"A good idea?"
Ares smirked mockingly at the words and replied,
"Facing the Giants on the Pallene Peninsula, besides fighting, could we possibly make them surrender?"
After speaking, he glanced at Athena opposite him:
"Or perhaps, let our wise Lady Athena go to the Pallene Peninsula and try using her silver tongue to lick those Snake-Footed Giants, to see if she can pull them into our faction."
Athena ignored Ares's words and said to Zeus:
"The Snake-Foot Giants on the Pallene Peninsula are a group of barbaric and proud creatures; they will absolutely not willingly let us ride on their heads. Therefore, I believe we can only fight the Giants on the Pallene Peninsula."
"Since we must fight, then we must preemptively strike."
As Zeus spoke, he looked at Ares:
"Ares, you are the God of War, and the army under you is the strongest among the gods. You shall guard the entrance and exit between the Pallene Peninsula and the world's surface, resisting the onslaught of those Snake-Foot Giants."
Upon hearing Zeus's arrangement, the gods had no objections. It was an unwritten rule among the pantheons for the God of War to lead the charge in battle. Moreover, as the embodiment of War, the belligerent and bloodthirsty Ares should have been delighted to receive this order.
However, to the surprise of the gods, upon receiving this order, Ares decisively refused Zeus's request: "No, I won't go."
Zeus frowned and asked, "Ares, tell me your reason."
Ares spread his hands and replied as a matter of course, "Because I can't beat them alone."
Demeter, who was nearby, immediately scoffed, "As a God of War, are you actually afraid of War?"
"Then if you think I can't do it, you can go," Ares immediately looked at Demeter and said to her, "I'll send all my troops to you. How about you fight and show me? If you can last ten days without becoming a hot weapon for the Snake-Foot Giants, I'll kneel down and call you 'Mom'."
Demeter immediately shut her mouth. As a third-generation god, she knew a thing or two about the things on the Pallene Peninsula.
However, upon hearing Ares's explanation, Zeus was somewhat displeased. He looked at his son and said:
"Ares, you are the God of War; fighting is your duty. If even the God of War is afraid of War, what else does Olympus have to stand on? If you don't want to go, then I will remove your God of War divine authority and let someone else take your place."
Zeus's threat was like a gentle breeze to Ares; he was completely unmoved, merely looking directly at the King of Gods, without a trace of fear, and said:
"I'm not an idiot, Zeus. My troops going up together, whether we can beat those Snake-Foot Giants, I still know. You telling me to lead the charge is clearly trying to use my troops as pawns to buy you time to find a way to defeat those Giants. This is damn unfair. In the several incidents on Olympus, when was it not me, Ares, who was cut down by you? It's fine if you cut my divine authority for Athena, but now you want to cut down my people too?"
After speaking, he simply sat down on the spot, crossing his arms and saying:
"If you don't give me more people, I won't go. You can strip my divine authority if you want; whoever wants to go can go."
Looking at Ares's unruly behavior, Zeus was somewhat angry. However, he looked around and indeed, there was no other god who could fill the position of God of War.
Not everyone was like Ares, capable and courageous, and also a fearless simpleton.
"Athena..." Zeus turned to look at his daughter, but as if she already knew Zeus's thoughts, at the same moment Zeus looked at her, the Goddess of Wisdom replied:
"Zeus, if I go to the battlefield, who will you rely on to find a way to defeat the Snake-Foot Giants?"
Athena's words were extremely certain. In her opinion, all the gods of Olympus, except Ares, were idiots, and Ares, that rebellious leader, naturally wouldn't tell Zeus the method. He would rather watch Zeus be pressed to the ground by the Snake-Foot Giants.
Upon hearing his daughter's words, Zeus could only sigh helplessly.
He couldn't believe that in such a vast Olympus, besides Ares and Athena, there was now no god capable of fighting.
There used to be no shortage of gods skilled in War on Olympus. Zeus's two brothers, Poseidon, Hades, and even a group of Titans who had supported him, were all capable of serving as the God of War.
But now, Hades lived in seclusion, Poseidon broke away, and a group of Titans also left Olympus due to Zeus's constant suppression of the old factions. Indeed, within the entire Olympian pantheon, only Ares could fight.
Thinking of this, Zeus felt a sense of desolation, but he did not reflect on himself. Instead, he suppressed his emotions and said to Ares:
"Then Ares, what will it take for you to lead the troops out?"
"I want all the main gods to contribute the same number of subordinate gods and the same number of troops," Ares slowly said. "Everyone contributes money and people to clear the monsters; I can't be the only one bleeding."
Zeus looked at the other main gods present and asked, "Do none of you have any objections?"
Demeter asked, "Ares, if we contribute people and effort, can you guarantee to win this War?"
"No guarantee," Ares replied without hesitation.
The main gods present then glared at the God of War. Demeter angrily said, "Then how do you have the nerve to ask us to contribute people?"
"Auntie, don't shout," Ares scratched his ear with his pinky, looking casually at Athena, and said, "After all, I don't even have the divine authority of victory anymore, so how can I guarantee the victory of War? If I were to lie to you and say I'm sure to win, wouldn't I be giving you an empty promise?"
"Auntie..." Demeter trembled with anger, but she didn't know what to say. In terms of familial relations, she was also Zeus's wife, and she was even older than Heavenly Queen Hera, so it seemed perfectly fine for Ares, Son of Zeus, to call her 'Auntie'.
However, at this moment, Athena, provoked by Ares, stepped forward and proactively said, "Everyone, please listen to me. This matter concerns all of Olympus. We cannot just look out for our own affairs anymore. I suggest we all contribute people to support Ares. As for victory, you don't need to worry; I will fully support Ares with my divine authority."
With that, Athena, accompanied by a fragrant breeze, came before Ares, looked up at him, and said, "Ares, give me your shield and weapons."
Ares looked at her, then obediently handed over his spear, Flame Sword, shield, and snake-bone bow.
Athena took these items, closed her eyes, murmured a few words, then bowed her head and gently left a kiss on each weapon and piece of equipment.
A golden spiritual light flashed across Ares's weapons and equipment. Then, Athena returned these items to him and said, "Alright, from now on, as long as you use these weapons and equipment to fight the Snake-Foot Giants, you will surely achieve victory."
Ares took the equipment, thought for a moment, and suddenly asked, "Wait, you just kissed my sword. So if I use the sword to cut the Giants' sensitive parts, does that count as indirectly ..."
Athena's face darkened, and she turned away, covering her ears, not wanting to hear any more of Ares's nonsense.