After the gods dispersed, Poseidon fled, and Ares and Hecate sank into the earth, the Heroes on the Argo were still deeply immersed in the shock they had just experienced, unable to extricate themselves.
Although there were many Heroes among the Argo Heroes who had seen gods, the scene of all the gods appearing together, arguing with each other, and even fighting for the Heroes on the Argo, was unprecedented.
At that time, although the Heroes dared not move under the pressure of the main gods' collision, thinking about it afterward, they felt honored.
This was not just an eye-opener; in this event, the Heroes on the Argo learned whose backing was stronger, whose backing was less noticeable, and which Heroes had upright personalities worth befriending. The Heroes found the answers in this clash of the gods.
Naturally, the person with the strongest backing on the Argo was no longer Jason, the captain protected by Heavenly Queen Hera, but a little witch who had casually joined the ship. Although she was not the offspring of any god, behind her stood two of the most powerful main gods in the Greek World.
Even the arrogant Sea God Poseidon was ultimately scared into fleeing in a hurry, not daring to stay. The Heroes of the Argo now had a vague idea of how terrifying the combined power of Ares and Hecate was.
Previously on the Argo, the only one who could restrain Medea was Perseus, and the only one who could suppress Medea was the mighty Heracles. However, both of them had left for various reasons. Now, the new formidable figure on the Argo was undoubtedly the sorceress Medea.
It could be said that if Medea wished, she could even propose to be the captain of the Argo, and it was believed that all the Heroes, including Jason, would have no objections.
The favor shown by Ares and Moon Goddess Hecate towards Medea was evident. One of these gods controlled the most terrifying and mysterious Underworld, replacing Hades, while the other was a notorious madman in the three realms, daring to fight anyone. Facing them, not to mention the Heroes, even the gods behind them dared not provoke these two great deities.
However, fortunately, Medea, who liked to slack off, was unwilling to take on the troublesome role of captain. She happily stayed on the ship, doing whatever she wanted.
The Heroes did not bother her, letting her be. In this incident, irreparable cracks also appeared among the Heroes on the Argo; everyone was actually aware of it.
Those Heroes who leaned towards Poseidon or Athena, with the departure of the strongest, Perseus, were already finding it difficult to remain on this ship. Therefore, it was likely that more people would leave, like Heracles or Perseus, during the upcoming journey.
Although Jason was helpless about this, he had no choice but to regard it as a test from Heavenly Queen Hera. Originally, he had planned to easily retrieve the golden fleece from Ares's Sacred Grove using the Heroes as his tools after arriving at Colchis Island. Now, it seemed that was also an impossible task.
After replenishing supplies and fresh water in Poseidonia Kingdom, the Heroes prepared to leave this place.
After the death of the original king, Amikos, the slaves in this kingdom who worshipped Athena almost became the leaders of the kingdom. However, due to this judgment among the gods, they lost the status they had painstakingly gained with their own hands and were forced to yield their positions to the new royal family supported by Sea God Poseidon.
Furthermore, due to the actions of Athena in the judgment, they even lost their faith in Athena.
Unexpectedly, after the collapse of their faith, many people began to worship Ares and Hecate, and quite a few also believed in the siblings Artemis and Apollo. This was all thanks to the four main gods protecting them during the judgment. Although the original intention of the four main gods might have been only to protect Heroes like Medea, Atalanta, and Asclepius, nonetheless, this group of slaves who were supposed to die survived because of it.
Coupled with Medea intentionally guiding this group of slaves with Atalanta, by the day the Argo was about to depart, these slaves had almost all taken on the form of worshipping the four main gods, led by Ares.
"Captain, I think we can take them with us."
On the day of departure, at the port of Poseidonia Kingdom, Medea and Atalanta had a dispute with Jason and the other Heroes.
Jason looked at the large group of slaves gathered at the port, raggedly dressed, sallow and emaciated, but with faces full of longing, and frowned, saying:
"How are we going to take them? The Argo cannot accommodate so many people, and what's more, our own supplies and fresh water are not enough. How can we accommodate such a large group of slaves?"
"How is it not enough? I have magic!"
Medea waved her hand and said:
"Come, come, you all come aboard with me. I'll show you how to accommodate this group of slaves."
Everyone knew she was fooling around, but now Medea was implicitly granted the privilege to fool around on the Argo. Therefore, the Heroes could only follow her onto the ship with their heads down, preparing to see what mischief she intended to cause.
However, just as the Heroes boarded the giant ship together through Medea's magic and arrived on the deck at the front of the ship, they were astonished to find that at the very front of this giant ship, at the old oak tree that Perseus had carved into the likeness of Athena, an extra person had appeared at some unknown time.
He had a tall and perfect male physique, with a wild mane of red hair flowing down. This person was sitting cross-legged on top of the old oak tree shaped like Athena, which would probably be considered disrespect to the Goddess by anyone in the world. However, this person had the privilege of doing such a thing without worrying about retaliation from Athena.
When Medea brought a group of Argo Heroes up, he also turned his face in time, then smiled at the Heroes and said:
"You finally boarded. You guys are a bit slow."
This person smiled very casually, but when they saw this person, all the Heroes on the ship, including Medea, were stunned.
Jason's throat moved, and then, reacting quickly with a 'flat sand falling goose' maneuver, he knelt before this person.
"Noble Ares."
He lowered his head, not daring to move.
"Have you appeared on our ship to give us any further instructions?"
"Instructions? No, you can get up first."
Ares sat on top of the Athena statue, legs crossed, and said with a smile:
"I'm here, of course, because I plan to sail with you."
"What?" The Heroes were startled.