A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

"Hey, we agreed to kill the monk who came over! He's wearing a monk's robe!"

"I said I was single! But you killed two!"

"Anyway, we have done the work. If you don't pay us, you'll have to think about the consequences!" the man sneered.

The figure under the tree paused, then raised his hand and threw something over.

There was a metallic clang, evidently a money bag.

"I need you to do something for me," the figure said again. "Double the price!"

"Sure, sure!" Zhuang Han's tone suddenly changed. "What kind of thing? Killing a person? A monk at that?"

"No, this time is different. We want to capture the monastery's vice-abbot, Brother Conrad." said the figure.

"This won't be easy..." The strong man hesitated. The monastery was not a place to be dealt with easily. It was a castle!

"You don't need to attack the monastery, just capture his son, and he will be lured out!"

"You mean... you are responsible for leading him out?" This makes things simple.

Of course the vice president will definitely bring his staff with him, but... that's the norm.

"Yes!" said the figure.

The moonlight peeked out from behind the clouds, illuminating the area. The figure beneath the tree was none other than Knight Jaromil, who had once visited Konrad.

He was very annoyed that several operations had come close to success but ultimately failed.

Count Jaromil had urged several times, and he didn't have much time left.

Although it was just a letter urging people to do something, the dissatisfaction was already very obvious.

I had originally planned to capture Otto before taking the next step, which was to use threats and negotiations to force the Vice President to surrender. But since I didn't have time, I might as well just deal with it all at once.

Now that he had these bandits as cannon fodder, he didn't have to worry about the other party's magic. Even if the other party was powerful, it would only be wasted on these bandits and would not affect his true lineage.

After all, as long as he doesn't have magic, what's so scary about an ascetic? What kind of waves can he cause?

"Okay. But there are a few tough guys in the monastery. If you come, you have to pay extra money, a different price per person! And you have to provide us with food and fodder afterwards!" The strong man thought for a while and said.

"I heard you have quite a few strong players in your team. Are you afraid of a few monastery guards?" Jaromil asked. "Never mind. I'll do as you say!"

"As long as the money is in place, everything is fine." The strong man smiled. This is a good deal.

His team was well-equipped with all kinds of weapons, so they were not afraid of the few security guards in the monastery.

The knights of the monastery were at best mid-level warriors. While mid-level warriors were not weak, it depended on their numbers. What good could the three or five knights of the monastery do? He had hundreds of brothers under his command, and they were no pushovers.

You can kill the opponent by just relying on the number of heads.

"In these two days, we will give that bastard a chance to go out. Send more people, and we can't make any mistakes this time."

"As long as people leave the monastery, there will be no problem!" The strong man laughed this time.

"Oh, right," Jaromil said coldly. "There's a very sharp dog beside him, Thomas. Make sure to take him out first. This guy's been up to no good more than once!"

"Don't worry, I'll kill him myself!" the burly man said. "He's just an ordinary warrior at best, not worth mentioning."

Chapter 39: Strategy 2

Jaromil watched the two strong men leave. The man who had been hiding in the bushes slowly emerged and came up behind him.

"Lord Jaromil... these... I still feel are inappropriate!"

"Are you saying they're unruly and uncontrollable?" Jaromil said coldly. "They just fought the Duke's army last week."

Others don't know about this, but he does.

A group of bandits actually defeated one of the Duke's troops and stole a large amount of equipment. It was almost a miracle.

This also proves how weak Grand Duke Vladislav is and how he is not worthy of ruling this country.

In comparison, his father, Count Jaromil, is the truly suitable ruler.

It is estimated that Lindenwan's name will soon be on the Principality's wanted list.

"Yes, this group of people is different from the others before." The man behind him said. This group of people is not something that can be easily recruited.

The rest of the forces, whether they were thugs, bandits, or mercenaries, could be easily bribed and commanded by Jaromil's status and money. But this group of people was different. They were very powerful and had a very high spirit.

Unless Jaromil shows extremely strong strength, it will be difficult for these guys to surrender.

The so-called combination of kindness and authority is not enough to convince these rebellious people. Paying money will not buy obedience and loyalty, and it is more likely that they will think you are weak and can be bullied.

"It doesn't matter. I don't need their loyalty. Anyway..." Jaromil's eyes flickered with seriousness. "They're just cannon fodder."

These ignorant fools have no idea about the strength of the church.

In reality, no one in the monastery was easy to mess with. A single intermediate or advanced spell could cause heavy losses to the attacker.

There was a chance that Konrad would use advanced magic... Jaromil had no interest in seeing how dangerous that kind of thing was.

Even if the estimate was wrong, and Conrad was just an ordinary man with only a little bit of magic, it didn't matter.

Even in the worst-case scenario, a mere bandit group wouldn't be a problem if the army were mobilized. No matter how powerful these bandits were, they couldn't possibly stand up to the Earl's army, could they? If they had that kind of power, they'd have already taken over the land and become kings!

"Also, you seem to be particularly concerned about Thomas." said the man behind him.

"Yes, indeed, I do care," Jaromil said. "He has already sabotaged us several times! And this time... he failed. Even Rousseau is dead. He seems, seems..." He described it for a long time. "He is the obstacle God has set for us!"

"But it was an accident... You see, Rousseau couldn't have been murdered!"

"I know. The body looked like that... Rousseau was killed by the Qi-Lifting Slash. Even his companions thought it was an old enemy who came after him. How could an apprentice like Thomas possibly kill Rousseau?" Jaromil said distraught. "But that's precisely why I feel that Thomas must be eliminated. We can deal with anyone, no matter how powerful, but we can't defy fate, defy... God! Sesley, do you believe in God?"

"Of course, the Lord is omnipresent and omnipotent..."

"That Thomas has ruined our plans several times in a row. Our efforts to eliminate him have been thwarted repeatedly. The best opportunity was when we assigned him to patrol, but we failed."

"It was my negligence, sir," Sesely apologized immediately. "I had planned to drug their diet for the last few days. But I was completely unprepared for the sudden invasion of the monastery by thieves. So, they were hastily transferred back. I didn't have time to implement my preparedness."

"It's not your fault," Jaromil sighed. "I hired a professional assassin, just in case. But he got shot in the head with a musket ball. We didn't even know who did it!"

"This time, you see, Rousseau first wanted to take advantage of the duel, but was defeated by an unforeseen incident. Yes, that's perfectly normal, perfectly reasonable. Then, we knew he was leaving the monastery, so we waited for him at a crucial intersection. We sent out two teams, each guarding the two key intersections. But one team failed, only killing two unrelated monks—two monks, surprisingly!—and the other team was even more unlucky. Rousseau was inexplicably found by his enemies, or he provoked a master who should not be provoked, and was killed directly. Oh my God! It seems that fate is mocking all our plans, and it has made me lose all faith!"

"Sir Jaromil, perhaps God is testing us. You know, your father's cause was destined to be fraught with difficulty! After all, he had to fight against his brother and his feudal lord. When these two identities are combined, it is extremely difficult to confront them."

"I know. That's why we need the treasure, precisely because of the difficulties," Jaromil replied.

……

At dawn, all the knights and knight apprentices in the monastery, including Thomas, were called to the office of the deputy abbot.

Conrad looked grim.

He briefly explained the murder of the two monks.

The murder of two monks by robbers proved that the monastery was no longer safe.

Not only that, he also knew another thing - that group of roving bandits had actually defeated the Grand Duke's army. Although even a fool could understand that the Count was definitely involved in this matter, it was still the bandits who defeated the regular army.

This also means that the danger facing the monastery may be greater than expected.

And it's not just a security issue. The monk was killed, and as the vice-president in charge of personnel and the de facto acting president, he is responsible.

It's not easy to escape this responsibility. After all, it's God's glory that's been blasphemed.

"Brother Conrad, the current problem isn't finding the murderer, but... ensuring the safety of the monastery," Giuliano said. He was not only the coach but also the de facto leader of the monastery's armed forces.

Of course, in theory he did not hold any position and was just a coach, but in reality everyone recognized him as the team commander.

Conrad remained silent, sitting upright in his chair, motionless.

No one knew what he was thinking.

The others didn't say anything, but just stood quietly by, waiting for Conrad's decision.

"I understand, Giuliano. You are responsible for guarding the gate. No one in the monastery is allowed to go out without my permission." Conrad finally made this judgment.

"I understand." Giuliano said immediately.

"We need to organize a patrol team. We can't allow petty thieves to sneak in. We have to take turns day and night and not let our guard down. We'll also put mercenaries in this team."

Giuliano nodded. As the saying goes, "It takes a thousand days to raise an army, but only a moment to deploy it." They had been supported by the monastery for so long, so wasn't this the time to use them?

"I estimate it will take about two weeks for the Earl to dispatch a troop to garrison here," Conrad sighed. "And I'm afraid there will be a price to pay."

This situation may be what the nobles expected - if the monastery wants protection, it must give up something, such as real estate.

Originally, Conrad could have sought a solution from the Grand Duke of Bohemia, but the Grand Duke's army had been routed, making it difficult for him to send reinforcements. In other words, he could only accept Count Jaromil's offer or take a huge risk.

The decision was made and everyone left.

"Wait a moment, Thomas," Conrad said suddenly. Thomas had no choice but to stay.

"From today on, Thomas, you must follow Otto at all times and do not slack off. If anything happens to him, even if you die, you must save his life! Do you understand?" Conrad spoke only after everyone left.

After repeated considerations, he concluded that the mercenaries' credibility was ultimately no match for the young man he had personally promoted.

He had already seen this boy's skills. Not great, but at least passing the test.

Chapter 40: Strategy 3

Thomas bowed. "Lord Conrad, I need a set of weapons and armor."

This was a golden opportunity to cry poor and beg for money, and Thomas would not miss it.

Originally he was just an attendant, but now he has been assigned the job of a bodyguard, so he will definitely have to pay more.

Not to mention that this job is really hard to do, Otto is not an obedient boy. Not to mention that there is a green tea bitch seducing his young heart and making it restless.

The ointment was really expensive, and Thomas wanted the formula—30 florins was no small sum.

"Weapons and armor..." Conrad glanced at the other man. "Don't you have a sword?"

"It's just a cheap secondhand item I bought," Thomas said without batting an eyelid. "It's better than nothing. Even without considering its quality, it would have taken me a while to remove the rust and polish it."

"Is that so... But I don't have any weapons or armor." Conrad hesitated. Monasteries wouldn't always have such items. Of course, if I had to, the monastery did have some, but unfortunately, they were personal property, not the monastery's.

"Here!" Conrad suddenly threw a purse from under the desk. "Twenty florins, enough for you to buy the equipment you want!"

Thomas took the purse, feeling at peace. It wasn't enough to buy the formula, but... at least it was a small fortune!

But from another perspective, the vice president is better at making promises than being generous.

Thomas had originally thought he could get 30 florins. That would buy him a suit of secondhand mail. If the Vice-Chancellor was generous, maybe even 50, which would buy him a decent breastplate. But with only 20, he'd have to settle for leather armor, or at best, studded leather.

"But, Thomas, I don't want Otto to be in any danger... If anything happens to him, I hope you understand the consequences!"

His last words were very serious.

In principle, executions were forbidden in monasteries; after all, they were God's sanctuaries, so there was absolutely no such thing as beheading or hanging. However, in practice, monasteries had the right to punish monks with flogging, provided there was a reason. Fifty lashes could leave a person half-dead, while a hundred lashes could kill them. And even if they died, no one could say anything.

"I see!"

Thomas agreed immediately.

"You go down." Conrad let out a long breath and turned around, obviously wanting to be alone for some quiet time.

……

On the edge of the village closest to the monastery, a group of thin soldiers wearing worn armor were dispersing quietly.

This was a very small village, with only a dozen or so households and a few dozen people. All the villagers were tenants, renting the monastery's fields.

This was also the norm for monasteries in this era - there was no land to support so many monks. Wealthy monasteries were almost all large landowners.

They quickly drove the villagers out and locked them all in a barn nearby.

The weapons and equipment of these people were quite diverse. Some were armed with machetes, hatchets, and the like, all rusted and poorly maintained. Others, however, were armed with bows, crossbows, muskets, and swords, clearly well-equipped.

Although everyone is generally thin, the leader is a strong man.

This was a burly man with a scar on his face, the kind you could tell at a glance wasn't from a peasant background.

In fact, while most of the rebels of this era, or what were called gangs or bandits, were likely to be peasants, their leaders were almost never of peasant origin. Instead, they were more likely to be illegitimate children of nobles, merchants, or citizens.

Only such people have the possibility of receiving education and military training, and thus be able to lead a team.

He wore a sleeveless armor with bare arms. The winter weather was cold, but he didn't care at all.

No one cared about his name; he called himself Fouquet—and never mentioned his last name or his parents.

"Is everything done?" Fu Kai asked the people around him.