After Athena skillfully completed a series of procedures to commend his achievements and bestow rewards, Kratos had already become the leader of the Spartans' army on Olympus.
Although Kratos kept wondering why Athena didn't give the herb to Heracles, a world-renowned hero who was a demigod, both god and man, whose power was comparable to the gods and whose achievements even he admired, the Spartans had one good quality: they obeyed orders and didn't talk much.
At this time, Kratos was still loyal to the Olympian pantheon, so when Athena and Zeus wanted to bestow honors upon him, he didn't voice many opinions and simply accepted them.
However, just as Kratos was about to take the herb Athena handed him and be crowned "Olympus Champion," the doors of the God Kings Hall suddenly burst open from the outside with a bang.
Hermes, with a face full of joy, rushed in from outside. He glanced at Kratos on the ground, then bypassed him, came to the spot in front of Kratos, and shouted to the main gods:
"Good news!"
"Oh?"
Zeus, who had been a little displeased, immediately became interested when he heard his son shout the words "good news." He asked:
"What good news is it?"
"Ares told me he found a way to completely kill the Giant Race."
Hermes excitedly told the main gods:
"As long as an herb from the Pallene Peninsula is ground and given to the strongest hero in this world with mortal blood, it can break the power Gaia bestowed upon the Giant Race and kill them completely... Huh? Why aren't you smiling?"
Hermes had originally thought that Zeus, upon hearing this news, would be overjoyed and reward Ares, and he himself would also benefit, but the main gods in front of him reacted very calmly after hearing his words.
Aphrodite looked down at her fingernails, Athena still maintained a smile, looking at him with gentle eyes, Hades remained silent, and Zeus showed an impatient expression, scolding him:
"Athena has already found this method! All day long, you just hang out with your foolish brother, being loud and boisterous. You are a main god, Hermes, you need to learn to be more dignified."
"What?" Hermes looked at the Goddess of Wisdom in surprise, and she gave him an affirmative reply:
"Indeed, I recently managed to find this method. The one kneeling on the ground is the strongest hero we have selected after extensive investigation; he is about to become the 'Olympus Champion' who will lead humans and gods to defeat the Snake-Foot Giants."
"Can you move aside, Hermes?" Kratos also looked up at this moment and said to the Messenger God standing in front of him, "You're blocking me."
"Oh." Meeting Kratos's gaze, Hermes's knees suddenly went weak for some reason, and he quickly moved to the side, but then he felt a bit annoyed, feeling that he had lost face as a main god.
But Athena did not give him another chance to challenge Kratos. The Goddess of Wisdom pondered for two seconds, then suddenly laughed, "Interesting."
"Hmm?" Zeus asked doubtfully, "Athena, what are you laughing at?"
"I'm laughing at the news Hermes brought," the Goddess of Wisdom replied, looking at the main gods around her. "Don't you think the timing of Ares telling Hermes, and then Hermes delivering the news to us, is simply too clever?"
"Hmm?"
After hearing Athena's words, the main gods fell into thought, but Hades reacted quickly. He immediately saw through his niece's intention and spoke to stop her:
"Athena, now is not the time to say such things. The crisis of the Giant Race has not been completely resolved by us!"
"It's fine, with this warrior Kratos here, the mere Giant Race is nothing to fear." Seeing things going smoothly, Zeus habitually started to act recklessly again. He pressed Athena:
"Athena, what did you mean by your words just now? Continue, explain it more clearly."
Athena assented, then stated bluntly, "I won't say those hypocritical words; I'll get straight to the conclusion. Everyone, I suspect my brother, Ares, the God of War, might be planning a rebellion!"
"..."
As soon as these words were uttered, the expressions of the main gods in the Olympus God Kings Hall varied. Aphrodite remained aloof, Zeus seemed to agree with Athena's statement but held some reservations due to the foolish impression Ares had left in his memory, Hermes's mouth hung open in surprise as if he had never noticed such a sign, while Hades sighed helplessly, shook his head, and turned away, seemingly unwilling to deal with this mess anymore.
After a long while, Zeus finally asked:
"Athena, do you have any evidence for what you're saying?"
"Of course I do, and a lot of it."
Athena replied confidently:
"For all these years since my birth, Ares has been feigning foolishness and using various overt and covert means to harm other gods of Olympus, secretly weakening our power. I have records of all this, from clear images to traces that easily point to the mastermind. And he initially targeted me and Hecate, treating me, a main god who could threaten him, as his target and shield, to share and absorb firepower for him, while he secretly colluded with Hecate, the only Goddess of Magic in heaven and earth who could pose a threat to you, to work hand in glove with her, wanting to usurp your position."
"Athena."
Hades finally couldn't help but say:
"Don't forget, our 'Olympus Champion' is a Spartan."
"He doesn't care."
Athena asked Kratos:
"Right, Kratos?"
"You all talk amongst yourselves."
Kratos agreed:
"I just need to know where I'm going and who I need to kill."
Athena nodded in satisfaction, but Zeus glared at his elder brother with great displeasure and said:
"Hades, don't interrupt here! Hecate is a Chthonic Goddess, but if she truly conspires with Ares to rebel, don't even think about protecting her!"
Then, he asked Athena:
"Athena, if this is true, what do you think we should do?"
"That's simple. I've already prepared an order written in your tone to Ares. It demands that he dispatch all his troops and return to Olympus to await our command. This will require Hermes to make another trip; you deliver this order to Ares. If he doesn't comply, then it means he intends to rebel."
Athena said with a smile, pressing on Hermes's trembling shoulder.