Finally, they managed to pin him down.
On the clouds, when the Gods saw Heracles fall into the spring water, they all let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Zeus, this Hero is truly too strong."
Apollo suggested to Zeus:
"I think he shouldn't just stay in the mortal realm, but should be accepted by us as a god, joining us and receiving offerings from all creation."
"Indeed, Heracles's glory has far surpassed that of other Heroes; it feels like they're not even on the same level."
Zeus was also very pleased with his son's performance. He cleared his throat and slowly said:
"Don't worry, Apollo, I have my own arrangements for this matter."
Seeing Zeus's confident demeanor, the Gods stopped discussing the topic further, ceding all authority on the matter to Zeus.
After Heracles disappeared, the Gods felt much more at ease. They watched their children on the island, felling trees, making oars, and then bringing them back to the shore, comparing whose oars were more exquisite and sturdy, worthy of that rare great Hero.
In the end, Jason, as the captain, emerged victorious. The oar in his hand had been directly blessed by his guardian, Heavenly Queen Hera, and its quality even surpassed that of Medea's oar, which had been enhanced with dozens of strengthening spells.
Unfortunately, the little witch Medea had, after all, learned magic and combat from Hecate. For something like making oars, she naturally wasn't as skilled as Jason, who was familiar with maritime affairs.
After standing out among the Heroes, Jason's head was directly overcome by "the joy of victory" by Athena. He was smug and arrogant, and under the Heroes' flattery, he boarded the Argo and immediately announced to weigh anchor and depart.
The Gods all thought this matter was a sure thing, but just then, Athena, who had been calm, suddenly changed her expression and shouted:
"God of the South Wind! Hurry up and blow, blow the Argo away from this coast, quick, quick, quick!"
Seeing her anxious look, the Gods didn't have time to question Zeus and quickly waved their hands, instructing the God of the South Wind to act as Athena had said.
And so, Boreas, God of the North Wind, Notus, God of the South Wind, Eurus, God of the East Wind, and Zephyrus, God of the West Wind—the four sons of Astraeus and Eos—acted together. As soon as the Argo's sails were raised, they directly created a strong offshore wind along the coast, carrying the Argo away like an arrow from a bowstring, so fast that it seemed as if several Heracles were rowing together on the ship, and it quickly disappeared from the coastline.
It was only after the Argo had sailed far away that the Gods had time to ask Athena what had happened. She replied with a wry smile:
"We still underestimated Heracles's'strength.' All I can say is, he truly is Zeus's child. The situation in the world of the spring has completely spiraled out of control."
Regarding what happened in the spring, Athena only said that she was a virgin goddess and was unwilling to elaborate. Not long after she finished speaking, the Gods saw splashes erupt from the spring, and Heracles's tall figure appeared in the water.
It seemed this great Hero had somehow broken free from the entanglement of the water nymphs and returned to the surface from another dimension.
Seeing the mighty appearance of this Hero, the Gods worried that he would catch up with the Argo. The simple moon goddess Artemis directly expressed her concern:
"What if this man just swims and catches up? I feel like he could directly catch up to the Argo."
"How is that possible? The sea is Poseidon's domain." The goddess of love, Aphrodite, laughed upon hearing this: "Besides, with so many sea monsters lurking in the sea, no matter what, he's only a demigod..."
"But he beat up Poseidon in Athena's temple, didn't you know?"
Before Aphrodite could finish her sentence, Ares, who had clearly been squatting in the corner of the clouds looking up at the stars, suddenly leaned over and said to the Gods.
"What?!"
The Gods, hearing this, all feigned extreme surprise and then asked Ares:
"You're not exaggerating, are you? He beat up Poseidon?!"
"Huh?" Ares deliberately showed an even more surprised expression than the Gods. He looked at the Gods on the clouds and asked in astonishment: "Haven't you heard about this? No way? Athena, you haven't told everyone about this?"
Athena glared at Ares, grinding her teeth, but when the Gods' gazes fell upon her, she quickly changed her expression to a polite yet awkward smile, and quietly explained to the Gods:
"Hestia was present at the time, and she asked me not to spread it. This matter, after all, involved the dignity of a God King."
"Hestia just loves to meddle." Zeus said discontentedly upon hearing this: "Come on, Athena, don't be afraid. Anyway, it's Poseidon who's losing face. Just tell us."
Zeus had spoken, but Athena remained eerily silent, while Ares next to her laughed:
"That's not right, sister. I remember the cause of this incident was Poseidon's attempt to act improperly with your priestess in your temple, and you, as a chief god, turned a blind eye to his actions, only daring to seek Hestia's help... In this matter, it's probably not just Poseidon who lost face!"
After speaking, without waiting for Athena to explain, Ares loudly and vividly recounted the story of "Heracles and Perseus angrily beating Poseidon" to Zeus and the Gods, making Zeus laugh heartily, almost spraying the wine he had drunk out of his nostrils.
However, Athena was not so happy. In this incident, no matter what reason she used to deflect, she had not stepped forward immediately to stand up for her priestess. One must know that if this matter had involved strong chief gods like Apollo and Artemis, they would have certainly appeared directly to stop their uncle. If it were someone as hot-tempered as Ares, Poseidon might have been met with a fiery divine spear the moment he intended to misbehave.
Therefore, while Ares was speaking, other Gods occasionally cast strange glances at her, as if saying to her, "Wow, so Athena is this kind of chief god, how disappointing," and so on.
Athena felt that her leadership position among the fourth-generation chief gods, which she had gained by defeating Ares in a one-on-one challenge, was now slowly shaking.
During that intense battle, Athena knew in her heart that Ares clearly had the chance to defeat her but had foolishly thrown it away. At the time, Athena, lacking information, naively thought her brother was just an idiot. However, with subsequent encounters, she gradually realized that the cunning old man had deliberately lost to her back then.
It was just that Ares at the time needed to relinquish his position as the strongest fourth-generation chief god to divert Zeus's hatred, and Athena happened to need that position to build her system among the Gods. Thus, a cooperation without any negotiation process was achieved; everyone tacitly took what they needed.
Now, Ares clearly felt his wings had grown, and he was slowly trying to contend with her for this position. Athena had long been vigilant and had a strategy to deal with it.
However, having a strategy did not mean she wouldn't feel angry. After all, Ares's skill at being annoying had reached unprecedented heights; every few sentences he spoke, he would cast an ambiguous glance at Athena, making Athena feel as if her liver was about to explode from anger.
"Good!"
But while Athena was fuming, Zeus was delighted. After hearing about the heroic deeds of his two "sons," he clapped his hands and laughed heartily:
"I never expected my sons to have done such things! Heracles is indeed excellent. Hmm, that boy named Perseus isn't bad either, but his mother is Danaë... Uh, never mind, looking at him, he also has the blood of Zeus, so he is indeed my son. This young man also has a great future and is worth promoting."