Led by Ephialtes, the Argo Heroes gradually ventured deeper into the dark forest before them. At the end of this forest, Ephialtes stopped.
What appeared before the Heroes was a spring flowing from the mountain wall. The spring water collected into a pool at the base of the mountain wall. Ephialtes led the Heroes to the front of the pool, then pointed at it and said:
"The entrance to the Pallene Peninsula is right here."
The Heroes looked at each other. Living in an age of gods where strange powers and chaotic spirits ran rampant, none of them doubted Ephialtes's words. However, they then heard Ephialtes continue:
"But Hecate only opened the path to the Pallene Peninsula; she didn't explore the internal situation. When we go through here, we don't know what we'll encounter, and we might even enter the Snake-Footed Giants' main camp directly. Therefore, I think we should send our strongest person first."
Upon hearing Ephialtes's words, Heracles stepped forward without hesitation and said, "Then let me go first."
No one else objected. This was the good thing about having Heracles around. When it came to situations requiring the "strongest" character to step forward, everyone else had no objections. Otherwise, these proud Heroes would have had to fight among themselves to decide a victor in such a situation.
Ephialtes pulled out a bottle of potion from his embrace, uncorked it, and poured it into the spring water. Then he silently recited a spell. Following this, the Heroes saw that in the rippling pool, the reflection in the water suddenly changed from the forest on this side to a strange, unfamiliar wilderness. Upon seeing this, Ephialtes stepped back slightly, then nodded to Heracles and said:
"Go in."
Heracles gripped his weapon and leaped into the pool. When he entered the pool, no splash was made. Instead, in a flash of light, Heracles directly jumped from this world into the reflection on the other side.
The Heroes saw Heracles in the reflection look left and right, then give them a safe gesture.
So, Jason commanded the Heroes to guard Ephialtes, Ares's envoy, in the middle, and then they orderly passed through the pool, entering the Pallene Peninsula on the other side of the reflection. When they passed through the pool, they found themselves on a plain with sparse forests, and next to them was a shallow small river.
Ephialtes crouched down and made a mark by the small river with a stone. Then he stood up, gazed at the distant scenery, and said:
"I saw smoke to the southeast. There should be Snake-Footed Giants active there. These Giants like to use torches as their weapons."
"Then we'll head southeast," Jason commanded. "Heracles will still be the vanguard, everyone else be on alert. If anything goes wrong, we'll run into that forest."
Jason pointed to a dense forest at the edge of the plain, where many ancient, very tall trees grew. His decision was very correct; on the plain, humans could not outrun Giants, and only in such a forest did they have the possibility of maneuvering against the Giants.
Everyone confirmed his command. Thus, a group of human and demigod Heroes, guarding a certain Ares's two-faced avatar, slowly crept towards the source of the smoke.
As the saying goes, 'looking at a mountain can exhaust a horse running towards it.' The Heroes saw the wisp of smoke and thought it seemed close, but it took them a full day to travel. By the time they reached the designated location, it was already dark.
The creatures that left the smoke here had naturally departed long ago, but they still left very obvious traces on the ground.
Ephialtes squatted down in front of a pile of giant bones left after being gnawed. He touched the pile of bones and looked at the scattered drag marks on the ground, then said:
"The bones were roasted by fire, some parts are charred. It seems correct, these were left by the Snake-Footed Giants. They were here during the day; this area must be their hunting ground."
Jason looked at the pile of bones, then at the thick, crisscrossing drag marks on the ground. He then swallowed and asked, "Are all these marks left by Giants? And these bones... even elephants aren't this big, are they?"
"Of course not. These bones are the remains of a mythical creature. Looking at their condition, it might even be from a dragon," Ephialtes compared the size and then said, "Look, isn't the dragon Lord Ares brought back about the same size as these bones?"
"Then how big must the Giants be?" Jason sighed.
"About the size of a hill," Ephialtes replied. "This is already quite good; these Snake-Footed Giants are not the largest among the Giant races. The largest Giants are the ancient Titans and the Hecatoncheires guarding Tartarus. I was fortunate enough to see them once when I was with Lord Ares. They truly are... taller than the most majestic mountains in the world!"
"Gulp." Including Jason, the surrounding Heroes all swallowed, and even Heracles's expression was solemn. At this moment, they finally truly grasped what the concept of a "great enemy of the gods" entailed.
"Captain Jason, I have something to tell you." Ephialtes clapped his hands, stood up from the ground, and then said seriously, "Later, when we sneak into the Snake-Footed Giants' dwelling, if we are accidentally discovered, you must run immediately and don't mind me. I will buy you time."
"How can we do that?" Jason hurriedly said, "You are Lord Ares's envoy. If we leave you here, how can we explain it to Lord Ares when we return?"
"It's fine. When I came here, Lord Ares could already see the situation through my eyes," Ephialtes said. "So it doesn't matter if I die here. Lord Ares will naturally know the information about the Snake-Footed Giants. Rather, I came here precisely to stay here."
"This..." Hearing Ephialtes's words, Jason hesitated, but Heracles patted his shoulder and said to him, "Jason, just listen to him."
"Alright then," Jason finally nodded with difficulty.
"That's good," Ephialtes smiled upon hearing this, then pulled out a bottle of the same potion as before from his embrace and handed it to Jason: "You should have seen the mark I made, right? Run to that river, pour this bottle of potion into the river, then silently recite 'The Underworld Moon guides the way,' and you can open the passage to the real world."