Within a mere ten minutes, Linley had already stepped into the Governor's bedroom. The Governor, named Goliath, was a burly man with a well-defined physique, surrounded by seven or eight beautiful but terrified maidservants, the guards squeezed out.
"Who is it!" Goliath shouted, "Who is rebelling? Don't you fear being beheaded?"
"Goliath!" Andre roared back, naturally not fearing being beheaded, for the Romans intended to throw him to the sharks anyway. "You believe in Holy Faith, why do you kill us?"
"You worship false gods, false..." Goliath retorted.
Linley stepped forward and asked, "Am I false?"
Goliath looked at Linley, his breath caught in his throat by his divine power, he could only stammer through a prayer, reciting a few lines before he faltered, only to start over.
Linley thought for a moment, and said, "Actually, you are also a convert."
Goliath was startled, asking, "How do you know? You, you are..."
"I am Dionysus." Linley answered.
Goliath could sense Linley's truthfulness, confirming him as a god. While Dionysus's influence was not widespread, Linley had no reason to feign his identity. So Goliath believed the identity of the god before him, which made it even harder for him to breathe.
"Dionysus... My lord." Goliath's anger choked his words. "How do you know I converted?"
Linley smiled and said nothing. The name Goliath, was not a good name in the scriptures of Holy Faith. David's victory over Goliath was a famous chapter in the scriptures, those who read the scriptures and believed in Holiness would never name their child Goliath.
Goliath was a giant in legend, a leader of the non-believers, leading his army to invade Israel, only to be killed by a stone thrown by David, the invasion also ended in failure. David later became the King of Israel, his deeds were recorded in the scriptures, and became widely known as Holiness spread.
Originally in the Middle East, Goliath was a common name, but after the rise of Holiness, the name quickly disappeared. Those who believed in Holiness would not take this name, and those who did not believe would also avoid it.
"Since Rome wants to ban the worship of the Olympian gods, forcing everyone to convert to Holiness, you are just carrying out your duty, and I won't blame you. But why are you killing people indiscriminately?" Linley asked.
"It's not me who is killing, it's the orders of the Senate. To make all Greeks convert as soon as possible, get rid of all the non-believing priests, and if they refuse to surrender, kill them immediately. Even if they are willing to surrender, they must be carefully scrutinized, to see if they are truly surrendering or pretending. There were many non-believers who pretended to surrender, but actually still held on to their pagan beliefs and secretly worshipped false gods." Goliath explained.
Therefore, those below, in order to avoid trouble, simply killed all the priests of the Olympian gods to eliminate any potential threat. Like the priests of Dionysus, the original Dionysus was already dead, Linley was the newly ascended god, how many priests would rather die than maintain their loyalty to Dionysus? There might be some, but the number would definitely not be too many.
No matter what god or religion people believe in, the majority are superficial believers, with few true believers. Among true believers, even fewer can disregard their wives and children and wholeheartedly resist the Roman Empire.
The rise of Holiness was not accidental but the result of a confluence of factors, including the right time, place, and people. In contrast, the followers of Dionysus, often characterized as drunkards, lacked the fighting prowess of Holiness's adherents. In the face of persecution, few would likely remain loyal to Dionysus's faith.
Take the Dionysian temple in Athens as an example. Were the priests and disciples there truly loyal? In fact, Odysseus had considered surrendering, but was rejected by an envoy of Holiness.
"What did you believe in before?" Linley asked.
"I worshipped the Bull," Goliath replied, but immediately realized he had said the wrong thing and hastily corrected himself, "I mean, my parents worshipped the Bull. I was a child and followed their worship, but later my parents converted to the Divine One, and I followed them... I mean, I found true faith, I understood that only Holiness is the true God in the world."
"If you had to kill your parents who worshipped the Bull, would you be able to do it?" Linley continued to ask.
"They've already converted," Goliath answered.
"What if they hadn't converted?" Linley pressed.
"That wouldn't happen, it definitely wouldn't..." A fine layer of sweat appeared on Goliath's forehead.
Goliath was likely quite old when he converted, otherwise his name would have been changed. He wouldn't have continued to be called after the name of the pagan who was killed by stones by the greatest king of Israel. He still remembers the past and his old faith, even if others couldn't tell, he himself wouldn't forget.
"Surrender," said Linley, "I won't kill you."
"This... I'm the governor, I can't surrender... If I surrender..." Goliath stammered.
"If you die, you'll have nothing left," Linley said calmly.
All eyes were on Goliath. He looked at his guards, then at the beautiful maids around him, and finally nodded, saying, "I surrender."
The guards breathed a sigh of relief and dropped their swords and shields.
Linley had Nemo capture Goliath. He lowered the flag of the governor's mansion and replaced it with a white cloth, painted with a vine, and hung it on the highest flagpole. Then he rang the mansion's bell to announce to everyone that Dionysus was still there, and the Greek gods had returned.
"What about the priests of the other Greek gods?" Linley asked.
"Some have been killed, some were taken to Rome by the fleet, and the rest are locked in the cells," Goliath replied.
"Take me to the cells," Linley commanded.
The cells were not in the governor's mansion, but next to the residential area at the foot of the mountain. Linley led his men down in a grand procession. Many residents had already come out to watch. They wore a variety of expressions on their faces, some surprised, some fearful, some ecstatic.
"That's Andre! Dionysus, it's Dionysus's troops!"
"I can't believe it's Dionysus. I thought it was Zeus or Poseidon, or Athena, or Ares, but who knew it would be Dionysus."
"Maybe Zeus and the others went to more important cities."
"I told you, the Romans suddenly went to war, something was bound to happen. They like to believe whatever they want, why do they have to force us to convert?"
"I hear Holiness is very powerful, but he's stumbled here."