Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Hera was furious. Veins bulged on her once fair and elegant face, and her teeth clenched, filled with a murderous rage.

"You provoked me first, didn't you?"

Zeus glanced at his wife and asked casually.

"So what if he did! He actually harmed my flawless body! Unforgivable! Unforgivable!"

Hera became even angrier at her husband's indifferent response.

“We had an agreement: you can indirectly test him, tempering his mind and body, but you must never use this as an excuse to personally persecute my son…”

"Zeus! You're going to favor this bastard, aren't you? Fine, if you won't do it, I'll do it myself!"

"enough!"

Zeus's thunder scepter crashed to the ground with a thunderous roar, instantly filling the temple dome with thunderclouds. Branching arcs of silvery light spread and crisscrossed, instantly covering the entire sky of Olympus like roots.

At the same time, the god-king stood up from his seat, his tall body looking down, his eyes flashing with a terrifying silver light. The powerful pressure made Hera tremble all over, and the anger in her heart was poured over her head like a bucket of ice water.

"Have you forgotten who the true king is on Olympus, my dear sister?"

Zeus stared coldly at his wife before him, asking a meaningful question.

"I apologize, Your Majesty, I lost my composure..."

Hera snapped out of her daze, gritted her teeth, lowered her proud head, and responded humbly.

For thousands of years, her god-king husband has been adept at reconciling conflicts among the gods, maintaining balance, and solving problems with wisdom.

But when Typhon attacked Olympus and the gods were forced to retreat in defeat, it was this wise god-king who stepped forward and defeated the fierce and vengeful Typhon.

Compared to that profound wisdom, his strength has always been far greater!

However, she had completely forgotten all of this.

"You are forbidden to lay a hand on Heracles again! The test is to be given to Eurystheus; his glory is tied to the future of Olympus!"

"…Understood…"

The goddess Hera gritted her teeth, and finally, amidst the increasingly somber and sharp thunder, she lowered her head and responded in a muffled voice.

Zeus gave his wife a deep look, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes, before coldly rebuking her with a disheartened expression.

"go out."

"Yes, my king..."

Hera slowly retreated, and only when she reached the foot of the courtyard did she realize that her son Ares was awkwardly squeezed in a corner, his eyes constantly darting back and forth between her and Zeus.

Clearly, the father and son had been discussing something.

"boom!"

The Thunder Scepter struck again, and the dull echo made Hera's heart skip a beat. She immediately adopted a respectful posture and stepped out of the Sky Court.

However, as soon as Hera returned to her temple and sealed the barrier, the respect on her face was immediately replaced by gloom and distortion.

In an instant, the milky-white divine power that had originally protected marriage and childbirth suddenly erupted and swept across the room, causing the sounds of objects being impacted and smashed to echo continuously.

For a full half hour, the once elegant and magnificent temple was left in a mess, with fragments and pieces of exquisite artifacts scattered everywhere.

Along with the lifelike marble statue, it was innocently broken in two and lay horizontally on the ground.

Zeus! How dare you treat me like this! You will regret it!

Queen Hera roared with rage and resentment in her heart, filled with injustice.

Sitting on the bed, after sulking for a while, the proud white-armed goddess, her eyes flashing with cold light, rose and transformed into a stream of light, silently flying towards the Sea of ​​Oceanus.

Meanwhile, in the heavenly court, Zeus glanced at Ares below with a playful expression.

"I heard that you lost to Athena in the last battle for Athens?"

"Father God, I..."

Ares was extremely embarrassed when his father exposed his past.

Zeus smiled reassuringly, his tone carrying a profound meaning.

"Actually, it's nothing. To obtain that pearl, one doesn't necessarily have to do it personally. The war of the gods can be carried out by humans."

By the way, I've heard that the Spartans you protect are incredibly brave and skilled in battle. I wonder how they compare to the Athenians?

Ares understood his father's hidden meaning. His face lit up with joy at first, but then his expression turned strange, and he gave a embarrassed reminder.

“Alas, Father God, those wretched Spartans worship Apollo, and they do not obey my commands at all.”

In reality, because this god of war from Olympus represented more unjust wars and sometimes personally engaged in battles, killing without distinguishing between friend and foe, he was always kept at a distance by the Greek city-states.

Even the warlike Spartans, after receiving Ares' blessing, resolutely turned to the embrace of Apollo, the god of light, and most of their festivals were to commemorate Apollo, the patron god of their city-state.

They managed to steal their territory, what a bunch of losers!

Zeus's breath hitched, and his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

Seeing the faint crackling of lightning emanating from the Father God's body, Ares hurriedly spoke up.

"Father God, my daughters, warriors of the Amazons, inherit my will and are ready to serve you!"

Zeus calmed his anger slightly and waved his hand somewhat listlessly.

"Then let them do it, to win you vast lands and more faith."

"Yes, Father God, I will definitely make them teach those Athenians a lesson!"

Ares solemnly pounded his chest, nodded excitedly, and his tone even carried a hint of pride and boasting about his daughters.

After his impetuous son left excitedly to carry out his orders, Zeus slumped wearily on his throne, rubbing his aching brow.

"You're going to harm our daughter?!"

However, before this wise god-king could even catch his breath, a buzzing sound that made his head throb with pain suddenly came from his mind.

“No, Metis, my dear, let me explain! The pattern that the spinning wheel of fate was meant to weave has been repeatedly disrupted. Athens has gathered too many unstable factors, and I must keep them within a controllable range!”

But Zeus's explanation still failed to satisfy Metis, whose mind was still filled with pain.

"I promise I won't hurt Athena!"

Everything I've done is to weaken humanity, to prevent them from amassing power enough to challenge the gods! Athena is already bound to humanity; do you want to see me and our daughter descend into slaughter?!

The God-King had no choice but to pound his head and respond in a hoarse voice.

"Besides, how long can that fool Ares hold off Athens? Do you really think our daughter is inferior to that brute from before?"

Finally, the goddess he was "madly in love" with stopped causing trouble.

Exhausted, Zeus leaned back on his throne to catch his breath and recover for a moment. Just as he was about to remind Ares to be careful, he suddenly saw a furtive figure leave the heavenly court and immediately slip into the palace of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

The wise god-king was speechless, and roared with grief and indignation in his heart.

What the hell is going on?!

Chapter 167 Everyone's a Traitor (1/5)

In the bedroom of Aphrodite, after a passionate encounter, Aphrodite lay in Ares' arms, playfully drawing circles on the chest of this strong and handsome man, seemingly asking casually, "His Majesty said that you are to mobilize the Amazons to attack Athens?"

Ares leaned against the headboard, stroking his lover's long hair as he nodded.

Cupid gently twirled a strand of hair between his fingers and looked at Ares with pity: "Your father is really biased."

Ares was puzzled and asked, "Why do you say that, my love?"

Cupid raised an eyebrow and asked, "Can your daughters really conquer Athens?"

Ares pondered for a moment, his brow furrowing.

To be honest, it's difficult.

Not to mention that even he and Poseidon could not shake Mount Ares, even the Academy of Athens, which gathered more than half of the Greek heroes, was an obstacle.

Moreover, the Amazon tribes had strayed from the center of the Greek world, while Athens was "the Athens of the Greeks."

If the Amazons rashly attack Athens, the war could drag on and be seen as a full-scale invasion of Greece, leading to a joint siege and suppression by the Greek city-states.

Although he enjoys war and the thrill of killing, he does not like wars that are destined to be lost.

Moreover, those children who went to the battlefield were his beloved daughters.

(Ares was relatively kind to his daughter; he once killed Poseidon's son to protect her from being violated, which led to a lawsuit on Mount Ares.)

What benefits would you gain from fighting this war?

"..."

"Your father is just using you to complete his plan to reduce the human population and its potential."

“Father God trusts me, which is why he entrusted me with such an important task.”

"Really, my love? Your faith has been almost driven out of Greece and has only just gained a foothold among the Amazons. If they follow your divine pronouncements and suffer repeated failures, how long can your legacy last?"

Aphrodite's fingertips gently brushed across her lover's cheek, and with each question she asked, Ares's expression froze.

"Don't forget, the Amazons didn't just inherit your bloodline."

The soft whisper in his ear made Ares' heart tighten, and the dark cloud between his brows deepened.

The Amazons were initially ruled by a priestess who served Artemis. He conquered that woman, causing this priestess, who was supposed to remain pure, to betray the moon goddess and bear him children. The worship of the god of war gradually replaced his half-sister's position and became the core of the tribe.

The conflict between beliefs is inherently a back-and-forth affair, with both sides having victories and defeats.

If he were to fail, Artemis might seize the opportunity to reclaim the Amazonian tribes.

However, even so, Ares was still unwilling to give up. He grabbed Cupid's shoulders and shook her excitedly, his eyes flashing as he revealed the wild ambition hidden in his heart.

“My dear, I don’t want to disappoint Father God. I am his and Mother’s most legitimate son, the most qualified heir to Olympus! That cripple Hephaestus has no right to compete with me!”

Aphrodite raised her hand to brush her wine-red hair aside, looked at the man whose face was filled with longing and anticipation, and asked him in a low voice.

"So, my love, in present-day Greece, among you brothers and sisters, whose faith is relatively strong?"

"Apollo, Artemis, and... Dionysus..."

"Dionysus, look, a half-blood who was elevated to the position of chief god by taking advantage of the Battle of Typhon has already been placed above you."

Athena's main faith was concentrated around the Acropolis in Athens, and her influence was not even as great as that of your three brothers and sisters.

"If that's the case, why didn't your father send the three of them to attack Athens, but instead gave the task to you?"

Ares responded instinctively upon hearing this.

"That's because my father trusts me!"

"Alright, since he trusts you, shouldn't he give you enough authority? But he has given your war powers to Athena instead. How generous of him."

"Perhaps this time, Father wants me to prove myself and take the opportunity to reclaim the power I've lost!"

"Even so, why not give you the corresponding manpower? If he just gives an order, the city-state soldiers of Apollo and Artemis will be at your command and cooperate with the Amazons to attack the city. Athens might not be able to hold out. But why should only you and your own team take this risk?"

Aphrodite sneered and asked in return. Ares on the other side opened his mouth, but ultimately remained silent, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

Cupid's fingertips traced the lines of his lover's handsome face, his gaze filled with pity.

“Our God-King doesn’t only have you as his son…”

"Wake up, my love. The two changes of theocracy in Greece were never about inheritance, but about struggle. You've even exhausted your own resources. What do you have left to compete with your brothers and sisters?"

Such hurtful words immediately turned Ares's face grim, and his resolve to send the Amazons to fight Athens to the death wavered. He then hesitated.

"Am I to betray my father?"

"Of course we should still attack Athens, but you should think more about yourself and our future, my love."

Aphrodite offered a meaningful suggestion, then paused, pressed herself against Ares's chest, and gazed tenderly at her lover.

"If Olympus were to have a new successor, I hope it would be you. After all, I have entrusted everything to this place, my dear..."

Hearing these tender words and feeling a tingling sensation in his heart, Ares immediately grasped his lover's wrist with joy and made a solemn vow.

"My love, when I become king, I will surely marry you and make you my goddess queen!"

Then, under his lover's teasing, Ares' eyes burned with passion, like a beast in heat, burying himself in the full bosom of the god of love, his body rising with high spirits to conquer this land and release his energy.

To hell with war! To hell with Athens!

Ares had already made plans to have his Amazons do the bare work without putting in any effort. Whatever the god-king was planning, why not do it himself?