Mythology: Spiritual Ruler

Riding the sea breeze, on a clear morning, the ships docked around the naval port left the coast one after another.

Thousands of warships were densely packed in the sea, and each ship had hundreds of soldiers.

Supply, patrol, escort... almost all of them moved, leaving no spare energy.

Along a simple and straight line, the Athenian navy went straight all the way.

According to the current progress, it would normally take more than a month to reach the expected location, but it only took half a month to approach the target location.

After all, there is no need for pre-reconnaissance, no need to guard against enemy sneak attacks, and no need to move forward on a more suitable channel.

Then the straight line between two points is the shortest, and the extra time originally spent is naturally saved.

However, despite the rapid advance, the entire fleet was not happy.

On the contrary, from top to bottom, the entire army was filled with a somewhat pessimistic mood.

Because during the voyage for more than half a month, any soldier with a little common sense realized that something was wrong.

After all, sailing in a straight line on an unfamiliar route like this was something they had never encountered before.

For a time, all kinds of rumors spread among the middle and lower levels of the fleet.

No one likes a leader who is airborne, and what they dislike even more is a leader who is airborne and commands without regard for the facts.

These two will be further magnified in the military. When it comes to matters involving their own lives, no one wants their lives to be treated as a joke of trial and error.

However, no matter how the public opinion spreads, as the core of the discussion, Ryan has never made any response.

…

Dongdongdong——

Rhythmic knocks sounded outside the door of the flagship command room.

Without raising his head, Ryan said lightly:

"The door is not locked, please come in."

Squeak——

The door opened in response, and a middle-aged general in military uniform walked in.

Looking at Ryan who was writing and drawing something at the table, Kemon's expression was a bit complicated.

"Sir Ivan, I came here today to clarify something with you."

"I didn't spread the rumors within the fleet."

"Although I have reservations about your choice, no matter what, as long as you are still the commander trusted by His Majesty, I will never use such despicable means to attack you."

The voice was sonorous and powerful, and the general's tone was very sincere.

But if it were someone else, it would still be difficult to believe what he said.

After all, suspicion always exists, especially for a commander who temporarily takes over the army.

But Ryan can be sure that what the other party said is true.

"I know, General Kemon, I believe in your character."

"Then do you have anything else to say?"

"..."

After a slight silence, the middle-aged general did not expect Ryan's answer to be so straightforward.

He didn't know if Ryan really believed it, but he could only treat it as such now.

"Besides that, I apologize to you for some of the doubts I raised before."

"It turns out that although this is an unverified route, and storms and huge waves are often recorded, we did come all the way safely."

"Excluding unexpected factors, at least your meteorological attainments are beyond my expectations."

"We successfully approached the target location you set in advance. This is a mistake in my judgment - but for the other parts, we still need to face it."

"For example, now we don't know where the enemy's main force is, and once we reach the opponent's territorial waters first, our existence will be exposed to others."

According to the various plans that Kemon had made before, Athens' best response is mostly to face the incoming enemy in the sea area it is familiar with.

Only by taking advantage of the geographical advantages and information differences can it be possible to block the harassment of the maritime countries.

But now with Ryan's order, the entire fleet directly drove straight in, from the route that was not suitable for ships to sail directly into the enemy's hinterland, and the situation was completely reversed.

Using one's own shortcomings to attack the enemy's strengths, this was also the biggest factor that Kemon opposed before.

"General, these things are not for you to consider."

"According to my judgment, when we arrive, the main force of the enemy will appear there."

"And what you need to do is to execute my orders at that time."

Lian spoke lightly, his expression calm and self-assured.

For a moment, Kemon was not sure whether he was really too ignorant to see the slightest clue of how Ryan came to the conclusion.

"It's a coincidence, General Kemon, I had something to talk to you about today."

"I want to make a simple change to our military's communication system."

"The specific change method is here, please remember it."

Rian pushed what he was just writing to the other side with a push of his hand.

Kemong took it and looked at it carefully.

Thanks to the trade with Silver Moon City, the fleets in the classical era have established a very advanced communication method, and no longer need to use flags to communicate with each other.

However, as he browsed through what Ryan had written bit by bit, Kemon's face changed again.

"Is this... a new order?"

"Yes, this will help you to quickly receive my orders."

"I have numbered each warship, so that when my orders are issued, you can respond more quickly."

"But..."

Try to organize your words, Kemon took a deep breath.

"Aren't these new instructions a bit too 'detailed'?"

"Isn't this good?"

Lian looked up slightly, as if a little surprised.

"This is not a question of good or bad... I mean, as the commander of the fleet, you don't really need to care about how many angles a ship deflects, or how fast it moves and how long it moves."

"In fact, you only need to give the formation or the timing of the attack, as for these-"

"General Kemon, this is a necessary preparation to annihilate the enemy."

"As for why you have to do this, you may not understand, but you just need to know how to execute it."

"This shouldn't be difficult, am I right?"

"..."

Bang--

After a long silence, the conversation ended.

With a heavy sound of the door closing, the middle-aged general left the command room.

Just by looking at this document, he could guess what this commander who came from afar would do.

However, Ryan noticed that although he did not hide his anger, the other party finally took away his corrected instructions.

Obviously, Kemon is not a person who will let personal feelings affect his work.

No matter what, he will execute the orders of his superiors.

"... It's normal not to understand. After all, this is not something that normal people can do."

"So, Lord Nereus, you should be able to ensure the success of our trip, right?"

Ryan shook his head slightly and didn't care about this little thing.

He just took a conch from the table, which was a token given to him by the sea god.

Through it, they can communicate directly to convey Ryan's request.

"Of course."

"When it comes to issues involving Poseidon, I may only be able to help you as much as possible."

"But in this war on earth, on the sea, I can assure you."

"No matter how you fight, Athens will win."

The voice came from the conch, and Nereus' tone was a little admiring.

It's not pretending. In fact, the old man of the sea really feels that he has learned something new.

"Speaking of which, forgive me for being frank. Before today, I was worried that if this victory was too fake, someone would find out some flaws."

"But now seeing what you did today, it really opened my eyes and I no longer have any doubts."

"Although I don't understand wars in the world, it is possible that you can describe the trend of war in such detail. I think it must be a famous general who can do it."

"In this way, even if you really defeat the enemy, no one will doubt the success of the Athenians."

"Well... you are right, that's right."

At the table, after a moment of silence, Ryan nodded slightly.

It is indeed the case. If you don't win something like micro-manipulation, you are a master of micro-manipulation.

But if you win, it is the master who is micro-manipulating.

And no matter who it is, as long as they see the replay of this battle in the future.

Facing the result of victory, they can only use their wisdom to try to understand Ryan's thinking.

They would try their best to imagine how he could accurately judge every move of the enemy in advance, and then sigh at the mystery, and no one dared to say that it was luck or any other reason.

People always judge heroes by results.

"Okay, since His Majesty the Sea God can guarantee it, I will wait for good news."

"We will arrive at the center of the sea off Pylos in the evening three days later."

Speaking calmly, Ryan immediately extinguished the power lingering on the conch.

The Kingdom of Pylos is one of the largest cities that believe in Poseidon.

And if you want to attract him out, this kingdom is the most direct target of attack.

So the scheduled battlefield is just next to him.

······

In a blink of an eye, three days passed quickly.

Standing on the bow of the flagship, holding an alchemical mirror in his hand.

Ryan seemed to be watching the movement in the distance.

Beside him, General Kemon did not say a word, but just stood there with a cold face.

Three days later, the so-called new communication instructions had been passed down, and even the fleet had several rehearsals.

The test was not over until every ship that received the order was able to obey the order.

However, as long as the middle-aged general thought about the content of the test, he could not hide his anger.

"This is a war related to the safety of Athens, not a joke on paper."

"Goddess, may your power protect me..."

Praying silently, just like many crew members at this moment.

For the Athenians, praying to their victorious god before the war is a must for everyone.