Considering the plot of the original epic, Ares did not let his servants venture deep into the nearby forest to their deaths.
In the original myth, they were all annihilated because they encountered the poisonous dragon kept by Ares in the forest. This allowed Cadmus to kill the dragon and use its teeth to create the Dragon-Tooth Warriors, thus becoming a Hero.
But myth is myth, and now is now. These servants had followed him all this way, and he was not some great villain. He would protect them if he could.
So, he first led these servants to search nearby and successfully found a village. Using the supplies they had bought from Delphi, they exchanged them with the villagers for two oxen. During this process, Ares casually asked:
"Excuse me, do you know where there is clear spring water nearby? I wish to obtain some pure water to make a sacrifice to the Olympus."
"Clear spring water? As for spring water, there is one deep in the nearby forest, but..."
At this point, the villagers' faces showed a look of hesitation.
"But what?" Ares quickly pressed.
"There's a poisonous dragon in that forest." Several villagers looked at each other, and finally, an elder said tremblingly, "Whenever there's Famine, and food in the forest is scarce, that poisonous dragon will crawl out and devour nearby livestock, or even living people. It has three snake-like tongues, a body like a giant python, three pairs of wings on its back, and the poisonous gas it spits out can directly turn ten or so people's bodies into pus."
"A poisonous dragon?" Ares slapped his thigh and said to the villagers, "What's so scary about that? I have received Ares' blessing and have come here under the guidance of the Olympus. I am destined to establish Thebes and become its king. A poisonous dragon causing trouble in my territory? Don't be afraid, I have a Noble Phantasm bestowed by Ares. Today, I will go and slay it."
After speaking, he deliberately showed the villagers the staff with intertwined snakes and the curved hook sword he had given himself, to display his power.
However, upon seeing his weapons, the villagers did not show reverence. They continued to advise, "You'd best not go. This area isn't bad, and in the past, many Heroes blessed by the Olympus have come here. But do you know why that poisonous dragon is still alive? Because it is a pet kept by Ares. Those Heroes didn't dare offend Ares, so they all went around, pretending not to see this grassland."
"Nonsense!"
Hearing what the villagers said, Ares suddenly raised his voice and shouted:
"How could my Lord Ares release such a dangerous beast onto the earth to harm humanity?"
His stature was tall, his voice was loud, and with the Noble Phantasm gifted by Ares hanging at his waist, he naturally exuded an aura. The villagers were startled by his shout and immediately became afraid, quickly explaining:
"Sir, we didn't mean to insult Ares. Perhaps this area was originally Ares' pasture, and we moved here without permission, which is why we are devoured by the poisonous dragon. It's not Ares' fault, it's ours."
Ares looked around and immediately saw some "dared not speak their anger" in the villagers' eyes. How could he not understand? It was clear that a deity was secretly slandering him behind the scenes, lowering his prestige among humans. Looking around at the Olympus, there was only one god with both the motive and the courage.
Is it you, Athena?
After pondering for a moment, Ares made a decision in his mind.
He deliberately showed a thoughtful expression, then paced back and forth several times under the villagers' gaze, before striking his fist and revealing a look of sudden realization:
"Ah, I understand! This is all the will of that great one!"
"He guided me here and placed the poisonous dragon here. It's clearly a test from that great one for me! Only by killing that poisonous dragon can I be worthy of establishing a city-state here."
"This..." The villagers looked at each other, feeling that what Ares said seemed to make some sense.
"Don't worry, everything is sorted out." Ares waved his hand at the villagers: "I'm going to confront that poisonous dragon now and slay it to rid you of this menace."
The villagers and servants wanted to stop Ares' reckless action, but Ares, in turn, subdued them: "This is all the will of the Olympus. Do you intend to defy me, who possesses the divine will?"
As he spoke, Ares waved the staff with intertwined snakes he had taken from Hermes. With a surge of magic, the eyes of the two small snakes on the staff emitted a burst of light, and everyone present immediately felt their minds heavy and drowsy.
"That's right, you all stay here, prepare the offerings, and just wait for my return," Ares instructed the servants.
After speaking, he left the group there and walked towards the forest.
Although Ares was highly skilled and bold, believing that with the power of this avatar, he wouldn't lose even if he faced the poisonous dragon bare-handed, considering that anything he used during his dragon-slaying might become a Noble Phantasm after becoming a Heroic Spirit, Ares still went to the carriage and wrapped a lion skin from it around himself, treating it as armor.
After completing his preparations, he fearlessly walked into the jungle alone.
According to the villagers, the poisonous dragon lurked around the jungle's spring. Not long after Ares entered the jungle, he heard the gurgling sound of water. There was a clear stream on the jungle floor, and presumably, the spring was upstream.
Ares followed the stream, walking upstream along it. After about half an hour, Ares saw the spring at the base of a mountain cliff. Clear spring water flowed from the cracks in the cliff, forming a small, clear pool at its base. This pool was the source of the stream.
Just as Ares saw the spring, a terrifying dragon roar suddenly echoed from the jungle. The roar even made the entire spring tremble.
The sound of rustling branches came from afar. Ares turned his head and saw a poisonous dragon in the jungle. Its eyes were like torches, its scales like sturdy armor, its body was blue, and it had three tongues. It was crawling towards him. Its body coiled like a giant snake, but it had strong limbs and three pairs of wings. As its body swayed, visible poisonous gas overflowed from its mouth, causing all the vegetation in the areas it crawled over to wither.
Ares watched the poisonous dragon, standing still. He seemed to be intimidated by this top-tier Phantasmal Beast, a Dragon. Seeing this, the poisonous dragon's eyes flashed with contempt. It quickly crawled its body forward and then came before Ares, slowly opening its large mouth, not even releasing poisonous gas, preparing to feed.
But at this moment, Ares suddenly reached out, took the staff with intertwined snakes hanging at his left waist, injected all the magic from this body into the staff, and then violently smashed it against the poisonous dragon's snout.
Although it was a Phantasmal Beast at the pinnacle of all Phantasmal Beasts, this poisonous dragon was still somewhat inferior to the power of a god. The staff with intertwined snakes flashed with light, and under the might of a Divine Construct of the chief deity level, the poisonous dragon immediately rolled its eyes and fainted on the spot.
Watching its heavy body fall heavily to the ground, Ares took the curved hook sword from his right waist. Gripping this Noble Phantasm he had forged himself, Ares easily cut through the poisonous dragon's thick scales and hide, severing half of the dragon's neck and ending its life.