Ares, who had completed his gigantification, landed on the ground, shaking the entire forward army's camp, causing tents to collapse everywhere.
However, upon seeing him appear, the forward army, which had originally been routed, regained their morale. Some stopped fleeing, and while they didn't directly charge to help, they stood their ground, wanting to see how the War God of Olympus would display his might and turn the tide of this War.
Ares had now imbued his avatar with divine power, causing it to grow to a height comparable to that of the Snake-Footed Giants. He bent down and stepped on the Snake-Foot Giant he had pinned down. Even with his spear piercing its chest, the Snake-Foot Giant was not dead. It struggled fiercely, trying to get up from the ground, and even swung the torch and stone in its hands, attempting to strike Ares's leg.
"Hmph."
Ares snorted coldly, directly kicking the Snake-Foot Giant in the chin, shattering its chin, while also reaching out and grasping his spear.
Divine power surged, and the flames on the spear suddenly flared, transforming into a colossal pillar of fire that reached the heavens and earth, enveloping the Snake-Foot Giant. Amidst continuous screams, the Snake-Foot Giant was pinned to the ground by Ares and burned directly to ashes by the flames. This time, it finally did not revive.
It seems these guys' recovery ability also has a limit.
Ares's heart stirred, and at the same time, he imperceptibly glanced out of the corner of his eye at a mountain nearby. On that mountain, "Conquest," one of his four archangels, was operating at full power, analyzing and calculating various data of these Snake-Footed Giants, and then transmitting this data to Hecate in the Underworld for the Moon Goddess's analysis.
However, this was only data for ordinary Snake-Footed Giants. In terms of strength alone, they were only equivalent to the minor gods responsible for commanding troops in the Godly Legion, which is why Ares, a main god, could easily crush and kill them.
According to Ares and Hecate's estimations, the thirteen Giants, in terms of both strength and recovery ability, should completely overpower their own kind. Against them, even Ares would find it difficult to completely eliminate them without Heracles holding the herbs to break the curse.
Under Ares's perception, on the side of his avatar, Ephialtes, the thirteen Giants and the second squad of Giants they brought with them had already weathered the effects of the medicine, and their bodies were slowly returning to normal. It seemed they were about to outflank his own troops from behind. Ares silently calculated the time, while multitasking, ordering his other three adjutants to transmit orders for him, to contract the central and part of the rear armies, and to begin gathering at the pre-determined location most suitable for retreat.
As for his divine power avatar, he casually pulled out his spear, not even looking at the Snake-Foot Giant that had turned to dust beneath his feet, and then stepped forward, sweeping his hand. The resulting gale sent the previously invincible Snake-Footed Giants stumbling.
"All troops, heed my command!" While smashing away a Snake-Foot Giant that lunged at him with his shield, Ares shouted with full vigor, "Reassemble around your respective standard-bearers! These Giants are not immortal! Seal them with magic!"
Seeing Ares's divine bravery, the scattered forward army gradually reassembled under his command. These warriors regained their morale and, following the War God's orders, began to launch attritional attacks against the Snake-Footed Giants who had charged into the camp, operating in small units of dozens of people.
And once a Snake-Foot Giant was knocked to the ground, the other Magicians would cooperate with the few lesser gods to jointly cast a seal, imprisoning these Snake-Footed Giants one after another.
The battle, which had originally collapsed, began to be gradually turned around by Ares after his appearance. Although it wasn't a complete defeat of these hundred Snake-Footed Giants, at least the forward army, which had been routed like a landslide, was re-integrated by him and began a tug-of-war with these Snake-Footed Giants.
"Do not fear sacrifice! For the glory of Olympus, we shall fight to the last man!"
Ares swelled with divine power, using his divine authority, and began to let out a roar that ignited the fighting spirit of everyone:
"All armies, charge with me!"
After speaking, he abandoned his spear and drew his sword, switching to a close-quarters combatant with a sword and shield. He then charged into the dense encirclement of the Snake-Footed Giants, holding the shield blessed by Athena.
The Snake-Footed Giants all lunged forward, wanting to entangle him, slow his pace, and trap him within their formation, but the disparity in their strength compared to Ares was too great. Thus, they were all sent flying by Ares like a whirlwind sweeping away fallen leaves, landing back in their original positions, to be sealed by the keen-eyed lesser gods and Magicians, with only a few escaping.
Inspired by Ares's words and actions, the morale of the Godly soldiers present, who had originally collapsed and were preparing to flee, inexplicably began to surge with a surge of hot blood due to the infection of his divine authority. They roared, their eyes bloodshot, and charged alongside Ares towards the Snake-Footed Giants, who were countless times larger than themselves.
However, while Ares's strength utterly crushed the ordinary Snake-Footed Giants, their own strength was the one being crushed by the Snake-Footed Giants. Thus, under the frenzied attacks and smashing of the Snake-Footed Giants, the forward army suffered countless casualties for a time. Yet, due to the War God's encouragement, even in the face of such a desperate situation, they still showed no fear and stubbornly continued to attack the Snake-Footed Giants.
Even the lesser gods began to be influenced by Ares's divine power, charging with him, and their fighting style gradually became bolder. For this, they paid the price of two more Deaths, but under Ares's control, none of them noticed anything amiss.
The battle seemed to be in a stalemate, but in reality, the Snake-Footed Giants still held an overwhelming advantage. Their recovery ability was too strong; only a few had been killed by Ares, and then a few more had been sealed by other lesser gods and Magicians who seized the opportunity, totaling just over ten. However, they still had nearly a hundred troops remaining. In contrast, the forward army, manipulated by Ares's divine authority, was seemingly courageous in their fearless charge, but their casualty ratio was terrifying. In a short period, they had lost more than half of their personnel. If Ares had not forcefully sustained their morale with divine power, this group would have collapsed long ago.
However, even as Ares forcefully entered the battle and fought at the front, the central and rear armies of the Godly Legion remained silent.
The troops that Ares had transferred from the forward and vanguard armies to the rear army were still stationed at the very rear of the entire army, calmly performing logistical work. However, since they were originally supposed to be vanguard and forward personnel, even when transferred to the rear camp, they could only do some simple logistical work, so most of the people were currently in a state of idleness.
The four lesser gods from Demeter, Athena, and Hermes, among other main gods, were also in the same situation. They squatted together, chatting and joking, even wanting to sneak out to find two women for some fun.
However, just as they were slacking off, they suddenly noticed that the actual logistics troops in front of them suddenly began to pack up their supplies and, under the command of their officers, slowly gathered and moved forward.
"What are they doing?"
Among the four lesser gods, one from Athena's subordinates looked at the actions of the blacksmiths and Cyclops protected by Hephaestus with some curiosity, and couldn't help but ask.
"Perhaps they received orders from the War God." Another lesser god from Hermes's subordinate, who had received a small share of Hermes's "theft" divine office, squatted on the ground like a rascal, saying indifferently:
"I heard that the forward army has already engaged the Giants, and the vanguard has also collapsed. It's probably a bit stressful at the front, and the central army needs to move up. But this has nothing to do with us. As long as we stay here, those Giants on the Pallene Peninsula won't be able to reach us unless they kill Lord Ares."