"Of course I mean what I say."
Looking at the young man with a large scythe on his shoulder, Jason felt a sense of familiarity for some reason, so he casually asked,
"Who are you? Have we met before?"
"Don't you remember me?"
Perseus waved to Jason from across the Heroes:
"I'm Perseus."
"Perseus..."
Jason murmured, then suddenly recalled the name, his face instantly turning extremely grim, and Asclepius, standing beside him, also turned somewhat pale.
They both simultaneously remembered the past, those days spent running from Perseus, who was wielding a spear under the setting sun. That was indeed their lost youth.
Moreover, the key was that Perseus's speech after leaving Chiron's tutelage was also deeply memorable. Jason and Asclepius felt that the scene was practically etched into their DNA.
On the other side, the Heroes gathered at the harbor also began to discuss among themselves upon hearing Perseus's name.
"I remember now, he seems to be the one who won the comprehensive martial arts competition in Athens several years ago, but he offended Athena for some reason before. It wasn't until recently that Athens conferred upon him the title of 'Goddess Warrior'."
"Isn't he just a criminal? Can someone like that board the ship?"
Because Perseus had been doing unsavory dirty work for Athena all these years, it was naturally impossible for these Heroes to know about it. Therefore, these Heroes, who had all made some small contributions to the Greek World, were very displeased with him.
Perseus heard the Heroes' discussions, then he smiled and continued to ask Jason: "Speaking of which, Jason, I have a companion here. If we accomplish what you just said, can both of us board the ship?"
"Companion?"
Jason's gaze fell upon the tall, cloaked figure standing behind him, then he nodded:
"If you can get these Heroes to leave, then I can let both of you board the ship."
"Okay."
Perseus snapped his fingers, then turned and whispered something to the figure behind him. Seeing his actions, the Heroes clamored:
"What? Do you intend to rely on that companion behind you to drive us away? Is that all the Goddess Warrior of Athena is capable of? Only relying on others to protect him?"
"Sigh, incompetent Heroes just love to whine."
Perseus waved his hand, ignoring the Heroes' words. He made way for the figure behind him, and the person standing behind him stepped forward, taking off his cloak in front of the Heroes.
Immediately, a tall, muscular, yet handsome black-haired young man appeared before the Heroes.
He wore a leather armor made of lion skin, and a helmet made of a lion's head on top of his head. Just looking at him, he even seemed a little cute, but upon seeing him, the "Heroes" at the harbor were as if their throats had been choked, unable to utter any sound.
They had recognized the identity of this young man: it was Heracles of Thebes, now famous throughout the Greek World for slaying numerous terrifying monsters.
"It's... it's that monster..."
"It's him, let's just leave, I don't want to die here..."
Although confident in their own strength, in the worldview of the Greeks, Heracles was already a being from another dimension, surpassing all other Heroes. Therefore, upon seeing him, these Heroes completely lost their will to fight, lowered their flags and drums, and prepared to pack up and leave.
However, there is no shortage of hotheads who lack a clear understanding of their own strength. When the Heroes around them were all disheartened, a bald man suddenly stood out from the Heroes.
His height and build looked almost identical to Heracles', and after stepping out of the Heroes, he surveyed the Heroes around him, then a look of disdain appeared on his face:
"You useless Heroes, with such little courage, you still have the nerve to call yourselves Heroes? Heracles, isn't he just a demigod with a bit more strength? I'm also a demigod, and I don't believe Heracles has two more arms than me! You don't dare to fight him, but I will!"
As he spoke, the bald man walked towards Heracles, who was silently staring at him. Seeing the bald man's actions, Asclepius, standing beside Jason, said to him exasperatedly:
"Look at you, giving me more work to do!"
"Hey, that bald guy looks pretty strong too. Heracles shouldn't be as powerful as the legends claim."
Jason muttered:
"Although we haven't met in a long time, I remember when we were kids, he shouldn't have been Perseus's opponent."
"That was in the past. Heracles's body didn't look as strong back then."
Asclepius said exasperatedly:
"Don't forget he's Zeus's son. Even when he was young and hadn't fully grown, he could easily pull up the trees at the entrance of Teacher Chiron's cave. Who knows how strong his body is now that he's fully developed?"
"But that bald man is also a demigod."
Jason said:
"No matter what, he shouldn't—"
Whoosh!
Before Jason could finish speaking, he heard a whooshing sound. He turned his head and saw the bald man flying past him at a speed too fast for the naked eye, then flying into the sea outside the harbor behind.
Asclepius stood up, shading his eyes with one hand as he looked behind him, then let out a sigh of relief:
"Good, he doesn't seem to be injured, no need to waste my medicine."
And Heracles clapped his hands, then looked at the Heroes somewhat sincerely and asked:
"Anyone else want to try?"
The Heroes were silent. They looked at each other, then all shook their heads.
"Then hurry up and scram!"
Perseus shouted from behind Heracles.
Seeing his smug expression, someone in the Heroes shouted indignantly: "Perseus, you're just hiding under the monster's prestige. What right do you have to call yourself a Hero?"
"What? My father is Zeus, my brother is Heracles, I am the Goddess Warrior of Athens, and standing behind me is Athena, who helped Jason build the Argo. With these conditions, I can be a Hero even if I just lie down!"
Perseus stomped his feet and shouted:
"Not convinced? If you're not convinced, go try believing in Athena too!"
"Believing in Athena is amazing!" someone in the Heroes shouted.
"Sorry, believing in Athena means you can do whatever you want." Perseus gripped his scythe and swept it across the ground: "Alright, now, everyone who doesn't believe in Athena, scram!"