Four more hours passed before the soldiers returned.
They came slowly, feet dragging in the dust, faces streaked with sweat and exhaustion.
Behind them rolled several wooden cages on carts, the wheels creaking under the weight.
Inside, a handful of stray dogs paced restlessly, barking once or twice at the unfamiliar sight of so many men. The chief, a broad-shouldered man with gray in his beard, stepped forward first. He bowed low to Karna, then straightened, looking embarrassed.
"Maharaj," he said, voice rough from shouting orders all day, "we searched every corner of the city, every house, every alley, every rooftop. These are all we found. Stray dogs that had hidden in the shadows."
Karna looked at the cages for a long moment.
The dogs pressed against the bars, some whining softly, others watching him with wary eyes. He stepped forward and placed a hand on the chief's shoulder, "Good job. You understood my words perfectly. You searched with care. You all will be rewarded later for your hard work."
The chief bowed again, relief easing the lines on his face.
The other soldiers exchanged glances, some surprised, some quietly proud. Karna had asked them to evacuate every living being. Not just people. Not just cattle. Every creature that breathed. They had done their best.
Karna then turned toward the empty city and closed his eyes, joining his palms. And spoke, voice low, steady, directed upward.
"Lord Yama… God of justice and death… the soldiers did their best to remove every living being from this city. But I am not sure we found them all. I have no way to search for the smallest creatures, the insects in the cracks, the birds in the eaves, and the rats in the burrows. I am going to destroy this place. If I take any life unknowingly… please bless them. Accept my apology."
He opened his eyes.
As he raised his hand, the Vijaya Dhanush appeared in his hand. He raised it slowly, aimed not at the city, but at the sky above it. His lips moved in a quiet chant, the mantra of Ulkapinda Astra rising soft and clear.
A golden arrow formed on the string, surrounded by a swirling cluster of tiny stones that hovered like fireflies.
Karna drew the string back and released.
*Swoosh*
The arrow streaked upward.
High above the city, it burst open.
A gigantic miniature sun took shape in the sky, burning gold and fierce. Heat rolled downward in waves. Then the stones ignited, turning into massive meteorites that rained down in a continuous barrage.
The soldiers watched from a safe distance, mouths open, eyes wide.
In just a couple of minutes, Rajapura, the old capital, was razed to the ground. Dust rose in thick clouds. The ground was turned into a massive field of rubble, collapsed stone walls, shattered beams, broken tiles, half-melted metal, ash, and scattered debris
Karna then conjured another arrow and began to chant the mantra of Vayavyastra. As he released the arrow, wind stirred around it, swirling like a gentle cyclone. It moved outward, sweeping across the debris field in wide, deliberate arcs.
Broken stones lifted smoothly, rolling and tumbling toward a single point in the center of the old city square.
Shattered beams rose next, floating upward, then drifting like leaves in a current until they stacked neatly in towering piles.
Tiles clattered together, forming mounds. Metal fragments spun and collected into shimmering heaps. Dust and ash spiraled upward, then settled in a fine layer at the edges, leaving the ground beneath bare and level.
The soldiers watched with their mouths open in shock as the sprawling mess ended up in the central square, like offerings to the new beginning. The rest of the land lay clean, flat earth exposed, ready for foundations.
Karna then murmured, "Now for the final act."
He conjured the third arrow, unleashing another divyastra, this time, the Agneyastra. As the flaming arrow struck what seemed like a hill of debris, it burned down until nothing was left.
With a thought in his mind, the Vijaya Dhanush vanished from his hand, returning to wherever it rested when not needed.
He finally turned to the chief soldier, who looked like he stopped breathing. "Now it is ready. The old city is gone. The new one can begin."
The chief bowed low, voice thick with awe. "Maharaj… we have never witnessed such a thing. You cleared a city in the matter of minutes."
Karna waved his hands with a smile. "It's not a trouble."
The chief then asked hesitatingly, "But I still have something in my mind that I cannot grasp."
Karna said it for him in a calm tone, "You wondered why I bothered to destroy everything, even including the old palace, instead of simply repairing right?"
As the chief soldier nodded, Karna replied, "For a new beginning, the old creation must be destroyed. And also, I want to create my capital foundation based on my vision, not on someone else's efforts."
The Chief soldier just stared at him in awe; words couldn't come out of his mouth.
*
In the blink of an eye, 2 whole years have passed.
After 2 years, the capital City is now populated with more than 700,000 people, almost containing one-third of the entire population of Dakshina Kalinga.
Yet, the migration hasn't stopped. In fact, People from other kingdoms began to migrate.
First in small groups, families from neighboring Vidarbha and Uttara Kalinga, carrying bundles on their heads, children clinging to their mothers' hands.
Then larger groups, entire villages moving together, carts loaded with pots and tools and sleeping mats.
Word had spread quickly: the son of Suryadev, disciple of Lord Parashurama, was now the new king of Dakshina Kalinga, and with the help of Vishwakarma himself, the City of Kanipura had been constructed to become one of the most dazzling cities in the entire Bharatvarsh.
The most attractive destination of the City was the royal palace, which is also named the Crown of Sun Palace, built in the center of the new capital.
The Palace rose like a second sun, walls of pale gold, towers that caught the light and threw it back brighter.
At the very top stood the crown, a massive ring of pure gold and enchanted stone, shaped like the sun itself, rays extending outward.
Whenever the real sun's rays passed through it, the crown glowed, soft at first, then fierce, illuminating the entire palace and the city around it. When the sun set, the glow dimmed, gentle, fading, until morning came again.
Other attractions include an artificial lake shimmering in the center, wide, clear, fed by underground channels.
Then, Gardens spread along the streets, with neem, mango, and ashoka trees planted in neat rows.
Sanctuaries for birds had also been built, small stone platforms where peacocks strutted and parrots nested.
Meanwhile, a barrier of light surrounded the outer walls, invisible but strong, repelling any hostile force that might approach.
Basically, Lord Vishwakarma had designed this city in a way similar to Nadarajapura, the capital of Gadharvaloka, where Roshini grew up. The city was designed in a way that Roshini would feel at home. And the Sun Palace itself is a replica of the grandpalace at Suryaloka. So, it was like both lokas were merged to create this city of Kanipura.
And to make sure the capital doesn't remain overcrowded with people, a new city is constructed, just about 15 kilometers away from the capital. Every bit of architecture in this new city has been replicated exactly like the capital city. However, except for the sun palace, a grand temple is being constructed, dedicated to the sun god.
The money required for all of this construction of two cities, Karna took a hefty loan of 3 crore gold coins from Lord Kubera instead of unnecessarily putting it on the heads of the citizens right from the start. Karna wasn't worried about going into debt too much, as he was confident that he would transform this land.
And in the past couple of years, attracting so many merchants from various kingdoms, Karna already could pay the 15 lakhs of gold coins of interest every year just from the taxes collected and still has enough left, including the remaining wealth from the loan. Karna knew that it was only a matter of time before he would start clearing the principal amount, too.
While the city constructions were going on, Karna also made a trip to wander the entire kingdom, visiting almost every major village in his kingdom to witness their conditions personally. Using Varunastras continuously, he made sure that his entire land remained fertile and also free of any problems with forest-dwelling demons.