"To think even Helios was beaten by him."
After hearing Heracles's words, Athena sighed with emotion, then looked at Ares and said,
"You instigated this, didn't you? You're truly audacious."
"Don't accuse people without proof."
Ares shrugged,
"If you say the wrong thing, even you will be held responsible."
Athena remained noncommittal, simply continuing,
"No wonder you had no objections to leaving the Argo. If Heracles took your place on the ship, the golden fleece would indeed be easily obtained. However… are you sure the other gods won't object?"
"What objections would the other gods have?" Ares sneered in response.
"Neither you nor I can say for sure," Athena smiled slightly, then pointed towards the Argo and said, "Look, why don't they express their opinions to you themselves?"
Ares turned around and immediately saw a group of gods standing on the Argo at some unknown point. Among them were gods of all sizes, and no shortage of main deity-level existences. The god leading the group was Zeus's queen, Ares's biological mother, the beautiful and dignified Heavenly Queen Hera.
They blocked Heracles, who was about to board the ship. Aphrodite stepped forward first, extending her pure white, jade-like arm to stop the Heroes, and then said,
"Heracles, you cannot board this ship."
Heracles had clearly anticipated this situation. He stopped, blinked, and then looked at the Heroes beside him.
Upon seeing this, the observing Ares let out a long sigh, then said to Athena without turning his head,
"My dear sister, what's the point of doing this? You know perfectly well that these useless people can't stop Heracles and me."
The "useless people" he referred to certainly didn't include Heavenly Queen Hera, because Hera was both Jason's guardian deity and Heracles's protector. There was no reason for her to prevent Heracles from boarding the ship.
Therefore, Hera must have come here to watch the show; it was just that the gods who came with her misunderstood her intentions.
"Indeed, there's no point."
Athena replied with a smile,
"But I suddenly realized that annoying you is quite enjoyable."
"Alas."
Ares sighed, then suddenly reached out and, while Athena wasn't paying attention, quickly touched the top of her head.
Athena's gaze turned cold, and a long spear suddenly appeared in her hand, which she fiercely thrust towards Ares. But by then, the God of War had already leaped aside.
He gave Athena a peculiar smile that made her grit her teeth in anger, and said,
"You've become naughty, Nana."
Athena suppressed her inner rage. She suddenly felt that sometimes, certain things truly depended on talent.
For instance, when it came to annoying people, Athena believed she could never surpass Ares in this lifetime.
However, by now, Ares had already put her out of his mind and walked towards the group of gods on the Argo, while Athena, after narrowing her eyes, also departed from Calydon and quietly rushed to a certain place.
Ares also sensed Athena's departure, knowing that this woman must be trying to do something while he was delayed. However, the immediate priority was to deal with these bothersome brats, so Ares did not pursue Athena.
He arrived between Heracles and the group of gods, then revealed himself before them, and loudly declared,
"What's going on? Blocking the way here? If you want to board, board; if you want to disembark, disembark. What's the point of blocking the boarding area? Don't you have any public decency?!"
"Ares…"
Seeing the unreasonable and insensitive God of War suddenly appear beside Heracles, a hint of fear flashed in Aphrodite's eyes, and she retreated half a step.
However, seeing so many brothers and sisters behind her, as well as Ares's mother, Aphrodite felt emboldened again. She mustered her courage and said to Ares,
"My brother, do you intend to protect this Heracles?"
"What are you talking about, 'do I intend to protect'?" Ares patted his chest and shouted, "I, the God of War, we've lived together for so long, don't you all know me? Anyone in this world who wants to raise a knife and cut someone, they're all my brothers!"
Having said that, he put an arm around Heracles's shoulder and patted his back:
"And this young man, the world's number one executioner, with fists so hard they could scare you to death. Tell me, as the God of War, shouldn't I protect him?"
"Nonsense!"
Aphrodite stomped her foot and exclaimed,
"Heracles cannot remain on this ship. This was a decision agreed upon by all the gods. Do you intend to oppose us gods?"
"Gods? What about gods?" Ares swept his gaze across them; the gods standing behind Aphrodite dared not meet his eyes. He sneered, "Is our Olympus a council-based system? I recall that my father Zeus is the King of the Gods, isn't he? Do you all gather together just to represent Zeus's will? Hmm?"
Aphrodite was speechless, and Ares stepped forward, continuing his aggressive stance. He pushed aside the Goddess of Beauty, walked into the crowd of gods, casually grabbed a god's hand, and dragged him out, asking,
"Helios, how did you get so fat? Come, tell me, do you all intend to represent Zeus?"
The Sun God was forcibly dragged out of the divine crowd, looked at the dazed Heracles with terrified eyes, then quickly shook his head.
Ares let him go, then turned to find other gods, asking them,
"Is it you? Or you? Is it you who wants to represent Zeus?"
Seeing him push and shove among the gods like a tiger among sheep, while the surrounding gods dared not speak their anger, Aphrodite finally regained her composure. She looked at her colleagues, who had followed her to demand an explanation but had cowered before Ares, with a look of disappointment, then shouted at Ares,
"Ares, don't twist words. Zeus himself agreed to this matter. You are acting shamelessly here; I think you are the one disrespecting Zeus's will."
"Oh? Am I twisting words?"
Ares stood with his hands on his hips, leaning close to Aphrodite, looking down at her:
"Then I ask you, if today Eros were forbidden by the gods from boarding the ship and participating in this glorious journey, what would you think?"
"I…" Aphrodite opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Ares cut her off:
"I imagine you would be displeased, wouldn't you? By the same token, Heracles is Zeus's son. How do you think Zeus feels seeing his son being told by you that he cannot board the ship? The first time, he might have given in for your sakes and not let Heracles board. But now, Heracles has found his way back by his own ability, and you are still blocking him, not letting this Son of Zeus board. Are you trying to disrespect him, to disrespect Zeus?"
No one dared to respond to Ares's words, after all, everyone knew Zeus's temper. If anyone dared to utter a sound, disrespecting Zeus would likely result in being struck by lightning.
But while they dared not speak, Ares certainly dared to continue. He pointed at the gods with righteous indignation, shouting,
"You just can't stand us Zeus's sons being strong, so you conspire to oppress us. Seeing your actions, I tremble all over, breaking out in cold sweat and feeling cold in my hands and feet on a hot day. Can this world ever get better? How do you want us Zeus's sons to live to be satisfied? This world is filled with oppression against Zeus's sons. When will we Zeus's sons truly rise up?"