After returning the firewood connected to Meleager's life to Meleager himself, Ares and Athena left without looking back.
Their figures disappeared from the sight of Meleager and the Heroes, entering another realm, where Ares finally focused his gaze on Athena, observing her carefully.
"What are you looking at me for?"
Noticing Ares's gaze, Athena smiled slightly and then said, "If you really can't help but want to break your oath, don't come to me. I can find two goddesses for you, guaranteed to be rare beauties in this world."
"No thanks, I'm not interested in driving used cars."
Ares replied, "But you, sister, if watching that performance by the brawny men earlier has truly ignited a fire within you that you can't suppress, then I can find a group of fine young men for you, guaranteed to satisfy you to death."
Their gazes met, as if needlepoint met an awn. As their eyes intertwined, it even gave people the illusion of sparks flying in mid-air. After staring at each other unyieldingly for a while, they both let out a cold snort at the same time and turned their heads away.
What exactly is this woman planning?
As he turned his head, Ares's heart did not relax its vigilance. He pondered what had just happened. After watching the Calydonian Boar hunt, Ares, sensing Heracles's arrival, communicated with him through a sound transmission, then walked into the royal palace of the Calydon Kingdom and retrieved the firewood, which represented Meleager's vitality, from Queen Althaea's hiding place.
But during this process, the observing Athena did not stop him; she just watched him act with a smile, as if she were slacking off.
Thinking of this, Ares couldn't help but put his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky and sighing, "Speaking of which, some people are clearly known for their unparalleled wisdom, yet they can't even complete the tasks entrusted to them by their 'client father.' What a waste of that title."
"Alas, there's nothing to be done."
Hearing Ares's sarcastic words, Athena also sighed, "Although poets and scholars contribute greatly to the progress of this world, they have always been inferior to a group of reckless brutes who wield swords and spears. If a wise person who claims to have unparalleled wisdom encounters a bandit on the road who doesn't understand human speech, then I imagine that person must live a very tiring life, right?"
Oh, this little girl has learned the skill of sarcasm?
Ares's eyes flickered, then he laughed heartily, "Then I think this person, who claims to have unparalleled wisdom, must be an imbecile."
"How so?"
"If I were a person with no strength to fight, but full of wisdom, and I encountered a bandit on the road, then I would definitely give him everything I had to save my life."
Ares smiled as he looked at Athena:
"After all, if someone truly possesses unparalleled wisdom, then their most precious asset must be their wisdom. Therefore, no matter the cost, they should first preserve their wisdom and life, and not consider fighting to the death with a bandit over a little bit of external possessions. To abandon the root for the branch, what is that if not foolishness?"
Athena was speechless. Although the two were sarcastically talking about another matter, on its own merits, what Ares said was indeed correct. Their conversation was never a factual debate, but rather a way of openly mocking and subtly criticizing each other through this incident. If she were the first to reveal the truth of the matter, it would mean she had lost.
It seems that in this regard, I am still not as good as this brother who is best at annoying people.
Athena sighed in her heart, then smiled and said, "Hmm, you are very right."
At this point, their gazes intertwined again, and all sorts of malice in their eyes transformed into swords, spears, and halberds clashing in mid-air. Then, they looked at each other and laughed together.
If there were an outsider here, hearing the laughter of these two gods at this moment would surely feel very eerie.
During their conversation, the two had already traversed a great distance and arrived at the harbor where the Argo was moored. At this time, the Heroes on the Argo had also received the news and were gradually returning from various parts of the Calydon Kingdom, beginning to welcome Heracles's return.
Not long after, the Heroes at the port saw Jason and others, who had previously participated in the Calydonian Boar hunt, return, surrounded by a tall man. The man was extraordinarily heroic and wore lion skin armor, with a golden longbow and a bronze club on his back. He was indeed Heracles, the strongest fighter of the Argo, who had previously "gone missing" by accident.
Seeing him, the Heroes on the Argo also went forward to greet him. No one would not welcome Heracles as their comrade-in-arms. As long as he stood by your side, you would be invincible. Even in battle, you wouldn't need to charge into the fray yourself; Heracles would rush to the front, and you would only need to hold your weapon, follow him for a bit, and shout a few times.
A group of Heroes surrounded Heracles, and after they all expressed their longing after a long separation, Jason finally asked the crucial question.
"Heracles."
He asked curiously, "Our Argo has sailed so far on the sea, how did you catch up?"
"After I returned from Queen Hippolyta, I received guidance from the God of War, so I ran over from the land."
Heracles replied.
"Even so, there's a sea between the Amazon Kingdom and us. You didn't swim over, did you?"
At this point, Jason couldn't help but show some genuine admiration. In Greece during this era, the sea not only had storms and whirlpools but also various terrifying sea monsters that preyed on humans. Even if Heracles was incredibly powerful, his combat strength would likely be greatly reduced once he entered the water. If, under such circumstances, he could still cross the ocean, then his strength would truly be unimaginable.
"How could that be?" Facing Jason's question, Heracles smiled and replied, "My strength has limits, okay? When I'm truly exhausted, I also get tired and hungry."
Hearing Heracles's answer, the surrounding Argo Heroes all breathed a sigh of relief.
So he could still barely be considered human.
Just as they were thinking this, they heard Heracles say, "I merely encountered Helius, God of the Sun, passing by at the cape. I beat him up and made him submit, so he gave me a golden bowl that could cross the sea. Relying on that treasure, I was able to arrive at the Calydon Kingdom so quickly and rendezvous with you."
"Hiss--" Jason asked in astonishment, "You just... said you beat up whom?"
"Helios," Heracles looked up and pointed to the sky, "That one up there driving the chariot."
As if to confirm his words, when the great Hero looked up, the Sun in the sky hid behind the clouds, as if fearing him.
However, Heracles was oblivious to this. He pulled out the golden bowl from his person and showed it to the Heroes: "Look, it's this bowl. Throw it into the sea and it will automatically enlarge. Once a person sits on it, it will automatically carry them across the sea."
The Argo Heroes looked at the sky, then at Heracles, and then showed unutterably complex expressions.
Helios might not be human, but you, Heracles, are truly a dog!