A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

Except for the first time, the other party only talked about some general principles and common sense, but did not involve practical skills and knowledge.

Although Thomas lacked even this common sense, he also understood that knowing these principles would not have an immediate effect.

Back on board, the boat immediately set sail.

Thomas stood at the bow, gazing into the distance.

"Sir, why are you here?" The young follower came up behind him and asked quietly.

Louis had been there the previous time, but he hadn't been able to discern the mystery. He was completely baffled. He didn't know why the Grand Master had come to this place specifically before his recent journey.

Thomas smiled but didn't answer.

"Louis, our coach said you're pretty good. If you want to join the Knights in the future, you must train hard."

"Yes, sir, I will definitely try my best." The former sailor was obviously excited when he said this.

"Sir!" A sailor on the other side suddenly called out. "Over there, there's a boat coming!"

Thomas frowned and someone pointed at him. A ship appeared on the sea in the distance.

It's neither a warship nor a merchant ship, but something in between. Or perhaps you could call it an "armed merchant ship."

He pulled out a telescope and looked over there. What came into view was a familiar flag.

The Golden Lion Flag, or the Flag of St. Mark, is the flag of the Republic of Venice.

It's the Venetian!

It came straight towards Thomas's small sailboat!

Chapter 147 Venetian 3

Several sailors in charge of driving the ship were very nervous.

The Venetians were now the dominant power in the Mediterranean, or at least the strongest.

Before, there was still competition between the Genoese and the Venetians, but now, the power of the Genoese has clearly begun to shrink.

Now, at least in terms of navy, the Venetians are the undisputed number one.

In Thomas's previous life, the Ottoman Turks beat the shit out of the Venetians, proving to the world that commercial nations had no future. But there is no Ottoman Turk in this world.

Therefore, the deterrent effect of the St. Mark's flag is still quite strong.

However, despite being nervous, the sailors did not make any special moves. They just looked up from time to time at the bloody cross flag hanging above and at the captain at the bow.

As long as we have this flag and the commander-in-chief, we will have confidence.

"Hold the boat!" Thomas ordered. "Let's see what the Venetians are up to!"

The captain's calmness infected the others, and the sailboat dropped anchor and waited there.

If the Venetians were passing by, they would brush past the small sailboat, stirring up some waves to make the sailboat pitch and roll, which was a harmless prank.

But the Venetians were not just passing by, but had a purpose. As the two sides got closer, the Venetians lowered their sails and slowed down.

The entire ship approached at a very slow speed, then dropped anchor and stopped.

The two ships were dozens of meters apart.

One was a quasi-battleship armed to the teeth, and the other was a small sailboat with only a few people and no combat capability.

However, I didn't feel any hostility from the other party.

Many Venetians could be seen crowding the side of the ship, looking over here and pointing at the bloody cross flag flying on the sailboat. There were so many people that the entire ship was tilting slightly.

Thomas had no objection to this, because by lowering the flag, he would at least be able to gain ten or so divine powers.

Although he needs ten thousand balls of divine power to touch the seventh layer of the magic net, after all, even a mosquito leg is still meat.

A small boat was lowered over there, and someone got on the boat and rowed towards the sailboat.

After a while, the newcomer got on the boat.

There were three people, obviously a leader with two subordinates.

Both men were sturdy men with short hair, dressed like sailors and wearing leather armor. They looked ordinary.

The leader was dressed like a wealthy businessman, wearing a long robe embellished with silk. Unfortunately, his shoulders were broad and his body was tall and straight. He did not have the businessman's temperament of making money through harmony, but he looked capable and strong.

Three... elites!

Thomas's face remained expressionless. He neither welcomed nor stopped these people from boarding the ship.

The other side only had one ship, but he was not afraid at all.

If a fight really breaks out, he can kill everyone on the boat by himself!

"Grand Commander!" The man who came up didn't hesitate, removing his hat and bowing dramatically. "My name is Lucas, the envoy from Venice."

"Envoy? This way of meeting is not what an envoy should do!" said Thomas.

"I'm truly sorry, but I just arrived in Rhodes and requested to see you, only to learn that you had just left for Smyrna. I thought I'd missed you, but I unexpectedly encountered the Bloody Cross Flag at sea. It truly was God's will."

Thomas didn't believe a word Lucas said, but the underlying meaning was clear to him.

I control your every move!

Instead of heading straight to Smyrna, Thomas made a detour and went to the caves on the other side of the island.

Thomas told no one about this.

So if Lucas was sailing from the port of Rhodes to Smyrna, he would have just passed by Thomas.

We should meet in Smyrna.

Instead of now, the two sides collided head-on at sea!

"So, Mr. Lucas, why did you come here to see me?"

"Well, I heard that the Knights had recaptured Smyrna, so I came here to congratulate them..."

"What's the gift? Could it be... this ship?" Thomas pointed at an armed merchant ship in the distance. "This ship is worth quite a bit. While it's not a regular warship, it can serve as an auxiliary vessel."

"Grandmaster, you're joking." Lucas's mouth twitched, but he immediately smiled. "In fact, our governor has entrusted me with a trade treaty. I believe it will be of great help to the Knights."

A subordinate handed over a document. Lucas took it and presented it to Thomas respectfully with both hands.

Thomas didn't even look at it and handed it directly to Louis beside him.

"I don't have time to read it on the way. I will reply to Your Excellency the Governor after I have studied it carefully."

One of the followers beside him took half a step forward, as if he wanted to do something, but when Lucas glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, the follower's body trembled and he dared not move again.

"There's another thing," Lucas continued amiably. "The Republic has run into some trouble in Alexandria... The overlord of the Crescent-Star Cult there has been suppressing our trading post, even openly looting it! So, based on the Christian spirit of mutual assistance, I hope the Grand Master can lend a hand."

"Of course, the Republic will give equal rewards."

Thomas looked surprised.

The Venetians asked the Knights for help? Damn, this is really not a joke.

If the Knights now count all the warships on paper, including newly captured ones and those still unfinished in the shipyards, and can barely put together two or three squadrons, then the Venetians can at least gather the strength of thirty squadrons.

They are not on the same level at all. The Knights are not even a fraction of the Venetians.

"The Venetians need the Knights' aid? If I remember correctly, don't the Venetians also have Crete? That would be perfectly adequate as a naval base, right? Besides, I've heard the Fatimid navy wasn't strong either. How could it possibly be compared to Venice?"

"Well, the Fatimid navy wasn't strong, but neither was our army," Lucas continued. "The Republic faced many threats, and we had to respond to them, but we couldn't wage a long-term war with the Arabs in Egypt."

"Do you think the Knights can wage a long-term war against the Fatimids? There are some things I don't want to hide. If we send the Knights on an expedition to Egypt, not to mention other restrictions, we can only send a maximum of 300 people."

Lucas smiled. "Three hundred people will be enough. What we really need is you, the Grand Commander."

"Oh!" Thomas also laughed. "Unfortunately, although I support the Republic's military action in Egypt, the Knights simply don't have the energy left..."

"Have you heard something?" Lucas smiled even brighter. "The Crescent Moon Cultists have offered a reward of 100,000 florins for you! The Sultan's reward is absolutely trustworthy!"

"Haha, it's really interesting. But are you interested in collecting this bounty?" Thomas sneered.

"Of course I'm not interested. How can Christians kill each other? But others are interested. Have you heard of the name 'Wolf God'?"

"I haven't heard of it," Thomas replied. "Is there anything I should pay attention to about this Wolf God?"

"A month or two ago, I hadn't heard of this name," Lucas said. "Then, out of curiosity, I found some ways to find out about him... and guess what I heard?"

Chapter 148 Venetian 4

"What did you hear?" Thomas also became serious.

This was really the first time he had heard of this name.

Wolf God? What is it? Very unfamiliar.

Although this name sounds good, but... to be honest, this name feels a bit childish.

"About ten years ago? Or even earlier, there was a period of time when Zoroastrians were making a comeback. In fact, in Persia, although Zoroastrianism had been replaced by the Crescent and Star religion, it still existed in some areas. They were not completely eradicated."

Thomas knew this.

Not to mention this world, according to the history of his previous life, Zoroastrianism would not be completely eradicated even if the struggle lasted for hundreds of years.

This is not to say that Zoroastrianism is so powerful and awesome, but that they are hiding in remote areas and barely surviving, and the Star-Moon Cult is too lazy to hunt them down.

As for a comeback...at least Thomas hadn't heard of it.

Perhaps a gifted charlatan will emerge and reignite the momentum, but such things are like the death of the leader and the end of the regime, and cannot last.

After all, the Xingyue Sect’s dominance was already established and could no longer be stopped.

When the Zoroastrians had the upper hand, the Persian Empire could not defeat the Crescent Moon Cultists, let alone now.

Listen to it now and treat it as a story.

"It is said that at that time, at least 100,000 people converted to Zoroastrianism. Among them were several lords."

"At that time, the Zoroastrians were said to have possessed a sacred object that could allow people to cast spells infinitely." As he spoke, Lucas unconsciously turned his gaze to the flag hanging high on the mast.

This is also a treasure that can cast spells infinitely.

"Looking back now, it must be the Zoroastrian monks who used that treasure to fabricate miracles endlessly and attract a large number of ignorant people to convert."

"And the Star-Moon Cultist who was responsible for handling this matter at the time was the Wolf God."

"Is the Wolf God... a very cruel commander?" Thomas asked.

"The Wolf God is brutal, but he's not the commander-in-chief. His way of dealing with this matter was very simple: he went there alone and killed everyone there."

"One hundred thousand people?"

"I think so. Even if it's exaggerated, it's not too much."

Thomas was silent for a long time. "I'm not quite convinced."

"It doesn't matter if you haven't heard of it, and it doesn't matter if you don't believe it, but I think there is a way to make you believe it."

"any solution?"

"Others may not know this, but the Holy See certainly does!" Lucas said. "Believe me, Grand Master, in this sea, only the Republic can help you. No one else can!"

"I understand. I will seek confirmation from the Holy See," Thomas said.

"Our military operation against Alexandria is planned for six months to a year from now. If the Grand Commander has made up his mind, you can contact me at any time. I should be staying in Rhodes and Smyrna frequently during this period."

After saying that, Lucas said goodbye gracefully, got on the boat and left.

"Sir, why didn't you just…" an attendant asked anxiously. "The opportunity is right before our eyes. I took a sneak peek and saw that the Grand Master was the only knight on board; the rest were sailors!"

"You want to... kill the Grand Commander and take the flag?" Lucas asked. "With us?"

"We have so many people!" The attendant pointed to the armed merchant ship ahead.

"Unfortunately, even with so many people, we only have a half chance." Lucas sighed.

If it was a risk involving money, he wouldn't mind taking a chance, but for a risk involving his life, the chance of success was too low.

"How is that possible! He's just an elite warrior at best. Although his ability to control lightning is impressive, but..."

"Do you think the Grand Master is a fool?" Lucas asked. "Is the Holy See a fool?"

"This one……"

"If the Grand Commander is not a fool, why would he fly his banner high without adequate guards around him?"