"What does Aphrodite mean by that?"
Upon hearing the Goddess of Love's question, Athena frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure on her face.
Somehow, watching Perseus and Andromeda so deeply in love, so engrossed in each other, she suddenly felt a pang of discomfort in her heart.
"Oh, I never thought Athena had this side to her. It's quite a surprise."
As Aphrodite teased, a peculiar aura emanated from the Goddess of Love beside her. Athena looked at her and saw divine power rippling around the Goddess of Love, with what looked like pink bubbles and a halo surrounding her, which greatly annoyed the Goddess of Wisdom.
But upon careful sensing, she realized that Aphrodite's divine power was merely a natural emanation, not large in quantity, and not deliberately directed at her. It was likely just a burst of excitement from discussing a topic she found interesting.
This was quite normal; if Athena were to ever learn that Ares had slept with some woman and broken his vow, she would probably be as excited as Aphrodite was now.
However, Athena ignored her, but Aphrodite had no intention of letting the Goddess of Wisdom off the hook. Maintaining an aunt-like smile, she quietly leaned close to Athena's ear and whispered to her:
"How about it, Athena? If you're really interested in Perseus, I can help you. We are goddesses, so we don't need to worry about so many formalities. We just need to follow our inner impulses. Perseus is your subordinate god, and even if he already has Andromeda, it doesn't matter."
"Nonsense."
Athena took a step back, frowning, and said:
"Aphrodite, I'm going back. You can take your time playing here!"
With that, she glanced at Perseus and Andromeda again, then turned away somewhat angrily and walked towards her divine palace.
Watching the Goddess of Wisdom's retreating figure, Aphrodite's face revealed a somewhat sinister smile.
"No need to make her fall in love with Perseus directly; just ignite her possessiveness and subtly influence her."
Aphrodite walked across the garden lawn, muttering to herself the words Ares had told her:
"We worked for you, yet my poor Eros was mercilessly and cruelly killed by you and Zeus. You thought everything was under your control, but you didn't expect this, Athena, that you would have this day!"
As if envisioning Athena's reaction once she realized she had fallen for the trick, Aphrodite's lips curved into a triumphant and beautiful smile.
She quickly looked up, gazed at the constellation couple in the distance, and then quietly left the area, unnoticed by anyone.
Time quickly arrived at the dawn of the third day. At the bottom of the outer sea of Athens, in a flat basin on the seabed, various bizarre sea creatures were scattered everywhere.
This was already the front-line position of Poseidon's army. They had built stone houses on the seabed, transforming the area into a series of encampments, and even adorned a temporary palace for Poseidon with magnificent corals and pearls. Within this palace, Poseidon, who had been asleep for three days, healing his wounds with the power of the sea, finally slowly opened his eyes.
During his meditation, he had received news from his son, Orion, who had gone to the Underworld. Ares, the God of War, who was entrenched in the wilderness of the Underworld, had agreed to form an alliance with him to attack Athens from both front and rear.
Although Poseidon and Ares had always been at odds, and the two had clashed numerous times, with Poseidon suffering several losses, that was only because he was older and deliberately went easy on his nephew.
Now, with their interests aligned, and their mutual prejudices temporarily set aside, Ares would undoubtedly be the most powerful ally on the battlefield.
So, Poseidon no longer hesitated. He picked up his trident, which leaned beside his seat, and slowly walked out of the palace. Then, he loudly declared to his subordinate sea creatures, sea monsters, and subordinate gods:
"The time for attack has come! Sound the horns, raise the tides! Today, our waves will engulf the entire Athens!"
"Woo-woo—"
At Poseidon's command, all the sea creatures in the ocean sprang into action. Various figures swam through the water, picking up their weapons, mounting their sea monster steeds, and joining the massive operation.
Poseidon's divine power stirred up a colossal flood. Riding this tide, the sea army once again surged towards the impregnable city-state on the shore.
Athens, too, was not to be outdone. After Kratos, a mighty man descended from the heavens, took over all military operations in Athens, all the previously incompetent and weak good-for-nothings were demoted to the front-line suicide squads. The newly appointed warriors were all top-tier elites selected from Athena's divine army.
Although they still couldn't compare to the warriors of Sparta, they were considered the most elite soldiers in the Greek World and barely met the standards of Kratos, the Great General of Sparta.
Under the continuous night patrols of the guards on the city walls, Poseidon and the sea creatures had just raised the tsunami when it was detected by Athens's new guards.
"Enemy attack!"
These guards acted without hesitation. They each performed their duties: some blew horns, some lit signal fires, and some woke up their dozing comrades. Soon, the entire Athens learned of the sea creatures' attack, and they all sprang into action, preparing for battle before the sea creatures arrived.
Kratos, clad in golden armor, soon arrived on the city wall with his weapons, holding half a cup of wine. He looked at the distant sea.
On the sea, a visible white line was rapidly approaching, crushing everything in its path. It was a massive tide, and at its crest, several grotesque sea creatures or sea monsters occasionally poked their heads out, peering at Athens.
This white line quickly surged to the shore, transforming into a monstrous wave that crashed with a roar, fiercely pressing against the golden barrier protecting Athens.
As the tide pressed against the golden shield, countless sea creatures leaped from the waves in mid-air, invading the beaches of Athens, where they clashed with the defending forces, engaging in a fierce battle.
The towering figure of Poseidon, the God of the Sea, soon appeared on the surface of the sea with the arrival of the second wave. He held his trident, his eyes glowing with the light of the ocean, and loudly declared:
"Baldy, dare you come out and fight me?!"
Kratos took a fierce gulp of the wine in his cup, casually tossed aside the metal goblet, then drew his Chaos Blades. Taking the divine artifacts Athena had given him as a farewell gift, he leaped from the city wall and charged towards the battlefield by the sea.
As the Spartan charged, his Chaos Blades began to dance, the two scythe-blades transforming into two crimson whirlwinds, slicing all the sea creatures in his path into sashimi or burning them into grilled fish.
A few breaths later, the Spartan had recklessly charged out of the golden barrier, treading on waves, parting the seawater, tearing through the defenses of the sea creatures and sea monsters, and engaging Poseidon on the sea surface.
Meanwhile, Ares's legions slowly began to gather beneath Athens, preparing to advance through several hidden passages on the plains behind Athens.