Ares, the God of War Who Was All Talk and No Skill 1/2
A stranger from out of town wanted to take on the divine trial and complete the sacrifice to Ares, God of War of war, in order to obtain the Golden Fleece!
When such explosive news spread throughout the city, some people were surprised and regretful, while others gloated.
Based on past experience, this is most likely another arrogant young man who dreams of becoming famous overnight, unaware of the dangers involved.
His fate will likely be the same as those outsiders before him; he will simply die in this trial, becoming nourishment for the fertile soil.
That being said, since there was nothing to look forward to these days except watching the excitement, hundreds of busybodies arrived early at the notorious sacred field outside the city at the crack of dawn, leaning against the edge of the field with their arms crossed, waiting for the show to begin.
Even more surprisingly, the foxes and rats of Colchis took this opportunity to set up a statue of Hermes, the god of merchants, and place bets on how long the challenger could last.
Due to the tough local customs and the common experience of betting on such things, people flocked to participate.
Soon after, King of Colchis arrived with his guards. Whether it was the robust King Aeetes on his chariot or the neatly dressed, solemn armored warriors, they all wore gloating smiles, their eyes full of mockery and malice, purely treating this as a way to amuse themselves from their dull lives.
At dawn, outside the city, in the sacred field.
The challengers, arriving just in time, armed with swords and shields and accompanied by several friends, squeezed through the dense crowd and solemnly arrived at the ridge of the field.
This sacred field is a full four acres in size, but the soil is barren and hard, with scattered stones all around. Even ordinary spears cannot penetrate more than a few inches into the ground.
In the center, a massive bronze yoke and plow, covered with intricate divine patterns and sacrificial motifs on both sides, stands imposingly.
The challenger, named Jason, looked at the thing that seemed difficult to even hold up and complained incessantly, his mind turning to giving up.
Yesterday, at the suggestion of Theseus, the adopted son of the Goddess of Wisdom, the captain of the Argo Theseus his courage, took a few companions, and carried the Olive Branch that Athena symbolized peace to the palace of Colchis.
After the meeting, Jason did not hide anything and told the King his purpose for coming.
King of Colchis smiled broadly and acted very readily, only asking that Jason would hand over the Golden Fleece if he completed two trials.
"First, the Golden Fleece is a sacred object offered to Lord Ares. You must offer a sacrifice to Lord Ares on my behalf to gain his approval."
And the fighting and bloodshed, whether from the enemy or one's own, are the best offerings to that God of War.
The specific process is that I have two Divine Bulls, which have bronze hooves, breathe fire from their nostrils, and are extremely fierce. Every year at dawn on the day of sacrifice, I will ride them to cultivate four acres of sacred fields.
After the clods of earth are plowed up, I will scatter the dragon's teeth.
When night fell, fierce warriors sprang from the furrows of the field, swarming toward me from all sides. I was to wield my sword and kill them all.
I've always been in charge of these kinds of things, but now that Athena's protector has taken over, I wonder if he'll be able to use his silver tongue and survive to the end.
Second, if you survive, the Golden Fleece hangs in Lord Ares's sacred grove, guarded by a sleepless, venomous dragon. You may take it if you dare!
Sensitive to danger, Jason gradually understood the implied meaning in the words. His heart pounded wildly, fearing that the nearby guards would surround him and kill him.
In reality, the God of War worshipped by King of Colchis, although his fighting ability was utterly pathetic, was hot-tempered and arrogant. He wanted to fight for anything he considered a matter of face, making him a prime example of someone who never gave up despite repeated defeats.
Ares and Athena are both gods of war and are definitely old rivals.
But Jason was aboard the Argo of Mount of Ares, carrying Athena's Olive Branch, and intending to take away the Golden Fleece, which was to be sacrificed to Ares. This was nothing short of a blatant provocation.
Even if King of Colchis wanted to kick the Argonauts out and ignore them.
But since it concerns the face of the chief god, Ares will certainly not swallow this insult. Instead, he will use divine pronouncements to force his followers to take advantage of the opportunity to teach Jason a lesson and suppress the arrogance of his arch-enemy, Athena.
Moreover, the reward for eliminating the followers of opposing gods and then offering sacrifices to the god who protects you is extremely generous.
Therefore, King of Colchis saw Jason as an excellent sacrifice for him to advance further.
The more clumsy and ridiculous this clown's performance, the happier Ares, the God of War, would be, and the richer the reward he would bestow upon him.
As for the Golden Fleece, with his strength, how could he possibly obtain the sacred relic of Colchis?
In response, King of Colchis, who believed he had a sure win, presented two treacherous conditions and remained confident to this day, simply waiting to see the Athena follower make a fool of himself.
At this moment, Jason felt the atmosphere become even more tense. His eyes darted around, trying to find the friend who had "gone the wrangling" for him in the crowd, but after looking all over the place, the guy was nowhere to be found.
Seeing this, the captain felt even more uncertain. If it weren't for the fact that everyone was watching and the growing sense of crisis in his mind, he would have turned around and fled for his life.
"Waaaaah!"
A moment later, as King of Colchis waved his hand with a cold laugh, the priests of the Temple of Ares sounded the war horns. The desolate and chilling sound suppressed the surrounding noise, and the priests also broke the suppression spell on the distant cave exit one after another.
"Moo! Moo!"
Before Jason could continue complaining, two thunderous roars, like thunderclaps, echoed from the cave.
"Knock knock knock knock!"
Amidst the tremors of the sacred field, two Divine Bulls, as if cast in bronze, raised their sharp horns and charged wildly toward Jason.
With each breath, flames roared from their nostrils, creating a scorching sensation in the air. Their eight bronze hooves trod upon the sacred field, turning the stones along the way to dust.
Jason saw that the Colchis guards responsible for guarding and sealing off the sacred field were already in position. He had no choice but to take a deep breath, resigned himself to his fate, draw his sword and shield, grit his teeth, and brave the raging flames as he charged towards the two Divine Bulls.
Theseus, whatever you say must have some truth to it, don't try to trick me!
Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, the challenger, whose skin had been scorched by the flames, now possessed a bronze metallic sheen. Despite his skillful maneuvering between the two bulls, he remained completely unharmed.
It can work!
Jason shifted his weight, dodging the charge of the two Divine Bulls, and, sensing the frantically surging ether around him and the protective membrane forming on his skin, his face lit up with a smile.
Confirming that the ointment had made him incredibly strong, and that even being rammed by the Divine Bulls wouldn't hurt him, he overcame his fear and became increasingly adept at dealing with the situation.