"They are non-humans, and the bishop claims all non-humans should die," a Roman soldier said coldly.
"Even though they are non-humans, they have lived on Crete for many years," Bell retorted.
"All non-humans must be exterminated, including centaurs, minotaurs, dragons, mermaids, and elves," the Roman soldier continued unwaveringly. "Only humans were created by the true god Holiness. The rest of the creatures were either made by demons or are the result of human corruption; there is no place for them in this world. Minotaurs are the offspring of Poseidon and the Queen of Crete, and they should not exist in this world."
Bell responded calmly, "That's just a myth."
"The bishop says it's true," he insisted.
Although Bell hesitated, he still tried to say, "Even if it's true, they've survived for so long. Why must the minotaurs be exterminated? They've always lived quietly on Crete and never caused any trouble."
"That's their original sin," the Roman soldier said coldly. "They were born without Holiness's permission, so they must disappear!"
Linley interjected, "According to Holiness's scriptures, everyone has original sin. So why don't you go die?"
The Roman soldier replied disdainfully, "Our sins have been redeemed by the Son of God. We are now sinless, and as long as we believe in Holiness, we can ascend to heaven after death. But you non-humans have long been burdened with heavy sins, and after death, you will surely fall into hell and suffer eternally!"
Linley sneered, "You'd better worry about yourself first. How many of you are here? How many minotaurs are you guarding?"
The Roman soldier chose to remain silent, but Linley gave Bavaria a gesture, and Bavaria immediately decapitated one of the Roman soldiers. Linley pointed the angelic sword at another soldier, who finally yielded in fear.
"There are about five hundred of us here, guarding over two hundred minotaurs," the soldier said trembling.
Bell asked in confusion, "Why so few? There should be thousands of minotaurs, right?"
The Roman soldier explained, "Most of the minotaurs have been transported to the Roman Colosseum. These are the leftovers."
Bell was shocked, "The Colosseum... they're doomed!"
The Roman soldier shook his head, "No, minotaurs are very valuable, they won't be killed easily."
Bell cursed angrily, "You are damned!"
Linley glanced at Bell, and Bell sighed, explaining, "When I was young, there was a minotaur servant in my family. My parents were busy with work, and he raised me, taught me to bathe, dress, and cook. Later, when I was twelve, he died of old age and left me all his savings. I felt I couldn't take his money for nothing, so I searched for his relatives and finally found some distant relatives and gave them half of the money."
To the people of Crete, minotaurs are just country folks with a peculiar appearance. Although they wouldn't intermarry, there was no other discrimination. They had lived peacefully on Crete for thousands of years, but suddenly the Romans wanted to kill all the minotaurs.
"We are just carrying out Holiness's will," the Roman soldier said.
Linley ordered his men to guard the captured Roman soldiers while he went ahead alone to scout the situation. There was a farmhouse ahead, with Roman soldiers coming and going, and the sound of laughter and merriment constantly echoing out.
Normally, at this time, the soldiers should be resting, with only sentries on duty. However, so many people were still awake, either celebrating or due to lax discipline. Clearly, this was not a time for celebration, so it was probably because of lax discipline.
Linley had brought about fifty or sixty men, while the enemy numbered five hundred. Although they could consider getting drunk to launch a frenzied assault, the disparity in numbers made the risk extremely high. If they got into a stalemate, the Roman soldiers would quickly regroup and counterattack, making it nearly impossible for a few dozen men to win.
Back on the Roman warship, Linley led a raid with over a hundred men. Although they initially had the upper hand, the Roman soldiers quickly retreated, regrouped, and prepared to counterattack. If Linley hadn't possessed the ruby, the outcome would have been uncertain.
Now, he had no such advantage. The Mermaid's Tears, though powerful, were not a large-scale weapon, and the odds of defeating over five hundred enemies were slim. Therefore, seeking allies seemed like the best strategy.
"Where are the minotaurs?" Linley stepped back and asked.
"In the cattle pen behind the farmhouse," a Roman soldier replied.
Linley freed the minotaur children and asked, "What are your names?"
The minotaur children looked at Linley in terror but said nothing.
Linley took a bunch of grapes from his pocket and handed them to the tallest minotaur child, saying, "I'm a good guy, don't be afraid."
"All you humans are bad people!" the minotaur child said. "We were living fine, then you suddenly captured us. We have no food or clothes and have to work hard."
"That's because of Holiness," Bell explained. "We people of Crete have lived with you minotaurs for thousands of years in peace. Even after the Romans came over a hundred years ago, there was no trouble. It was only after Holiness rose to power that you were captured."
"I don't understand these complicated things. I only know that you humans captured us!" the minotaur child said.
"You must be very worried about your parents being missing. Why don't you take us to see them?" Linley said.
"What parents?" the minotaur child was puzzled.
"Your mom and dad!" Linley explained.
"Mom and dad are just mom and dad, what's with 'parents'?" the minotaur child said discontentedly.
Their intelligence was indeed a bit low. Linley continued to patiently persuade, "Your mom and dad won't be wrong. We'll take you to see them first, and you just need to listen to them."
"Well... okay," the minotaur child finally relented.
When talking to these minotaur children, the language had to be simple and clear. Complex sentences and words would be incomprehensible to them.
Linley led the minotaur children, bypassed the sentries, and arrived at the cattle pen behind the farmhouse.