When Linley heard the system prompt sound and realized that he had completed the main quest of taming goats as mounts, he immediately entered the divine realm. There, a series of rewards awaited him, including a set of custom-made saddles for white goats and a set of beast-taming skill cards that could be used to tame goats on the island of Dionysus using wine and salt.
Linley could not only master these skills himself but also pass them on to his followers. Once he learned how to tame goats, his followers could also tame goats as mounts in battle.
However, the scope of this skill seemed to be limited to goats on the island of Dionysus. If there were more followers in the future, there might not be enough goats for everyone.
Well, there was no need to think about it so far ahead. There were only a thousand or so followers on the island, while there were thousands of goats, so each follower could tame two or three goats, which was enough.
Just as Linley was pondering, the system suddenly interrupted his thoughts. "Actually…" the system's words trailed off.
"What?" Linley asked curiously.
"I want told you to tame creatures from the sea, like sharks or dolphins," the system explained.
"Ah?" Linley was a little confused, but after thinking about it, he realized that it made sense. The island of Dionysus was located in the ocean, and if he could tame dolphins as mounts, he could attack from the sea and no longer have to worry about the threat of the Roman fleet.
"Can I change it now?" Linley asked.
"Of course not," the system replied. "There's only so much divine power unlocked. You chose goats, so you can't choose anything else. You'll have to wait until you level up and unlock more power before you can choose other skills. But you need to learn so many skills, you might not be able to level up your beast-taming skills anytime soon. Actually, it might not be a bad thing. Dolphins and sharks can't come ashore, but goats can."
Linley thought for a moment and felt that he might choose sea dogs, sea lions, or walruses. These creatures could swim in the water and also move on land. However, imagining himself riding a sea dog, roaring through the waves, then climbing ashore only to hop around, he found it too ridiculous. It would be better to have a dolphin.
He then thought about taming a polar bear. Polar bears could swim dozens of kilometers in the sea and would be enough for naval battles. On land, they were invincible. However, this was the Mediterranean, there were no polar bears. He would have to go through Slavic territory to find one.
As for dolphins and sharks, they each had their own weaknesses. Linley's followers couldn't breathe underwater, and even if they rode dolphins or sharks, they wouldn't be able to stay underwater for long. The limitations were too great, it would be better to have goats.
At least goats were useful on the island of Dionysus. In naval battles, two ships would come together and the goat cavalry could charge. The narrow and slippery environment of ships was not suitable for horses, but it was for goats. Goats were good at moving through narrow rock crevices, and their hooves could grip the deck tightly, preventing them from falling into the sea.
Linley sat on his throne and sent his newly acquired skills to all of his followers. He told them, "My followers, you can now tame goats as mounts using wine and salt. Try to choose larger goats."
The followers immediately erupted in excitement. They took the salt and set out to find goats. Although both wine and salt could be used to tame goats, there was plenty of salt on the island, while wine was a rare commodity. Even people didn't have enough to drink, let alone give it to goats.
In a short period of time, people successfully tamed hundreds of goats. Although these goats were relatively small, riding them looked rather comical. More people ran towards the hills, driving the goats to run around. They were all eager to try out their new skills.
Humans have far greater endurance than most animals, capable of running for hours, even completing marathons—something most animals find difficult. While goats are fast runners, they cannot run for long periods of time, eventually collapsing due to overheating and inability to dissipate heat.
At this point, people could capture the exhausted goats, feed them and add salt, making them suitable for taming and domesticating as mounts.
After leaving the Divine Realm, Linley placed a saddle on a white goat and rode it to patrol the island.
The believers cheered, as the goats made many tasks easier—at least it was no longer so tiring to transport goods. Sadly, the believers did not have saddles, so riding goats could only be done at a slow pace, as riding fast could easily lead to a fall.
Riding a goat requires riding skills, which cannot be learned overnight but only through gradual adaptation. Linley himself did not know how to ride, he just couldn't fall because of his strong physique..
After a while, he discovered that the saddle design was flawed. The saddle was secured to the goat with straps, offering stability but no leverage, as the feet had nowhere to go but dangle naturally on either side of the goat.
Linley had ridden horses in his past life, at a park with old horses. It cost thirty for a lap, two laps for the price of one. At the time, he was not in control himself, but led by a keeper, yet even so, he felt more control.
This was because of the stirrups on the horse saddle. Stirrups are semi-circular metal loops that hold the feet, providing support and stability for the rider. Stirrups were first invented in China during the Three Kingdoms and Western Jin Dynasties, possibly by nomadic peoples.
Before the invention of stirrups, cavalry around the world could only hold on to the horse's belly with their legs, making them prone to falls with any bumps. As a result, they mostly shot arrows while mounted, becoming mounted archers, or rode for mobility, dismounting to fight, becoming mounted troops. Only a select few elite cavalry could fight with weapons on horseback, becoming true cavalry.
With stirrups, cavalry could stand in them, offering greater stability and preventing them from being thrown off, allowing them to charge infantry formations with spears or fight with swords.
The Romans did not have stirrups, so their cavalry was inferior to their infantry in direct combat. The Roman legions were primarily infantry, with cavalry serving only auxiliary roles such as harassment.
During the Dark Ages, stirrups became widespread, significantly increasing the effectiveness of cavalry, making them the main force in battles, while infantry became auxiliary.
However, Linley's use of stirrups faced a big problem.