A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

Even if you can't hear the content of the conversation, you can understand it just from the body language.

After a long time, the stall owner took out something unknown and handed it to Dierke.

The deal was clearly a done deal! Thomas knew it immediately.

He turned around and left without waiting for Dierke to finish the transaction. After a few steps, he walked into an alley.

Because he had already seen a bird circling above his head in the sky.

Spinning around, but refusing to fall.

This time it was not a big bird, but a small, light red bird.

From this point, we can know that this is not from Kiev, but from Novgorod.

In this era, bird messaging really has an unparalleled advantage in delivering fast information.

As soon as he entered the alley, the bird in the sky immediately fell down.

Sure enough, there was a letter under the bird's claws.

It clearly states the location and code of the local wolf den in Novgorod.

Thomas checked the time. It was still very early today.

He didn't delay and headed straight towards the local wolf's den.

On the other side, after Dierke finished his work, he found that Thomas was missing. He was too lazy to look for him and left directly.

The location of the wolf's den is somewhat similar to that in Kyiv.

It's right next to the local "Beauty Street." Or rather, across a wall.

But I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or some kind of restriction.

Thomas received the signal and entered.

There is only one person in the wolf's den... the alpha wolf's assistant, the one who is responsible for delivering messages via flying birds.

This is an old man who is at least sixty years old, and his back is a little hunched.

"Your Excellency the Special Envoy..." The assistant was dumbfounded when he saw Thomas.

He had only released the bird for half an hour, and the envoy already... showed up?

Is this squatting at the door?

"My name is Shadow Wolf." Thomas had already put on the wolf mask. "The Wolf Lord sent me here to investigate the situation... I heard... four wolf leaders have died in succession?"

He didn't waste time and went straight to the point.

Every assistant is an indispensable tool in the wolf's den. In other words, if you want to use birds to send messages, you cannot do without assistants.

They do not participate in the various decisions and affairs of the Wolf's Lair, and their own strength is not strong, so they will not be regarded as a threat by anyone.

But on the other hand, they may not know the real inside story, but they know some information to a certain extent.

Not all information is secret, so those unimportant and scrap-like information will not be hidden from him.

"Not four, but three..." the old man replied. "The first wolf leader died of a sudden illness. I attended his funeral."

"What about the other three?"

"They were all murdered. But the murderer is unclear."

"I heard the nearest wolf leader is a very strong warrior," Thomas said. He knew that elite warriors were standard in the wolf den. So if someone was described as "very strong," then they were truly strong.

Although he probably cannot reach the level of protecting the country, there is a high probability that he has already reached the peak of the elite.

"Yes, a few days ago... he was surrounded and killed outside the city," the old man said. "But I don't know if it was his own fault or something else. The sheriff in the city found his body, and it was in a terrible state. It's estimated that at least five enemies surrounded him."

Being surrounded and killed... Thomas pondered for a while.

Are the people of Novgorod all so tough and honest? Why wouldn't they even try to hide something like this?

In other words, the Wolf Lord's suspicion is justified.

"How many wolves are there in Novgorod?"

"You can call these four: Fox Wolf, Iron Wolf, One-Eyed Wolf, and Violent Wolf."

"Do these wolves...get along well with each other? Have they suffered any casualties recently?"

"Everyone gets along pretty well. If there's any hostility between them, at least it's hidden. As for casualties... the last time the wolves got into trouble was ten years ago. Yes, recently only the alpha wolf has died in accidents, and the wolves haven't had any accidents."

Thomas pondered for a moment. This situation was different from when he first took over the Wolf's Lair in Kiev.

It should be said that this situation is even more dangerous.

It's almost obvious at first glance that there's something wrong with these wolves.

But...why?

Since you are going to use such a blatant and violent method with extremely serious side effects to kill the leader of the wolves?

The interests of both parties are in such great conflict that there is no other choice but to resort to killing to solve the problem?

What are the benefits that are so great?

You know, the bird messaging service provided by Wolf's Nest is the best messaging platform Thomas knows of at the moment. It's both fast and secure.

The platform itself will bring great value.

In Kiev, several wolves have earned a considerable fortune with the help of this platform.

There is an interest, and this interest is so great, so great beyond imagination, that the convenience provided by the Wolf's Lair is not worth mentioning in front of this interest.

Moreover, this benefit is not hidden. Even if it is hidden, it can be easily discovered and found. At least it is easy for the alpha wolf.

More importantly, this interest is contrary to the interests of Wolf's Den itself.

Only this can explain why the alpha wolf was killed three times in a row.

Thomas concentrated for a few seconds, thinking carefully, and finally asked the next question.

"Is there any particularly profitable business in Novgorod right now?"

Section 213 Special Envoy 2

"If the Special Envoy asks that... it seems that there hasn't been any special business recently..." The old man didn't seem to understand what Thomas meant, but Thomas didn't care.

"So, is there any family that has suddenly risen to prominence recently?" Thomas asked. "Has any family accumulated a lot of wealth in the past few years?"

"Oh, yes." The old man did have an answer to this question. "The Gwalan family."

This name is relatively unfamiliar.

"What does this family do?"

"Oh, the slave trade. Special Envoy, you know... the Chud tribes often wage civil war. Wars always bring captives, who are then sold as slaves. The Gwalan family, having married into the Chud tribe, engaged in the slave trade and quickly became wealthy. I don't know whether it was half a year or a year ago that they actually established a private wharf on the Volkhov River."

"Ah..." Thomas nodded. It was not easy to achieve this. It was a comprehensive reflection of financial resources and strength.

It would cost a lot to get the Grand Duke's permission.

From another perspective, the Gwalan family's business is so large that they need to do this.

In the land of Russia, slavery had been abolished, and serfdom was now prevalent. Even if there were a few slaves, they were merely a fringe element, not the mainstream. For another thing, Christianity did not allow fellow believers to have slaves.

These Estonian slaves were obviously difficult to digest in Russia, so they were sold overseas through Novgorod's convenient water transportation trade.

It's a borderline business. The Gwalan family is just a middleman.

At least on the surface, this trade did not harm Novgorod, so despite its bad reputation, it was officially tolerated.

"Of course, in addition to the slave trade, there are also other transactions such as furs and local specialties. But the focus should be on slaves," the old man explained.

"But... with such a good deal, didn't anyone else take advantage?" Thomas asked. "For example, I heard there's a local family called Ostromir, and they also have connections with some barbarian tribes."

"That... I don't know," the old man replied. "According to intelligence, Gvalan was once a hired hand of the Ostromir family. Later, he gradually became familiar with and connected with several Chude tribes before leaving the Ostromir family and going out on his own to trade. But that was decades ago. Gvalan himself must be at least seventy years old now."

"Longevity, indeed," Thomas muttered, his voice immediately rising. "Besides that, has anything major happened here recently, in the past year or two? I just arrived, and I sense something's amiss here."

"Oh, I see what you mean... There are bandits, Your Excellency."

"robber?"

"Well, there's a band of bandits operating around Novgorod, looting villages and manors," the old man said. "They're so agile, even the Grand Duke is helpless. Everyone thinks they might be from a Chud tribe."

Damn, is this really true?

But now that I think about it, I've been moving around Novgorod since I came here, so it's okay.

No matter how powerful the robber was, he didn't dare to get too close to here.

It was one thing to plunder remote manors and villages, but quite another to do so near the city of Novgorod.

Here, there are at least several thousand well-equipped standing troops. Moreover, if necessary, the Grand Duke can easily mobilize tens of thousands of troops with a single order.

Of course, even so, it's okay for this group of bandits to add some tension to the city.

"Special Envoy, do you have any further questions?"

"Notify the local wolves that I will take over from them at the wolf den tomorrow afternoon," said Thomas.

Then he turned and left the wolf's den.

After a while, he came to the edge of the city wall.

Standing on the city wall, one can clearly see the Volkhov River, which runs through the city, dividing it in two. It's autumn, the last sailing season of the year, and the river is filled with tiny sailboats, seemingly mere white dots from this distance, entering and leaving the city in an orderly fashion.

This river is the city's main artery, and it can be said that the city's rise and fall depended on it. The flowing river brings flowing gold and silver, which is an objective description.

The Rurik family came here and began their journey to rule Russia.

Damn, I originally thought I came here just to do some secret investigation work.

I didn't expect that I would have to confront the local forces.

Tsk... Speaking of which, what benefits would make the local wolves do such an unwise thing?

This action seems to indicate...

Even if they lost the support of the Wolf's Lair, they didn't care and could still live well?

The next day at noon, Thomas arrived at the wolf's den early.

Apparently alone.

In fact, the Blasphemous Knight is right next to it, separated by a wall.

For the Blasphemous Knight who possesses the ability to fly in the air, all walls and the like are just decorations, and there is no need for personal guards.

When Thomas left the message yesterday, he deliberately blurred the time.

He didn't specify the exact time, just said "afternoon".

Generally speaking, afternoon is not until after one o'clock.

Therefore, if the wolves had come over a little earlier, it meant that they were still somewhat in awe of the envoy.

The work is done on the top of the list.

The wolves didn't arrive too late, but not too early either. They showed up around two o'clock.

Four people, three men and one woman, slowly walked into the wolf's den.

They were all wearing masks and the first thing they looked at when they entered was Thomas.

The four people's movements were consistent, and a perceptive person could detect the subtle atmosphere.

These four people may have reached some kind of tacit understanding.

"My name is Tielang, nice to meet you, His Excellency the Special Envoy." The speaker was a man who was half a head taller than Thomas. He had broad shoulders, a thick waist, and strong arms. It was obvious at first glance that he was a martial artist.

And his weapon must be large and heavy, such as a two-handed greatsword or a two-handed warhammer. Of course, it can also be a bulky long weapon, such as a halberd.

In his mental field, Thomas immediately sensed that this person was an elite. Or rather, all four of them were. This was consistent with the Wolf's Den's habits.

"My name is Fox Wolf. Greetings to the Special Envoy." The second person to speak was a woman. She was dressed like a noblewoman, with a plump figure, golden curly hair draped over her shoulders, a fair and rosy complexion, and a light blue dress that couldn't hide her long legs.

Even with a mask, it cannot hide the charm of women.

The other two also signed up. As expected, they were One-Eyed Wolf and Violent Wolf.

It should be noted that the one-eyed wolf is not really a one-eyed dragon.