Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality-Chapter 885 - 357 Instructions

Chapter 885: Chapter 357 Instructions Chapter 885: Chapter 357 Instructions Riding the sea breeze on a clear morning, ships anchored around the military harbor set sail away from the coast.

Thousands of warships filled the seas, each vessel carrying hundreds of soldiers.

Replenishing supplies, patrolling, guarding… The fleet mobilized en masse, leaving no reserve of strength behind.

Following a simple and straight line, the Athens Navy journeyed directly forward.

According to the current progression, what would normally take over a month to reach the projected location took only half a month to approach the target position.

After all, there was no need for prior reconnaissance, no need to guard against enemy sneak attacks, nor a need to navigate through more suitable channels.

Hence, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and naturally, the extra time spent was saved.

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However, despite the rapid speed of the advance, there was no sense of joy among the entire fleet.

On the contrary, from top to bottom, the whole army was shrouded in a somewhat pessimistic mood.

Because during the half-month of sailing, any soldier with a bit of common sense realized that something was amiss.

After all, such straight-line navigation on unfamiliar routes was something they had never encountered before.

In no time, various rumors spread among the lower and middle ranks of the fleet.

No one liked a leader who parachuted in unexpectedly, and even less so one who ignored the facts when giving orders.

These sentiments were further magnified in the military, where one’s own life was at stake, and nobody wanted their life to be a plaything for trial and error.

Yet no matter how public opinion spread, Laine, the focus of discussion, remained without any response.

…

Thud, thud, thud—

The rhythmic knocking on the flagship’s command room door sounded.

Without raising his head, Laine spoke indifferently,

“The door isn’t locked, please come in.”

Creak—

The door swung open in response, and a middle-aged general in full military attire stepped in.

Looking at Laine, who was writing and drawing at his desk, Kemeng’s expression was somewhat complex.

“Lord Aiven, I’ve come to you today to clarify something.”

“Regarding the rumors currently within the fleet, they were not spread by me.”

“Although I may have reservations about your choices, as long as you are the Commander entrusted by His Majesty, I would never use such despicable methods to attack you.”

His voice was strong and sincere.

But had it been anyone else, it would likely still be hard to believe him.

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

However, Laine was certain that what the other party said was true.

“I understand, General Kemeng, I trust your character.”

“Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?”

“…”

A brief silence fell, with the middle-aged general not expecting such a straightforward reply from Laine.

He didn’t know if Laine truly believed him, but for now, he had no choice but to take it as such.

“Furthermore, I would like to apologize for some of the doubts I raised earlier.”

“Facts have proven that although this is an unverified route, one that often stirs up storms and huge waves in the records, we have indeed safely traversed it.”

“Excluding unexpected factors, at least you have demonstrated a mastery of meteorology far beyond my expectation.”

“We have successfully approached the strategic position you have set, and I admit I was wrong there—but for other aspects, we still need to face them.”

“Such as the fact that we have no idea where the enemy’s main force actually is, and once we arrive in their territorial waters first, our presence will be exposed to their eyes.”

According to Kemeng’s previous contingency plans, the best way for Athens to cope was to face incoming enemies in their own familiar waters.

By leveraging the advantage of the terrain and the difference in information, it might be possible to fend off the incursions of naval powers.

But now, with a single order from Laine, the entire fleet moved directly deep into enemy territory through a route unsuitable for naval vessels, and the situation completely reversed.

Attacking the enemy’s strength with one’s weakness was the biggest factor in Kemeng’s previous opposition.

“General, these are not the things you need to be concerned about.”

“According to my judgment, when we arrive, the enemy’s main force will appear there.”

“What you need to do is execute my orders at that time.”

Speaking calmly, Laine’s demeanor was composed.

For a moment, Kemeng couldn’t be sure if his own knowledge was too shallow to discern even a hint of how Laine arrived at that conclusion.

“Speaking of which, it’s coincidental, General Kemeng, I also have something to discuss with you today.”

“Regarding our army’s communication system, I need to make a simple change.”

“The specifics of the change are here, make a note of it.”

With a push of his hand, Laine slid the document he had just been writing across the table.

Kemeng received it and started to scrutinize the contents.

Thanks to the trade with Silver Moon City, the classical era fleet had established a very advanced means of communication, no longer relying on flag signals to communicate.

However, as Kemeng read through what Laine had written, his expression changed again.

“This is… new orders?”

“Yes, this will facilitate your quick reception of my commands.”

“I have assigned a number to each warship, so that when my orders are given, you can react more quickly.”

“But…,” Kemeng struggled to organize his words, taking a deep breath.

“Are these new instructions not a bit too ‘detailed’?”

“Is that not good?”

Appearing somewhat surprised, Laine looked up slightly.

“It’s not about whether it’s good or not… I mean, as the fleet’s commander, you actually don’t need to care about how many degrees a certain ship is turning or how fast it’s moving for how long.”

“Actually, you only need to give the formation or the timing of the attack, as for these—”

“General Kemeng, for the complete annihilation of the enemy, this is necessary preparation.”

“As for why it has to be done, you may not understand, but all you need to know is how to execute.”

“This shouldn’t be hard, am I right?”

“…”

Bang—

After a long silence, the conversation ended.

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

Just by looking at the document, he could guess what the commander who had come from afar would do.

However, Laine noticed that even though he didn’t hide his anger, the other party still took away the corrected instructions in the end.

Obviously, Kemeng was not someone who would let personal feelings affect his work.

No matter what, he would execute the orders from his superiors.

“…Not understanding is quite normal, after all, this truly isn’t something a normal person could do.”

“So, Lord Nereus, you should be able to ensure our success on this expedition, right?”

Laine shook his head slightly, not concerning himself with this triviality.

He simply picked up a conch shell from beside the table, a token from the Sea God.

Through it, they could communicate directly to convey Laine’s requests.

“Of course.”

“On matters involving Poseidon, I might only be able to help you to the best of my ability.”

“But in this mortal realm’s war, on the sea, I can assure you.”

“No matter how you fight, Athens will surely be victorious.”

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The voice from the conch shell carried a trace of admiration from Nereus.

It wasn’t feigned; in fact, the Sea Elder genuinely felt he had learned something new.

“By the way, speaking frankly, before today, I had worried that if this victory were too false, it might be detected by the perceptive.”

“But now, having seen your approach today, it has opened my eyes, and I have no more doubts.”

“Although I’m not well-versed in mortal realm wars, detailing the trends of the war to such an extent, it must be a feat only a great general could achieve.”

“In this way, even if you truly win a great victory over the enemy, no one will doubt the success of the Athenians.”

“Hm… you’re right, it’s just as you say.”

In front of the desk, after a moment of silence, Laine nodded slightly.

Indeed it was so; micromanagement like this, if you lose, you’re a micromanagement master.

But if you win, then it’s a master orchestrating the micromanagement.

And no matter who it is, in the future, anyone reviewing this battle.

Faced with the victorious outcome, they would only exhaust their wisdom trying to understand Laine’s strategy.

They would try to imagine how he was able to so precisely anticipate the enemy’s every move ahead of time and then marvel at the intricacies, with no one daring to say it was luck or any other reason.

With the result comes the hero, this has always been the way of the world.

“Good, since Lord Sea God assures, then I await the good news.”

“In three days’ time, at dusk, we will arrive in the central sea off the shores of Pylos.”

Laine calmly spoke and then extinguished the power swirling around the conch.

The Kingdom of Pylos, one of the largest cities that worship Poseidon.

And to lure him out, this kingdom was also the most direct target for attack.

Hence, the appointed battlefield was right beside it.

In the blink of an eye, three days hurried past.

Standing at the bow of the flagship, Laine held up an Alchemy Mirror, seemingly watching the movements in the distance.

Beside him, General Kemeng, without showing a hint of expression, just stood there with a cold face.

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

Not until each ship that received the instructions could execute them without fail, did the test end.

However, whenever he thought about the content of the test, the middle-aged general couldn’t hide the anger in his heart.

“This is a war concerning the safety of Athens, not a joke on paper.”

“Goddess above, may Your power bless me…”

He prayed silently, just like many of the sailors at this moment.

For the Athenians, praying to their ever-victorious Principal God before the war was an essential ritual for everyone.