The Roman soldier seized the priest, his short sword glinting in the sunlight, and demanded, "At this point, you still refuse to abandon Dionysus?"
The priest's eyes were vacant, but he still shook his head firmly.
The soldier tried to persuade him, "Think of your family, if not for yourself."
"I have no family," the priest replied, "I grew up in the winery..."
The soldier asked reluctantly, "Then you must have friends?"
The priest said calmly, "My friends are all followers of Dionysus. We have a good time every day, picking grapes, tasting wine, and resting in the shade when we're tired. Now you want me to betray my faith, betray all my past?"
The soldier threatened, "If you don't surrender, you'll be dead. There's nothing left after death. If you change your faith, you can still work in the winery, still drink. We are just changing your faith, not prohibiting alcohol."
The priest began to waver, "Really?"
The soldier was about to continue persuading him, but saw another soldier stab the priest with his sword, and his body was kicked into the sea.
"What are you doing!" The soldier asked his companion angrily, "I almost persuaded him!"
It turned out that another soldier was impatient. He said indifferently, "What's the use of persuading him back? Kill him if you have to!"
The soldier was indignant, "He's a winemaker at the vineyard, he can make the best wine!"
"Nonsense, the best wine is made in Rome." Another soldier retorted.
"Even if Roman wine is good, how much can you drink? You still have to drink Greek wine in Greece!" The soldier argued.
"Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and kill these priests of Dionysus." Another soldier said impatiently.
The soldier reminded, "If we kill them all, we'll have to import wine."
As the two argued, they suddenly felt something was wrong and looked up to see a strange sailboat slowly approaching in the distance. Given the vastness of the sea, why would this ship be approaching so closely? Could it be that the sail was broken and out of control? The square sail only had a triangle left, looking tattered and worn.
Despite this, they still subconsciously raised their guard. The lookout sounded the alarm, and all the Roman soldiers stopped what they were doing. The ship was really too close.
Just then, someone on the triangular sailboat shouted, lowered the oars, and rammed into the Roman warship. The Roman soldiers on the warship were immediately thrown into chaos. They quickly had the rowers in place, trying to turn the ship and point the bow at the enemy.
However, it was too late. Most of the rowers were not in their positions, they were all scattered watching the show, and it would take a long time to start up. The triangular sailboat was very fast, crashing into the Roman warship's waist, creating a big hole, and itself was embedded in the warship, unable to separate.
Seeing this, the Roman soldiers' courage surged. Rome was invincible in land battles. If it were just a naval battle, Rome might be at a disadvantage, but now that the two ships were connected, it became a land battle, and the Romans outnumbered the enemy, victory seemed within reach.
"Charge!" Linley, ordered.
The faithful on the Nemo, having drunk a potent liquor, were instantly in a fighting mood. Bavaria was the first to leap onto the Roman warship, wielding a huge double-handed sword. With a whirlwind slash, he cleaved seven or eight Roman soldiers in two.
The other faithful followed close behind. Even those who were normally timid became exceptionally brave after drinking the liquor, wielding their swords and hacking at the Roman soldiers with reckless abandon. A bloody spray erupted.
There was no point in guarding the ship. Nemo led a group of men as a reserve, following the main force onto the Roman warship. Linley stayed at the back, using his slingshot to support the battle.
The Roman soldiers, though caught by surprise, quickly formed a shield wall with their superior combat strength. Short swords darted out from behind the wall like the tongues of vipers, hindering the enemy's advance.
The forceful attack resulted in heavy casualties. Linley shot grapes with his slingshot, causing one of the soldiers to fall drunk. The shield wall was breached, and the faithful immediately charged in, swinging their swords, causing the surrounding Roman soldiers to suffer injuries.
The Roman soldiers fell back, converging at the bow of the ship. However, there were simply too many of them, and they re-formed a continuous shield wall to withstand the faithful's attack.
Although the faithful fought with unyielding ferocity, they were limited in number. By the time they reached the bow, they were unable to advance further.
"Those who offend Rome are doomed!" The Roman warship's captain, a man with a thick beard, roared, waving his commander's staff.
In the Roman Empire, the navy was not an ideal career path. Life at sea was arduous, making it difficult to gain merit, let alone promotions and raises. Therefore, the navy was primarily manned by the sons of commoners. The captain had strong hands and rough skin, but he held a commander's staff, making him an anomaly. Inspired by the captain, the Roman soldiers roared in unison, preparing to counterattack.
Linley shot a ruby.
The system indicated it was incredibly powerful, and Linley had been reluctant to use it, but now he had no choice. All he could do was pray it would be enough.
BOOM!
The ruby struck the Roman soldier formation, exploding into a massive fireball. Roman soldiers were blown to pieces, those near the fireball were charred to a crisp, and those further away were scorched and writhed in pain.
Even the bearded captain was caught in the blast, his hand blown off, leaving him lying on the ground, his fate uncertain.
"For Dionysus! Charge with me!" Bavaria roared.
"For Dionysus!" Everyone cried in unison, charging forward. Roman soldiers fell like dominoes, flesh flying through the air.
Seeing that they were unable to hold their ground, many Roman soldiers jumped into the sea and swam towards the shore. The shore was not far from there, and they could see the forest on shore from the ship, about a few kilometers away. Many would be able to swim there.
But they had forgotten the carnivorous sharks they had deliberately attracted.