Sneak in quietly, take out the target, and make a swift getaway—sounds like a classic assassination, right? It's definitely heart-pounding.
Linley can't make a move while the Cardinal is at sea; he has to wait until they dock. The Cardinal will definitely get off to rest and won't stay on the ship. That's when Linley plans to assassinate the Cardinal and rescue Pandora during the chaos.
Once the Cardinal is out of the picture, the enemy will be much easier to handle. Linley can use guerrilla tactics, burning one ship today and another tomorrow. In less than a year, he could destroy all two hundred ships.
Earlier, when Linley was underwater, the Cardinal didn't make a move; the priests alone couldn't touch him. They couldn't stay underwater for long and had to come up every few minutes to breathe.
The big question now is, where will the Roman fleet stop to rest? They're a bit far from Crete, but Crete is probably where they'll stop. Such a large fleet would be hard to fit anywhere but the port of Crete.
Right then, Linley faintly heard "Roman fleet"—it was the prayers of his followers. He was startled. Had the fleet been caught by the Romans, or had Dionysus Island been discovered? His followers were mainly concentrated in these two places.
Linley immediately sat up straight, concentrating on the prayers of his followers. There was nothing unusual in the prayers from Dionysus Island; the fleet hadn't returned yet. Most of the island's followers were busy, with only a few praying quietly for the fleet's safe return.
The fleet was still drifting at sea, off course, in deep waters with no navigational markers. Even though they kept praying, no one had sent out a distress signal.
The follower calling out about the Roman fleet was from Andros Island. Linley's efforts on Andros Island had greatly increased the number of followers. These followers were emotionally charged; some were scared, some excited, and some hesitant.
"So many Romans!"
"Save us, save us..."
"Will we be caught?"
"We are followers of Dionysus, what should we do?"
"Please save us!"
A large number of Romans? Could the fleet have gone to Andros Island? There was indeed a sizable port there, with an existing Roman fleet stationed, but accommodating two hundred ships would be quite difficult and very crowded.
Why would the Roman fleet choose Andros Island instead of the more suitable Crete? However, this is good news for Linley. He had almost no foundation on Crete, as nearly all his followers had boarded the ships.
The situation on Andros Island was different. Many people there believed in Linley; some had gone to Dionysus Island, but many remained on Andros Island. Although their faith might not be firm, they could still be utilized.
Linley pondered for a moment and directly contacted a follower working at the port, "Did you see the Roman fleet?"
"Lord Dionysus!" the follower responded in surprise, then became excited, "Did you hear my prayers?"
"I have always been listening," Linley replied.
The follower said, "I saw with my own eyes a huge Roman fleet, at least a hundred ships, cramming the military and commercial docks. They even pushed the stationed Roman fleet out of the port, forcing them to patrol at sea."
A fleet of two hundred ships would definitely fill up the whole port, but forcing the original Roman fleet to leave was really surprising. This could be an opportunity we can use.
The follower went on, "Some of the new Roman fleet's ships are damaged and being fixed. Most should be ready in two to three days, except for one with a big hole in the bottom, which might take over ten days to repair."
That must be the hole Linley bit. If it weren't for the Cardinal, Linley would have bitten through the entire bottom, making the ship leak and sink. Facing Linley's underwater attacks, the Roman fleet, no matter how big, had to rush to the nearest port to avoid being wiped out. With the low-tech level back then, people were almost helpless against underwater threats.
Linley asked, "They need supplies, don't they? Can Andros Island provide enough?"
The follower sighed, "Of course not. They've taken all the food, vegetables, and fruits from the market. We're surviving on coarse grains and wild veggies. The island's farms are occupied by Roman soldiers, who took all the stored grain. Anyone who resists is labeled a follower of Dionysus, their property confiscated, and they are enslaved. Even the wells are guarded by Roman soldiers, and the water goes to their ships. We have to drink river water."
Well water is usually cleaner and drinkable without boiling, but river water is different. It has all sorts of pollutants, especially with people upstream dumping sewage and waste into it. Drinking it can make you sick, so it has to be boiled first.
This time, the Roman fleet is huge, and they need a lot of supplies, even water. Linley wondered, why didn't they go to Crete? Could they already know the location of Dionysus Island, thus choosing the closer Andros Island?
The follower continued, "All the wine on our island has also been requisitioned. I still have twenty jars of wine here, already sealed, and I have to move them onto the ships without receiving a single copper coin! But they don't know I can drill a hole in the side of the jar... Sir, I am trying to get poison from the pharmacy. Once I have the poison, I'll add it to the wine, surely poisoning a few of them."
Linley quickly stopped him, "Don't poison them, stay hidden, and don't get discovered."
The follower's voice choked with sobs, "Recently, I bought a large batch of grapes when the price was low, spending all my savings and borrowing a lot of money. This batch of grapes has been confiscated by the Romans. I can only perish with them!"
The recent low prices refer to Linley's rampage on Andros Island, causing many farm owners to rush to sell their produce at low prices, fearing it would go unsold. Their fears came true; once Linley left, an even fiercer Roman fleet arrived. Linley was at least willing to write IOUs, but the Romans directly requisitioned everything.