Inside the God King's Hall on Olympus.
Seeing Thebes gradually prospering under Cadmus's leadership, Zeus contentedly withdrew his gaze, then finally looked at his loyal son who had 'infiltrated' Typhon's rear, painstakingly stealing back his divine lightning under the watchful eyes of Athena and Typhon.
"Ares, you did very well this time."
He asked his son:
"What reward do you want?"
Ares feigned deep thought for a moment, then articulated his long-conceived idea:
"I want the gods to help me establish a city-state that worships me, just like Apollo's Delphi."
Ares's request was quite standard for a Main God. At this point in time, a relatively strong group among the Olympus Twelve Main Gods had more or less established their own city-states and nations on the earth. For example, Apollo was the guardian god of Delphi, Hera was the lord of Argos and Samos, and Poseidon, in addition to owning a city-state called Pylos, also raised an island from the depths of the sea and established a nation called Atlantis on it. Besides these city-states and nations, most other city-states honored Zeus, the King of the Gods, as their guardian deity.
Among the powerful Main Gods, only Ares and Athena had yet to establish their own city-states. Athena seemed to still be selecting a location and personnel for construction, while the people Ares favored were currently a tribe called the "Dorian".
At this point, it was understandable for Ares to propose establishing his own city, as a Main God.
So Zeus didn't think much of it. With a wave of his hand, he decisively said, "Good, granted."
After agreeing to Ares's request, Zeus surveyed the gods and asked Ares again:
"Ares, what kind of city-state do you want?"
In the world of the Greek Pantheon, the land was basically composed of loose alliances of city-states. All city-states worshipped the gods on Olympus, but the city-states themselves did not obey the leadership of a single king.
These city-states were independent, and would engage in War and alliances as circumstances dictated. To attract populations from other places, a city-state itself had to be distinctive. For example, Apollo's Delphi's biggest selling point was the prophecies of the God of Light.
Now that Ares was to establish a city-state that primarily worshipped him, this city-state naturally had to have its own selling point.
"Of course, a city-state that gathers the world's most powerful warriors!"
Upon hearing Zeus's question, Ares clenched his fists and said without hesitation.
Hearing his matter-of-fact statement, the gods were not surprised. Whether a city-state that only engaged in fighting could attract enough people was beside the point; at least this characteristic was very God of War-like.
"Then, go down and establish your own city-state."
Zeus instructed Ares:
"If you need help from other deities, feel free to command them. This is the privilege I grant you."
"Good!"
Ares's face lit up with joy, and he nodded repeatedly.
After the morning assembly of the gods dispersed, Ares's divine power avatar quickly returned to the God of War Palace, beginning to guide his chosen people and ponder how to establish his own power.
Currently, the Dorian tribe he favored were the descendants of the Agiad and Eurypontid brothers and their respective wives, whom he had chosen. Among the 'trainees' at that time, the Agiad and Eurypontid brothers also had the best combat talent. Under the God of War's tutelage, both brothers reached the realm of Electric Current Propulsion, tearing apart magical beasts and kicking giants with ease.
Although due to the deliberate suppression of the inhibitory force, the brothers' lifespans were not very long compared to Silver Age humans, their warrior bloodline was passed down, forming the present-day Dorian, who are also the ancestors of the historical Spartans.
And now, what would become the Sparta city-state was not yet called Sparta, but "Laconia". This small plain, surrounded by mountains on three sides, was currently occupied by a group of Laconia, who would later become the slaves of the Spartans in the Sparta city-state, the predecessors of the Spartan second-class citizens, the "Helots".
These Helots were one of the main reasons for Sparta's rise. They provided Sparta with abundant labor, allowing the Spartans, who only focused on training and War, to have ample food, weapons, and other resources. However, they also led to Sparta's decline. Precisely because the arrogant Spartans always treated the Helots as slaves and refused to grant them the same citizen status as the Spartans, this led to several subsequent Helot rebellions. Sparta's power was greatly depleted in these rebellions, ultimately leading to Sparta's demise.
However, now, with Ares in charge, he naturally wouldn't let the history of the Helots repeat itself. For humanity to have an army and power capable of confronting the gods, this power cannot be like Sparta, dedicating all its energy solely to warrior training.
In the Age of Gods, a pure human, unless exceptionally gifted like Shiki Ryougi, who was born connected to the Root, no matter how hard they tried, could not strengthen themselves to the point of defeating an Olympus Main God.
To defeat a Main God, strength, army, magic, technology, agriculture, and animal husbandry—none of these aspects could be neglected.
From Ares's perspective, the Dorian had now migrated near Laconia due to food shortages and discovered the Laconia Plain, where they encountered the Laconia.
To compete for the fertile Laconia Plain, small-scale skirmishes had already occurred between the two factions, and War was almost inevitable. With the current military strength of the Laconia, it was basically impossible to defeat the all-soldier Dorian.
Fortunately, as the God of War, Ares could easily intervene in this matter.
He thought for a moment and devised a plan. His main body in the Underworld directly molded a physical body identical to Cadmus's from soil and clear water, then used magic to send it near Laconia.
He fashioned this body into a robust old man, with white beard and hair, draped in a robe emblazoned with flame patterns, leaning on a metal staff. He then sat cross-legged on the spot, silently waiting.
If he hadn't left behind his contingency plan in the Silver Age, then now, Ares might not have found it so easy to subdue the Dorian and Laconia. However, now, both the Dorian tribe and the Laconia city-state had the inheritances he left behind at that time. Therefore, Ares, in this incarnation, stood in the wilderness outside Laconia and waited, then his divine power avatar used special communication to notify the leaders of the Dorian and Laconia separately.
He waited quietly for two hours. Finally, in the distant wilderness, several figures began to appear, rushing towards him.