However, although it was a deliberate provocation, it was also a technical skill. If Ares had made it too obvious, it would have aroused the suspicion of Zeus and the other gods.
He had to use all his strength, forcing Athena to use all her means to defeat him. Only by losing by a single move to the Goddess of Wisdom would it be considered a successful provocation.
So, after his words fell, Ares immediately charged at Athena with all his might, showing no mercy.
The War God's toes shattered the earth, unleashing a brutal force that even demigod heroes of later generations could hardly match. The land twisted and broke under the will of the god, and Ares's body directly transformed into a blazing fireball.
Even a simple shield charge, when performed by Ares, was like an extraterrestrial meteor striking the ground. Faced with such a terrifying attack, the Goddess Athena's choice was also very simple and direct.
She raised the round shield in her hand, stepped on the ground, shining with golden light, and charged forward without hesitation, rushing towards Ares, who had turned into a fireball.
With a thunderous explosion, the shields of the two main gods crashed together. The divine power on them transformed into an unimaginable magical impact, directly exploding on the seabed. On the sand that had been undisturbed for tens of thousands of years on the seabed, visible dust waves were stirred up, and flames and golden light rippled out, turning into shockwaves that violently shattered.
In their first charge, the two main gods were evenly matched. As an experienced main god, Ares's divine power was slightly stronger than that of the newly born Athena. However, Athena was a natural pay-to-win player; the shield she held was an aegis shield, similar to Zeus's shield. The two shields possessed nearly identical power, capable of fully defending against even Zeus's lightning without any damage.
Ares's Flame Shield and Athena's aegis Round Shield were locked together under the interaction of immense force, and fierce sparks flew between the two shields. Behind the shields, the eyes of the two gods met, filled with battle intent.
After a few seconds of stalemate, Ares, relying on his superiority in divine power and physical strength, suddenly pushed, forcefully repelling Athena. Then he closed in, his Flame Sword already slashing violently towards Athena's head.
The power of this strike was comparable to many so-called Anti-City Noble Phantasms of later heroic spirits. The divine power on the blade directly burst forth, forming a thousand-meter-long Flame Sword qi. Even if a city-state stood before Ares, it would be reduced to ruins and ashes under this sword.
However, in front of the aegis raised by Athena, this sword was still unable to penetrate the protection of the divine shield, returning without success before the golden barrier.
While raising her divine shield, Athena's other hand also held her divine spear, which swept across like a golden dragon. But this combat technique was useless in front of the War God Ares.
The two main gods thus engaged in intense close-quarters weapon combat at a distance extremely close for gods. The War God Ares, needless to say, and Athena had also inherited the techniques of this Divine King in Zeus's mind. The divine power, strength, and armaments of both sides had their respective advantages and disadvantages, and the situation became deadlocked for a time, making it difficult to determine the victor.
However, the observing gods noticed something at this point.
"Athena's divine power foundation is insufficient. If this stalemate continues, she will lose to Ares."
Apollo, who was observing, whispered to his sister, Artemis.
"Isn't that good?" Artemis said happily when she heard this, "This way, Ares won't have to cede his divine authority to her, and perhaps Apollo, you won't have to split off the divine authorities of music and healing."
"Not necessarily." Apollo looked at Zeus, who was calm and seemed to be deep in thought, and Hera, who was watching Ares with great excitement, and then said to his sister, "Ares winning might not be a good thing for him."
"What do you mean?" Artemis looked a bit confused, but under everyone's gaze, Apollo did not explain to her, only telling Artemis to continue watching.
The fierce battle continued for a day and a night. Under endless high-intensity consumption, even in the divine era environment where aether permeated the atmosphere, Ares and Athena's divine power gradually faltered. After seeing the state of the two main gods, the gods also understood that the time for them to determine a winner was approaching.
Perceiving their own and their opponent's current state, Ares and Athena both began to accumulate divine power, silently preparing for their final gamble. The weapons of the two gods clashed violently, and fire and golden light simultaneously scattered as sparks and light points. Their weapons also flew out of their hands at the same time.
After his weapon flew out, Ares immediately retreated without hesitation. As he retreated, a burning spear appeared in his hand. He immediately used this spear as a throwing weapon, hurling it fiercely towards Athena's shield.
Athena continued to raise her aegis to block, using the aegis divine shield's powerful, all-blocking defense to steadily block Ares's spear. However, while the aegis would not tire, Athena's divine power and stamina were rapidly depleting. Her shield, while blocking Ares's spear, also tilted slightly.
Catching this scene, Ares, relying on his War God's combat instinct, immediately threw the Flame Shield in his other hand like a frisbee.
With a bang, the Flame Shield transformed into a fiery sun, violently colliding with the surface of the divine shield aegis. This became the last straw that broke Athena's resolve. At this point, the Goddess of Wisdom could no longer hold her divine shield. The moment the Flame Shield was parried, her aegis also flew out.
At this moment, Athena was completely exposed, full of openings, and the War God Ares had retrieved a giant bow made of snake bone from somewhere. He condensed all his divine power into a blazing flame arrow, aiming it at Athena's chest.
However, at this moment, Ares suddenly noticed a magical power quietly lurking from the ground beneath his feet.
"Is it magic cast by Athena?"
Ares understood in his heart. If he were to immediately give up shooting and dodge on the spot, Athena's spell would not be able to affect him.
However, unlike him, Athena should not be acting. This goddess also understood that facing an opponent like Ares, she had to defeat him according to Zeus's wishes. Pretending to lose narrowly to him would be all harm and no benefit to her; not only would she not be able to get rid of this persistent guy, but Zeus might also take the opportunity to weaken her.
Casting this magic should have exhausted the last of the Goddess of Wisdom's divine power. This was her final gamble. If Ares avoided this magic, Athena would never be able to defeat Ares with just physical strength.
But what Ares wanted was precisely this effect, this gamble from Athena.
So he stabilized his stance, deliberately stood still, and even tried to charge for an extra second.
A golden beam of light suddenly burst forth from beneath Ares's feet, engulfing his body. Because of this strike, Ares also deliberately exaggeratedly raised the arrow he had shot towards Athena's chest, causing it to fly far past the Goddess of Wisdom's shoulder, cutting through a large expanse of the Mediterranean Sea, and then violently plunging into the coastal bay, where it stirred up a huge, visible cloud of fire.
And within the golden light, Ares, feeling the intense pain spreading throughout his body, let out a terrible cry of agony without hesitation.
"Thanks for the magic, Athena."
As his consciousness gradually dispersed under the impact of the spell, Ares's mind flashed with one last thought.