When Ares surpassed Atalanta and reached the finish line, not only Hippomenes, but everyone present was stunned.
Iasos, the King of Arcadia, was so shocked that his eyes widened and his mouth hung open, forgetting to announce the winner of the race.
Heaven help them, at first, when the Heroes saw Ares start, they merely thought he was a gifted youth. Ares's performance was already impressive, being able to keep up with the clearly systematically trained Hippomenes at the age and status of a attendant.
When the spectators saw the extraordinary speed Ares displayed while contending for the golden apple, they only thought that it was due to the attraction of the treasure, and that Ares, the attendant, had unleashed his hidden potential.
But they never imagined that, after falling so far behind, and with Atalanta not holding back, Ares could actually catch up to Atalanta from behind and win the race.
On the track, Ares and Atalanta, who had both completed the entire race, had stopped. They looked at Iasos together, waiting for the King of Arcadia to announce the results of the race.
According to the rules set by Iasos himself, Atalanta would have to marry Ares, who won the race, and Ares would also inherit his country, Arcadia, becoming the new King of Arcadia.
A attendant... becoming a King.
Iasos could even imagine the scene ten years from now, where Arcadia would be mocked by citizens of other countries as the "attendant Nation."
No, this absolutely cannot happen!
I cannot let Atalanta marry a mere attendant, nor will I allow a attendant to become the future King of Arcadia!
Besides, how could a attendant possibly sire powerful offspring with Atalanta!
Iasos's mind raced, then he stood up and announced:
"This race is still a victory for my daughter, Atalanta. According to the rules, the losers shall be put to death."
"What?"
Upon hearing Iasos's declaration, all the spectators present were stunned. It seemed Ares's status was too lowly, and thus the King was prepared to break his promise!
"Father!"
Atalanta pointed at Ares and shouted to Iasos:
"How can you be like this? Is it because you are too old and your eyes are dim? He clearly won against me in the race just now!"
"Enough, Atalanta."
Iasos said indifferently:
"He's just a attendant, how can he be treated as a person? If he dies, he dies. I'll find you a cuter attendant later."
"Father."
Atalanta glanced at Ares, then sighed deeply, and earnestly advised:
"I think it would be better for you to keep your promise."
She wasn't worried that Ares would actually force her to marry him as a divine consort; the two of them had already discussed it, and Ares had told Atalanta how to deal with all possible situations.
In fact, Iasos breaking his promise was also within Ares's expectations, and Ares had explicitly stated that this was the most likely decision the King of Arcadia would make. If Iasos truly did so, then he would not be far from his end.
However, the patriarchal and arrogant King of Arcadia clearly had no interest in listening to what his daughter was saying. He waved his hand and ordered the Arcadia warriors outside the arena:
"Go, kill them."
So the Arcadia warriors once again drew their longbows and shot a rain of arrows. Perhaps sensing King Iasos's determination to kill Ares, the attendant, these Arcadia warriors even abandoned their initial target of killing Hippomenes, the weakest of the three, and instead aimed all their arrows at Ares.
The sky-filling rain of arrows fell, and it seemed this handsome, pitiful attendant was about to become a "hedgehog," tragically dying at the hands of a king who broke his promise. But at that moment, people suddenly saw the attendant raise his head and grin at the sky.
As the countless arrows entered within three meters of him, they suddenly ignited with fire. The temperature of this terrifying flame was unknown, but the moment the arrows were engulfed and ignited, their wooden parts instantly turned to ash. The arrowheads, reddened by the flames, advanced a negligible distance before finally failing to approach within two meters of him, turning into molten iron that dripped onto the track.
In the blink of an eye, the first volley of arrows launched by the Arcadia warriors had turned into ash and molten iron, vanishing from this world.
A suffocating aura slowly began to emanate from Ares. He took a step forward, and his entire body suddenly grew taller, transforming into a tall, handsome young man. He surveyed the arena, then looked at Iasos, the King of Arcadia.
"Oh, Iasos."
Ares said softly to him:
"King of Arcadia, as a ruler of a nation, you can't even keep your own promises. You truly disappoint me."
Feeling the terrifying pressure emanating from this handsome young man, Iasos swallowed hard and then asked:
"Who... who exactly are you?"
"Who I am is not important. What is important is that I have witnessed your faithless, unjust, and inhumane actions."
As Ares spoke, he took another step. As his foot landed, bright cracks appeared on the ground, and then pillars of fire erupted from these fissures, forming a wall of fire that surrounded him.
"Iasos, as a father, you abandoned your child, throwing your own daughter, Atalanta, into the deep mountains, leaving her to fend for herself. This is injustice."
"As a king, you made a promise, yet at the crucial moment, you went back on your word, refused to honor your pledge, and even tried to kill to silence witnesses. This is faithlessness."
"You held a competition, yet you cruelly punished the losers, ordering your warriors to casually take their lives. This is inhumanity."
After speaking these three sentences, Ares took another step forward, and then the disguise of his mortal body dissolved into scattered sparks of fire. Armor appeared on him, and flames clung to his long hair, dyeing it red strand by strand.
At this point, the spectators and Iasos finally knew who this handsome young man was.
One of the Olympus Twelve Main Gods, the master of War and chaos, Ares.
Upon learning Ares's true identity, Iasos grew even more desperate. Even the Arcadia warriors put down their bows and arrows, abandoning the protection of their King.
To protect their King, they would have to fight Ares, but Ares was the embodiment of War and conquest. How could they fight him?
However, Ares paid no attention to the emotions of these people. He went to Atalanta's side, glanced at the Princess of Arcadia, and then said to Iasos:
"Iasos, I will punish you."
A flash of fire passed, and Iasos, the King of Arcadia, let out a scream. Ares did not kill him directly, nor did he take any limb or part from his body. He merely left an imprint on Iasos's body, like one made by a branding iron.
This mark would at most cause him pain now, but it would forever remain on his soul. It was the mark of the faithless, the unjust, and the inhumane. When Iasos's life came to an end and he went to the Underworld, bearing this mark, he would be directly condemned by the three judges to Tartarus, to receive cruel punishment.
And King Iasos's life was now running out.