The killer sharks swam swiftly, biting a Roman soldier and dragging him into the water, instantly taking his life. Dozens of sharks in an instant killed all the Roman soldiers who had fallen into the water.
Blood stained the seawater red, and more sharks were rapidly approaching from afar. The surviving Roman soldiers dared not risk jumping ship again. They gathered together, trembling, facing the attack of the worshippers of Dionysus, falling into deep fear.
"Surrender," Linley suggested, "surrender and you will live."
The bearded captain had now woken up and questioned, "Who are you?"
"I am Dionysus Linley," Linley replied, "I keep my word."
"Dionysus!" The bearded captain trembled as he looked at Linley, recognizing that Linley was indeed a god.
"Kneel before the noble Dionysus immediately!" Bavaria shouted loudly.
"No, I don't acknowledge you as a god, there is only one true God in the world..." The bearded captain shook his head repeatedly in denial.
"Then you shall die!" Bavaria roared, rushing forward and slashing off the bearded captain's head with his sword.
The rest of the Roman soldiers immediately knelt down, none daring to resist.
"Who has the highest rank next?" Nemo asked.
A middle-aged sailor in armor timidly raised his hand, "I am the first mate on the ship."
Another person also raised his hand, but immediately lowered it upon seeing this.
"You, who are you?" Linley naturally would not let him go.
"I am the chief centurion on the ship." The Roman soldier replied in terror.
On the ship, the captain was the highest commander, but the positions below him had different responsibilities. The first mate was responsible for navigation, while the chief centurion managed the rowers. Since the rowers were mostly soldiers, the centurion's position was also high. However, the centurion might not know how to navigate, such as steering and setting sails, skills that the first mate mastered. In the navy, those who possessed navigational skills held a higher status due to the importance of such expertise.
Therefore, the power comparison between the two depended on who was more senior and whose words carried more weight.
"Are you willing to surrender?" Linley asked.
"Surrender, we are willing to surrender." The centurion and the first mate both knelt on the ground, their hands raised high, surrendering their weapons to Linley.
Nemo stepped forward to accept the surrender, disarming all the Roman soldiers, binding their hands, and separating them for supervision. Linley had the remaining Dionysus priests brought over and asked, "Are you followers of Dionysus? How did you get captured?"
"Dionysus, my lord!" The priests were so excited to see Linley that they almost cried, asking each other, "Are you the new Dionysus?"
"It's great, we thought we had lost the protection of the gods."
"How is the former Dionysus? Was he killed by the angels of Holiness?"
"Oh my God, how could this happen!"
"I didn't expect that Holiness had so many followers in Rome, and it even became the state religion of Rome."
"Actually, in Greece, Holiness also has quite a few followers, I always knew that. But I didn't expect that Holiness is so ruthless, that once they have the advantage, they will wipe us out."
Linley, overwhelmed by the cacophony of voices, held up his hand and said, "One at a time!"
"Lord Dionysus," an old man with a nose red and swollen like wine dregs stepped forward, "I am the high priest of Andros. We have always been law-abiding, focusing on cultivating grapes and making wine, never making enemies. But a few days ago, the Romans suddenly captured us, forcing us to convert, and those who refused were sentenced to death. Andros originally had thousands of believers, most of whom succumbed to the threat of the butcher's knife and abandoned their faith. Please do not blame them, they were helpless."
Linley waved his hand and gently comforted, "I will pardon them."
Greece had been peaceful for a long time, and for the gods of Olympus, the conversion of the Greeks was not a big deal, especially those who were casual believers; it was common for them to sway between different gods. Only at the forefront of the struggle between the main gods would conflicts occur between believers.
Atlantis was an important territory contended for by Zeus and Poseidon, but according to Pandora, no major war had broken out, instead, they had engaged in various indirect confrontations.
However, Holiness was a foreign religion, using brutal means of death if they didn't convert, which was extremely barbaric. The Romans took such drastic measures, it was normal for believers to convert, and those who didn't convert were probably few and far between.
Linley could reward faithful believers, but he couldn't punish those who converted. These believers were isolated and helpless, and they would be killed if they didn't convert. If Linley blamed them for this, wouldn't that mean forcing them to die?
"The rest of us are the dozens of us here, who are the most loyal believers of Dionysus. The Romans took us away by warship, intending to throw us all into the sea to feed the sharks," the old man said.
"Why did they have to bring you out? Wouldn't it be more convenient to execute you directly on shore?" Linley asked.
"We are very famous in Andros. They claimed to be sending us to Rome for conversion, but in reality, it was a last-ditch effort to force us to convert, or else we would be killed," the old man explained.
The old man's name was Andre, and he was sixty-eight years old, which was considered a long life in this era. His potential was E, meaning he was too old and had no potential.
"Andre," Linley said, "how many Romans are there on the island?"
"About two hundred or so," Andre replied.
"That few?" Linley was surprised.
"Originally, there was an entire Roman fleet stationed on Andros. Recently, this fleet hastily left, leaving only a few ships to guard the port. This five-tiered galley was the largest, the others were all smaller ships. Almost all of the Roman soldiers on the island left with the fleet, and the rest are almost all on this ship, which you defeated," Andre explained.
"Only two hundred or so?" Linley immediately had an idea, "Then we go straight in, wouldn't we be able to wipe out all the Romans on the island?"
Wiping out the Romans was a small matter, the most important thing was to be able to plunder as much as they wanted, the Roman fort was bound to have all sorts of supplies.
"But we don't know when the Roman fleet will return. If we go ashore and waste time, and get blocked in the port by the Roman fleet, then we'll be in trouble," Andre reminded him.
That was true, but Linley already had a plan. He summoned Pandora, who had been lurking in the sea, and instructed, "When we attack Andros, you wait outside the port. As soon as you see enemy ships, immediately use magic to create illusions to warn us, and we will retreat immediately. This is a matter of life and death.