Ares truly didn't understand why Medea would appear in this place. He remembered that when he sent Medea back to Colchis Island, he had repeatedly warned her to stay obediently in the kingdom after returning, not to wander around, and to let him arrange everything. But now, Medea, who should have been waiting for the Heroes at the end of the Argo's journey, suddenly appeared at the starting point in Thessaly. Ares couldn't figure it out.
Could it be Athena's scheme?
This thought flashed through Ares's mind, and then he immediately dismissed it. No other reason than the ill-fated romance between Jason and Medea was the most dramatic part of the Argo's heroic expedition. Based on Athena's current alignment and goals, it was unlikely she would actively interfere with the predetermined destinies of figures in the Greek World.
The only possibility, then, was that Medea herself, for some unknown reason, suddenly entered a rebellious phase and secretly ran away from home to Thessaly.
While Ares was racking his brain, guessing Medea's purpose, Jason had already begun to introduce the two heroines to the Heroes. He first pointed to Atalanta and introduced her to the Heroes:
"This here is Atalanta, a huntress from Arcadia, the paradise of nature. She was raised by the sacred beast of Artemis, the Moon Goddess, and has honed excellent skills. Her speed is also incredibly fast; she's probably the fastest person I've ever seen."
Then, he pointed to Medea next to him and continued to introduce her:
"And this here is Medea, a high disciple of Hecate, the Goddess of Magic. She is a sorceress who wields many spells, and her magic is incredibly powerful. Asclepius and I have both witnessed this firsthand."
After all, it was the Age of Gods, and the current King of the Gods, Zeus, was a male deity. Therefore, the preference for males over females in the Greek World had always existed, and it was clear that upon seeing Atalanta, Polydeuces, and Medea—three "weak women"—being allowed by Jason to board this glorious ship, some people in the crowd immediately became indignant.
"Captain Jason, we are following you to achieve great deeds, not to play around. What do you mean by letting three women board the ship?"
Jason looked closely and found that the person who spoke these words was Peleus from Thessaly. He was the son of Aeacus, the brother of Telamon, and the grandson of Father Zeus, possessing a quarter of divine blood in his veins.
Achilles, the fastest legend of Greece who would later sweep across the Troy battlefield, was his son.
However, at this moment, Peleus had not yet married Thetis, the Sea Goddess, who was fabled to bear a son stronger than his father. Achilles was not even a fertilized egg yet.
Currently, Peleus was a complete hothead, relying on the portion of Zeus's power within him to speak his mind bluntly, commenting on everything he saw, unaware that he was being used as a pawn by others.
Sure enough, after Peleus stepped forward, Atalanta and Polydeuces immediately showed displeasure on their faces. Castor, the former deity, upon seeing a demigod with Zeus's blood in him badmouthing his sister, was filled with rage. He immediately cursed:
"Despicable fellow, speak with more respect!"
"What? I'm despicable?" Peleus pointed to himself in surprise, looked around, and then asked, "How am I despicable? I am the son of the noble Underworld Judge Aeacus, the grandson of Father Zeus, and a man who will inherit the Kingdom of Thessaly in the future. How am I despicable?"
It was clear that Peleus was a bit slow-witted. Castor was clearly insulting him, but he looked as if he wanted to reason with Castor.
After hearing Peleus's words, Castor was about to speak again, but before that, his sister Polydeuces spoke up, stopping him:
"It's alright, brother, let me handle this."
After saying that, Polydeuces stepped forward to Peleus, looked up at him, and said:
"Since you look down on me because I am a woman, let's speak with strength directly and see if I am qualified to board this ship!"
After speaking, Polydeuces directly drew a magnificent sword with golden patterns from her lower back. This sword did not look like it was cast from bronze at all; instead, it had a more ancient aura surrounding it.
"Good!" Seeing Polydeuces extend the invitation, Peleus, however, offered genuine praise and a smile. He also drew his longsword with a backhand and said, "Let's go a few rounds, and let me see if you are qualified to board this ship!"
When the two said that, Castor also stopped speaking and cleared the space for his sister and Peleus. Everyone on the ship now realized that Peleus was truly a hothead. His worldview was the mainstream Greek societal worldview of preferring males over females, but he himself had no ill intentions. It could only be said that he grew up in such an environment and had already formed this belief, so there was nothing that could be done.
If Polydeuces could prove her worth with her strength, it was believed that Peleus, this hothead, would immediately acknowledge her status and strength, and would never again mention the distinction between genders.
The two Heroes quickly engaged in combat. Because they both carried Zeus's blood, during their fight, Polydeuces and Peleus both faintly displayed visible, strangely colored lightning on their bodies, though Polydeuces's was slightly more intense.
Both Heroes were highly skilled in martial arts. For a time, the center of the ship was filled with flashing blades and clashing swords, and the surrounding Heroes cheered. Even Heracles's gaze was drawn to them—he watched the two Heroes fight as if watching children play.
As for Ares, he didn't even bother to watch. Leaving Peleus aside, Polydeuces, even before her divinity was weakened, was only at the level of a lesser god, not even as strong as Notos, God of the South Wind, whom he had almost beaten to death in Aphrodite's boudoir. As the God of War, Ares naturally had no interest in paying attention to them. The more important matter now was to find a disobedient junior sister and ask her what she was doing here.
So, while everyone's attention was drawn away, Ares, controlling Perseus, went directly to the excited Medea, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her out of the crowd.
"Ah!"
As she was dragged out of the crowd by Perseus, Medea let out a small gasp, sounding harmless. However, her hands were not so cute. The moment Perseus grabbed her, she immediately countered with a powerful punch to Perseus's chest. Fortunately, Ares, knowing the abilities of this junior sister he had personally trained, had already taken precautions when grabbing her, which allowed him to block her attack.
This punch landed on Perseus's chest, and with the weakened strength of Perseus's clone, it almost failed to block Medea's punch. It seemed that this little girl had not wasted her time on Colchis Island during this period; her punching power had improved.
And when her determined punch was blocked, Medea also realized something was wrong. She turned her head and finally saw Ares's current face, and then let out a low gasp mixed with surprise:
"Senior brother, you really did board the ship too!"