the armor with all its abilities.

He would have to lower his demands!

"Indeed!"

"The current Asura king, Hiranyaksha, is my half-brother. I don't wish for them to attack the heavenly realm, leading to fratricidal strife."

"Garuda forced me into this; I had no choice but to curse him, hoping to quell his arrogance."

"If the Asuras do attack, I wish to bear the brunt of their power to awaken the good within them!"

Indra feigned a sorrowful expression.

I hope ≠ I'll actually do it!

He needed to secure the blessings first!

Turning to Surya, he folded his hands.

"Praise to Surya!"

"I hope you can bless me with the divine armor. This armor has one hundred layers, each requiring a thousand years of ascetic practice to break. Let me bear their power."

Indra spoke solemnly.

He did not ask for the original thousand-layer armor, but only a hundred layers, and he removed the ability of each layer to kill enemies upon breaking.

Upon hearing this, the surrounding gods were taken aback, surprised, and moved.

The Sage of Sacrifice widened his eyes, stunned, as he looked Indra up and down, as if seeing him anew.

Was this the same Indra he knew, who never shied away from causing trouble?!

"I thought Indra was as proud as I was, but he turns out to be so compassionate. Last time he asked for the Sun Armor, it was for this reason!"

Surya thought.

"Praise to Indra!"

Agni, the Fire God, also felt a surge of respect, folding his hands.

The water gods, wind gods, Gandharvas, Apsaras, and other divine beings followed suit.

"Praise to Indra!"

Amidst these praises, Surya smiled and spoke.

However, his expression grew serious.

"Indra!"

"Your austerities are incomplete; this armor cannot be given to you!"

Surya paused, then continued.

"But I promised to grant you any blessing!"

At this moment, a divine light seemed to emanate from Surya's dark features, filling him with divine majesty, as if he had merged with the universal essence, entering a special state.

Surya slowly raised his right hand, pointing it towards Indra.

"I bestow upon you the Golden Sun Armor!"

"This armor will be forged from your austerities. Each thousand years of ascetic practice will construct a layer of armor, its power and effects determined by you."

"As you wish!"

With those words, a golden light shot from Surya's palm.

Whoosh!

This golden light floated and landed on Indra.

A dark golden armor appeared on Indra, shining brightly, engraved with suns and stars, intertwined with lightning, symbolizing the friendship between Surya and Indra.

Indra's eyes lit up.

This was not the original Golden Sun Armor he sought, but in some ways, it was more precious.

This Golden Sun Armor was a growing artifact!