Pandora nodded and left the ship to stand guard outside.
Meanwhile, Bavarian drove the captured Roman soldiers to the position of the rowers and tied them securely to the seats with ropes. Each row of rowers was supervised by a follower of Dionysus, who held a sword in one hand and a whip in the other. Anyone who dared to resist would be immediately stabbed to death with a sword; if they didn't row hard, they would be whipped.
These Roman soldiers were used as slaves, a common practice on many merchant ships, as slaves were cheap and could be treated as expendables, thrown into the sea after death. Free rowers, and soldiers even more so, could not be treated in this way.
These Roman soldiers, who had just held the power of life and death, were now reduced to slaves rowing oars. They couldn't help but question the decisions of His Holiness. Although Linley was reluctant to treat the prisoners so cruelly, he had no choice at the moment.
Leaving them on the Roman warship was obviously not an option. The warship had been rammed with a large hole and was about to sink. Staying on board could only lead to death, and jumping into the sea would only be eaten by sharks.
Therefore, the only option was to take these prisoners to the Nemo. However, the Nemo itself was small and could not accommodate them. Moreover, it was necessary to prevent them from suddenly rebelling. The only solution was to lock them in the position of the rowers, which could both make use of their and increase manpower.
Driven by whips and short swords, the Roman soldiers rowed desperately, and the Nemo gradually separated from the Roman warship. Large amounts of seawater poured into the hole in the Roman warship, and it would soon sink. The Nemo's bow design was strong and only slightly deformed and undamaged. It only needed a little repair.
The Nemo sailed towards the distant port, estimated to arrive in about two hours. At this moment, Linley heard a "ding" in his ear, "You have won a glorious victory and defeated a powerful enemy."
There was no mission before this naval battle, it was Linley's own decision to fight, but the system also gave a prompt. Now that he had time, Linley entered the divine realm.
The scene here was similar to before, except that the mist had receded slightly, revealing more land and grapevines, on which hung small clusters of grapes. The vineyard house had become taller and more luxurious. The original unplastered bricks had been replaced with stone walls.
Linley walked in and found that there was more furniture. On the table in the middle was a box. Linley saw it and knew it was his reward. He opened the box, his body warmed, and he felt that he had become much stronger. He heard a prompt in his ear, "You have gained one hundred XP, level up 1."
"The XP from fighting are so many?" Linley was very surprised.
He only needed one hundred XP to level up, but the higher the level, the harder it was to gain XP. Before this battle, there was no prompt, Linley thought that there would be no XP, or even if there were, it would not be many, but unexpectedly he gained one hundred XP at once, and he leveled up directly.
"The sound of gunfire brings in a flood of gold and silver. The gains from victory in war far surpass any other activity, and combat experience naturally increases significantly." The system explained.
However, Linley was confused and said, "I didn't personally command the battle, nor did I charge into the fray."
In reality, the precise timing of the battle and the calm command were all handled by Nemo, while the charge into battle and the task of slaying enemy generals were undertaken by Bavaria. Linley had merely fired a few slingshot projectiles from the rear. Could it be that he had gained such a hefty amount of experience points simply because the ruby bullets had killed a large number of enemies?
The system explained, "You are the supreme commander, so you gain the majority of the experience points. Nemo and Bavaria are generals who fought under your command."
If that was the case, wouldn't he be able to level up quickly by fighting more battles? However, what exactly were the benefits of leveling up?
"Leveling up will enhance various attributes and may unlock new skills. Some skills can only be learned after reaching a certain level. If your level is too low, you won't be able to master them. For example, even though your intelligence was twelve points previously, you couldn't learn Wisdom Technique due to your low level, and without mastering Wisdom Technique, you couldn't learn Divine Magic." The system explained.
"Can I learn Wisdom Technique now? How do I learn it?" Linley asked.
"You can try to comprehend it on your own, or complete more missions and draw prizes." The system replied.
Linley felt that comprehension was too abstract, and completing more missions to draw prizes seemed more reliable.
He continued to examine the box and found a card inside with a person drinking printed on it, and two large characters on the card: Frenzy. He picked up the card, and a prompt sounded in his mind: The Frenzy skill is now yours.
This skill allows your subordinates or believers to enter a state of frenzy after drinking potent alcohol, greatly increasing their strength. The exact increase varies from person to person, but it will at least increase by one hundred percent. They will also gain extraordinary courage, resist the majority of psychic spells, be immune to fear, and will not lose combat effectiveness due to pain or fatigue.
However, after the frenzy state ends, they will enter a state of weakness. The duration of this weakness also varies from person to person. If their physical condition is good, they may only be weak for a few minutes, otherwise it may last for several hours, or even an entire day.
It turned out that Dionysus' believers could also enter a similar state after drinking potent alcohol, but the effect was far inferior to the Frenzy skill. Alcohol can numb the nerves, making people fearless of pain, and their strength will also increase, but it will never double, and they won't be immune to psychic spells.
There were also twenty grape shots in the box. They could make enemies enter a state of intoxication after being hit, which was very useful. The battle had been intense just now, and Linley had run out of grape shots, so this replenishment relieved him.
The system prompted, "That slingshot can use various types of ammunition. You can explore further and see what else can be used as projectiles. You actually have something very suitable to use as projectiles in your hand."
"What is it?" Linley asked.
"You need to explore this yourself." The system replied.
What could it be? Linley searched himself, but there didn't seem to be anything special.
"I feel like you've become more humane, not as cold as before." Linley flattered the system.
"That's because your level and your divine power have increased." The system explained, "When you first became a god, the divine power in your body was limited, and it could only support me in running the most basic programs, naturally there was no emotion."
"Then hurry up and tell me how to level up quickly, so I can increase my level, and you can run more programs." Linley finally spoke his mind.