A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

Several soldiers shouted towards that direction.

A short time later, a voice echoed from the house.

"Damn it! Thomas, don't think I'm afraid of you!" Amidst the flames, a figure jumped down from the second-floor window.

There was a roar of bullets. At least ten bullets hit the target.

But unlike before, this time it seemed to be completely ineffective.

Because that figure still stands, as steady as a rock.

It was a figure wearing pale armor and holding a long sword of the same color.

The style of that armor... well, that style either belongs to some distant country that no one is familiar with, or exists only in myths and legends. Of course, it could also be some kind of religious ritual equipment.

At least by normal human standards, it's flashy. Expensive, but impractical.

But when I looked more closely, the figure seemed somewhat unreal.

It's like liquid, like mist, or somewhere in between.

Even the blazing red fire could not diminish the pale and cold appearance of his body.

The numerous bullet hits had no lethal effect, at least there was no sign of any injuries.

On the forecastle of a distant ship, two people each held a telescope and looked at the scene in the distance.

"Do you know who that is?" asked the strong man.

"It's the 'Pale Ghost,'" Lucas said suddenly. "Venice has a bounty of ten thousand florins on his head. It's not just Venice; several other countries have bounties on his head, but none as high as Venice's. I remember his name, Savonarola, I think? He's a somewhat famous professional assassin. Five years ago, he tried to assassinate the Doge of Venice, but he didn't succeed, and he still managed to escape."

"When you mention that, it reminds me. It seems that several attempts to encircle and suppress him have failed. They all say that he might be halfway to becoming a Protector of the Nation, or even already a Protector of the Nation. Interesting, I'm afraid the Knights can't capture him!"

"On the contrary, I think there's a chance that the bounty in Venice will be redeemed," Lucas said.

"Do you think Savonarola will lose? He looks like he can't lose. Even if he can't win, he should be able to escape."

"Look, what's behind the Knights?!"

"Bloody Cross Flag?! Oh, the Grand Commander is here."

With the Pope's approval, the Bloody Cross has become the official flag of the Knights Templar.

The pale evil spirit brandished the long sword in his hand and strode towards the front of the knight team.

Another wave of bullets and arrows hit him.

This time, it could be clearly seen that bullets and arrows had no killing effect on his semi-virtual body.

The arrow pierced his body like it was passing through a layer of liquid, leaving only an inconspicuous ripple. Even that ripple quickly subsided.

The long sword in his hand was covered with dangerous and strange spiritual fire.

Although it is impossible to judge what effect a blow from this weapon will have, normal people instinctively realize that this thing probably cannot be blocked by armor or shields.

Being hit by it can be very dangerous.

Another group of musketeers had already taken aim. However, when the telescope zoomed in, one could see a faint glow emanating from the muzzles of their guns.

The roar of muskets.

The pale evil spirit that had just strode forward with such momentum froze, and there were many holes on his body.

The bullet passed through his body, no longer leaving a harmless ripple, but caused real damage, leaving a wound in his body that could not be healed.

The pale evil spirit fell to the ground, and in his dying convulsions, his body changed from a semi-empty state to that of a normal human - a naked man.

"Wow, this is the legendary divine object..." Lucas said in a low voice.

I was really lucky to have witnessed the power of this magic flag with my own eyes.

It was an unexpected gain.

"It's really amazing. He can use magic freely and can even bless the entire army with magic!"

They all saw that it was a first-level spell: magic weapon.

This magic is not rare, and any monk who has practiced magic for three to five years can perform it. It is a relatively practical low-level spell.

If the magic is made into a scroll, it can only be sold for a few hundred florins, at most a few hundred, and it cannot be higher.

But they all knew that this magic could normally only be used on one person.

But just now, the entire army was blessed.

And there is no cost! Unlimited spellcasting!

It is worthy of being the divine artifact bestowed by Christ to mortal believers... This is simply the most precious treasure among treasures!

Chapter 120 Interlude 3

"No wonder..." the burly man said. "It's said the Grand Master wants the Wolf God to take action."

"Wolf God? Who is that?" Lucas asked.

"Since Thomas took office, he's been unstoppable and victorious... It's only natural that he has such a treasure." The burly man didn't answer, but changed the subject. "A treasure like this...would you like to try to get it together?"

"Not interested. We have our own plans, and we just need to not interfere with each other," Lucas replied.

"That's fine. Then let's not interfere with each other." The strong man said with a smile.

The two stopped talking immediately. Lucas stayed for a while and then turned and left.

Until he left completely.

Then another person walked silently to the side of the strong man.

"Sir, are we still going to proceed as planned?"

"Sure, why not?"

"The Venetians... aren't you afraid they might... take advantage of the situation to cause trouble?"

"Don't be afraid," the burly man laughed. "The Venetians have always been like this: fierce on the outside, but timid on the inside. They appear omnipresent and dangerous, but when it comes to actually taking action, they calculate the pros and cons, ultimately missing opportunities. It was like this then, and it's the same now. They won't have much impact on our plans."

"That...just now over there..."

"Are you talking about the Pale Spirit? That kind of idiot didn't even know how to hide when he came to Rhodes Island." He was extremely contemptuous of such unprofessional behavior.

Everyone with a brain knows that Rhodes Island, especially Rhodes City, is not a big place.

You can fish in troubled waters in big places, but it is difficult in small places.

So if you really want to ambush and wait for the opportunity, you can either live on the boat like here and be untraceable, or you have to find a hiding place in the countryside outside.

In Rhodes City, especially hiding so close to the dock... Do they really think the Knights come for free?

They definitely have a lot of spies in the city and will pay extra attention to outsiders.

Only assassins who come from a self-taught background would do such a stupid thing.

"It's not just the Venetians. I'm afraid spies, secret agents, and even assassins from other countries will slowly be coming. What we need to do now is to look for opportunities, not to take direct action. We only take money to do the work. The Grandmaster pays us, and we do the work. When we take action, we must put them first!"

"If things get really badly pushed, the Grandmaster might actually send the Wolf God over."

"Sir, you just mentioned...Who is the Wolf God?"

"A... protector of the country!" the burly man laughed. "An extraordinary one."

"Theoretically, the Star-Moon Cult has four Protectorates in the entire Eastern Mediterranean... Of course, there are only three left now. The Wolf God isn't here, but in the Persian Gulf... It won't be easy to transfer him over."

"Extraordinary protection of the country?" What does this mean?

"Small tribes living in desert oases already worship him as a deity," the burly man said. "It's said he was an abandoned baby in India, adopted by wild wolves. As a child, curious merchants caught him as a rare treasure and took him to Persia. Later, while passing through the desert, he found an opportunity to escape. After spending some time in the desert, he was taken in as an adopted son by a tribal leader. It was then discovered that he was a genius in combat."

"It is said that later, a battle broke out between desert tribes, and he and his adoptive father were captured. Then, his adoptive father was executed before him. The grief and rage of witnessing the death of his loved ones triggered his innate instincts. When reinforcements arrived the next day, they found that there was no one left alive in the enemy tribe. The bodies were piled up like a mountain."

"Then he became the leader of the tribe, frequently raiding the surrounding areas. His ferocity and bloodlust made him famous, so much so that anyone who saw him in battle felt he was no longer human. Many viewed him as the incarnation of a god on earth, hence his nickname, the Wolf God."

"Of course, in the end, the five elders of the Star-Moon Sword Cult came to him and used some... um, method to 'convince' him. From then on, the Wolf God became a member of the Star-Moon Sword."

"Sir, you know so much..."

"I've seen the Wolf God."

"what……"

"That look... that posture... it's more like a monster than a 'god,'" the burly man suddenly laughed. "But they probably won't send the Wolf God. Hezil Reiss is more likely. I heard Hezil isn't very good at land combat, though... well, he's a protector of the nation after all!"

"Alright, alright. Drinking too much makes one talkative, and talkative spies aren't welcome. Come on, have a sip too. This is a good, expensive drink. Don't worry... this is completely in compliance with regulations. It's fermented juice..."

He yawned and lazily lay down on the hammock.

It's quite interesting. Now it's completely certain that the Pope has played another trump card. I just wonder what kind of storm this trump card will stir up in the Eastern Mediterranean?

……

Another day dawns.

The sky is high and the air is clear, with not a single cloud in sight.

It was already autumn, the sun was still a little hot on my body, and the sea breeze was blowing.

Thomas and a few of his men were waiting near the dock.

A small boat slowly entered the harbor and docked at the pier.

The secretary Demetrios stood at the bow of the boat and could be seen from a distance.

"What does the Holy See say?" Thomas asked as soon as Demetrios came ashore.

“The Holy See says it’s absolutely fine,” Demetrios replied.

Thomas smiled. "Andrea, order the preparations immediately. Complete them today and set off tomorrow. Demetrios," he gestured, stopping Demetrios from speaking. "I know you have many questions, but let's discuss them when we get back."

In this era, transportation and communication were inconvenient. It would often take a messenger more than ten days to travel back and forth.

I really miss the Wolf Lord's bird-like message.

Unfortunately, Thomas is not qualified to contact the Wolf Lord yet. If he does, he will just be a sucker.

The kind where you don't even know when it was sold.

Demetrios had a lot to say, but Thomas temporarily silenced him, so he could only keep it in his stomach.

After a while, several people returned to the Knights' headquarters.

"Grandmaster," Demetrios said after entering the meeting room, unable to contain himself any longer. "You want to attack Smyrna?"

"It's not a thought, it's already decided!" Thomas replied.

"I know the magic flag is powerful, but... that flag alone won't be enough!" Demetrios said. "The Crescent Moon Cultists are not without magic."

"It's all right. Christ will protect me."

Demetrios was furious, but he didn't know what to say.

It was also fortunate that after the Grand Commander took office, he had a series of punches and achieved fruitful results, and gained a certain prestige, otherwise Demetrios would probably have jumped up at this moment.

"Captain, how many troops do we have now?" After a long time, he calmed down and asked the question as calmly as possible.

Chapter 121 Before the War 1

"The Knights can muster eight hundred men of their own, eight hundred mercenaries, plus the Rus and Bulgarians...who have all agreed to accept my command, plus the troops you hired. Together, our strength should be three thousand, perhaps even more."

It's possible to send more troops, but it's useless because the Knights can't gather so many ships to transport personnel in such a short time.

The Knights Templar and the Byzantine Empire are two different things!

"Then, Grand Commander, even if we capture Smyrna and all our troops—not to mention whether they will leave or suffer casualties, even if this strength is maintained—are completely intact, can we hold it?"

"I admit that the Rum Sultanate may not be able to spare the time in the short term. Let's give them two or three years. Then, after two or three years, when the Rum Sultanate's army arrives, can we hold on?"

Demetrios asked calmly.

"We know that flag is powerful, but no matter how strong it is, the magic's duration is limited! In other words, if the enemy attacks Rhodes Island simultaneously, and you are unable to deal with them all by yourself, what will you do then? Do you want to save Smyrna? Or do you want to save Rhodes Island?"

He stared at Thomas.

The Knights were too weak after all.

And Smyrna was a territory that the Seljuks would never give up.

"With a year or two of preparation, we can hold it!" Thomas replied with a smile. "Of course, we have to improve the city's fortifications."