The closer they got to the shores, the more stern Ratum's face turned.

He called his Holy Generals one last time and had them leap from ship to ship to get to him.

And when everyone was gathered, Ratum brought out a massive, well-drawn map and stomped it hard on the wooden table.

~Bam!

"Everyone! These savages had no chance against us.

According to my calculations, we should already outnumber them with our sheer numbers alone.

Additionally, our fighting moves are better than theirs!"

Everyone listened and nodded in agreement.

This battle should indeed be easy, with almost no casualties.

The casualties might only come because they just realized that these barbarians actually had black powder.

Heh. Not bad. 

At least they weren't total savages.

But without a doubt, the number of black powder they have should be nowhere near theirs.

Everyone had a slight smile on their faces as they could already smell victory at its finest!

Ratum looked at their confident expressions and felt pleased.

Yes! When heading into battle, attitude could also play a major part in winning the war.

The more confident one was, the fewer mistakes they would make.

But if one always second-guessed themselves during battle, they would keep hesitating to make moves.

And in that split second of hesitation, the enemy might've already taken them down in a flash.

Seeing that his Holy Generals didn't take the emergence of black powder amongst these savages seriously, Ratum nodded in satisfaction.

.

"My Holy Generals!

It has been preordained that we, the followers of Adonis, shall cover the entire world, bringing all these non-believers towards the light... Even if we have to force them to bend to Adonis' will.

We fight to better the world and make these heathens understand how I'm blessed their lives are without Adonis!

Yes! We will put women in their places and place men at their higher ranks too.

We will stop disorderliness and make slaves out of those who dare reject Adonis, for he is the only light in this world.

Thus, because our success is predestined, no one will be able to stop us from making our mark in Pyno.

So victory should only be a few breaths away.

That said, I command you all to end the entire battle fast!"

"YES, his Holy Kardinal. We shall do as you have said." They tried in unison while on bended knees with their right hand over their chests and their heads slightly bowed.

They listened to Ratum's words and felt even more determined to fight for this right cause.

Just like the medieval Religious Crusaders back on earth, they decided to force everyone to follow their religion, be it willingly or by force.

That's right.

They would burn, crucify, hang, kill or torture anyone who dared to go against Adonis or even say Blasphemous words against Adonis.

If one person said it, then they and their entire household would be put to death at once.

As they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the trees.

So if someone in that household thought like that, then the entire household might've also had such thoughts before, even if they weren't that verbal about it.

And even the babies would be executed too, since they had been intoxicated with blasphemy all day and night since their birth.

Their rules were clear. Follow Adonis, and one would live.

Of course, women who followed Adonis weren't allowed to think or do a 'Man's job.'

Yes.

They could know the basic poetry, and even if they were illiterate, some prayers would be taught to them word for word, as if singing a nursery rhyme.

And those who didn't master them would also be punished for not getting closer to Adonis.

Again, all women who refused to give their husbands male children would be taken away to be 'corrected' until they birthed a boy.

In short, there were so many rules that 'Adonis' wanted them to follow.

As for the men, they could continue their everyday lives, but unless they were full Adonis warriors, they would always give 40% of their wealth or salaries to Adonis constantly.

The army and all the rest, all fed through the money gotten from the people.

But the superiors with all the loads of wealth only gave out money to those who performed Adonis' tasks exceptionally well.

Everyone had a smile as they thought of how much they would conquer in the name of Adonis.

Yes. They were proud to work for Adonis!

.

With everyone still on bended knee, Ratum opened a drawer on the side and took out several items from it.

They were sparkling rings that looked like wedding bands, single yet sparkly.

And within each band were symbols in them too.

"These are the Rings of Andorus that had been personally passed on from the Supreme Leader, allowing you all to call upon Adonis power while in battle!"

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Everyone's body quivered with excitement when they heard of the Rings.

Lying trough! Just how lucky were they to actually be bestowed these heavenly rings?

They heard that one of the Holy Generals wore a Ring of Andorus and instantly became a beast on the battlefield compared to his regular performance.

It's said that after wearing the ring, he gained immense power that he could even lift up a cow with one finger.

One Finger! One Finger!

F***!

Everyone'slips quivered while being shocked by their luck of being able to wear these precious rings.

As they recalled the many stories and legends about those that wore the rings of Andorus, they couldn't help wondering if their stories would also become famous after this too.

"Lift your heads and stretch your cusped palms out in unison."

"Yes!" They replied before doing what they were told, still on bended knees.

Ratum distributed the rings speedily while chanting a Holy prayer to engulf the rings with Adonis' holiness.

"Rings of light. Rings of Adonis!

Cover your followers and allow them to call onto your powers at will.

The time has come for our victory to celebrate your excellence once more.

I call upon you to unleash the powers and store them in the rings!"

Everyone listened and felt their hearts beat loudly after receiving their rings.

They looked at the shiny golden metal surface with an unfathomable gaze.

This was the power of Adonis!