A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

Thomas didn't have any useful means at his disposal. He tried slapping, pinching the man's philtrum, and other methods, but he still couldn't wake him up.

This place was quite far from the river, and Thomas hadn't prepared any cold water. Therefore, any torture or anything like that couldn't go on.

Moreover, this place is not hidden and pedestrians may appear at any time.

Even Thomas was helpless. He had never expected the other party to be so cowardly.

With no other options, he untied Brother Batista's rope and went to the rickshaw loaded with old farm tools.

Although Batista only had a small purse on him, Thomas would never believe that he only had so little money.

If he really just wanted to repair farm tools, why would he go out and push the cart himself?

He carefully examined these old farm tools one by one and soon found a full purse hidden in one of the plowshares.

When I opened it, it was full of white and yellow.

Damn, there must be hundreds of florins here!

Chapter 49 Red Girls Army 1

Inside the monastery's martial arts arena, Giuliano told Thomas a new piece of news.

Two days ago, dozens of bandits actually planned to attack the monastery - they had already occupied the village closest to the monastery and were on the verge of launching an attack.

Of course, the monastery's tight defenses eventually scared off the bandits. They waited from morning till night, but could not find any openings to exploit, so they had to retreat in frustration.

Conrad ordered the news to be suppressed - but the monastery was not an army after all, and there was no such thing as strict adherence to orders. Eventually, the news spread.

The tension in the monastery thus increased.

"I heard from Rostislav that you bought the potion from him?" Giuliano said.

"Yes," Thomas admitted. But he guessed Rostislav hadn't mentioned that he'd even purchased the formula.

"Rostislav's potion is very special, not just any ordinary stuff," Giuliano said. "If you have something like this, you can try to practice some physical training."

Body movement training?

"Potions are good, but they're not really that important for beginners...they're not very cost-effective," Giuliano explained. "Normally, after one or two years of martial arts training, when your body's potential has been fully developed, it's most appropriate to use potions. That's more economical."

"Can't I use it now?"

"No? Of course not. The sooner you use it, the better. Almost all expensive potions are beneficial and harmless," Giuliano laughed. "If you were from a noble family, I would recommend using potions on your first day of training. It's just that potions are really expensive... Do you know why warriors are so poor? Potions are a big reason!"

"Besides unlocking potential, the most important function of potions is to speed up recovery. They restore strength and can also heal minor injuries like bruises. In physical training, falls and bumps are inevitable. And these injuries are no less severe than those in sparring," he pointed to areas like his chest and shoulders. "In sparring, these areas are more prone to injury, but in reality, injuries there... well, generally don't affect movement. If you're injured today, you can continue training as usual tomorrow. Just be careful to protect the injured area and avoid secondary injury. However, in physical training, injuries primarily affect joints. Even minor injuries there can significantly affect movement. Do you understand?"

"I understand." So before using the potion, it is not suitable to practice physical skills.

Because any minor injury requires you to stop and rest for three to five days to recover - that's like fishing for two days and drying the net for three days, which is meaningless.

"I'm actually not particularly good at physical skills. Compared to schools like ours that focus on frontal combat, some Eastern schools that focus on sneak attacks and assassinations place greater emphasis on physical skills. They can adapt to various terrains and ambush in some unimaginable positions to launch attacks. Those are the physical skills of an assassin, and the physical skills of a swordsman are roughly similar to this."

Giuliano motioned for Thomas to move away. Thomas stepped back and stared intently.

Giuliano, sword in hand, charged forward. His steps weren't a full-throttle sprint, but they were surprisingly light. There was a peculiar rhythm to his steps, giving the illusion of flight. He rushed to the nearly two-meter-high wall in front of him, and with his free hand, he gently pulled the wall upward. Using the force, he soared into the air, his legs tucked in, and he leaped over the wall as lightly as a swallow.

Throughout the entire process, he maintained a firm control over his body balance and rhythm, and was clearly in a good condition ready to attack or defend at any time.

A few seconds later, he jumped over from the other side of the low wall and finally stood still.

This is the knight's physical skills - it is already considered to be one of the worse ones.

It was very similar to the parkour Thomas had seen in his past life.

"Sports skills sound complex, but in reality, they're simply a brief burst of full-body strength. It requires coordination of every part of the body, combining agility and speed. A less universally recognized test involves leaping over three warhorses abreast while wearing armor. Reaching this standard means your skills have achieved some level of mastery. In actual combat, the quality of your skills is determined by a single burst of power, a single breath of energy. The length and depth of that breath determines your skill," Giuliano explained. "The strongest masters of physical skills I've seen can, during a charging battle, leap onto and seize the opponent's horse after knocking them off it."

Thomas could imagine that it really was as light as a swallow.

"If you practice your agility well, you can at least run away if you can't win," Giuliano said. "It's a very important way to stay alive. You could even say, if compared individually, it's more important than swordsmanship or spearmanship."

This is also the basic idea of ​​Giuliano's swordsmanship - saving yourself is more important than hurting the enemy.

Practicing body techniques is harder than you imagine.

It is not the footwork that is coordinated in swordsmanship. It can even be said that footwork is only a prerequisite for the practice of body skills.

Running may seem simple, but it is actually very difficult. Each step has strict requirements on the strength, and there are also priorities. In addition, the choice of environment and surface is also important.

Simply put, it must change with the external world. The footwork is much more rigid.

It does not pursue absolute speed - that would be running - but rather the ability to adapt to extremely complex terrain environments. But in fact, this makes it the fastest.

After all, running speed on a flat track is different from running speed in a complex environment. The former is specific, while the latter is more universal.

This makes it really difficult to practice.

Thomas was soon out of breath and his knee was injured from climbing over the obstacle.

It was just a slight carelessness that caused the injury. While it was a knee injury, elbows, wrists, ankles, and other parts of the body are all susceptible to injury. Furthermore, injuries to these areas can be difficult to determine in a short period of time. Even though I can still move now, I might not even be able to get out of bed tomorrow.

"That's enough for today. You can't get started in one day. Go back and rest... Also, I sense you seem a little distracted, Thomas. Are you still worried about Conrad?"

"No." Thomas calmed down. "Teacher, do you know the 'Treasure of the Red Girl'?"

"Even though I'm Italian, I've heard of this story before," Giuliano said with a smile. "It's a famous Bohemian legend."

"legend?"

"The Red Maiden is related to the ancestor of Psemex's family... According to legend, Queen Libushe, guided by a prophetic dream, chose to marry Psemex, a farmer, and founded the Psemex Dynasty. But besides this, she also established an all-female Royal Guard. The captain of the guard was named Prasda, and her strength was believed to be enough to protect the country."

"After the queen's death, Pseudoephis completely established his own rule. The king apparently had a conflict with the captain of the guard, and the two eventually parted ways unhappily. Prasuda left the palace and took her loyal followers to establish herself as a king in a mountain area. The king once sent envoys to invite the protector back, but Prasuda refused. Not only did she refuse, she also castrated the envoys and sent them back, demonstrating her determination and attitude. Then, she raised an army... numbering in the thousands, even tens of thousands, known as the Red Maidens. All members were young women who could not bear the oppression of men."

"Plasda led the Red Maidens to plunder, collect taxes, and enforce her own laws. Many of her laws were directed at men. It was said that to scorn men, she would sometimes take a few female soldiers with her, armed with swords and shields, and wander around the town naked. If any man dared to look at them, they would kill him without hesitation."

Thomas really wanted to roll his eyes.

"Besides this, there are many other laws. For example, men are not allowed to carry weapons or practice martial arts, otherwise they will be put to death. For example, men must farm, engage in business, cook, mend clothes, and do all the housework that women don't want to do. For example, when a man rides a horse, his legs must hang over the left side of the mount, otherwise he will be put to death."

"This is ridiculous." Thomas couldn't help but say.

"There are even more ridiculous things than this." Giuliano curled his lips. "She stipulated that women have the right to choose their husbands, and any man who refuses a woman's choice will be put to death."

The author says:

Author's Note: This is indeed a Bohemian legend.

Also: Thanks to book friends Gu De and SEERS for the rewards.

Chapter 50 Red Girls 2

"This is..." Thomas instinctively thought of the "Amazons" in Greek mythology. Well, Plasda was even more exaggerated than the Amazons.

"Plasda's actions naturally aroused the king's hostility. He first sent an army to attack. However, Plasda proved her ability to protect the country. Although the king's army had a numerical advantage, it was still easily defeated by Plasda's Red Girls."

"The enraged king mobilized all his forces and engaged in a protracted battle with Prasda. It is said that the king, relying on his numerical superiority and the guidance of local men, launched a surprise attack and killed over a hundred stubbornly resisting Red Maidens. Upon hearing this, Prasda responded by strangling a dozen captives with her own hands."

"The battle lasted a long time, and the king's side ultimately gained the upper hand. But Prasda still led her army in a desperate resistance. In the end, the castle held by the Red Maidens was captured, and all the female warriors inside died heroically. In despair and rage, Prasda threw down her shield, stripped off all her clothes, and armed only with a sharp sword, she fought the enemy naked to the bitter end, shedding her last drop of blood. No one knows how many of the king's soldiers died, but the death of a defender of the country would inevitably have exacted a terrible toll on the enemy. It wouldn't be surprising if they lost hundreds or even thousands of men."

"Plasda's years of following Queen Liebsche had given her a wealth of experience and knowledge, and she was thoroughly familiar with the royal family's treasures. Furthermore, she herself enjoyed a life of luxury and splendour, and through years of plundering passing merchants and looting numerous aristocratic castles, she amassed a vast trove of treasure. Foreseeing her own imminent doom, she buried a significant amount of the treasure before her final battle. With the deaths of the Red Maidens, including Plasda herself, the whereabouts of the treasure were lost to later generations. Excavations continue in the areas where the Red Maidens operated, attempting to recover the buried treasure, but the legendary treasure has remained a mystery, undiscovered."

"That's all I know about the legend of the Red Maiden's treasure. Of course, it's just a legend," Giuliano said. "It happened hundreds of years ago, so whether it's true or not is hard to say. I admit that a woman becoming a protector of the nation is possible, but a group of women forming an army—I simply don't believe it."

Yes, Thomas's previous life had proven that it was possible for a single woman to serve as a warrior, but it was impossible for many women to form an army. Even if the world entered the era of firearms and the physical requirements for soldiers were greatly reduced, it would still be impossible.

No wonder Giuliano didn't believe it.

If nothing else, this legend itself is nothing special.

He had witnessed countless myths and legends in his past life. There were many stories a hundred times more absurd than this one. If you took them seriously, you had a mental problem.

"Is that treasure real?"

"Whether it's real or fake, it can't be found anyway! In that case, what difference does it make whether it's real or fake? Of course, the treasure hidden by a powerful nation is not something that can be easily found."

"Teacher, I want to ask...are there strong and weak people in the Guardian Nation?"

"I don't know, or rather, I'm not sure." Giuliano shrugged. "I don't know any of the Guardians, and I'm not even an elite one myself. But according to a common belief—a belief without any guarantee—there are clearly different levels within the Guardians. For example, in the story just now, the woman was no ordinary Guardian."

"Do we have to find a protectorate? Where can we find one?" Giuliano said that there was no protectorate in this era, at least not officially.

Giuliano laughed. "Thomas, if you really want to find a protector of the nation, I suggest you look more closely at the wanted lists. To be frank, the top ten on the Holy Roman Empire's official wanted list are very likely to be protectors of the nation. Of course, it's not just the Holy Roman Empire. This is also true for other nations, whether Persia and Byzantium in the East, France in the West... North, South, every major power. Those who stay on the wanted list for a long time are invariably extremely powerful. Elite soldiers are basically standard, and they're very likely to be protectors of the nation as well."

Giuliano didn't care for the topic. After all, even today, the legend of the Red Maiden's treasure persisted. Many con artists still used it to deceive unsuspecting outsiders. And there were still ignorant, greedy people who wasted precious time and money searching for treasure. So, even if Thomas had directly claimed to have a clue to the treasure, he would have ignored him.

Smart people won't waste time on these empty things.

……

In the darkness of the night, Otto finally got his chance.

This was not easy. He spent a small amount of money to bribe the mercenary on duty to let him out.

Last time he had escaped from here during a patrol, but it was impossible for him to do it again this time. Fortunately, he had money, and money could solve almost all problems.

The monastery's own people might not necessarily be bribed, but it was well known that mercenaries always took money to do their work. It had to be said that it was really great to have found such a group of reasonable and trustworthy mercenaries.

This time, for example, he could easily leave the monastery.

The mercenary responsible for guarding this location was even willing to give him a short ride.

In the darkness, the cuckoo's call came from the front. Three times in a row.

Otto couldn't help but smile.

This was the agreed code, indicating that Catherine was waiting for him there.

Otto also responded with two cuckoo calls to indicate that everything was normal.

This time, Catherine asked him to meet her at the edge of the monastery.

Compared to last time, the agreed time here is after dark, which is obviously much more convenient.

"Catherine? Are you here?" Otto called out in a low voice.

There was no response from the other end. Perhaps Otto's voice was too quiet for the other party to hear.

But the code had matched, and Otto felt there was no problem.

In that case, the mercenaries accompanying him were superfluous. After all, this place was only a few dozen or a few hundred meters away from the monastery's outer wall, so there was no way they could get lost.

As a sentry on duty, he had to return to his post, otherwise it would be troublesome if he was found absent by the patrol.

"You can go back now." Otto said to the mercenary behind him.

"Are you sure you don't need me anymore?" the mercenary's voice rang out. Otto's attention was completely focused on the darkness ahead, waiting for his beloved to appear, so he didn't hear the coldness and ruthlessness in the voice.

"Yes, you go back. I will be back before dawn," said Otto.

Then he felt a violent shaking in his head.

The world is spinning.

He became dizzy and his body quickly became weak. Then, with a thud, he fell to the ground.

"Who...!? Who hit me??"

Otto struggled to turn around and saw the mercenary's cold and contemptuous eyes behind him.

"You..." He tried to speak, but no sound came out. Not only that, his consciousness was also rapidly being swallowed by darkness.

"Tsk, is it so easy?" In the darkness ahead, Fu Kai appeared with several of his men.

The last operation failed, not only did we wait for a day in vain, but it also made the monastery alert.

But this time, things went very smoothly.

Chapter 51 Kidnapping 1

The next day, Thomas was watching two knights sparring at the edge of the arena.

Rostislav and Giuliano, the Russians vs. the Italians.

Thomas now prefers to watch others sparring because he is learning to correctly assess his opponent's strength.

Usually when they have free time, the knights and apprentices of the monastery will practice sparring in the martial arts dojo in order to achieve breakthroughs.

Sparring can hone a fighter better than training alone.

The two men were standing in a corner of the martial arts arena, while the others watched from the sidelines. The weapons of both sides were almost invisible, and the exchange was extremely fast.

It seemed light, but the crackling sound of metal collisions continued to explode. Standing a few meters away, one could feel the strong wind brought by the two swords.