A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

If the Pope agrees, the Knights can change their flag.

From then on, the Knights Templar used this sword-shaped cross as their flag.

Thomas thought about this all the way back to his residence.

Now I can take a shower, eat, and sleep peacefully.

The next morning, I got up and went to the top of the castle, overlooking the entire city of Rhodes.

One can feel that the inexplicable dark cloud that had been hanging over the entire city has dissipated.

Not only that, you can feel the joy and vitality in the streets and alleys, at the port docks, inside and outside the city walls.

This might just be Thomas's personal psychology, but he knew that after this victory, his position was completely secure.

However, when I arrived at the meeting hall, I saw that Demetrios was already waiting.

It was known from the beginning that the expedition would take a long time, so the secretary did not join the army but stayed in Rhodes Island.

Demetrios's expression was no longer the same as before, but became pleasant, and at the same time, a little more respectful.

The Knights achieved a complete victory in this expedition to Tobruk.

If this kind of victory could happen two or three more times, the Knights would not only be able to recover their losses, but could even reach or even exceed their heyday.

In fact, Demetrios initially felt that with this new Grand Master, the Knights Templar might no longer have hope.

But now it seems that the Pope is obviously far-sighted, while he is just a frog in the well and cannot understand the Pope's layout.

Although the Grand Commander is not a Protector of the Nation, the value of this magic flag is definitely greater than that of a Protector of the Nation!

"Grand Commander," Demetrios saluted.

"Has there been any new news in the city while I've been away?"

"Everything is peaceful," Demetrios replied.

"So is there any news from outside?"

"Well, a fight broke out between the Byzantine and Seljuk navies."

"Oh, finally a fight?" Thomas was intrigued. The Seljuks Demetrios was referring to were the Sultanate of Rum, a branch of the Seljuk Empire.

Although there are no Mongols in this world history, history has its inevitability, and what is supposed to happen will still happen.

The Seljuk Empire disintegrated and the Rum Sultanate came into being.

After all, magic can only guarantee that the monarch will give birth to a child, but it cannot guarantee whether the child will grow up, let alone whether he will be incompetent and cruel.

A country that is destined to perish will still perish.

Chapter 84 The situation changes

"The Byzantines were victorious, but..." Demetrios' expression was solemn. "The Venetian fleet we hired suffered heavy losses."

"The Byzantine army destroyed twenty of the Crescent's warships, while losing fourteen of its own, six of which were Venetian."

Thomas curled his lips, which was expected.

The Byzantines have evil intentions!

If they really regarded the Knights as an ally, they would know that at this weakest moment, they could not let the Knights lose any more blood.

But the Byzantines clearly wanted to use the Knights' last remaining assets as cannon fodder.

Regardless of the motivation, it is infuriating.

Thomas had long since stopped considering Byzantium a green name, but now he could consider it a red name.

Compared with the Star-Moon Sect, the difference is nothing more than the difference between light red and dark red.

Unfortunately, there was no Fourth Crusade in this world, which was a blessing for the Byzantines.

“Who is the Byzantine commander?” Thomas asked.

"Prince Andronicus."

As expected, if it was that person, it would be normal for him to do such a thing.

“What do the Byzantines want?” Thomas asked.

"It is said that they want to recapture Smyrna, the port now renamed Izmir."

"They are ambitious." Thomas thought for a moment.

This mainland port is very close to Rhode Island.

In my memory from my previous life, the Knights Hospitaller once occupied Rhodes Island and Smyrna.

Unfortunately, Timur came and not only defeated the Ottoman Empire in one battle, but also wiped out Smyrna.

Timur massacred and looted the port city, using countless human heads to build a mausoleum as a demonstration. The Knights Hospitaller, who were guarding Smyrna, fled back to Rhodes in a panic by ship.

Since then, the Knights Hospitaller completely lost their territory on the mainland and had to retreat to Rhodes Island.

Thomas' situation is different now. From the beginning, there has only been one Rhodes Island.

Thomas also hoped to capture Smyrna if conditions allowed.

And by the way, seize the entire Dodecanese Islands.

If this were achieved, Thomas would truly... become the undisputed leader of the Knights. The resulting prestige and reputation would be enough for him to privatize the Knights without much opposition.

Of course, it's just thought at this stage.

Even if the entire Knights' army was mobilized, all with a large amount of magic to fight ten enemies at once, Thomas would still not be able to capture Smyrna.

Even if they really found a gap in the enemy's troop deployment, or found an internal spy to lead the way and captured Smyrna, they would not be able to hold it.

Even if you insist that Thomas was desperate and relied on the power provided by his damaged godhead to forcibly block the enemy's offensive, he could not withstand a long siege.

In short, everything is overthinking at this stage. The top priority at the moment is to further restore and strengthen the military strength of the Knights.

To put it bluntly, it means being more pirates and robbing more!

"How's the situation in the city these past two days?"

"The whole city is praising your reputation!" Demetrios said, bowing respectfully to Thomas. "This victory is entirely due to your courage and strength."

My power... half of my power is still hidden!

Thomas complained in his heart.

Use it as a trap to trap those Star-Moon Cult assassins who come to kill me and seize the flag.

Trap as many as you can, and it would be best if you could trap a few Half-Step Protectors of the Nation!

For a long time to come, Thomas would not leave Rhodes Island unless necessary just to dig a hole and bury people.

Burying one more person will reduce the threat of the Star-Moon Cultists in the future.

"This is all Christ's revelation," Thomas said sternly. "Demetrios, I've always felt that we weren't recruiting fast enough. The main problem is that there aren't enough strong warriors willing to come."

"Well..." Demetrios was also a little embarrassed.

The Knights of Rhodes Island are indeed less attractive than other knightly orders. This is an objective fact.

After all, the original mission assigned to this place was to provide escort for pilgrims and ensure smooth sea routes to the holy land.

This mission is not very attractive.

"I'm wondering if we can offer some special conditions to attract others?" Thomas asked.

"What conditions?"

"The Holy See told me that he is willing to provide some... special methods to help people move from the elite to the elite!"

"That kind of thing... uh, Your Excellency the Grand Master, with all due respect, can't that kind of potion be bought with money?"

Most importantly, it’s not practical!

It costs a lot of money, and then the effect, which is the chance of survival, is no different from improvement.

While combat is dangerous, it's free and profitable. Potions, on the other hand, cost a fortune. The success rate is similar for both.

If there is any benefit, it is that you can die cleanly and not spend the rest of your life in a miserable state of disability.

"No, not that kind of potion, but a...almost harmless method. If I use this as a reward, will it attract talented people?"

"Of course!" Demetrios' eyes lit up. "And I suggest you don't give this kind of thing away casually. Instead, keep it within the Order as a reward for brave and loyal warriors. That way, the Order will be satisfied, and its appeal will greatly increase."

"I see." Thomas thought for a moment and admitted that Demetrios was right.

"Contact the quartermaster and offer this promotion opportunity as a reward. Set a suitable standard. Those who meet the standard can come to me to claim their reward. Of course, this doesn't need to be kept secret. You can even spread the rumor secretly! Spread it as widely as possible throughout the Christian world."

"Is it... the power of that magic flag?" Demetrios asked.

"I guess so." Thomas replied vaguely.

Divine enlightenment can elevate people to become protectors of the country. By the same token, theoretically there are also spells that can elevate humans to elite status.

Although not many people are studying this kind of magic at present.

But in theory this is fine.

And the power of Thomas's magic battle flag... was known to everyone in the Knights.

With the magic battle flag, can you release a spell that elevates people to elite status?

Demetrios hurried off to make arrangements, while Thomas casually opened the dimensional door and entered his own demiplane.

The golden apple tree is still growing vigorously, and the golden apples on it are beginning to ripen.

The first few golden apples were basically golden, with only a few places still having some green.

Thomas shoveled a shovel of the god's ashes, mixed it with water, and fertilized the golden apple.

Judging from the situation of the golden apple tree, the first batch of golden apples will be ripe and ready for picking within a month.

In addition, perhaps because of sufficient fertilizer, the golden apple tree itself continues to grow taller.

It was now about the same height as Thomas would have been if he had stood on tiptoe and raised his hand.

The bigger the tree is, the more branches it has, and the more fruits it will bear in the future.

As long as Thomas maintains his status as Grand Commander, this thing can be turned into money at any time, and an apple can easily be sold for 100,000 florins.

Even if the supply is large, plus the profit taking of the middlemen, it can still be sold for at least 50,000.

If Thomas can defeat the surrounding forces in the future, it won’t matter if he exposes this thing.

But if he loses his status as Grand Commander or becomes weak, Thomas must keep it secret and not tell anyone.

Thomas understood the principle that an innocent man is guilty unless he possesses a treasure.

Chapter 85 The First Fish 1

A few days later.

Thomas was in a good mood today and went for a walk in the city with his two guards.

It was said to be a walk, but after a few turns, I naturally arrived at the pier.

The dock has become noticeably prosperous during this period.

After all, Thomas had previously sacked the city of Tobruk and brought back a large amount of loot.

A lot of spoils need to be converted into cash.

The monetization of these spoils will bring a lot of business opportunities.

For businessmen, profit is everything. As long as there is enough profit, no risk or anything else can stop them.

The number of ships docked at the pier had more than doubled, excluding the Knights' own ships.

The originally empty port has become lively.

There is an auction table in a corner of the dock, where people are selling the captured ships through auction.

These ships, some new and some old, were mostly not warships. There was no point in the Knights keeping them; they had to be sold for cash.

Thomas did not need to give any extra instructions for these tasks, as there were already mature models.

There were all kinds of people attending the auction, many of whom were obviously members of the Star-Moon Cult, some even wearing turbans.