Chase

Aryan literally had no idea why Krishna was taking his side but after seeing that Balram hesitated after hearing Krishna's suggestion, he immediately hammered while the iron was still hot.

"I understand your concern, Prince Balram, but I assure you that my only intention is to assist in bringing Shatadhanva to justice. My interest lies solely in helping you recover the Samayantak jewel and ensuring the safety of Dwaraka. I seek no personal gain in this matter."

Aryan said with an honest and solemn look on his face.

"I also think we should let him help us Dau. "

Subhadra also said from the side while stealing a few glances at Aryan, which were actually discovered by both Bhanumati and Dushala. But both of them decided to stay silent for now.

On the other hand, Balram, after a moment of consideration finally relented and said with a smile.

"Very well then, Udra naresh Aryan. We appreciate your willingness to assist us. Let us work together to apprehend Shatadhanva and reclaim the jewel. Your support will be invaluable in this endeavor."

Krishna, with a faint mysterious smile, added,

"We are grateful for your cooperation, Udra naresh Aryan. With your help, we have a better chance of resolving this situation swiftly and efficiently. Let us coordinate our efforts to bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion."

Aryan nodded back with a confident smile and went with the flow.

Subsequently, after bidding farewell to King Dhritarashtr and the others, Krishna, Balram and Aryan chased in the direction in which Shatadhanva had escaped according to the spies.

Meanwhile Subhadra took Bhanumati and Dushala back to Dwaraka for the return of the three of them.

And the happiest person in all this chaos was none other than Duryodhan. Only after seeing Aryan finally leaving the boundaries of Hastinapur did he breath a sigh of relief.

He still remembered how back in the tournament Aryan critically injured Bheem in just move after the other party attacked him.

And he couldn't even imagine what he might do to someone like him who has tried to take his life.

"Uncle Shakuni, we can't always hope for a miracle. We have to find a solution for this Aryan Bahubali one way or another. "

Duryodhan said with a snort as he clenched his fist.

"Indeed my nephew, indeed. But the problem persists, how do we defeat someone like him whom even Gangaputra Bhisma can't defeat?"

Shakuni said helplessly.

"So should we just wait like a fish on chopping board? "

Duryodhan said angrily.

After a brief silence, Shakuni suddenly looked at him with a sly smile.

"I think I have found the solution to our problem Duryodhan. "

"Really? Tell me what it is Uncle Shakuni? "

Duryodhan asked in excitement.

"Remember I suggested that we look for an external aide and that Prince Balram is the best candidate? I think it's time to put that plan into action. Because Balram and Krishna are the only people in Aryavrat who can possibly defeat him. "

Shakuni said with a sinister look in his eyes.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

After reaching the location in the forest where Shatadhanva was last spotted, Krishna Balram and Aryan split in three different directions and sped on their horses.

Aryan remembered that in original Mahabharat, Shatadhanva actually fled to the kingdom of Mithila after stealing Samayantak jewel and thus chose that direction.

As the trio sped through the forest, each on their respective paths, Aryan's mind was preoccupied with various thoughts.

First of all he was sighing that he lost the opportunity to warn Duryodhan but after thinking about possibly aquiring the sin of greed's ability, Aryan immediately pushed it to the back of his mind.

Anyway he can deal with Duryodhan later on too but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

With his thoughts sorted, Aryan concentrated on the matter at hand and urged the horse to run faster.

The forest blurred past him, the thicket of trees and the rustling foliage forming a backdrop to his racing thoughts.

As he continued through the forest, Aryan's senses remained heightened, attuned to every subtle shift in the surrounding environment.

And after travelling for a few hours, the sun has already set and it was getting dark. With no choice, Aryan stopped in an opening near a small pond in the forest and decided to camp here for the night.

As Aryan settled in the opening near the small pond, he secured his horse and set up a small camp for the night. He gathered some dry wood to build a fire, ensuring that he would have enough warmth and light to see through the darkness of the forest. As for the possibility of the wild animals attacking him, with Moksha guarding him there was no threat at all.

Amidst the crackling of the fire and the soothing sounds of the forest at night, Aryan suddenly heard a few splashing sounds from the direction of the pond.

Startled, Aryan decided to go and have a look. With Moksha floating by his side, Aryan calmly walked over to the edge of the pond but strangely enough, there was no one there at all. Even more strange was the fact there weren't even any ripples in the water.

"Okay... Now this is interesting. I wonder who the hell is trying to mess with me. "

A smile appeared on his face as he thought out loud.

Although he had no idea if it was the doing of a Rakshas or Yaksh or whatever but Aryan was sure that it was not some wild animal.

As a matter of fact, this was the first time Aryan had encountered a supernatural event like this. Aside from Takshak, who was technically a Naga, he hasn't met any other non human existence even after rebirth.

* splash * * splash *

Suddenly, the water molecules in the center of the pond start start coalescing together and before long they form a muscular humanoid figure with a strange weapon held in his right hand.

"Hello warrior, welcome to my pond. I am the Yaksha residing here, Vajrapani. And since you have infiltrated my territory then you must correctly answer seven of my questions otherwise you can't leave this place and will stay here with me forever. "

The yaksha said without any emotion in his voice.

"Woah... So this is a yaksha. "

Aryan looked at him in amazement.

In his cognition, Yakshas are actually a type of divine beings called nature spirits. And they mostly reside in certain mountains, rivers and forests as their guardian or something like that.

Anyway, more importantly, the yakshas have a habit of asking people some questions. And every one of them has some special rule like power to punish those who don't answer.

Now Aryan didn't know what was the deal with this Yaksha. And the best way to find out was...

"And what if I don't answer? "

Aryan said defiantly.

"Anyone who doesn't answers Vajrapani's question, his head will split into seven pieces."

The yaksha replied plainly.

"And what if I answer all seven of your questions correctly? Is there a reward? "

Aryan inquired further in curiosity.

"Yes, as long as you can answer all seven of my questions, not only will you be free to leave this place safely but you will also get ... "

.

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