A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

"It is said that this man is very greedy."

"Greed?" Muzaffar smiled. "It certainly seems so."

Just over a month later, the war returned to the city of Smyrna.

But this time, the Knights went from being supporting roles to being the protagonists.

In the city of Smyrna, soldiers were marching out of the city gates in an orderly manner and forming battle formations.

This time, a proper defense of the city was impossible, as the three large gaps in the wall were still there. There was no condition for holding the city.

In this case, we can only go out of the city to decide the outcome.

Judging from the timing, when the entire army landed and formed up, the enemy had almost completed its formation.

Leaving the city is more convenient than landing, but one side has more people and the other side has fewer people, so the gap can barely be narrowed.

So the formation should be completed at about the same time.

"A different person would have likely attacked the Knights mid-crossing the river as they landed," Muzaffar said. "The defenders have plenty of cavalry, so they could easily have done that. However, this Timur Tash doesn't want an ordinary victory; he wants a complete victory."

Attacking after the Knights had landed would give them a chance to deploy their forces, but it would also prevent them from escaping.

If we are defeated in the war, the entire army will be annihilated.

"The Knights' total strength... should be around 3,000, maybe slightly less," Muzaffar continued observing. "The cavalry is very small, less than 200, and they're grouped together. They're obviously serving as a reserve, to fill the line in times of crisis, or to pursue the enemy after victory."

His gaze shifted to the other side.

"As for Timur Tash, it's said he brought 2,000 cavalry and 4,000 infantry. Combined with the existing garrison in Izmir... the total force should be over 8,000. There's no manpower left to man the city walls... What's that? It seems he's driving unarmed civilians onto the city walls? What does this mean?"

"Sir," one of his men said, "I heard that Timur Tash was exacting heavy taxes and exploiting the pagans in Izmir. He must have brought the leading pagans to the city walls."

After hearing this, Muzaffar understood.

This is to intimidate the pagans!

Let them look at the powerful force of the Rum Sultanate's army, pay the money obediently, and don't even think about resisting.

Furthermore, judging by their strength on the battlefield, the Sultanate of Rum was clearly superior. The Knights probably had little chance of victory.

We can only wait and see how powerful the legendary bloody cross flag is.

Chapter 125 Artifact 1

"Sir, who do you think will win?" asked a subordinate.

This battle had nothing to do with them, so everyone just watched from the sidelines and felt very relaxed.

Whether Izmir is defended or not, it will not be a loss for the sect.

For them, coming here is a rare opportunity, and they want to see the power of the legendary Christian artifact up close.

In fact, even now, many people do not believe that the bloody cross flag has such power.

A magical item that can cast spells infinitely, providing blessings to all friendly units within range.

And this thing doesn't cost anything.

It's not like everyone has ever seen magical items before, but never anything this outrageous. It's truly a divine object bestowed upon mortals by Christ.

"Half and half!" laughed Muzaffar.

"I think Thomas has a better chance of winning, but..."

"If he comes here with his magic flag as his confidence, then he is doomed to fail!"

"Why?" asked one of the men.

"Because by now, everyone with ears in the entire Eastern Mediterranean probably knows the legend of this flag. If Timur Tash doesn't take some precautions, he's not an experienced veteran, but an idiot who underestimates the enemy!"

At this time, both sides have completed their battle formations.

Both sides formed a V-shaped formation, with the wings relatively empty and the elite concentrated in the center, which also protruded forward.

This formation has many names, such as "pig mouth formation", but a more elegant term is "goose formation".

To put it simply, the idea is to concentrate the elite troops in the center and break through the enemy formation from the front.

The left and right wings of the Knights were Bulgarians and Rus. They were not numerous, but their morale seemed high.

They should be the remnants who survived the last Byzantine army.

But their numbers were small, and their formation was too thin compared to the enemy.

At this moment, on the walls of Smyrna.

There was no defense on the city walls, and even the city gates were wide open.

Anyway, there are three big gaps, so there is really not much difference between having one more wide-open city gate and one less.

But no defense does not mean no people.

Almost all the civilians in the city, especially the wealthy pagans, were taken to the city walls.

Looking down at the battlefield.

Several members of the Star and Moon Cult walked among these people with arrogance.

"Look carefully and see how those pagans were eliminated!"

"Master Timur Tash's army is invincible. A mere knightly order is nothing to fear!"

Everyone could see it.

The width of the formations of both sides was similar, but the formation of the Star-Moon Cult army was much thicker than that of the other side.

Not only that, there is also a large cavalry stationed in the rear.

The enemy had very few cavalry.

Not only that, although Timur Tash had a clear advantage, he did not attack, but waited for the enemy.

Even the spectators watching the battle on the cliff felt that it was a bit too much.

The tactical ideas of both sides are obvious.

The Knights are a standard central assault, breaking through the opponent's line from the middle in one fell swoop, from point to surface, and once the breakthrough is made, they will sweep the entire field.

The Crescent Moon Cult's side is the "hammer and anvil".

Once the infantry can withstand the enemy's direct attack, the cavalry will start to attack and bypass the enemy. When the time comes, they will be attacked from both sides. Not a single Knight will be able to escape!

This strategy was adopted because the Crescent Moon Cult had no naval support. There were warships in the port, but no manpower.

Therefore, we cannot give the Knights the opportunity to retreat to the seaside and re-board the ship.

Over there, soldiers from both sides began to pray before the battle according to the customs of that era.

Put down your weapons, kneel down as low as possible, and pray to your gods, hoping that the gods will give you strength, courage and victory.

"It's time to start!" Muzaffar took out a scroll from his arms.

Third-level spell: Arcane Vision!

A scroll worth twelve hundred florins... but Muzaffar thought it was money well spent.

His eyes closed, and when he opened them again, they had become as bright as silver.

When you look at the world at this time, you will find that in addition to normal vision, there is another layer, and you can intuitively "see" magic.

Many magical effects are invisible to the naked eye, but through arcane vision, the truth can be seen simply and clearly.

Among the Christian soldiers, the brilliance of magic was rising one after another.

Muzaffar did not have professional knowledge and could not tell what kind of magic those lights were, but he was very clear that every time a light came on, it meant that these soldiers were blessed by a kind of magic.

You can also clearly determine the range of this magic blessing.

The range is larger than expected, but there are limits.

Of course this makes sense, otherwise it would fundamentally change the rules of the world! I guess it would take the gods themselves to come down.

Over there, several people holding magic flags hurried to the other wing to cast magic on other soldiers who were out of the range just now.

It should be noted that even if the magic flag was removed, the magical brilliance on the soldiers did not diminish in the slightest.

In other words... the legend is true.

This is an "unlimited cast" banner.

The effect of a regular magic flag is that everyone within the range is blessed by a certain magic. Once they leave the range, the spell disappears immediately.

Even so, it is already an extremely precious item.

It is enough to be hidden in the treasury of monarchs of various countries.

This artifact is different. It can "cast spells unlimitedly within the range, and the spells will still be effective after leaving the range."

In other words, as long as there is enough time, not to mention 3,000 or 5,000 soldiers, even a hundred thousand troops can be blessed with magic without a single one left!

It’s really good stuff!

No wonder the Grand Master was determined to get this thing.

With this magical artifact, what glorious achievements could the Star-Moon Sword Cult achieve?! Conquering the entire world is even possible!

Compared to this divine object, Rhodes Island itself seems insignificant.

After the pre-battle prayer, the Knights began to advance slowly.

Among the Star-Crescent followers, the arrogant Timur Tash was humbly facing an old man beside him.

Judging from the old man's attire, he is an ascetic monk of the Star and Moon Sect, or a mendicant monk.

Like Christianity, the Star-Moon Cult also holds the secrets of magic, and clergy also need to practice magic.

In fact, there is little difference among the major religions in this regard.

Magic is too precious, but it does exist.

At this moment, the bright silver eyes of the mendicant monk were flowing with magnificent spiritual light. He had long been blessed by the "arcane vision".

"As expected... the pagans used that flag to cast a spell on their soldiers," the dervish said. "My lord, remember our agreement."

"Of course, as long as you kill Thomas and capture the flag, it will be yours," said Timur Tash.

He saw clearly that the real danger standing in his way was not the pitifully small number of enemy troops, but the magic flag.

Before, the pagans had used this method to defeat the Star-Moon Cultists time and time again.

But, this time is different.

In this world, magic is indeed precious, and using it on the battlefield is a waste.

But, it doesn’t mean that we can’t go into the battlefield!

The author says:

Author's words: Thanks to readers xfjaahhb and SEERS for their rewards. I will continue to work hard.

Chapter 126 Artifact 2

This mendicant monk was not alone. There were more than ten mendicants dressed in the same way around him.

"That's enough," the dervish said to his companions. "You can all go your separate ways."

Everyone nodded in obedience and left, spreading evenly among the Star-Moon Cult's lines. Of course, not the first line, but the second line, where they would not be affected when the battle started.

"Also, Lord Timur Tash, please withdraw the ranged troops," the dervish said. "I just saw that the pagans all have the 'Defense Against Ranged Weapons' spell. If your troops fire normally, they'll have little effect."

Timur Tash, of course, followed suit and ordered the archers to retreat.

The battle lines of both sides began to close.

The Star-Moon Cult's troops had a thick formation, divided into two formations in front and back.

The first group was composed of militiamen from the city of Izmir. They were not very strong in combat and were not Timur Tash's old subordinates.

It can be used as the first-line cannon fodder to block and consume the enemy.

The second group was Timur Tash's trusted elite troops.

The battle lines of both sides began to close.