Ares, who had already planned this, naturally hit it off with Zeus when he heard his request.
Ares himself was very familiar with the way mortal Heroes received divine help, as he was the one who passed this method down to the first humans of the Heroic Age. So, following the procedure, Ares, as "Cadmus," first swore eternal loyalty to the Olympus Gods, then swore to forever keep the secret of Zeus, the King of Gods, being defeated by Typhon, ensuring Zeus's invincible and majestic image in front of mortals. Only then did he begin to accept the task given by Zeus.
Zeus commanded Pan, the God of Shepherds, to summon a herd of cattle. He then disguised Ares, playing as Cadmus, as a shepherd boy and had Pan teach Ares the skill of playing the flute. Afterwards, Zeus had Ares drive the cattle, pretending to be a shepherd boy, to the outside of the cave where Typhon was temporarily residing.
When Ares's "Cadmus" arrived outside Typhon's cave, inside the cave, Typhon had already gathered all the necessary items for the wedding. He forced Athena and Ares's divine avatars into beautiful gowns, and placed beautiful wreaths on Hydra's largest snake heads. Then, he shrunk his enormous body and squeezed himself into a robe stripped from some king.
Having completed all this, he directly released Athena and Ares. Confident in his own strength, Typhon didn't even put shackles on the two main Gods, letting them move freely in their formal attire. Then, he forcibly led Ares and Athena to the open ground in front of the cave.
Athena, with a dark face, was pulled by Typhon's arm and walked in front, while Ares and Hydra followed behind, turning the tables. He not only pointed out Typhon's walking posture but also criticized the wedding venue, scolding Typhon and Hydra until they dared not retort. Typhon was clearly fooled; facing Ares's scolding, he was not only not angry but appeared humbly seeking advice, which made the Goddess of Wisdom continuously raise her eyebrows.
"This wedding venue of yours doesn't even have an officiant or musicians. Who would want to marry you?"
Seeing the long table outside the cave covered with a white tablecloth and laden with wine, bread, cheese, fish, meat, chicken, and other rich dishes, Ares immediately started picking faults:
"And you, who are going to be the next King of Gods, can't even find someone to play music at your wedding. If you get married like this, will your daughter be satisfied? Will your wife Athena be satisfied? Huh?! Not to mention finding someone who can play the zither, you should at least find someone who can play the flute!"
"..." Athena opened her mouth, suppressed her anger, and was too lazy to argue with Ares about whether she was Typhon's wife.
Typhon, however, bowed and scraped in front of Ares, who was two or three heads shorter than him: "Yes, yes, you are right. I'll go find someone to play the flute right away."
Just then, a melodious sound of a shepherd's flute drifted over, silencing all four people present. The flute was melodious; though not the most exquisite music on heaven and earth, it was certainly beautiful. The flute played for a while, then disappeared. After listening, Typhon turned to Ares and asked:
"Ares, what do you think of this flute music?"
"Barely acceptable," Ares reluctantly nodded and said, "Although it still can't be presented in a grand hall and is not as good as Apollo's zither music, there's no other way now. We can make do."
So Typhon laughed heartily: "Good, daughter, wife, wait for me here. I'll go call him over now."
After speaking, the Father of All Demons transformed into a sulfur-smelling whirlwind and flew towards the source of the flute music. After watching him go far away, Ares and Athena fell silent, and the wedding venue was quiet.
A moment later, a sniffing sound suddenly came from beside Ares.
The God of War and the Goddess of Wisdom turned to look at the nine-headed Hydra with the wreath on its head, finding its largest head hidden behind its body. So Ares asked: "Please, young lady, I haven't even cried over this mess, why are you crying here?"
"I'm just drooling," Hydra raised its main head, flicking its tongue, and looked at Ares somewhat shyly: "I really can't hold it back anymore."
Seeing this scene, Athena felt her skin crawl and was disgusted, but Ares, instead, angrily reprimanded: "How did I teach you? Reserve! Elegance! Class! Without these things, what kind of new God's princess are you? If you can't hold back, you'll be a monster for the rest of your life!"
"Oh." After being reprimanded by Ares, Hydra sulkily walked to the side, then lay down, waiting for Typhon on the ground.
...
On the other side, Ares's alternate account, "Cadmus," disguised as a shepherd boy, continued to drive the cattle forward, pretending to move on. However, soon, a huge black wind flew over, transforming into the tall Father of All Demons, blocking his herd and scaring the cattle into scattering.
"Cadmus" also pretended to be trembling with fear, lying on the ground, covering his head, not daring to move.
Seeing this, Typhon grinned, trying to give "Cadmus" a benevolent smile. He lowered his voice and said to the mortal on the ground:
"Don't be afraid, mortal, I mean no harm. What is your name?"
"Ca-Cadmus..." Ares replied weakly.
"Cadmus, hmm, was that flute music just now played by you?"
Typhon continued to ask.
"Y-yes." Ares tremblingly took out a flute from his waist and showed it to Typhon.
"Come, come, play a couple more tunes for me to hear." Typhon's eyes lit up when he saw the flute, then he sat on the ground and beckoned to "Cadmus."
Ares first pretended to be very scared, trembling as he raised the flute, but after secretly glancing at Typhon, he showed a resigned expression, sighed deeply, and began to play diligently.
Zeus, hiding in the shadows and observing this scene, quietly said to his attendant Pan: "This kid is truly a superb actor. Even without our help, his future achievements will definitely not be low."
Pan, the God of Shepherds, nodded in agreement, and hearing Ares's flute music, Typhon also sat down entranced, swaying his head to the music, patting his thigh, and nodding contentedly.
After a piece of flute music was played, Typhon felt greatly satisfied, so he said to "Cadmus":
"Cadmus, are you willing to play for me in the future? When I occupy Olympus and become the new King of Gods, I will give you Apollo's position! And I will bestow upon you the Muses and the Graces as wives!"
Ares readily agreed upon hearing this, flattering Typhon repeatedly and saying to him:
"Lord Typhon, actually, the flute is just a hobby for me. My true forte is playing the harp. Unfortunately, my harp skills are too high, and I haven't been able to find a harp that can bear my artistry. If I could get the tendons of the Gods from heaven as strings, I would definitely be able to play more beautiful music for you than Apollo!"
"Haha, that's great!" Typhon laughed heartily when he heard this: "I'll give you Zeus's hand and foot tendons as strings, how about that?!"
"Excellent, excellent!" Ares's eyes lit up, then he continued: "To make strings, I also need to engrave some runes on them. Please help me, Lord Typhon!"
Hearing his words, Typhon directly waved his hand and said: "No problem, no problem! Just tell me what runes you want engraved."