Seeing Ares's resolute refusal, Zeus immediately felt his face lose all color. He pulled a long face and sternly commanded:
"Ares, obey!"
"Obey your head!"
Zeus was angry, but Ares seemed even angrier than him. The God of War leaped directly from the clouds, pointing at the gods in front of him and cursing:
"Damn it, what does this expedition have to do with me? Down there, I have no sons or daughters, no followers. These people are setting off to take treasures consecrated to me from my sacred grove. Oh, now that there's a problem, you want me to clean up your mess? Do I, Ares, have no shame?!"
He roared incredibly loudly and with sound reasoning. The gods were sprayed by him and lowered their heads in shame. Apollo rubbed his nose and quietly said:
"How about someone else goes, Zeus."
Zeus saw Ares looking furious and wronged, and after some thought, he indeed felt that Ares was in a very awkward position in this expedition. Given Ares's situation, he should be a referee or a special guest in this event, never someone to clean up a mess.
After all, he was also his and Hera's flesh and blood. And now that Heracles was so powerful, Hera must be very displeased. If Zeus were to force Ares further, the Queen of Heaven might just turn against him today.
So, the King of Gods coughed, looked around at the gods, and said:
"Indeed, it's a bit inappropriate for Ares to deal with Heracles. Hmm, who do you all think would be suitable to stop Heracles?"
The gods looked at each other again, then all looked at Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, who was standing opposite Ares.
Athena seemed to be dealing with a problem concerning her followers at the moment. When the gods looked at her, she hadn't reacted yet, still repeating things like "I understand" and "I know."
Gazing at his daughter, Zeus was silent for a moment. Seeing no reaction from her, he called out:
"Athena… Athena!"
"Hmm? Oh, Zeus, what do you need me for?"
Athena suddenly awoke and asked.
"Who are you talking to?"
Zeus asked casually.
"Nothing, a Nymph was consulting me about her love life."
Athena casually made up a lie to smooth over the matter.
Of course, she wasn't talking to any Nymph just now, but Lachesis, one of The Fates. Because in the Kingdom of Dulichium, Ares, through Perseus's hand, had interfered with a fated event predetermined by the Goddess of Fate.
According to the Goddess of Fate' arrangements, on the night the Argo Heroes bid farewell to the Kingdom of Dulichium and set sail, there would be a strong wind that would blow the Argo back to the coast of the Kingdom of Dulichium.
Because it was late at night and the sky was dark, neither the Argo Heroes nor the Dulichians could see each other clearly. The Dulichians mistook them for invading enemies and launched an attack first. The Argo Heroes immediately counterattacked, and in the chaos, Jason accidentally killed his good friend, King Cyzicus of the Kingdom of Dulichium. By dawn the next day, with the light of the Goddess of Dawn, the Argo Heroes and the Dulichians realized what they had done and cleared up the misunderstanding. However, King Cyzicus was dead, and his newlywed queen also committed suicide with him, causing the first tragedy of the Argo expedition.
But here, this problem was directly solved by a large-scale illumination spell released by Ares through Perseus. After everyone saw who the other party was, they immediately put down their swords and even held a lively banquet directly at the port.
The Heroes and the Dulichians ate barbecue and sang songs at the port. Ares even maliciously used this incident to earn a great deal of fame for Athena, even persuading Cyzicus to worship Athena as the faith of the Kingdom of Dulichium from then on.
If Athena were to insist on changing this, she would be personally dismantling her own foundation and disheartening her followers. If Athena happily accepted the faith of this kingdom won for her by Perseus, she would inevitably face opposition from her current Party A—the Three Goddesses of Fate.
Judging from Athena's current thoughts, she would offend someone either way. This woman would most likely choose to preserve this foundation and then use other things to appease the Three Goddesses.
And Athena was indeed, as Ares had guessed, using the excuse of "this was all a grand scheme I set up for a decisive victory" to fob off the Three Goddesses of Fate.
And while the Three Goddesses were a bit foolish, they weren't completely ignorant. Just now, Athena was debating fiercely with them, while also appeasing her clients.
Of course, such a thing, the filial daughter Athena could not possibly tell her old father. So she directly skipped this topic and preemptively asked in return:
"Zeus, do you need something?"
Zeus stared at her for two more seconds, not overly suspicious. He pointed below the clouds and said:
"Do you see Heracles on that ship? Before they reach the next kingdom, find a way to make him temporarily leave the Argo."
No sooner had Zeus finished speaking than Athena heard a scream from Lachesis, the Fate Goddess:
"Hylas! Hylas! The fated Heracles didn't make it onto the Argo because Hylas was taken by the Nymph! Now Hylas is gone! Athena, what should we do? What should we do?! The threads of fate are now a tangled mess!"
In her helplessness, Athena could only ask Zeus to wait, then feigned covering her ears and said:
"Don't panic, don't panic, I'll help you figure everything out."
"What's wrong?"
Seeing this, Zeus quickly asked.
"Oh, nothing." Athena turned her head and smiled upon hearing this. "Her man cheated, and she wants me to help her win him back."
"Hehe." Before the gods could realize anything, Ares's voice suddenly came from the side: "Little sister, your move of pointing at the Nymphs and scolding others is truly something. As expected of the Goddess of Wisdom! You can blame whoever you want."
After hearing Ares's words, the gods showed a look of sudden realization, then all looked at Zeus, not daring to speak.
Zeus's face also darkened, and then he ordered Athena:
"Athena! I'm talking to you! Which Nymph is that on your end? Is her status higher than mine?"
And Lachesis, on her end, apparently heard Zeus's words through some means. Upon hearing them, she angrily said into Athena's ear:
"Who does Zeus think he is? If he really messes up the threads of fate beyond repair, we'll just replace him!"
With Ares saying one thing, Zeus another, and then Lachesis adding her piece, all speaking directly into her ear, Athena felt like she was going to have a mental breakdown. She could no longer endure it and finally stomped her foot, shouting loudly:
"All of you, be quiet! I'm thinking!"
Athena, who had always appeared gentle, virtuous, and exceptionally wise in front of the gods, suddenly lost her temper today. Even Zeus was startled. He mumbled his lips, then coughed, and awkwardly said:
"Athena, don't be so anxious. I know you have something urgent, but why are you shouting so loudly?"