As Heracles escorted Notus, rushing towards the Parthenon in Athens, Ares, on his end, also mobilized his alternate account, Perseus, to follow closely behind Sea King Poseidon, who had arrived in Athens in his avatar form.
Although Poseidon had arrived in Athens, he did not immediately make a move. It seemed he himself had some reservations about his current situation. After all, he had previously sworn so confidently and powerfully before the gods on Olympus that he would never again set foot on Olympus, only to be discovered shortly after, using an avatar to wander around his niece's territory. This was something no one could justify.
Of course, as one of the two great destroyers of the male god image on Olympus, Poseidon was certainly not one to care about face. According to the conclusions Perseus had drawn from tracking him these past few days, this fellow was merely scouting, evaluating risk versus reward.
He had most likely received information, leaked intentionally by the Three Goddesses of Fate and Athena, from who knows where, hearing that a priestess named Medusa in the Parthenon was very cute and adorable. Thus, he wanted to come and see if Medusa's cuteness and adorableness could make him cast aside his old face and go to any lengths to possess her.
Upon realizing this situation, Ares also secretly informed Medusa of the matter. While tracking and monitoring Poseidon, he also instructed the girl to be careful and protect herself when going out, ensuring no one saw her appearance.
Thanks to Ares, Medusa, when going out these past few days, in addition to her usual hooded robe, also added a black scarf. She used this scarf to cover her face, revealing only a pair of large eyes. And because these eyes were magic eyes, Medusa usually avoided eye contact when speaking to others, which further reduced the risk of her exposing her appearance.
However, such methods were only temporary. To correct the twisted fate trajectory caused by Ares, Athena and the Three Goddesses of Fate behind her would certainly find ways to expose Medusa's beauty to Poseidon. It was only a matter of time. Therefore, Ares also quickened his pace, waiting for Heracles to arrive in Athens with Notus, while simultaneously manipulating Perseus, striving to gain as much fame as possible within the city-state of Athens during this period.
Therefore, he specifically switched to another alternate account to keep an eye on Poseidon, while his Perseus alternate account was busily participating in the comprehensive combat arena competition in Athens.
When registering, Ares only filled in his name and the weapon he would use in combat. The competition system in Athens was also very simple: during the matches, each contestant would be randomly assigned a teammate to form a temporary team, engaging in two-on-two duels with other teams. They would progress from preliminaries and elimination rounds all the way to the semifinals. If a two-person team won in the semifinals, the final would be a one-on-one showdown between the two winners of that team, to determine who would be the Duel King of the Athens Arena Competition.
In arena combat, the "poor in martial virtue" Athenians naturally did not use real weapons, but rather training equipment specially made by the Athenians according to the methods bestowed by Athena, such as wooden swords wrapped in cloth, long staffs, etc. The arrowheads were also wrapped in a layer of gauze for cushioning.
Moreover, most importantly, perhaps because the Athenians had been provoked by the Spartan warriors under Ares' command, they melted down all the "excellent weapons" previously given by the Spartans and remade them into weapons usable by normal people. However, the highest-grade Spartan bronze pillar was uniquely preserved and erected next to the entrance of the Athens arena.
Once someone won the arena competition, they could choose to challenge themselves to lift this bronze pillar and swing it in a circle. If someone succeeded, that person would be directly crowned the "Goddess Warrior" of Athens and would enter the Parthenon to receive a personal audience and blessing from the Goddess.
Ares's goal this time was to achieve this title of "Goddess Warrior." Speaking of this title, he had casually mentioned it to Artemis in a conversation before, and Artemis had then inadvertently leaked it to Athena.
While Ares's other alternate account was keeping an eye on the sneaky Poseidon, the comprehensive combat arena competition in Athens quickly began. After all, it was only the ancient city-state period, and Athens did not have such large-scale hosting capabilities, nor did the audience have such long patience. Therefore, even for such a grand event, all matches were completed within half a day.
In this battle, Perseus, controlled by Ares, was naturally invincible. This physical body was originally of demigod hero specifications, and with a War God operating it, throwing him into this arena was simply crushing weaker opponents.
So, half a day later, Perseus became the victor of the Athens comprehensive combat arena competition, and incidentally, in front of all the spectators, he successfully "used all his strength" to lift the bronze pillar and spun it twice, earning cheers from the entire audience.
The King of Athens immediately invited the priest of the Parthenon, asking him to inform the chief goddess Athena of this matter, and also had Perseus deliver a "victory speech" in front of the entire audience.
Ares did not waste this opportunity. Led by the King of Athens, he came to the center of the arena and, with a strong voice, proclaimed to all the spectators:
"Citizens of Athens, who have watched my battles and shared with me the joy and glory of victory, bathing in the Goddess's radiance! I am Perseus, son of the great Zeus and Princess Danaë, disciple of the wise Chiron and Goddess Hecate, and heir to the Kingdom of Argos!"
As he announced his name, the audience began to cheer his name:
"Perseus! Perseus! Perseus!"
Perseus raised his arm, and the entire crowd fell silent. Then, they heard him continue to proclaim loudly:
"I was born in Sparta, a powerful nation that believes in the mighty War God Ares. However, I believe that while War God Ares is powerful, he is barbaric and tyrannical, only loving blood and War, not civilization and wisdom. This is unacceptable! So when I heard of Goddess Athena, I traveled thousands of miles to come here, wanting to strive for glory and shine before the Goddess, making my glory a tiny gem on the Goddess's crown! Everyone, while Ares is good, he is far inferior to Athena. She is the perfect Goddess; she is more beautiful than Aphrodite, more compassionate than Heavenly Queen Hera, more skilled in battle than War God Ares, wiser than Apollo, and more agile than Artemis! I, Perseus, swear here and now, she is my lifelong faith!"
"Even if I die, even if I am nailed in a coffin, I will use my decaying vocal cords to shout—Athena! She is the best!"
Most of the audience were citizens of Athens, and naturally, there were many loyal followers of Athena among them. Upon hearing Perseus's words, they all felt a deep connection and joined him in shouting loudly:
"Athena! She is the best!"