Chapter 20 Chapter 20: The Decisive Battle with the Stupid Relatives

The Coast Guard rescued us, but they were too busy to keep us long, and didn't bother to wonder how these three street-dressed kids had turned up in the middle of the bay.There are still many disasters waiting to be rescued, and their radios are full of emergency calls. They put us ashore at the Santa Monica pier, put towels around our shoulders, gave us a bottle of water with "Junior Coast Guard" on it, and sped off to rescue more people. Our clothes were all soaked, even mine.The Coast Guard probably thought it too weird to see me completely dry when they showed up, so I silently prayed that I'd be drenched when pulled out of the water.Sure enough, my usual waterproof magic was gone this time around.I went barefoot because Grover wore the shoes.Better to have the Coast Guard suspicious about not wearing shoes than to see cloven hooves.

Once on dry land, we staggered forward with our backs to the shore.What you see is the brutal contrast between the burning city and the beautiful sunrise.I felt as if I had just come back from a dead end—in fact, I really did.My backpack is heavy with the Zeus Lightning bolt.After seeing my mother, my heart was heavier than the backpack. "I don't believe it," said Annabeth. "We tried our best..." "It's a ruse," I said. "Athena is as smart as Athena to have come up with this strategy." "Hey." She warned me. "You know who it is, right?"

She lowered her eyes, and the anger subsided. "Yeah, I know." "Oh, I don't know!" Grover grumbled, "Which one..." "Percy..." Annabeth said, "I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry about your mother..." I pretended I didn't hear it. If I talked about my mother now, I would cry like a child. "The prophecy is true," I said, "'You will go west and face the gods who have changed.' But the prophecy does not refer to Hades. Hades does not want to start a war between the three gods. The thief is someone else, That man stole Zeus's Lightning bolt and Hades' Dark Helm, and then planted it on me, because I am a child of Poseidon, and he wanted Poseidon to be blamed by both sides. After sunset today, the three parties will go to war, and I am the one who caused this people of war."

Grover shook his head and said with a confused face, "Then who is behind that? Who would want to see such a miserable war?" I stopped and looked across the coast. "Ah, let me think about it." He's waiting for us there, in the same black leather jacket and sunglasses, with an aluminum bat slung over his shoulder.His motorcycle rumbled behind him, its headlights turning the beach red. "Hey kid," Ares said, like he was psychologically happy to see me. "I thought you were dead." "You framed me," I said. "You stole the dark helm and the Lightning bolt."

Ares laughed. "Well, let's put it this way, I didn't steal those things myself. It is absolutely not allowed for the gods to take away each other's power symbols. However, you are not the only hero in the world who can perform tasks." "Whom did you ask for it? Cressa? She was there at the solstice." The statement seemed to amuse him. "That doesn't matter, kid, the point is that you're getting in the way of this war. You gotta die in the Underworld, so Poseidon's going to freak out because Hades killed you; Hades gets Zeus' Lightning bolt, so Zeus is pissed at him; and Hades will keep looking for this..."

He took out a ski hat from his pocket, the kind that bank robbers wear.Then he put the hat between the two handles of the motorcycle, and the hat instantly became a delicate bronze battle rudder. "The helm of darkness." Grover gasped. "That's right," Ares said. "Where did I say that? Oh, yes, Hades will be angry at both Zeus and Poseidon because he doesn't know who took this. Soon, we will see a A wonderful three-way brawl." "But, they're your family!" Annabeth protested. Ares shrugged and said, "This is the best and bloodiest kind of war. There is nothing like watching relatives fight. I always think so."

"You gave us backpacks in Denver," I said. "Lightning bolts have been in there ever since." "That's right, and it's not right." Ares said, "It's a little complicated for your mortal head. It should be said that the backpack is a sheath obtained by lightning, but it's just a deformation. The Lightning bolt and the backpack are one, a bit like you That sword has the same relationship with you. That sword will always come back to your pocket, right?" I don't know how Ares knows this, but I guess one of his jobs as God of War is to be familiar with various weapons.

"Anyway," continued Ares, "I modified it with magic so the Lightning bolt only goes back into the sheath after you reach the underworld. When you get close to Hades... ding dong, you have a New package. If you die there, I have nothing to lose, and I still have a weapon in my hand." "Why don't you keep the Lightning bolt in your hand?" I said, "Why give it to Hades?" Ares's jaw twitched, and at this moment he looked like he was listening to another voice in his head saying, "Why don't I... yeah... use that kind of firepower..."

He dazed for a second...two seconds... Annabeth and I exchange nervous glances. Ares came back to his senses and said, "I don't want to cause trouble. It would be better for you to take this thing and be stolen by everyone on the spot." "You're lying." I said, "Sending Lightning bolt to the underworld is not your concern, is it?" "My attention, of course!" A puff of smoke rose from his sunglasses, as if on fire. "It wasn't you who sent the thief," I said, "but someone else sent a half-blood to steal these two treasures, and then when Zeus sent you after him, you caught the thief. But you didn't return it to Zeus , there must be some reason that persuaded you to let the thief go. You kept the two treasures and waited for another half-breed to appear, and then let him complete the work of teleportation. It was the thing in the abyss that ordered you to do so."

"I am the god of war! No one can order me! I am not dreaming!" I hesitated for a moment, then said, "Who said something about a dream?" Ares looked a bit tired, but he tried to cover it up with a hippie grin. "Son, let's get back to the matter at hand. You're still alive, and I can't let you take the Lightning bolt to Olympus, because those stubborn fools might believe you. So, I've got to kill you , oh, I'm not going to do it myself." He flicked his fingers, and the sand at his feet exploded, releasing a wild boar.This guy was bigger and uglier than the head that hung on the door of Cabin Five at Camp Half-Blood.It scratched the sand, glared at me with its bead-like eyes, then lowered its head, showing its razor-sharp fangs, waiting for the order to kill.

I step into the waves. "Ares, come and fight me yourself." He laughed, but there was a slight... uneasiness in the laughter. "Son, you only have one ability, and that is... to escape. You escaped from Camilla and then from the underworld, you have no ability at all!" "Are you afraid?" "Dream your spring and autumn dream!" His sunglasses were melted by the heat from the glasses. "The gods forbid direct involvement. My child, I'm sorry, but you are not at my level." Annabeth said, "Percy, run!" Fight the wild boar attack. I've had enough of running for my life from monsters, Hades, Ares, or anyone. As the boar charged at me, I removed the cap and moved sideways.The Wave Sword appeared in my hand, and I swung the sword upwards.The severed boar tusk fell at my feet, the disoriented animal crashing into the sea. I yelled: "Sea waves!" In an instant, big waves rushed up from all directions, covering the whole wild boar, wrapping it like a blanket.The wild boar let out a terrified scream before disappearing, swallowed by the sea. I turned to Ares and said, "Are you going to fight me now?" I asked, "Or do you want to hide behind another pet pig?" Ares' face turned purple with anger, and he said, "Little devil, look good, I can turn you into..." "Cockroaches?" I said, "Or caterpillars? Yeah, I know you do, so you don't get beat up like a god, right?" Flames danced on top of his glasses. "Oh boy, you're begging me to smash you into a little greasy blob." "If I lose, you can turn me into anything you want, and you can take the Lightning bolt. If I win, both the Dark Helm and the Lightning bolt are mine, and you must give them all up." Ares sneered. He took the bat off his shoulders and swung it. "Which style of play do you prefer? Classic or modern?" I raise my sword. "Damn kid, that's cool," he said. "It's classic." The bat turned into a gigantic double-sided sword with a huge silver skull on the hilt, and a ruby ​​in the skull's mouth. . "Percy," said Annabeth, "come on, he's a god." "He's a coward," I told Annabeth. She swallowed and said, "At least wear this, lucky thing." She took off the necklace, with her five-year battalion beads and her dad's ring, and hung it around my neck. "Together," she said. "Athena and Poseidon." My face was a little hot, but I managed to smile and said, "Thank you." "And this," Grover said.He handed me a flattened tin can that would carry him thousands of kilometers in his pocket. "The satyrs support you." "Grover...I don't know what to say." He taps me on the shoulder and I stuff the tin can into my back pocket. "Have you finished your goodbyes?" Ares turned to me, his black leather jacket draped behind him, his sword shining like a flame at sunrise. "Boy, I'm always fighting, I have infinite power, and I can't die. What about you? What do you have?" A little pride, I thought, but didn't say it.I found my footing in the waves and backed into the water, letting the water go up to my ankles.I think back to what Annabeth said in a Denver restaurant, as if it were so long ago, "Ares is strong, that's all he is, but brute force sometimes bows to wisdom." He looked over my head, but I jumped away. My body moves with my thoughts.The water seemed to push me into the air, and I jumped over him, slashing down as I fell.But Ares is fast.He spun around, hitting the end of his sword hilt instead of hitting him directly on the back. He grinned and said, "Not bad, not bad." He stabbed again and forced me to jump onto dry land.I tried to move sideways, trying to get back into the water, but Ares seemed to know my next move.His strategy is better than mine, and he presses me every step of the way. I must put all my energy into not being cut into pieces by him.I continued to retreat into the sea, but couldn't find any openings for him to attack.The longest distance of his sword is tens of centimeters longer than that of the Wave Sword. "Melee." Luke once said in fencing class: "When your blade is shorter than the enemy, use melee." I swung my sword and stepped forward, but Ares was waiting for my move.He sent my sword flying, then kicked me in the chest.I flew out too, about five meters, maybe ten meters away, and if I hadn't hit the soft sand dunes, my spine would have snapped in two. "Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "The police are coming!" The things in front of me became two, and my chest hurt as if I had just been hit by a pile driver continuously, but I still tried to stand up. I couldn't take my eyes off Ares for fear he'd split me in half instantly, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw the red light flashing on Shore Drive and the doors slam shut. "Officer, over there!" Someone yelled, "Did you see it?" A hoarse policeman said, "Looks like that kid on TV...what the hell..." "That guy has a weapon again." Another cop said, "Backup." I rolled to one side, Ares' sword slashing in the sand. I ran in the direction of the wave sword, picked up the sword, and swept across Ares' face, but missed it again. Ares seems to be able to accurately grasp my next move. I stepped back towards the waves, forcing him to follow. "Son, accept your fate." Ares said: "You have no chance of winning at all, I was just playing with you just now." My senses are playing a playoff.Now that I understand why Annabeth said ADHD would keep me alive in the campaign, I'm wide awake and can see every little detail. I can see where Ares is tense, so I know what his next move will be.At the same time, Annabeth and Grover can be perceived about ten meters to my left.I saw the second police car pull up, siren blaring.The crowd who were wandering on the street because of the earthquake began to gather and watch. Among the crowd, there were a few people moving with strange trots. They were satyrs disguised as humans.There were also flashes of ghosts in the crowd, who seemed to have risen from Hades to watch the battle.I also heard the flapping of leather wings hovering somewhere in the sky. The siren sounded more and more. I strode into the water, but Ares was quick, and the point of his sword sliced ​​through my sleeve and grazed my forearm. The voice of the police came from the loudspeaker: "Drop the gun! Put the weapon on the ground! Now!" gun? I looked at Ares' weapon, a flashing thing that sometimes looked like a short spear, sometimes a double-edged sword.I don't know what the average person would think of the weapon in my hand, but I'm sure it won't make them like me. Ares turned his head and stared at our audience, giving me just a moment to breathe.Now there are five police cars, and a row of policemen ambushed behind the police cars, pointing their pistols at us. "This is a personal grievance!" Ares yelled, "Get out!" He waved his hand, and a red wall of fire burned towards the patrol car.The police barely had time to seek cover before the car exploded.The crowd behind the police scattered and screamed. Ares laughed out loud. "It's your turn, little hero, I want you to join the barbecue family." He swung his sword, and I leaned to avoid his blade.I leaned forward to strike, feinted, but missed.The waves crashed from behind me, and this was Ares striding toward me. I feel the rhythm of the sea.When the tide is coming, the waves will be higher.I suddenly had an idea to attack with waves.This is where the water behind me seems to be receding, and I use willpower to pull the tide back, allowing the wave energy to keep rising, like CO2 gas in a corked bottle. Ares came oncoming, smiling confidently.I lowered my sword, pretending to be too tired to continue. "Waiting for that moment." I told the sea.Now the pressure of the sea water can almost wash my feet off.Ares raised his sword, I released the waves, jumped on top of the waves, and rushed towards Ares' head at high speed. A wall of water two meters high sprayed water all over his face.He cursed loudly with his mouth full of seaweed.I landed behind him with a splash and feinted him on the head, like the previous attack.He turned and raised his sword just in time, but this time he was wrong, he didn't expect it to be a false move.I changed direction, flanked him, and plunged my sword down into the water, where it pierced the god's heel. The tsunami followed, and Hades' earthquake seemed insignificant at this point.The sea rolled back from Ares, leaving a circle of wet sand about fifteen meters wide. The blood of the gods, the golden blood of the gods, gushes from the slit in the boots of the god of war.In addition to hatred, the expression on his face was more painful and shocked, and he couldn't believe that he would be hurt. He was limping towards me, muttering curses in ancient Greek. Something stopped him. It's like a cloud covering the sun, only worse, when the light is fading and the sound and color are passing quickly.I felt something cold and heavy pass over the beach.Time slowed down, the temperature dropped to freezing point, and it made me feel that life was so hopeless that resistance was useless. Night rises. Ares froze. Police cars burned behind us, and onlookers fled in all directions. Annabeth and Grover stood by the sea, watching in shock as the water returned to Ares' feet and his glistening golden blood disappeared into the tide. Ares lowered his sword. "Boy, you made an enemy," he said to me. "You decide your own destiny. Whenever you fight with sword, whenever you want to win, you feel my curse. Be careful , Perseus Jackson, be careful." His body began to glow. "Percy!" Annabeth yelled, "Don't look!" I turned away when Ares took form.For some reason, I knew that if I saw it, it would be gone. The light is gone. I looked back and Ares was gone.The tide rolled back, revealing the dark helm of Hades.I picked up the helm and went to my friend. Before I got there, I heard the sound of leather wings fluttering, and three old women with lace hats and evil faces were floating down from the sky with fire whips in their hands and landed in front of me. The Nemesis in the middle, the one who used to be Mr. Dawes steps forward.She bared her fangs, but this time it didn't look like she was threatening me.She looked disappointed, as if she had planned to catch me for dinner, but decided that I would give her indigestion. "We've all seen it," she hissed. "So... isn't it really you?" I tossed the rudder to her, and she, startled, grabbed the rudder. "Give it back to Hades," I said, "tell him the truth, tell him, and ask him to stop the war." She hesitated for a moment, then licked her thick green lips with her forked tongue. "Percy Jackson, live well and become a real hero, if you can't, if you fall into my claws again..." She giggled, savoring the thought, and she and her sisters took off on batwings, into the smoky sky, and disappeared. I joined Grover and Annabeth, who looked at me with mixed surprise and delight. "Percy..." Grover said, "It's incredible..." "Super scary," Annabeth said. "Cool!" Grover corrected. I don't find it scary, and I don't find it cool.I was tired, hurt, and exhausted. "Did you two feel...take something?" I asked. They nodded worriedly. "Must be because Nemesis is flying up there," Grover said. I'm not so sure about this statement.There is something to stop Ares from killing me, and something that can do it is definitely far more powerful than Furies. I looked at Annabeth, and there was a consensus.I know what is in the Abyss, and who speaks at the entrance of Tartarus. I retrieve the backpack from Glover.I looked inside the backpack, and the Lightning bolt was still there, but this little thing almost ignited World War III. "We've got to go to New York," I said, "and we'll be there tonight." "Impossible," said Annabeth, "unless we..." "Fly over." I agreed. She stares at me. "Fly over? Take a plane. That's something you've been warned never to do, or the Zeus will shoot you down in the air, and you're carrying something more destructive than a nuclear bomb!" "Yeah," I said, "100 percent right, that's what I'm going to do, let's go."