The battle continued until dawn. When the Goddess of Dawn Eos pushed open the golden gates of Olympus with her rosy fingers, releasing Helios's chariot, all the Atlanteans on this floating island who dared to resist the Spartans and Pelasgians had already become corpses lying on the ground.
The remaining Atlanteans consciously tied themselves up, then sat together, waiting for the Spartans to deal with them, either taking them back to Sparta as slaves or selling them directly to other city-states. But no matter what, it was better than dying directly.
The War ended, and the overall situation was settled. Above the clouds, Athena and Poseidon stood facing each other on the same white cloud.
"It seems our War has a result."
Athena smiled and said to her second uncle, whose face was as gloomy as water:
"This time, you lost again, Poseidon."
"Damn it!"
Poseidon angrily gripped his trident, his emotions making the entire sea turbulent. But just as he was about to erupt, Zeus's voice came from above the sky:
"Poseidon, honor your bet. This time, Athena and you competed fairly. If you want to blame someone, blame your Atlanteans for being too fragile."
"Hmph!"
Poseidon gritted his teeth and stared at Athena from the cloud for a long time, but finally turned and left, throwing down a remark before he departed:
"Athena, don't think this is the end. We still have plenty of time in the future!"
Athena, however, smiled slightly and bowed very gracefully to Poseidon:
"Always at your service."
Poseidon had been rebuffed by the Goddess of Wisdom and the King of Gods, and he harbored a surge of anger. When he descended to the sea surface and saw the Spartans and Pelasgians on that floating island, who had annihilated his Atlanteans and were now counting their spoils, his fury intensified.
"A bunch of insects!"
He raised his trident, intending to summon the power of the sea to crush these wastes who had profaned his glory. But just as he raised his weapon, a rough voice suddenly sounded behind him.
"Second Uncle, do you intend to strike my people?"
Poseidon turned around and saw his dear second nephew, Ares, standing behind him, looking at him coldly, his eyes full of fighting spirit. The God of War was clearly prepared; he was fully armored and laden with his weapons. If Poseidon intended to attack the Spartans, Ares would likely fight the God of the Sea on the spot.
"Ares, don't forget where this is."
Poseidon looked around. Beneath their feet was a vast expanse of blue waves; this was his, Poseidon's, vast sea territory.
"So what? A true warrior doesn't choose the battlefield. He should be able to exert his full combat power in all terrains and environments."
Ares looked up at the sky, then gazed at Poseidon and said:
"Besides, Second Uncle, you just fought Athena. Are you sure you still want to fight me? I don't mind…"
With that, he even drew his spear directly, adopting a combat stance, his face full of eagerness:
"Come on, Second Uncle, if you've got the guts, take me down head-on!"
Poseidon snorted, striking his trident heavily on the sea surface. The floating island carrying the Atlantean main camp immediately began to shake violently. Amidst the earth-shattering tremors, the entire floating island resubmerged into the sea, disappearing from sight. The Spartans, Pelasgians, and Atlantean prisoners of war who were originally on it all plunged into the water with splashes. Most critically, a group of Krakens were swimming around them. These sea monsters opened their tooth-filled mouths, sucking in the corpses of the Atlanteans killed by the Spartans and Pelasgians from the seawater, chewing and swallowing them. As they fed, they eyed the living people with ill intent.
However, just as the sea monsters were showing their might, a voice suddenly came from the side, with a hint of surprise:
"Oh, there's such a big squid here? I love roasted squid."
Hearing this voice, the Spartans in the sea showed joy: "It's the God of War!"
And those originally fierce Krakens were so scared that they didn't even bother to eat the remaining corpses. They turned their heads and dived into the deep sea, fearing that the God of War would spear them with his long spear and drag them home to cook.
Ares manifested himself before these mortals. Then, with a wave of his spear, the Atlantean blood on the sea surface ignited. From these flames, several huge warships sailed out, stopping before the Spartans and Pelasgians. Gangways automatically lowered from the ship's edge into the water.
"Well done this time. This is your reward."
Ares turned his head and found that the Sea King had long since vanished. So he said:
"Take these Atlanteans back as well. Also, from now on, the Pelasgians will settle in Sparta, and they will be treated as Spartan citizens in every respect."
"Yes, your will."
With Ares's help, the Spartans and Pelasgians, along with the Atlantean prisoners of war, boarded the warships. Then Ares gently pushed with magic, propelling the warship away from there, carrying them directly towards Sparta.
As he made all these moves, above the clouds, Zeus and Athena observed everything. Zeus stroked his chin and asked his daughter with some doubt:
"Athena, do you feel that Ares seems to have changed a little recently?"
"What changes?"
Athena smiled, but there was little joy in it:
"To me, he's still as annoying as ever."
"Hmm, you have to understand, Ares has always had that personality, stubborn as a mule."
Zeus casually appeased his daughter, then continued to muse to himself:
"Let me think, I always feel that Ares has become more aggressive lately. Although on Olympus, he used to often contradict others, it was never as intense as it is now. Did he and other main gods ever come close to fighting like today before?"
"Of course."
Athena said without hesitation:
"Didn't he and I already fight?"
"True."
Recalling the duel between Ares and Athena when she was just born, Zeus's face showed a hint of emotion. He thought for a moment, then said:
"Never mind, it might just be my imagination."
…
On the boundless ocean, propelled by a strong wind gifted by Ares, the Spartans' warships swiftly sailed over the waves, leaving Athens and Atlantis far behind.
The Spartan commander of this battle stood at the bow of the first warship, gazing at the waves before him, but there was no joy of victory in his eyes; instead, he was lost in thought.
Seeing this, his staff officer walked over and asked, "Commander, is something on your mind?"
"Yes." Hearing his staff officer's call, the Spartan commander came back to his senses. Then, he tapped his spear on the deck and, looking out at the sky, said with a tone of emotion:
"The High Priest always reminded us that although we Spartans are brave, we should not ignore the role of strategy, because the God of War's military strategy divine office was cunningly divided by the Heavenly Gods. Therefore, we Spartans lack strategy, and the God of War's oracle has always reminded us to seize every opportunity to learn military strategies from others. But I used to think that with our Spartan strength, any strategy could be crushed by valor, until today."
"You mean…" The staff officer thought for a moment, then said, "The strategy where the Athenians had us hide in wooden barrels, disguised as supplies?"
"Yes." The Spartan commander said, "Think about it, today Atlantis was greatly defeated by us because the battlefield was on their floating island. But if the battlefield were on the open sea, with sea monsters assisting and Atlantis's huge warships as support, even if we could win, how many brothers would we have to sacrifice?"
"Indeed." The staff officer replied after some thought, "Not all of our warriors have mastered the God of War's secret techniques after all. With those sea monsters, it's possible our entire army could be wiped out."
"Exactly, that's the role of military strategy. I've learned it." The Spartan commander ordered, "So record the Athenians' scheme from today. In the future, if we encounter such an impregnable city, we will use this method to confront them."