A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

Thomas also felt a chill in his heart when he heard this.

He knew that the situation must not be good, otherwise such a prominent position would not be vacant.

But I really didn't expect it to be so bad.

"Why was he able to steal all the warships?"

"That was easy, because he was in charge of commanding the fleet. He hired some disguised Crescent Cultists as mercenaries, and then found an excuse to free the Crescent Cult slaves of the Knights. That way, he had enough men to sail the ships. We should be thankful, because if this traitor had continued to lurk, he would have posed an even greater threat."

When talking about this matter, Thomas could hear a hint of gnashing of teeth in the cheap teacher's words.

It is no lie that one traitor can destroy a nation.

"So," the old man said, his voice softening again. "Thomas, are you still willing to accept this position?"

"Of course!" Thomas answered decisively.

He had just weighed the matter in his mind.

It was indeed a dangerous position, but… it wasn’t dangerous, difficult, and impossible for it to happen to him?

In Rome, he was just a low-ranking monk with nothing, and had no one to rely on except this cheap teacher.

And even though this cheap teacher has a good relationship with the Pope, to get a safe and promising position as the leader of a knightly order...

Thomas didn't believe it at all.

Most importantly, Thomas didn't pay any price for this.

If you want to study whether the pie that falls from the sky is delicious or nutritious, then you are being pretentious.

Even if it's poisonous, you should bite it first! At worst, you can spit it out when you realize there's something wrong.

"Also, teacher," Thomas looked up and faced the man, "I need some help."

He could sense the atmosphere. Since the other party said this, there must be room for bargaining.

Don't take advantage of me, bastard!

Chapter 42: Commandment 2

"Of course." The old man said with a smile. "What help do you need?"

"I need a battleship," Thomas said.

According to the instructor, the ship he "interned" on was "dual-use" and not a pure warship.

Genuine warships are more expensive.

"There's no way," the old man shook his head regretfully. "I can only say I can recommend a shipyard. I'll ensure it's given priority, but..." He emphasized his tone. "Shipbuilding takes time."

"Can we... buy something ready-made?" Thomas asked. "In the name of the Holy See, I suppose any country would have to show some respect, right?"

For the Pope's sake, all the maritime nations should at least sell a few ships, right?

Even if each faction had one, they could at least have a dozen warships. Although they were still not powerful, they had some self-protection capabilities and were no longer in a naked state.

"No," the old man sighed deeply this time. "I can't do it."

"Uh?"

"We can't do that," the old man said helplessly. "The name of the Holy See is not something to be used lightly. You know... things are just like that sometimes. Right now, many people are waiting for the Holy See to make a mistake, or even fanning the flames. So if we use the name of the Holy See to request active ships from various navies..." he said. "It's hard to describe what would happen."

"The worst-case scenario is that it's easy to cobble together a fleet this way, but once those ships are out to sea... I suspect they'll all be shattered to pieces in an ordinary, mundane storm!"

"I see," Thomas said. It seemed the Catholic Church was in a fierce internal struggle.

The history of the previous life seems to be the same.

France, a filial son of God, once formed an alliance with the Ottomans to form the famous Sacred Alliance.

"In fact," the old man said, "the Crescent Moon Cult has already done so much. They must be confident enough to prevent the Knights from forming a fleet! If you try to piece together a fleet slowly, you'll probably run into problems in terms of time."

Thomas agreed with this judgment.

The Crescent Moon Cultists did so much, and it was clear that they wanted to do one thing - they wanted to occupy Rhodes Island.

This was a radical move, cutting off an important sea route for Christians.

This will greatly aggravate the decline of the Holy Land and may even cut off the possibility of reinforcements.

So they must have been prepared to ensure that the Knights would not be able to reorganize their fleet in the short term.

If you act in the name of the Holy See, you will be targeted immediately.

If you act under someone else's name... you run another risk—you're easily brushed off. They could even offer you a decommissioned ship... and you'd be left with nothing to do!

"Then... a battleship, should that be possible?" Thomas could only settle for the next best thing.

"I can find a way for you to choose a ship from the Roman fleet," said the old man.

"One ship... The Pope won't let me take office empty-handed, will he?" Thomas asked tentatively.

"Fifty thousand florins, no more." The old man's attitude was very firm this time.

Thomas also knew that 50,000 florins was almost the limit for a warship.

After all, the Knights Templar is an independent organization. Although it is nominally under the jurisdiction of the Pope, the emperor is far away and the Pope cannot give too much.

Not to mention the entire church, well, with the corruption going on, it's nonsense to say that it has sufficient financial resources.

It's amazing that my cheap teacher can get so many things.

"I have a few other requests," Thomas said. "I got some... strange items a while ago, but I don't know what they are for."

"What strange thing?"

Thomas took out the blood crystal he got from the Deer-Headed Spirit.

It contains the blood power of Princess Changdao, or in other words, the extraordinary power of Princess Changdao.

The power of the Long Sword Princess is not the power of fighting, but the power of upgrading... She can gain extra power as long as she is noticed by others. The more people pay attention to her, the stronger her power will be!

For so long, Thomas has not found how to use this thing.

Not to mention others, even the knowledgeable Gandalf didn't recognize this thing.

The old man stared at the thing, looking it up and down, examining it over and over again.

"Besides this, there are a few other items." Thomas took out several other items.

They were all obtained from the Leprechaun, and according to Gandalf, they were all semi-finished magic items.

Semi-finished products are the most difficult to determine their purpose, and this is true in the Industrial Age as well as the Magic Age.

The old man pondered for a long time. "This, I can't tell for now. But tomorrow night... no, tonight, I'll come to see you."

He put his things down and left.

Thomas put away the golden book.

This is the Grand Master's appointment document... the official document signed by Pope Leo XI, appointing Thomas as the new Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes.

Holding this thing, I feel an inexplicable lack of reality.

Damn, I became the leader just like that?

But why...how should I put it, it feels like something is not right.

The position of Grand Commander came too easily. Even though he knew that the position had many shortcomings and risks, it was still too easy.

My cheap teacher sent me to learn naval warfare early in the morning.

In other words, from the very beginning, he believed that he could become the leader!

So, what is the true identity of this cheap teacher?

At first, Thomas thought that this must be some unknown ascetic monk... After all, there were people dressed similarly everywhere here.

Thomas packed up his things and stuffed them into his bedside, but someone pushed open the door.

It was Brother Dawn, Thomas's colleague and roommate.

He went out yesterday and just came back. Thomas could clearly smell a hint of alcohol.

And mixed in with the smell of alcohol... the smell of rouge and powder.

Of course, even if Thomas smelled it, he pretended to know nothing and greeted the other person normally.

"Brother Dawn? I heard they're hunting down the assassin's accomplices..."

"Yeah, but I know people here," Dawn replied casually, plopped down on his bed. "Having a lot of acquaintances makes it easier."

"That's right," Thomas asked. "How long have you been here?"

"Not much, just over twenty years." Dawn gave a wry smile. "Why, do you need my help?"

"I met someone a few days ago. I wonder if you have heard of him?" Thomas asked.

"Who is it? What's your name?"

"He calls himself Piccolomini," Thomas said. "He's a man in his sixties or seventies... maybe even older. He looks like an ascetic, but he's probably not a true ascetic."

"A man in his sixties or seventies?" Dawn laughed this time. "His name is Piccolomini?"

"Yes!"

"Is he chubby... always smiling and having a round belly?"

"That's right!"

"Also, he always seems to be wandering around like he has nothing better to do. He also likes to occasionally get involved in competitions and assessments, acting as a spectator or even an examiner."

"Indeed."

"Haha... Brother Thomas, you've met a very important person," Dawn laughed. "That Piccolomini is none other than our current Holy See, Leo XI. His family is a prominent and prestigious one, and their name is Piccolomini!"

Chapter 43: The Sealed Spirit 1

Dawn stood up and looked at Thomas's expression with a grin on his face.

"But don't worry about it. Um, the Holy Father... he often has a few words with newcomers. But that's all." He waved a hand, calming Thomas. "It's no big deal."

"Holy See..." Thomas was dumbfounded, and immediately thought of the cheap teacher's words in his mind.

"The Pope and I are inseparable..."

"The Pope and I are closer than brothers..."

Damn, I originally thought that cheap teacher was just talking nonsense, but I didn’t expect that he actually wasn’t lying at all.

They are indeed inseparable, closer than brothers...

How could this not be intimate? They are the same person, what could be closer than this?

"Um... Holy See... why did you do this?"

"There's a legend," Dawn said. "The Holy Father, blessed by Christ, possesses superhuman vision. A single glance from his gaze reveals spies, secret agents, and infidels."

Thomas found that the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

It seems like you sensed something is wrong?

Although Thomas felt that this seemed like a piece of cake, now it seems... as if everything is a conspiracy?

But what good was a conspiracy? Thomas weighed it carefully and made sure he had nothing to lose.

No matter what the cheap teacher thought, at least Thomas solved two major problems with his help.

He gave himself the jade bait he had always dreamed of and opened the door to protecting the country.

And gave himself a sufficiently rich territory.

Damn it, after all, who cares about his schemes and calculations! No matter what his real motives are, Thomas has to accept this favor, and he has to acknowledge this teacher!

It would be great if there were more teachers like this!

For the next half day, with nothing else to do, Thomas tried normal meditation.

Then give up quickly.

He was now completely certain that he had no talent for magic.

If his divine nature had not been damaged, even if he spent his entire life, he would probably only be able to reach the third layer of the magic net.