A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

After all, once their navy is established, it is hard to say who the first target will be.

Don't say Smyrna suffered heavy losses and was weakened, because many people knew that Smyrna had received reinforcements after the last battle.

Although the Sultanate of Rum was forced by the situation, it still found a way to send a troop here.

But when we got here, we found that the Knights had actually taken the city.

Even though it looked exhausting, a win is a win.

"what should we do?"

"This is a good opportunity. The Knights have limited manpower but are stationed in two locations..."

"If something unexpected happens again, we'll be caught in a dilemma."

"No matter how good Smyrna is, it's not something the Knights can eat!"

"It depends on whether he knows what's best for him. If he doesn't, then we'll follow our plan..."

The two diplomats quietly discussed the best options.

A few minutes later, we were already on the boat.

Both sides looked at each other.

Thomas had also experienced the battle. His armor was stained with blood. He was holding his helmet in his hand, looking a little different from last time.

Especially the facial expressions.

The last time, the leader had a friendly look on his face. Although he was not kind-hearted, he was very polite.

But this time, his expression was not very good.

But both parties were acquaintances who had met before, and the person in front of them was indeed the commander-in-chief.

Likewise, Thomas was also looking at the two of them.

He knew before that the two were not actually related by blood, but now they were wearing similar clothes, had the same skin color, and had similar round faces...

The two diplomats must have been named, but Thomas didn't remember them. He just called them Dupont and Dubang.

Two people that no one except the readers finds funny.

"Your Excellency, Grand Commander." The first diplomat, or the one Thomas named Du Bang, touched his hat.

Normal etiquette is to take off your hat, put it in your arms to salute, talk, and then put the hat back on when you are done talking.

Of course, if the two parties are just casual friends, there is no need to do this. Just take off your hat, salute, and then put it back on.

However, if the person is in a superior position, talking to the inferior, for example, a noble to a commoner, then no etiquette is required.

In other words, the etiquette used depends entirely on one's mood.

The last time they met, they just touched their hats with their hands as a greeting.

This time we will follow the same habit as last time.

Thomas's mouth twitched. He suddenly remembered something from the past.

It seems that a certain monarch nailed the hat of a diplomat to his head forever because he refused to take off his hat to salute.

Thomas used to think this practice was brutal and barbaric, but now he thought it was worth imitating.

Of course, this is just a thought. Thomas's soul comes from the future world, and he boasts that he has moral standards that surpass those of this era. Such tyrannical behavior is unacceptable even if he wants to!

"Congratulations, Captain, for your great victory." Du Bang said.

"You two are busy with military affairs. I have a lot of things to do here. Please don't be polite. If you have anything to say, please just tell me."

"It is like this. On behalf of the Empire, as allies, we ask you to honor your covenant."

"Oh, I've always kept my promise," Thomas said. "When the Empire goes to war, I'll provide a squadron or 800 land forces."

"But you know, Smyrna is imperial territory. Only the Empire has sovereignty over it."

"Oh." Thomas raised his eyebrows.

"So, I hope the Knights can hand over Smyrna to the Empire as soon as possible. That will truly reflect the value of being an ally, right?"

"Oh, yes, and these warships. They belong to the Empire," Dupont said, as if remembering something. "Please return them to the Empire as soon as possible."

Thomas smiled.

It was not easy to suppress this evil fire. In fact, he really wanted to chop these two guys to pieces with a sword and throw them directly into the sea.

Even if the Byzantine Empire asked about it... No, let alone the Byzantine Empire, even if Rome asked about it, he would pretend not to know.

I worked so hard, shed blood, sweat, and effort to win the spoils, and you want me to hand them over so easily?

How can it be!

Although he couldn't really kill the couple, it didn't mean he could do nothing.

Thomas didn't even realize that his smile looked a little evil.

If you want to snatch food from the tiger's mouth, you must be prepared to be eaten by the tiger.

At least you can take a solid bite.

"Of course, no problem." Thomas said.

The two diplomats' faces immediately showed joy.

"Then we should go back and contact the Empire immediately and send someone to take over."

"That's not urgent," Thomas replied. "You two have come a long way and must have had a hard time traveling. Andrea!" he called out.

A few minutes later, Knight Andrea appeared on the boat, but he did not come alone. There was another young man with him who looked familiar to Thomas but whose name he could not remember.

"Who are you?" Thomas stared at the other person.

"Grandmaster!" the young man said quickly. "It's urgent. Master Radagast sent me to see you."

"Radigast?" It took Thomas a few seconds to connect the name with the image of the old man in blue robe.

Oh, by the way, that magician is an advisor to the Knights Templar after all, so he arranged for this young man to be his follower.

By the way, keep an eye on the old man to prevent him from doing anything bad.

After all, it is always right to be wary of a magician, especially a magician who can access the seventh layer of the magic network.

"What does he want from me?"

"He said he made a significant discovery on the island," the boy said. "He has something very urgent to report to you. I hope you return immediately."

"immediately?"

Thomas suspected that the young man had been deceived by the old man.

The old man probably felt uncomfortable having a monitor around him, so he used this method to drive him away.

But looking back, it seemed unlikely. Because if the old man just wanted to get rid of the trouble, he wouldn't have come up with such a reason.

This was a direct deception to him as the commander-in-chief. According to Chinese standards, this was the crime of deceiving the emperor.

Although it is not customary in Europe to kill for this, it is common practice to lock the old man up in jail.

"I understand, my two envoys. I'm afraid I have urgent matters to attend to and cannot accompany you. Andrea, let the two envoys rest. The war is still raging, and their safety must be absolutely guaranteed! Otherwise, it will be a disgrace to the Knights!"

Chapter 130 Post-War 1

Although Andrea is a warrior, he is not a rough man, but a meticulous and understanding person.

He obviously understood exactly what Thomas meant.

"Please follow me, both of you," Andrea said, holding the hilt of his sword with one hand.

"Captain, what do you mean?" The two diplomats' faces changed drastically.

"It's meaningless," Thomas said. "The war is still going on, and your safety is paramount. If you are harmed by those infidels who haven't been completely wiped out, the reputation of the Knights will be damaged."

That being said, anyone, unless they were a fool, would understand that he was going to put the two people under house arrest.

"Grand Commander, how long can you hold us captive? The Empire will soon understand..." Dupont began.

"Your Excellency, that's a bit rude!" This time, it wasn't Thomas, but Andrea who interrupted him. "What's wrong with the Grand Commander considering your safety?"

Du Bang quietly tugged at his clothes, and he shut up and followed Andrea away angrily.

After Andrea left, Thomas faced the follower again.

"What did Master Radagast discover? You should have been with him the whole time, right?"

"Yes, Master Radagast has been traveling around the island, and I've been accompanying him. But... we found an abandoned outpost. Then he told me to come to you quickly."

"Abandoned outpost? Who abandoned it? Where is it? What does it look like?"

"It's a Knights' outpost," the attendant replied. "It's been abandoned for a short time. It's located near a small dock on the edge of the island. It's called an outpost, but it's actually just a cave. The Knights must have suffered heavy losses and lacked the manpower to monitor less important locations, so they've temporarily abandoned it."

Small pier?

Thomas knew that there were many small docks on the island - mainly for fishermen's small fishing boats.

There's really no point in monitoring this kind of dock; after all, it makes no difference whether it exists or not. In fact, as long as someone is willing to put in the effort, they can definitely reach the island! The Knights can't monitor every corner of the island day and night!

“I see,” Thomas said.

I thought I could relax a little after the victory, but now it turns out there is still a lot to do.

He hurriedly left the port of Smyrna and returned to the city lord's mansion.

Demetrios is here.

"Demetrios, how are things here?"

"Better than expected," Demetrios replied immediately. "Grandmaster, several important warehouses in the city are intact."

Thomas nodded.

Good luck.

It was obvious that the Star-Moon Cultists wanted to wait and see, and counterattack after the magic wore off, rather than admit defeat.

So they missed the opportunity to completely destroy the city and leave a mess for the Knights.

When the battle situation becomes irreversible, it will be too late to sabotage it.

“How’s the harvest?” Thomas asked.

"The food reserves are at least six months! The other property is worth at least one million florins! We have won a great victory this time!"

"What are our losses?" Thomas asked.

Speaking of this topic, Demetrios sighed.

"Nearly one-third of the mercenaries were killed or wounded. We... the Knights lost nearly thirty knights and over a hundred soldiers. The Rus and Bulgarians fared slightly better, but they also suffered significant losses."

The other losses were minor, the Knights Templar had no more than two hundred knights in total, and only thirty were lost here. Of the eight hundred elite soldiers, one hundred and fifty were lost!

Damn, this loss... is so heartbreaking!

They are all well-trained elite soldiers, the kind that cannot be easily replenished!

"How could there be so many casualties?" Thomas couldn't help but feel angry.

"Many Crescent Cult civilians joined the battle that night, causing considerable casualties. Many Crescent Cult clergy in the city have been encouraging their followers to join the fight, shouting slogans of holy war," Demetrios replied. "In the chaos of a night battle, such losses are truly... unavoidable."

A strong urge surged in Thomas' heart. He wanted to emulate Timur the Lame and completely obliterate the city with fire and sword, making these ignorant Star-Crescent believers pay a heavy price for their stubborn resistance! He wanted to build a Jingguan with their heads!

But this impulse was suppressed.

It's not that I don't want to, but I can't.

After all, what he owned was just a knightly order, not an empire!

And he knew deep down that this was a normal situation.

Hundreds of years of fighting between the two religions had long since forged a deep hatred. The actions of the Star-Moon Cultists were not wrong.

If the attackers and defenders were reversed, the situation would be no different. Christian clergy would also have tried their best to encourage resistance.

"Have all the clergy been dealt with?"

"They're actively inciting resistance, so we can't let them go," Demetrios replied. "Grandmaster, the wounded have been gathered. They're over there, and you can see them not far away."

"I will go, but there's one thing that's most important," Thomas said. "Send your most capable messenger immediately to bring the news of our capture of Smyrna back to Rome as quickly as possible! As quickly as possible!"