Ares already had a plan in mind for how to obstruct Athena's city-building project, but for now, he still had to deal with the situation in Thebes.
The reason he had looked at the young man, Amphitryon, with sympathy earlier was not only because Amphitryon had become a puppet of the Gods, but also because of what he would experience in the future.
Many people might not be familiar with the name Amphitryon, but his son is a household name in the Greek World. It can be said that even those unfamiliar with greek mythology, if they have read even a few mythological stories, will know about his son.
His son is the strongest demigod Hero in the Greek World, the one who later became a true God as a demigod, and even once came close to becoming one of the Olympus Twelve Main Gods—the mighty Heracles, the "Sea Overlord."
Of course, Heracles was, to be precise, only his adopted son; the demigod had the blood of Zeus flowing through him, just like Ares, and Amphitryon, naturally, was one of the many unfortunate figures in greek mythology who had been cuckolded by the God-King.
He toiled for most of his life. To marry Alcmene, the daughter of his uncle, King Electryon of Mycenae, he found the cattle for his uncle. After the cattle arrived in the Kingdom of Mycenae, his uncle did not go back on his word. He only launched an attack against Pterelaus and the Taphians to avenge his sons, entrusting his daughter to Amphitryon before his departure.
However, his wife, Alcmene, firmly insisted on waiting for her father to return victorious before she would marry Amphitryon, thereby forcing Amphitryon to deploy troops to help her father.
Having no choice, Amphitryon had to take his men to help his father-in-law in battle. But on the very night he returned victorious, Zeus got there first. The unscrupulous God-King transformed into Amphitryon's likeness, entered Alcmene's chambers, and deceived the Queen into spending a night of passion with him. Thus, the mighty Heracles was born.
However, unlike other cuckolded victims who used various means to persecute and torment their wives and the illegitimate children of the Gods, Amphitryon's character was indeed noble in the Greek World, and he was quite broad-minded.
Although at first, he was also very angry and prepared to punish his wife, he later realized who the true culprit of this matter was. Thus, the broad-minded Mr. Amphitryon chose to forgive. He reconciled with his wife, Alcmene, and adopted Heracles, raising him as his own. He even hired various teachers for Heracles, educating him into a formidable person. For this reason, the mighty Heracles actually always considered the bloodline-unrelated Amphitryon to be his father.
As for why the later Berserker B had the ability "Usurper of the Heavenly Wind," it wasn't just because the Servant-ified Heracles was corrupted by his Master with three Command Spells. A greater reason was Heracles' intense hatred for the Gods who manipulated his destiny and treated him unfairly.
It's easy to see who Heracles would prefer: on one hand, the victimized adoptive father who treated him as his own and meticulously raised him, and on the other hand, the scummy biological father who secretly entered his mother's chambers and deceived her on the night of his parents' wedding.
Zeus's behavior could even be called "bastard-like" without exaggeration.
This hatred for the Gods in Heracles' heart also made him a target that Ares could win over. Developing military forces solely on his own was an unwise move; most of the demigod Heroes in the Greek World suffered greatly from the persecution of the Gods. Since Ares intended to oppose the Gods, he could naturally rally these Heroes.
Therefore, he did not refuse Athena's request. Facing Amphitryon, he, as the avatar of "Cadmus," very readily relinquished the throne of Thebes.
On one hand, like Athena, he needed the birth of the great Hero Heracles. On the other hand, this avatar of "Cadmus" was also a product of his Heroic Spirit-ification plan. He wanted to see if, besides marriage and procreation, living an entire life strictly following the epic trajectory of the Hero "Cadmus" could truly send this avatar of his to the Heroic Spirit Throne.
So, on the day Athena arrived with Amphitryon, Ares summoned all the subjects of Thebes and, in their presence, requested Athena to grant a manifestation, transferring all his powers as King of Thebes to Amphitryon.
After the ceremony was completed, "Cadmus" removed his crown and left his scepter. Apart from the weapons and staff granted to him by the God of War, he took only some dry food and water, then left Thebes, embarking on the final journey of his life.
Ares, controlling this avatar, endured the elements on his journey until he finally arrived in Illyria. Upon reaching a certain forest in this region, Ares suddenly felt an intense itch all over this body. As he scratched, he found dragon scales appearing on his skin. Slowly, his body elongated and grew larger, transforming from a human into a purebred giant dragon.
And at the moment of complete dragonification, Ares's avatar, just as he had predicted, met its end.
A profound, mysterious sensation suddenly arrived. A passage to the outside of the world was opened by an unknown force. Ares's avatar was absorbed into it. When his avatar regained consciousness, he was astonished to find himself back in the palace of Thebes.
The palace was deserted. Ares's avatar sat upon the throne, and a sudden realization dawned on him: this was his Heroic Spirit Throne. At the same time, he also felt that this avatar could suddenly perceive some past and future events, and could also sense several Hero "Cadmus" from parallel worlds within this Heroic Spirit Throne.
And he also understood the origin of this "Heroic Spirit Throne." This thing is indeed managed by the Root of the universe; the Counter Force has no authority or ability to intervene here, unless a Heroic Spirit willingly signs a contract with them.
As for here, it is actually just a storage area where the Root faithfully records the human history of all parallel worlds and is used to house "valuable" records from that human history.
The reason the Counter Force can summon people from the Heroic Spirit Throne in an emergency is simply because the Heroic Spirit Throne has always been open to the public. As long as you have enough magical power as "payment," Heroic Spirits can respond to summons. It's just that, normally, only the Counter Force can afford this "payment."
If the "payment" is sufficient, Heroic Spirits willing to respond can manifest in the world as their avatars, "Servant." If the "payment is high enough," or the Heroic Spirit itself has an urgent purpose, then the Heroic Spirit's main body can also descend.
After thoroughly understanding everything here, Ares couldn't help but sigh, marveling at how generous the Root boss was, completely unlike stingy entities like Gaia.
This Heroic Spirit Throne accepts all comers; as long as you leave your name in history, whether male or female, human or non-human, the Heroic Spirit Throne accepts them without question. And if a Heroic Spirit wishes to descend, as long as the conditions are met, the Root will not hinder them at all.
Upon sensing his connection to the Heroic Spirit Throne, Ares felt relieved. This way, he could send several more avatars up there, which would be perfectly fine for use as combat power or as an alternative solution when all other options were exhausted.