Chapter 33 Battle
As soon as Poseidon returned to the depths of the sea, the sea nymph Thetis hurried to his side, her face still pale with worry. “Your Majesty, the barrier—”
She didn’t need to finish. Poseidon strode swiftly to the barrier, his gaze sharpening as he saw several new cracks splitting across its surface. Foreign seawater was pouring in relentlessly.
A gathering of water gods and fifty sea nymphs were already there, working tirelessly to repair the rifts.
Raising his hand, Poseidon unleashed a surge of brilliant blue light. The powerful divine energy swept across the barrier, and in an instant, every crack sealed shut. The strain on the water gods lessened immediately.
“Your Majesty, we cannot hold this place without you,” Thetis said anxiously. “My sisters and I are struggling to sustain such an immense expenditure of power.”
Poseidon had erected the barrier to keep out the foreign seawater, but with the fierce battles raging in the Norse territories, fractures and breaches frequently appeared. The waters beyond the barrier carried the divine power of the Norse gods, far too potent for mere sea nymphs to resist. Even patching up the cracks had been a grueling effort.
She was gently reminding him not to leave so recklessly again. The sea was already in a dire state, desperately needing the King of the Sea’s presence. And yet, at such a critical moment, His Majesty had been frequently heading to the shore for some mysterious rendezvous. Neither storm nor war had deterred him.
Each time he left, the situation at the bottom of the sea deteriorated further.
One misstep, and catastrophe would follow. If the sea fell, it would flood the land, even threaten the divine mountain. They were all in the same boat.
A young sea nymph hesitated before whispering, “Your Majesty, should we request aid from the divine mountain?”
“Zeus?” Poseidon’s eyes flickered with mockery. “He said he would provide the sea realm with spiritual support.”
The sea gods: “……”
“What about the King of the Underworld?” another water god asked. “He seems more inclined to consider the bigger picture than the King of the Gods.”
“Hades is indeed smarter than Zeus. But with his pitiful manpower, who do you think he can send spare?”
The sea god: “……”
Unlike Poseidon, who had always been ambitious and skilled at cultivating his own power, Hades had never built a strong following. His most trusted aides were only the twin brothers, Thanatos, the God of Death, and Hypnos, the God of Sleep. Even for his own use, they were barely enough. There was no way he could afford to send reinforcements.
This battle would have to be fought alone.
With grave determination, Thetis declared, “Then, Your Majesty, only you can take command of the situation. I implore you to remain here and defend our home.”
The water gods knelt in unison. “Your Majesty, please stand guard over the sea.”
Venus had just returned to the divine mountain when he saw Ares lingering in his rose garden.
The God of War had already intercepted him on his way down the mountain, and now, an entire day later, he was still waiting inside his palace.
Venus was no longer a naive boy. He understood the intentions of the Olympian gods all too well. Before Ares could speak, Venus cut him off.
“Ares, go back,” he said coolly. “I already told you that I don’t want to be your lover.”
Ares’ expression darkened with frustration. “Why? Have you fallen for another god? Is it Dionysus? Hermes? Or Hephaestus?”
“It’s none of them,” Venus replied calmly. “I simply don’t want a lover.”
He was certainly very willing to try new dishes, but not now. He had yet to tire of his current delicacy. And for now, he was perfectly content with just this one.
No, it wasn’t that he was content with only this one. He wanted only this one.
To Ares, however, that was nothing more than an excuse. The idea that the God of Love didn’t want a lover was as absurd as the God of War not wanting to fight.
“It’s Hephaestus, isn’t it?” Ares’ eyes burned with jealousy. “At the ball, you rejected all of us and invited him to dance. What does he have that I don’t? I’m more handsome, stronger in battle, more revered on this mountain. How am I inferior to a crippled, ugly god? I love you—”
Venus had no interest in listening any further. Hephaestus was his best friend, and Ares’ insults angered him.
Frowning, he cut in sharply, “Ares, Hephaestus is my friend. And he’s your brother. How can you speak of him that way? I’m going to bed now. Please leave.” Without another word, he turned toward his palace.
But before he could take a step, Ares grabbed his wrist.
The sudden force tugged at his sleeve, and his robe slipped from his shoulder, revealing a hickey.
Ares’ gaze locked onto the mark on Venus’ shoulder, his expression freezing over, turning terrifying in an instant.
Venus scowled, yanking his hand free before shooting Ares a fierce glare. Without another word, he pulled his robe back into place and continued up the steps.
Ares seemed momentarily stunned. He could only watch in silence as Venus shut the palace doors in his face, not uttering a single word.
The next day, Ares returned, once again waiting in the rose garden.
When the handmaiden delivered the message, Venus groaned, rolled over, and pulled the blankets over his head. “I don’t want to see him. Tell him to get lost.”
Why was Ares haunting him like a vengeful spirit? So annoying.
And worse, he was interrupting Venus’ beauty sleep. Unforgivable.
The handmaiden obeyed and left to relay the message. But moments later, the sound of a door being forced open rang through the palace, followed by her panicked voice.
“Your Highness, you cannot enter! That is the bedroom of the God of Beauty—”
The heavy footsteps grew closer. Then, without warning, the blankets were ripped away.
The golden-haired youth, breathtakingly beautiful even in sleep, frowned in discomfort. The sudden flood of light made his eyes sting, and before he could adjust, a firm hand seized his wrist, yanking him upright.
Furious, he snapped his eyes open. “Ares, what the hell is wrong with you this early in the morning?”
Dressed in only his nightclothes, his bare arms and legs were exposed — and with them, the marks Adonis had left the night before.
Seeing those marks, Ares lost all his remaining rationality. He asked through gritted teeth, “Who is that wild man?”
“You’re sick,” Venus retorted unceremoniously, his morning grumpiness still strong. “What business is it of yours? You’re not my husband.”
That was like adding fuel to the fire.
“So you’ve been running down the mountain every day, not to see the scenery, but to meet with some man in secret? You rejected me because of that unknown man?” Ares tightened his grip, his strength surging as he squeezed Venus’ wrist painfully.
“Let go, you’re hurting me.” Venus frowned.
But Ares, consumed by jealousy, didn’t hear him. He roughly tore at Venus’ nightgown.
Venus’ eyes widened in disbelief. “Ares, are you going to r*pe me?”
“Other men can, so why can’t I?” Ares was so consumed with rage that his words were nothing but venom. He sneered, “The God of Pleasure doesn’t need to play by the rules of the God of Chastity, does he?”
Venus was so angry that he just wanted him to get out.
The God of Beauty couldn’t match the God of War’s strength. His nightgown was torn to shreds, and Venus squeezed his eyes shut in pain.
This is it. Adonis is going to be heartbroken.
The God of Love wouldn’t be sad because of this kind of thing, but when he thought that Adonis would be hurt because of it, he couldn’t help but get angry.
If desire could be compared to appetite, then Venus felt like someone being forced to eat when they had no appetite. He couldn’t swallow and only wanted to vomit.
Ares, that bastard!
But there was someone even angrier.
Just as Ares was about to succeed, Hephaestus suddenly burst into the bedroom. Seeing the scene before him, his face darkened, and without a word, he grabbed Ares and punched him square in the face.
Ares, unwilling to be outdone, quickly retaliated. The two gods clashed violently, wrestling on the floor of the bedroom.
Venus could only watch in shock as his bedroom turned into a battlefield. “You two, be careful! Don’t break anything……”
Hephaestus’ eyes burned with fury as he growled, “He’s treating you like this, and you’re still worried about him?”
Venus, still concerned, replied, “He’s not important. I’m just saying that the things in my room are very valuable. Don’t ruin them.”
Ares: “……” He was not even as important as these decorations?!
Hephaestus may not have been able to match Ares in hand-to-hand combat, but he could use flames for ranged attacks. Hephaestus bided his time, stepping back onto the bed and unleashing flames that scorched Ares’ body. Ares let out a tortured scream.
Venus covered his eyes, peeking through his fingers as the battle raged on.
He couldn’t help but remember an ancient Eastern poem he’d once heard from Adonis.
We’re born of the same root, why must we rush to burn each other?
But since Hephaestus was standing up for him, Venus only wanted to shout, “Well burnt!”
This was the first time he had ever seen Hephaestus this angry. He had always thought Hephaestus was a god with no temper at all.
Hephaestus softly asked, “Are you alright?”
Venus lowered his hands and shook his head.
Suddenly, Hephaestus’ face flushed. He grabbed the blanket from the bed and draped it over Venus, turning his head awkwardly, his discomfort clear.
Venus’ nightgown had been torn to shreds by Ares, leaving it barely covering him. But he didn’t think much of it.
Hephaestus, on the other hand, felt his heart racing.
Ares, after finally extinguishing the flames, was ready to take on Hephaestus once more. But seeing the flames begin to gather again in Hephaestus’ palm, he hesitated, unwilling to approach recklessly.
He stood in place, seething with anger. “What are you doing here, ruining my good plan?”
Hephaestus wasn’t so polite with him this time. His voice was cold as he retorted, “Good plan? Aren’t you doing bad things?”
Ares scoffed, as though hearing a joke. “You come into Venus’ bedroom so early in the morning. Didn’t you also want to do bad things?”
Hephaestus looked at him with disgust. “Who’s as filthy as you? I came to give Venus the new jewelry I crafted. I only heard noises from the bedroom and came to check……”
“Filthy? Ha, don’t think I don’t know what’s really on your mind. You keep giving him jewelry to curry favor, all to get him into bed, right?” Ares sneered.
These words came out of Ares’ mouth and were heard by Venus. Hephaestus’ heart suddenly trembled, as if an unspeakable secret was exposed in broad daylight.
No, Hephaestus thought. He wasn’t like those other men who only wanted Venus’ body. He truly liked him.
But then again, maybe there wasn’t much difference. He, too, wanted Venus all for himself.
It was just that Ares had already acted on his desires.
Hephaestus pressed his lips together. “If he doesn’t want it, you can’t force him.”
“My naive brother,” Ares clicked his tongue. “He’s the God of Pleasure. How could he not want it? He says no, but you don’t know how much he enjoys it. Do you think those marks on his body just appeared? They weren’t made by me. Hephaestus, your so-called pure beloved has already been having unspeakable affairs with those wild men from down the mountain. He’s nothing but a fickle, promiscuous slu——oof”
Before Ares could finish, flames erupted once more, burning across his body. He screamed, writhing in pain on the floor.
“What right do you have to belittle him? What good are you with countless lovers?” Hephaestus glared at him, his red eyes filled with raw murderous intent. It was clear he wanted nothing more than to kill his brother.
Ares, struggling to put out the flames, couldn’t hold back his sharp tongue. “Having countless lovers makes me a bad person? You’ve just insulted everyone on Mount Olympus. Not everyone is like you, old and still a virgin. The lovers he’ll have in the future will be far more than mine. You can say I’m promiscuous, I won’t even argue. That’s only fair.” Ares was busy putting out the fire and couldn’t control his cheap mouth
It was the usual state of the Olympian gods: you mock me for being promiscuous, I call you licentious. Two sea kings swimming in each other’s ponds, neither could change the other.
Hephaestus: “……” He often felt out of place because the Olympian gods were too blatantly scummy.
He was too tired to waste any more time with this foolish brother. Holding a ball of flame as a threat, he muttered, “Leave.”
Ares, not wanting to be turned into a charcoal stick, glanced at Venus one last time before reluctantly retreating.
Hephaestus stayed in the room, retracting the flame back into his body. He turned to comfort Venus. “Were you scared?”
Venus, wrapped in the blanket, his eyes sparkling, clapped his hands. “Your fire is so cool!”
Hephaestus had always used fire for forging and lighting before, but this was the first time Venus saw him use flames as an attack. It was incredibly impressive. Even Ares had to retreat from its heat.
Hephaestus: “……” It seemed Venus wasn’t scared at all.
Hephaestus couldn’t help but feel a mix of relief that Venus was so carefree, and a touch of sorrow for it.
A Venus like this would probably never understand his feelings.
As for Venus sleeping with someone else?
It would be impossible to say he wasn’t jealous. The way he went after Ares so viciously was, in some sense, a way to vent.
But he had never truly held any hopes. He had long anticipated this day, and all that was left was discomfort and helplessness. He couldn’t bring himself to do something as crude as Ares had.
Hephaestus bitterly thought to himself, the gods on Mount Olympus could so easily say “I love you,” but those who truly understand love dare not speak it.
On the other side, Ares returned to his temple in a foul mood, his anger growing the more he thought about it.
He was still extremely unwilling to accept it.
Even if Venus had been taken by Dionysus, Hermes, or Hephaestus, Ares could barely swallow the jealousy. But the one who had first claimed Venus wasn’t even an Olympian god, just some wild man from down the mountain.
Ares decided that next time Venus descended the mountain, he would secretly follow, determined to find out exactly which man had plucked the white rose that all the gods on Mount Olympus dreamed of.
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