After the great flood receded, following the advice of the Goddess Athena, the gods each took individuals they favored from the surviving humans and guided them to various corners of the earth, helping them establish city-states, build civilizations, and multiply.
What they didn't know was that these surviving humans were not actually the descendants of Deucalion and Pyrrha, but rather humans from the Silver Age who had directly persisted from the previous era.
Unfortunately, according to Hecate, the human race was also subjected to the interference of the inhibitory force. The Silver Age humans, who should have been immortal unless killed, would now die of old age in the new era. Moreover, no one had yet successfully achieved Magnetic Field Rotation, which Ares taught them, at most only reaching the realm of Electric Current Propulsion.
However, their average physical quality was already much stronger than that of the original Bronze Age humans. And although they had aged, following Ares's instructions, they passed down the magic and combat techniques Ares had taught them before sensing their end was near.
With Ares's impetus and the gods' assistance, the humans of the Greek Pantheon world quickly transcended the tribal era and rapidly entered early city-state civilization, establishing kingdoms centered around various city-states.
And after these early kingdoms were established, Zeus, who had long been impatient, finally prepared to put Athena's last plan, the so-called demigod plan, on the agenda.
The curtain for this new era, the age of heroes, was slowly drawn open by the propulsion of various forces.
…
Ares's first day in the new era began with the Noise of Hera and Zeus. When he arrived at the God King's Hall with his divine power clone for the main god's morning meeting, he saw his "mother" and "father" arguing fiercely from the God King's throne and the Queen's throne.
Spittle flew between them; Hera cursed and cried while Zeus retorted and raged. Their exchange was interspersed with various intimate greetings to each other's parents. The other main gods present quietly acted like ostriches, standing silently in their positions, waiting for the God King and Queen to finish arguing.
Ares thought carefully. It seemed Hera and Zeus were siblings, sharing the same parents.
Cronus, far away in Tartarus prison, and Rhea, living in seclusion on Earth, felt utterly frustrated.
Seeing Ares enter, Zeus and Hera merely glanced at him before continuing their quarrel.
Ares scanned the God King's Hall and found all the gods present staring at him, frantically winking. He lowered his head in thought and decided that, according to his persona, he could no longer remain silent.
So Ares directly interrupted Zeus and Hera's argument and asked in a deep voice, "Father, Mother, what are you arguing about again?"
"Ares, don't butt in!" Zeus glared at Ares, but Hera had already covered her mouth and began to wail to Ares, "Ares, you be the judge! Your father is going to betray your mother again and go have an affair with some disreputable woman!"
"Don't talk nonsense, Hera!" Zeus immediately bristled and glared, "Europa is not some 'disreputable' woman!"
"Oh, so that's what this is about." Ares immediately understood.
The woman Europa could be said to be one of the progenitors of the Greek heroic age; it was her marriage with Zeus that opened up the European continent and also gave rise to countless kingdoms that held important positions in Greek history.
Ares had only just learned that Europa had been born. The humans he had placed out there were now ancient history. Although humanity's connection to him had been passed down according to Ares's plan, during this period, at Hades's request, Hecate had to go to the Underworld to help. Therefore, Ares also had to assist the Moon Goddess in moving all the secrets hidden in her Tree Palace to the Underworld without being detected by the other gods.
There was no other way; most of Ares's secrets, including his main body, were hidden in Hecate's domain. Now that Hecate was moving, Ares had to help. He and his witch teacher both had many secrets they didn't want outsiders to know, so mutual concealment and assistance were necessary.
This matter occupied most of Ares's and Hecate's energy, which also made it almost impossible for Ares to pay detailed attention to the situation on Earth during this time.
So after a brief thought, Ares began to speak up for his mother: "If that's the case, then it is indeed a bigger problem for you, Zeus."
"What do you know? Scram, little virgin!" Zeus roared, "Do you think I'm lustful? I'm fulfilling the plan we all decided on earlier—demigods, demigods! If I don't go pick up girls, how can I have children with humans?"
"You're talking nonsense!" Hera cried out, "Are you the only god on Olympus? Apollo, Hephaestus, Poseidon… If you really don't want to be with her, you can let other male gods go!"
"Alright, alright." Poseidon interjected upon hearing this, "Brother, I can bear this hardship for you. Let all those mortal women come to me, Poseidon!"
"You shut up!"
Zeus glared fiercely at the Sea King, but with little effect. The Sea King whistled and looked at the sky, completely disregarding his warning. But Zeus currently had no energy to deal with his annoying brother. He patiently and quietly explained to Hera:
"I am the God King; in such matters, I must set an example and a good precedent, no matter what."
"I don't want to talk to you anymore!" Hera shouted, "Anyway, if you dare to go, I'll directly kill that slut!"
"Hera!" Zeus stood up, pointed at his Queen, and angrily rebuked, "Don't forget who the God King is? And how did his Queen come to be?"
"How did I come to be?" Hera wiped away her tears and also angrily said, "Yes, how did I come to be? Of course, it was when you turned into a cuckoo and raped me, your older sister!"
"Insolent!" Zeus retorted, "If I hadn't taken you, could you be the Queen?"
"Hmph? Do you perhaps think that among our siblings back then, only you could be the God King?" Hera laughed sadly, "If I had known, I should have gone to Hades or Poseidon…"
"You dare!"
Zeus finally lost his patience. In a fit of rage, he slammed his hand heavily on the table in front of him, then stood up, picked up his divine lightning, and walked towards the Queen:
"Since we married, I have always tolerated you. It seems if I don't teach you a lesson today, you won't know what's good for you!"
"Zeus, don't hit Hera!" Ares very cooperatively pounced forward, intending to take the opportunity to test Zeus's strength. But his clone, despite gathering divine power, was casually swept aside by Zeus with the divine lightning in his hand. Bolts of lightning coiled around his body, even causing his spirit to ache faintly, and this clone collapsed to the ground, unable to move.
Seeing the God of War in such a state, the other main gods dared not intervene further. Except for Hephaestus, they all pretended not to see the domestic violence unfolding before them, standing silently in place.
Before Zeus, the weak Queen was powerless to resist his brutality. She was directly seized by Zeus and dragged to the highest lookout temple on Olympus. Her feet were bound to an anvil by Zeus, her hands tied with golden chains, and she was hung upside down in mid-air for public display. All the gods on the sacred mountain of Olympus witnessed this scene with their own eyes, but they were all intimidated by Zeus's wrath, and no one dared to approach her to plead for the Queen, except for her two sons born to her personally.
"Zeus, this is too much!"
Hephaestus followed Zeus and Hera out, and when he saw the King of Gods hanging his poor mother, he finally couldn't bear it anymore and accused his father.
Ares, on the other hand, was more direct. As the divine lightning power within his clone slightly diminished, he drew his weapon and charged at Zeus with a cry of "Waaah!"
However, after only one exchange, he was knocked to the ground by Zeus. The enraged King of Gods kicked his son directly off Olympus.
"Is this the strength of the God King?"
Ares plummeted below the clouds, but his mind was constantly calculating the details of their recent exchange.
"Indeed, with the divine lightning in hand, no one in this world, apart from extraterrestrial beings and the inhibitory force, is his match."
This time, Zeus was at fault, and furthermore, Hera had her mother Rhea and her adoptive parents, Oceanus and his wife, supporting her. He couldn't simply kill Ares. Therefore, Ares merely protected his body with divine power and landed steadily on the plains below Olympus. Aside from damaging a section of the ground, there was no other loss.
However, not long after he landed, he saw his unlucky elder brother, the God of Fire, also fall from the clouds with a scream, crashing heavily into the ground next to him.