After the commotion on Lemnos Island, the Argo continued its journey, but from this point on, the Argo had left the shallow waters and officially entered the deep ocean where many Sea Gods, Sea Sirens, and Sea Monsters lurked. After leaving Lemnos Island, Ares became vigilant.
From here on, it was entirely Poseidon's domain. Ares still remembered how he, using his divine power clone and Perseus's clone, along with Heracles, had thoroughly beaten Poseidon in Athena's Temple. That beating was truly satisfying, especially after Hestia appeared, Poseidon was completely rendered speechless and scurried away by jumping into the sea.
But what goes around comes around. Poseidon, having been beaten so badly, must have held a grudge. This time, the Argo had both Perseus and Heracles, and the ship itself was built by Athena. It would be out of character for Poseidon not to cause some trouble.
Even if he had agreed to the Olympus Gods' tacit approval of this Argo expedition, it wouldn't stop him from stirring up trouble, such as raising storms specifically targeting Heracles and Perseus, or sending Sea Monsters to intercept them.
Times were different now. Sea God Poseidon was, after all, one of the three God Kings. The reason he was beaten so badly back then was actually due to the combined schemes of Ares and Athena. Initially, he didn't take Heracles, this extraordinary demigod, seriously, and thus suffered a loss. Then, he was continuously assaulted by Perseus, Ares's divine power clone, and Heracles's fierce attacks, without even a moment to catch his breath. Afterward, Athena blocked his retreat, and he was further disheartened by the elder sister Hestia, whom Athena had invited.
But now, the ocean the Argo was sailing in was Poseidon's own territory. Having been brutally beaten by Heracles, he would certainly be on high alert and wouldn't be as careless as he was that day. If the Argo truly encountered this Sea God, it would be quite troublesome.
Fortunately, Ares's worries seemed unfounded. They sailed smoothly, with calm seas, as if Poseidon wasn't angry, but rather protecting them.
The Heroes on the Argo continued their journey and successfully arrived at the kingdom of the Doliones. There, they received a warm welcome from King Cyzicus of the Doliones. During this time, a group of fierce, six-armed Giants from a neighboring island attacked the Doliones' kingdom, but Heracles, who was guarding the ship alone, killed them all. The fame of the Argo Heroes spread far and wide once again.
However, on the other side, in the home of the Gods, things were not as smooth as the Argo Heroes' voyage.
"This Heracles is too powerful!"
When they saw Heracles single-handedly wielding a bronze club, guarding the ship, and killing the six-armed Giants who were attacking the Argo one after another, not only the lesser Gods, but even the main Gods like Apollo and Hermes shouted out.
These six-armed Giants were originally driven here by the Gods in advance, their purpose being to serve as a trial for the Argo Heroes. The strength of these six-armed Giants was enough to threaten these demigod Heroes, but only in such an evenly matched battlefield could the Heroes fully display their prowess and glorify the names of the Gods who stood behind them.
As a result, while the Heroes were still drinking in the palace, Heracles alone hogged all the kills. After he was done, he merely said calmly, "I'm a bit hungry," amidst the Heroes' astonished gazes, essentially showing off in an epic way in front of everyone in heaven and on earth.
Now, the Argo Heroes' thunder was completely stolen by him alone, which naturally caused dissatisfaction among many Gods.
However, in contrast to the numerous Gods, God King Zeus was in a great mood. Heracles was his son, and the more formidable this Hero was, the stronger his bloodline was, and the more resounding Zeus's prestige became.
Hearing the complaints from Apollo and other Gods, he sat on the clouds, holding his wine cup, and laughed heartily:
"Don't you see whose son Heracles is? How could he not be strong?"
The Gods found it hard to refute his words, because half of the twelve main Gods were also Zeuss sons. Not acknowledging Heracles's strength would mean not acknowledging their own strength.
However, the Gods tacitly turned their gaze to Heavenly Queen Hera beside Zeus. Heracles was a son born from Zeus's infidelity, and by the most despicable means at that. Heavenly Queen Hera had no reason not to be angry.
But to their surprise, the Heavenly Queen at this moment did not seem to be very angry. On the contrary, the stronger Heracles performed, the more satisfied the expression on her face became, looking truly like a benevolent mother who made no distinctions.
Seeing the ambiguous expression on Hera's face, the Gods suddenly felt a chill down their spines for some reason. They quickly averted their gaze, not daring to pry into the Heavenly Queen's thoughts any further.
After no longer focusing on Hera, the Gods turned their attention back to the Argo below. The Gods, led by Apollo, began to voice their opinions to Zeus:
"Zeus, Heracles has shown off enough, hasn't he? No matter how powerful he is, he can't make his name any more resounding. But if this continues, the Argo expedition will become his personal show. What about the children of our other Gods?"
Zeus's gaze slowly swept over the Gods behind Apollo. Indeed, on the Argo below, besides his son and Jason, who was protected by Hera, there were also several sons of Apollo, a pair of sons of Hermes, sons of the Wind Gods, Perseus, a follower of Athena, Atalanta, a follower of Artemis, and Medea, a disciple of Hecate. These Gods were all influential Gods in the Greek World, and if they had complaints, Zeus would not have an easy time.
So he slowly nodded and said:
"You have a point. So, who can come up with a way to make Heracles leave the Argo before the next trial... Who's relatively free right now?"
The Gods looked at each other, then their gazes simultaneously focused on Ares, who was squatting in the corner. This War God had no offspring due to special reasons, and the Spartans and Amazons were unwilling to seize offerings meant for their War God. Therefore, on this giant ship full of Heroes, there was not a single person related to Ares.
Because of this, while the Gods were all paying close attention to the journey of this giant ship, only this War God was idly squatting in the corner, exuding an aura of solitude.
Seeing him, Zeus began to call out to his foolish son:
"Ares, you have nothing to do right now. Come, think of a way to leave Heracles behind on the way."
"Huh?"
Ares turned his head upon hearing this, and replied with a disgruntled expression:
"Why should I go! No!"