Under Athena's arrangement, the Olympus Gods, through their respective temples, issued their oracles to human city-states around the world, calling for Heroes from all corners of the globe to come and assist in the War.
In particular, the Gods also promised that Heroes who made great contributions in this War would have the opportunity to be directly promoted to Godhood by Zeus, enjoying eternal honor and prosperity alongside the Olympus Gods.
Therefore, after this oracle was issued, it immediately received a great response from all over the world. Those human Heroes who yearned for success, regardless of their own capabilities, all brought their weapons and equipment, some even raising an army, and set out for the sacred Olympus to help the Gods deal with the Giants who attempted to overthrow the divine authority.
Several of Ares's clones also responded to this War. At the same time, his number one loyal follower, Perseus's clone, also received news from Athena at this moment.
Having achieved success and "won the beauty's heart," Perseus, at this moment, had already left Ethiopia with Hecate's clone, "Princess Andromeda," and arrived in the Corinth region, where he established a city-state and became the local king.
Ares and Hecate, through magic, created many children for Perseus and Princess Andromeda. Their sons scattered, establishing many city-states, and the eldest son even remained in Ethiopia, later becoming the ancestor of the Persians.
However, after Perseus received a letter from the Goddess Athena, even though he had already achieved success, Perseus still unhesitatingly took up his old equipment and embarked on the path of loyalty to the Goddess.
Ares and Hecate manipulated their respective clones to perform a scene of "husband and wife bidding farewell" in front of the Corinth city-state. Afterward, Perseus threw the throne to his youngest son and then went to Olympus alone.
The Olympus Gods spent about a year or more gradually gathering a large army composed of Heroes from various parts of Greece. During this period, the Snake-Footed Giants attacked Olympus several more times, but under the guidance of Demeter's giant tree incarnation and Athena's command, the Giants' offensives were fruitless. Especially after the return of the two main Gods, Apollo and Aphrodite, the defensive strength of Olympus increased by another level.
The Snake-Footed Giants also seemed to have realized that Olympus was difficult to conquer for a time, so under the command of the "dog-headed strategist" Ephialtes, they turned to attack human city-states established by the Gods' followers in other regions.
Under Ephialtes's command, these Snake-Footed Giants did not directly destroy the city-states or kill the humans within them. Instead, they chose to "destroy temples," specifically targeting and removing the Olympus Gods' temples within the city-states.
Upon realizing this situation, Ares's army, which had been "hiding" in the Underworld, also utilized the dense network of underground tunnels connecting the Underworld to the surface to begin guerrilla warfare against these Snake-Footed Giants, harassing their movements.
Athena on Olympus also commanded her Heroes, led by Perseus, to launch a decapitation operation against isolated Snake-Footed Giants. They utilized their size and agility advantages to specifically target isolated Snake-Footed Giants, fighting with numerical superiority. After defeating these Snake-Footed Giants, they sealed them using Perseus's magic.
However, it was a pity that the thirteen most powerful among the Snake-Footed Giants never acted alone. Alcyoneus also seemed to know about Athena's decapitation tactics against them; the strongest among the Snake-Footed Giants always stuck together and acted collectively, giving the Gods and Heroes no opportunity.
And Ares and Athena, along with the other Olympus Gods, only appeared to fight when the Snake-Footed Giants attacked their main base. At other times, they did not walk on the earth at all, and the entire world's battle was dragged into a long, drawn-out War.
During this special period, two infants were born in the city-state of Sparta.
In the autumn of the third year of the Great War, a special guest suddenly arrived at the orphanage in the city-state of Sparta.
Autumn leaves piled up in the quiet small courtyard. Atalanta, who had been in the orphanage for three years and had become the "mother" of countless orphans, her edges softened considerably, was holding a broom, sweeping the leaves in the courtyard.
Just then, the orphanage gate was suddenly knocked on.
"Coming, please wait a moment."
Atalanta put down the broom, habitually wiped her hands on her apron, and then cautiously glanced at the adjacent room, confirming that the children inside were still sound asleep before coming to the orphanage gate and opening it.
She wasn't overly cautious; in this city-state protected by Ares, the God of War, the public order was excellent. Anyone who dared to commit crimes in the city would generally be caught by the well-trained Spartan warriors and sent to the Spartan Brotherhood Camp for a good "education."
Atalanta pulled open the courtyard gate and saw a figure at the entrance that surprised her.
Standing at the orphanage entrance was an old man. His face was full of majesty, his chin covered with a white beard, and his hair had turned completely gray, making him look very old. Yet, his figure remained tall and strong, full of power. This tall old man was dressed in a simple, plain High Priest's robe, looking like an ordinary low-ranking believer in a temple. But in the city-state of Sparta, even the Spartan Great General, the Council of Elders, and the Twin Kings had to be respectful towards this old man.
He was the highest-ranking leader in this city-state of Sparta, the human incarnation of Ares, the God of War, the Sparta High Priest in the War God Temple.
"Your Highness, High Priest, why have you come?"
Seeing the visitor, Atalanta was startled and quickly invited the old man into the courtyard. At this moment, she noticed that the old man was carrying a basket on his back, covered with a lid, and she didn't know what was inside.
"Atalanta, I have something to ask of you."
The Sparta High Priest put down the basket from his back and politely asked Atalanta:
"Can you grant my request?"
Atalanta always felt a quality in the High Priest that was very similar to Ares, the God of War, making her feel respected and close. She quickly replied:
"Please tell me what it is first. As long as it's within my capabilities, I can agree."
"It's nothing, it shouldn't be difficult for you now."
The Sparta High Priest said, while lifting the lid of the basket, and then called out:
"Come out, you two little ones."
As soon as his voice fell, two small boys immediately emerged from the basket. These two boys looked only about a year old, but their eyes already held the intelligence of children aged six or seven. Moreover, one of the small boys, for some reason, was covered in mysterious red tattoos.
"This little one is named Deimos, he is the younger brother."
The Sparta High Priest patted the head of the little boy with the red tattoos, then pointed to the other child, who was only a little over a year old but had a fierce look and a crew cut, and said:
"This little one here is named Kratos, he is the older brother. They are twin brothers, but some time ago, their mother quietly left them and departed from Sparta, leaving them without care. I hope you can raise them as their mother. When they turn seven, send them to the Spartan military camp to receive special training as warriors."