Ares

Ares is the fallen God of War whose lingering soul tests Zhang Yang, grants him the God of War Inheritance, and remains his source of new Inheritance skills as he reaches higher levels. (Chapters 497–500, 508, 580, and 784)

Biography

Inheritances and Territorial War

Zhang Yang finds Ares by following the animated axe that serves as the God of War Inheritance Keepsake to a deserted island and then into a cave. There he encounters an enormous skeleton whose level, tier, HP, and skills cannot be read. Ares says that only a remnant of his power remains and that he can manifest only briefly before returning to silence, yet he agrees to judge the mortal who has assembled his Inheritance fragments. He subjects Zhang Yang to trials of Courage, Bloodlust, and Determination: a narrow bridge must be crossed without a mount, an arena must be cleared with all skills and inventory items sealed, and a seduction illusion must be resisted within thirty minutes. Passing these tests proves mental resolve but not, in Ares's view, the strength needed to contain his power. (Chapters 497–498)

Ares next requires Zhang Yang to kill Black Dragon Anubask and bring back the dragon's blood to sustain his failing soul. The blood extends Ares's existence, after which he assigns three solo kills against enemies he hates as the final hurdle; outside help entering a target's aggro list would invalidate the kill. Zhang Yang completes the chain and receives the S-class God of War Inheritance. Ares then becomes an intermittent mentor rather than a traveling companion: Zhang Yang returns to the cave for additional skills at later level thresholds, enduring lectures about his slow growth before receiving techniques through Ares's touch. Their last recorded meeting gives Zhang Yang God of War Restoration at Level 180. (Chapters 498–500, 508, 580, 615, 670, 723, and 784)

Appearance and personality

Ares appears as a gigantic skeleton leaning within a cave, with a deep voice powerful enough to disturb the air, form small whirlwinds, shake the ceiling, and dislodge stone. His unreadable attributes and environmental effect mark him as something beyond an ordinary Celestial-tier boss, although the corpus does not describe his former living appearance. He respects directness and courage, but is proud, demanding, and habitually disparaging toward Zhang Yang's progress. His awareness that his soul is dying makes him newly appreciative of continued existence, while his refusal to answer Zhang Yang's questions about the Goddess of War leaves him guarded about his divine past. (Chapters 497–500, 580, and 723)

Abilities and gameplay

Ares is encountered after his fall, so the supplied corpus never presents a complete combat profile for him. His surviving divine power can animate and guide the Inheritance Keepsake, create immersive trial spaces and restrictions, project an imitation of the Goddess of War, and transfer skills by touching an inheritor's forehead. His voice alone disturbs the cave, but no direct damage value or usable boss stat is given, and the story does not establish whether his trial effects function outside the Inheritance process. (Chapters 497–498 and 581)

As an Inheritance mentor, Ares imposes explicit mechanical limits. The early trials disable mounts, skills, or inventory access and permit only a small number of failures; the later hunt requires Zhang Yang's targets to be killed without another player entering their aggro lists. Ares's own manifestation is limited by the vitality of his soul, which he prolongs with Black Dragon Anubask's blood. Once the Inheritance is complete, he teaches a new God of War skill at certain level milestones—eventually once every twenty levels from Level 120 onward—rather than granting the entire skill set at once. (Chapters 497–500, 508, 615, 670, 723, and 784)

The techniques taught through this progression include God of War Devastation, God of War Heavy Axe, Charge Up Strike, Tribulation, and God of War Restoration. Their effects belong to Zhang Yang's inherited build rather than demonstrating Ares's current combat capability: they respectively provide a powerful strike that can expand to multiple targets during transformation, an HP-sensitive melee attack, a setup that guarantees and strengthens the next critical hit, temporary damage reflection during transformation, and a damaging attack that converts received damage into healing. Their Rage, Energy Point, duration, transformation, and cooldown requirements prevent them from functioning as unrestricted divine attacks. (Chapters 580, 615, 670, 723, and 784)

Relationships

• Zhang Yang: Ares tests Zhang Yang, accepts him as the inheritor of his power, and remains the exclusive NPC source of his later God of War skills. Their exchanges combine practical mentorship with repeated criticism of Zhang Yang's rate of advancement. (Chapters 497–500, 508, 580, 615, 670, 723, and 784)
• Black Dragon Anubask: A follower of the Hell's Lord and one of Ares's old enemies. Ares demands Anubask's death both as a test of Zhang Yang's strength and to obtain blood capable of prolonging his soul. (Chapters 498–500)
• Felice: Ares identifies the Goddess of War as having died at the hands of the Hell's Lord, the God of Vengeance, and the Devastator. That history helps Zhang Yang interpret Felice's extreme hostility toward Anubask, though Ares withholds the fuller explanation Zhang Yang seeks about her connection to the goddess. (Chapters 498, 502, and 580)

Items

• God of War Inheritance Keepsake: An axe assembled from Inheritance fragments. It animates to guide Zhang Yang to Ares, absorbs Black Dragon Anubask's blood, and anchors the quest chain that ends with Zhang Yang receiving the God of War Inheritance. (Chapters 497–500)
• Black Dragon's Blood: Concentrated blood obtained from Anubask's heart. The Keepsake absorbs it on Zhang Yang's return, and Ares says that the amount will extend the vitality of his soul for three years. (Chapters 499–500)