"Even though Dionysus has returned, will the Romans easily give up? It's said he's not known for his fighting prowess. What will we do if the Roman fleet attacks again?"
"What else can we do? Hide."
"Actually, I believe in Poseidon..."
"Don't be foolish, it's not worth it."
"I've said it before, the Olympian Gods are not so easily defeated. It's still unclear who will win, the Holiness or Olympus!"
"What about Odin? Isn't he invincible? Why doesn't he show up?"
"I heard the Pantheon was destroyed, and all the Olympian Gods were seriously injured. They barely escaped with their lives. Even Dionysus was replaced."
"But the Holiness isn't a good person either. As soon as they arrived, they demanded a tenth of our property, and if we don't give it to them, we can't go to heaven. Actually, I don't want to go to their heaven. I've heard there's nothing there."
"My friend, there's everything you could ever want in heaven."
"You're a believer of the Holiness, aren't you? There's a believer of the Holiness here!"
"You killed my father!"
"My uncle was killed by the Holiness!"
"My mother believes in Hera!"
"You confiscated all the statues from my house! My family has been making statues for centuries!"
The crowd erupted in anger. The believer of the Holiness was dragged out and beaten. Before Linley and the others arrived, he had been beaten to death. The bloody scene aroused the anger of the crowd. Suddenly, someone shouted, "The money in the temple was our donations! The Holiness took it all and didn't leave us anything!"
Hearing this, the crowd boiled. Countless people shouted, "That's our money!"
"We need to get it back!"
"They have seized the land that belonged to the temple!"
"They have driven away all our slaves!"
They became more and more excited. Immediately, someone pulled out their weapon and rushed towards different places. Some went to the church, some went to the warehouse, and some directly started killing.
The Greeks have worshipped the Olympian Gods for thousands of years, and their temples and shrines are deeply ingrained in their lives, playing vital roles in society. For example, Dionysus' temple served as a tavern, where offerings to the god could be exchanged for fine wine. The priests of Dionysus provided guidance to vineyards on how to make better wine.
The temple of Ares offered martial arts instruction, free weapon maintenance, and even mercenary services. Sailors would offer gifts to Poseidon's temple in exchange for nautical charts, guidance on avoiding storms, and even the aid of sea creatures when lost.
Holiness's ascension to power immediately abolished all temples and shrines, rendering all previous investments and offerings worthless. This situation was akin to a game where a player spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to acquire powerful characters and equipment, only to have them rendered obsolete by a new version update. Naturally, the players would be furious, even wanting to storm the game company's entrance to demand an explanation.
However, this was not a game, but the real world. Faced with the powerful Roman forces, the people had nowhere to escape, and no one dared to protest. But just then, Dionysus suddenly reappeared, and the other Romans vanished without a trace, creating a golden opportunity for revenge.
"This family are all Holiness!"
"They betrayed us to the Romans!"
"No, we're not Holiness..."
"We are Holiness! What do you want?"
"Do you want to die?"
"Isn't this the temple rug! They brought it back!"
"This is the temple candle, and the temple's golden mask! They took it all home!"
"This is a reward Holiness will give us, it's all legal!"
"Legal? This is blatant robbery!"
"My God, it's the slaves from the Temple of the Sun, they killed the slaves! And they're hiding them in their house, what are you trying to do?"
"No, he was just injured and couldn't be saved..."
"They're eating people! Holiness is eating people!"
"I knew something was wrong with them, I didn't expect them to be cannibalistic. My God, all those missing people recently, they must have been eaten by Holiness, right?"
"Definitely! Holiness said no more human sacrifices, but they were secretly eating people all along!"
"Burn this place down, burn everything!"
What began as robbery quickly escalated into arson and murder. Flames engulfed Andros Island, spreading from the port to the interior. Holiness, having cultivated its influence for a long time, had a significant following amongst the populace, with many who were dissatisfied with the Olympian gods secretly joining Holiness and becoming its covert followers.
The Roman army issued an order for everyone to convert to Holiness. These secret followers emerged from the shadows, some guiding the Romans to capture people, some surveilling priests and messengers, some cataloging temple assets, and some helping to renovate temples, all brimming with confidence and arrogance.
However, Dionysus returned with his army, albeit small in number, but he did return. These newly wealthy Holiness followers quickly became targets and were promptly killed.
The Roman governor was captured, and Andros Island fell into complete disarray. The already precarious situation became even more chaotic. Although these secret followers had money, they lacked sufficient force and were burdened with a trail of hatred, making them the first to be sacrificed.
The fire intensified, consuming ever more territory, the entire island ablaze with flames and smoke. Linley was utterly bewildered, unable to comprehend what had transpired. He had done nothing, yet the situation had suddenly descended into chaos.
There was no time to stop. Linley lacked the manpower to restore order in the city, so he pressed onward towards the prison.
Upon reaching the prison gates, he found them shut tight, with at least two to three hundred soldiers stationed inside. Linley was startled, realizing the enemy still had significant numbers.
In an open field battle, Linley wouldn't fear them. He could simply rage and charge, and he should be able to prevail. But the prison was a fortress, and once the gates were closed, it would be difficult to break in. Moreover, among these soldiers were numerous javelin throwers, as ranged units, if Linley were to charge recklessly, he would lose a significant number of his men before even reaching the walls.
"My lord," a burly man approached Linley, "I am Empton Bach, president of the local Chamber of Commerce, and a devoted follower of Hermes.