When the order came, the Roman soldiers charged towards the house almost instinctively.
At the same time, the Dionysus revelers shouted in unison and rushed towards the crowd. As the Roman soldiers were outnumbered, they were quickly overwhelmed by the impact of hundreds of followers and had to retreat in a hurry.
Although the Roman Empire was known as invincible, Roman soldiers were not always so powerful. Even the regular Roman legions often suffered defeats on the battlefield. Moreover, these soldiers had long enjoyed peace and had never truly stepped onto the battlefield.
Their daily training was not much, mainly practicing Roman formations, emphasizing mutual cover, and almost no practice in melee combat. When faced with enemies who outnumbered them and were fearless of death, the soldiers quickly collapsed.
Linley followed the Roman soldiers closely and suddenly saw Philip not far away. He raised his spiked club, pointed at Philip, and shouted: "Kill him!" The apprentices immediately rushed forward with their wooden clubs.
Philip was terrified and immediately turned to run. Fortunately, the centurion beside him pulled him back in time and said: "Don't be afraid, we have more people."
This sentence calmed Philip down a little. The centurion was the most senior soldier in the legion. Although he had never been on the battlefield, he had served with many veterans and was familiar with the operation of the legion.
The Romans outnumbered their enemies thirty to one, though they were currently scattered. As long as Philip could withstand the enemy's attack, the surrounding soldiers would surround them, and they would surely win.
However, if Philip ran away, the other soldiers would also retreat if they were unwilling to fight, which would be a complete defeat. Although Philip's centurion was understaffed, there were still seventy or eighty people, and they were equipped with the best equipment in the entire army. They maintained their formation and prepared to meet the enemy.
Seeing Linley and his men approaching, the Roman soldiers quickly raised their shields, covering each other, forming a solid shield wall. This was the Roman legion's unique skill. As long as the shield wall was formed, even if the enemy outnumbered them and attacked fiercely, they would not be able to break through. The priest apprentices at the front swung their spiked clubs at the shield wall, making a crackling sound, but they could not shake it at all. If they got too close, Roman short swords would stab out from the shield wall, causing great damage to the enemy.
The priests and apprentices seemed oblivious, allowing blood to splatter, but still attacking fiercely. However, it was obvious that if they continued like this, they would soon bleed to death.
Linley rushed forward, using all his strength to strike the shield with his club, shaking his hand numb, and blood flowed out. The Roman soldier holding the shield felt a sharp pain, and the shield flew out of his hand. He immediately retreated, and the soldiers on both sides quickly closed in, trying to cover the gap.
At this time, Bavaria's figure flickered, and he had already cut into the gap, his double-edged swords like the scythe of death, reaping the lives of the Roman soldiers and sending their heads flying.
Even if temporarily immobilized, it is far better than actual death. Linley believed that once he reached a high enough level and broke the seal of the Divine Kingdom, these dead people would be able to move again. Although they won, their casualties were heavy. If they had lost, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
After leaving Athens, Linley didn't know where to go at first. After thinking for a moment, he decided to go to Thalia's vineyard. Although many people did not know that Linley had been in the temple or that he had become the new god of wine, it was widely known that he was a Dionysus' apostle.
The priests of the Dionysus had killed many Romans, and large-scale hunts for the Dionysus' followers would surely follow. Thalia, being famous, would inevitably be implicated.
When he arrived at the entrance of the vineyard, he found it in chaos: people running around and the gate tightly closed. Someone spotted Linley and immediately sounded the alarm: "Linley! Linley has brought the Dionysus' priests!"
A large crowd surged forward, aiming their bows and arrows at Linley. Their bows and arrows had a short range, and Linley was still four or five hundred meters away from the vineyard entrance, making it impossible to hit him.
"Any closer and we'll shoot!" a centaur shouted loudly.
"Marcus, what are you doing?" Linley demanded.
This centaur had a close relationship with Linley and often came to Linley's house to eat and drink. His astonishing appetite meant that he ate up all the brewing dregs Linley kept for making wine. Although he felt embarrassed, he eagerly helped with heavy work for Linley.
"Linley!" Marcus said, "The Romans have issued an order, forbidding the worship of all Olympian gods and only allowing the worship of Holiness from now on."