While the Heroes on the Argo were discussing Atalanta's marriage, Ares, whom Heracles considered "extremely righteous," was doing some very unethical things under Atalanta's race track.
"Odds are open, odds are open! Those who bet on the challenger to win will get two to one, and those who bet on Princess Atalanta to win will get three to one."
Under the guise of "Princess Atalanta's attendant," Ares, transformed into a young boy, was using a tender voice to shout lines that only seasoned gamblers could utter, urging the spectators by the track to place their bets.
"No more bets! No more bets! The race is about to begin, attention to those who haven't placed their bets yet! We are about to close the betting!"
Under his shouts, many simple citizens of Greece were fooled by him, placing bets on Ares's gambling table with silver coins called "drachmas" from various city-states.
Although Atalanta on the track noticed this, she showed no intention of restraining her attendant's behavior. She was focused on her pre-race warm-up, completely oblivious to the situation around the track.
Soon, Iasos, the King of Arcadia, appeared on the referee's stand. He raised his arm, signaling the audience to quiet down, and then invited the first participant to come forward.
Upon hearing Iasos's call, a familiar figure to Atalanta emerged from the crowd and came to her side, standing on the same starting line as her.
"Atalanta," he called out enthusiastically, "we meet again."
"Meleager?" Atalanta also looked at her familiar companion in surprise. "Why are you here?"
"I heard that you were choosing a husband through a race, so I immediately rushed over from thousands of miles away," Meleager said with a grin. "Thanks to the great Ares, if he hadn't returned my life to me, I might not have lived until now. This time, I can finally tell you what's in my heart, Atalanta, I like you very much. If possible, I hope you can become the future Queen of Calydon."
Atalanta quickly replied, "Thank you, Meleager, you are a good person, but I only see you as a brother. I don't have feelings for you."
Hearing Atalanta's reply, Meleager seemed very disheartened, but he quickly cheered up and smiled, "It's okay, feelings can be cultivated slowly. As long as I win against you in the race, you can become my Queen. After we get married, I will definitely make you fall in love with me."
Atalanta remained noncommittal to his words, only replying, "Then talk to me after you can outrun me."
After Iasos announced 'ready,' the two squatted near the starting line, assuming the standard preparation stance for a race. Then, with a command from the King of Arcadia, the first race officially began.
Meleager started first. To marry the woman he loved, the Prince of Calydon gave his all, running at an incredibly fast speed. But Atalanta seemed not to have come to her senses yet, still squatting near the starting line. It wasn't until Meleager had run almost a quarter of the track that she pushed off with her feet and surged forward.
Meleager only had time to blink, and Atalanta had already run past him like a gentle breeze. Even as the Prince of Calydon gritted his teeth and desperately chased, he still couldn't catch up to the fastest woman in the Greek World.
Soon, Atalanta had run the entire course and stood near the finish line, while Meleager was still gritting his teeth and running desperately on the track. The Prince of Calydon's foot speed had far surpassed that of ordinary people in the Greek World, but compared to Atalanta, there was still an insurmountable gap.
Finally, the Prince of Calydon could only stand helplessly at the finish line, looking at that distant figure, and sighing:
"Oh, great Aphrodite, if you pity me, please give me a chance to be with the one I love..."
"Leave, Meleager," Atalanta told him. "I am a follower of Artemis. Aphrodite has no power over me."
Meleager looked at Atalanta with great reluctance, but in the end, he could only sigh helplessly and turn to walk away.
However, just as he was about to leave the stadium, Iasos, the King of Arcadia, suddenly stood up. He looked at the Prince of Calydon and said to him:
"In this competition, the winner will get my daughter and my kingdom, but the loser cannot go unpunished."
Atalanta was stunned for a moment, then reacted. She turned her head to look behind the audience stands, where a group of Arcadia warriors had suddenly appeared. They drew their bows and aimed their arrows at the Prince of Calydon.
"Meleager!" Atalanta shouted, "Run fast!"
Hearing Atalanta's call, Meleager was slightly startled, then turned his head. Upon seeing the Arcadia warriors aiming at him, the Prince of Calydon felt a chill down his spine and quickly started running.
"Fire!"
With Iasos's command, a rain of arrows fell towards Meleager's head. Just then, Ares, who was grinning and collecting "drachmas" from the table nearby, suddenly wiped a silver coin, blew on it lightly, and a huge gust of demonic wind suddenly rose, blowing the arrows that were originally aimed at Meleager's head to the side.
The arrows clattered to the ground, but the Prince of Calydon had already darted far away. He turned to glance at the falling arrows, silently thanking Ares profusely in his heart, and then fled the place without looking back, not even daring to enter the city-state of Arcadia.
Although he was the Prince of Calydon, the King of Arcadia would not face any problems even if he killed him. Not to mention whether his uncles coveted the throne of Calydon, just the distance between Calydon and Arcadia meant that Arcadia was not a country that Calydon could retaliate against militarily.
So even if Iasos killed him here, the King of Calydon could only rage ineffectually, unable to do anything.
Seeing Meleager flee in disgrace, Iasos did not order a pursuit. He simply ordered the Arcadia warriors to stand by and then announced to the Heroes present:
"This is my punishment for the losers. If you lose to Atalanta, you must race against the arrows of the Arcadia warriors. Those who cannot outrun them, die here!"