A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

"So, Mr. Lucas, why did you come to us?" the two asked in confusion.

"Well, I was just passing by on the sea when I saw a familiar ship. It was none other than the 'Caesar'! But the flag it was flying was the flag of the Knights Templar."

Both of their faces turned ugly.

Everyone knew that the ship was a large warship built at great expense by the Byzantine Empire and was the pride of the imperial navy.

Unfortunately, in the previous battle, he was captured by the Crescent Moon Cult, became a trophy, and was distributed to the Seljuks.

When the Knights captured Smyrna, the ship naturally fell into their hands. Both men had boarded it before and asked the Grand Master for it.

Of course, Grand Commander Thomas is no pushover.

The Knights didn't even change the paint, and directly turned the ship into the flagship of their navy.

Although a ship was insignificant compared to Smyrna, this action was a blatant slap in the face of the empire.

Unfortunately, the Empire really can't do anything about the Knights for the time being.

"It's just a ship!" Dupont said reluctantly. "By the way, Mr. Lucas, you haven't told us what you want us to do."

"Nothing, I just want to cooperate."

"cooperate?"

"Let's put it this way. The Empire seems to be very dissatisfied with the Knights' actions, so I think we might have a good opportunity for cooperation?"

"The Republic...is also dissatisfied with the Knights?"

"Captain Thomas is so arrogant!" Lucas grinned and offered a reason no one believed. "He actually rejected the Republic's goodwill."

Dupont and Dubang exchanged glances.

Be careful when dealing with Venetians; merchants are always cunning.

"So, what do we need to do?"

"You two can contact His Majesty the Emperor and express the Republic's goodwill. Furthermore, we hope the Empire can rent us an island in the Dodecanese, or at least a port. Of course, the price is negotiable."

"Among the Dodecanese Islands, Rhodes is the largest one..." The two did not understand for a moment.

Rhodes is the largest and richest of the Dodecanese Islands, with the best port conditions. Why did the Venetians want to lease other islands?

Playing competition?

But to be honest, if this were really done, the Knights would probably wake up laughing in their dreams.

Because this also meant that the Venetians helped share the pressure faced by the Knights Templar from the Crescent Moon Cult.

The Knights were not merchants; while they collected berthing fees, their true mission was to protect the safety of the sea routes to the Holy Land. The Venetians' involvement was something the Knights were eager to see.

"But the Knights have no goodwill towards us." Lucas smiled. "We need a base that is not controlled by the Knights."

"Of course, regarding this specific matter, the Republic hopes to reach a secret agreement with the Empire."

"Besides renting the island...there's nothing else?"

"Nothing more!" Lucas laughed. "That's all."

"Okay, we'll report back to your Majesty," Dupont replied. "So, Sir Lucas, how did you get on our ship?"

Before, the two men were only under house arrest and were not cut off from communication, so they were still able to contact the sailors on their ship.

But when Knight Andrea sent the two people on board, the sailors on board did not remind them that there were outsiders on board.

"Oh, it's easy enough," Lucas smiled. "Let's go," he said to the sailors.

Several sailors immediately dropped their work and followed Lucas to the stern of the ship, where a small boat was already tied.

Several people began to jump into the boat.

"Wait, Monsieur Lucas," Dupont exclaimed. "You've taken all our sailors away?"

He originally thought that the sailors on his ship had been bribed, but... that was obviously not the case.

Because after jumping onto the boat, the sailors turned around and found themselves in a completely different state!

These people are not their sailors at all!

But just now... when they boarded the ship, they saw clearly that the people on board were sailors they were familiar with!

I read it wrong?

The two of them exchanged a look of fear once more. One person might be wrong, but how could two people make the same mistake together?

The boat had already unhooked and was moving away from the sailboat. Only Lucas's laughter could be heard.

"Excuse me, but your sailors are in the cabin!"

Both of them were shocked, and then rushed into the cabin. Sure enough, several sailors on their ship were tied up and thrown into the cabin.

His mouth was also blocked, preventing him from raising the alarm.

Seeing the two diplomats come in, several sailors struggled and made "woohoo" sounds.

“What just happened was…”

After realizing what had just happened, the two of them felt a chill down their spines.

"Thankfully... the Venetians have no ill intentions."

"how did you do that?"

"Wait... I kind of remembered that Lucas from Venice... his nickname was 'The Man with a Thousand Faces'!"

"I originally thought he was good at makeup and disguise, but now it seems..."

This can no longer be described by makeup or disguise, it is simply a deformation!

At least it can be called a face-changing.

The two men untied the sailors and asked what happened. The result was pretty much what they expected.

Several sailors had no idea what was going on. They had received a notice from the Knights earlier that their superior was about to embark on the return journey... and then they were attacked on the ship.

He was knocked unconscious in a very short time and didn't even know how many people were on the other side or how they attacked.

When he woke up, he found himself tied up, gagged, and thrown into the cabin.

After some trouble, the sailors started to sail away again.

The two diplomats were in the cabin, each of them speechless.

"It looks like the Venetians want to take on the Knights." Dupont concluded after a long pause. "That's why they need the Empire's islands as a base. To keep a close eye on the Knights! They... must also want the Bloody Cross!"

"Well... damn it..." Du Bang said.

The Venetians wanted to deal with the Knights, but all they asked of the Empire was a secret lease of islands.

In other words, in the eyes of the Venetians, the empire was out of the game.

No longer a participant in the game, but just a pawn on the board.

This is the consequence of the previous Smyrna defeat and the destruction of the navy!

If the Byzantine Empire's navy still existed, no matter what the Venetians wanted to do, they would have to look at the Empire's face! Because although the Venetian fleet was the most powerful, in this area around the Aegean Sea, the Empire still had the final say.

"Let's go back and report to His Majesty," Dupont sighed. "Let's see if we can salvage something."

Chapter 151: The Self-Torture Plan 1

Rome in winter.

Snowflakes fell from the sky.

Snow is a rare sight in this city, where the sun shines 300 out of 365 days a year. It's said to happen only once every few decades.

So not only the children and young people in the city, but even the elderly came out to enjoy this rare sight.

This situation is usually seen as a blessing from Christ.

On the rooftop terrace of a detached building, an old man in ascetic robes was standing on the balcony admiring the snowflakes falling from the sky.

This year's winter is not colder than last year, but it snowed, which is a rare occurrence.

On the terrace, besides the old man, there were three other people, all dressed as ascetics, but they all stood with their hands hanging down, motionless like statues.

Only the white air coming out of their mouths and noses proves that they are alive.

This old man is none other than the contemporary Pope, Leo XI.

As we all know, the contemporary Pope is a rather eccentric person who often does some inexplicable things.

Now, he was on the terrace, watching the snowflakes falling from the sky.

"This snow is really nice. When it stops tomorrow, I guess there will be a small climax of the pilgrimage." He said seemingly to himself.

The words were well said, but anyone could sense the clue from his restless pace.

I'm afraid the Pope is not in a good mood.

From the terrace you can see St. Peter's Square in the distance.

It snowed heavily today and the weather was very cold. The square was covered with snow and there were no pilgrims or pedestrians.

Unless absolutely necessary, no one would come here at this time. Even most of the ascetics were in their rooms, enjoying the warmth of their beds and the fire.

However, the figure in the center of the square can still be clearly seen.

His entire body was covered in snow, but he remained motionless, like a snowman.

The Pope stared into the distance for a long time, and suddenly let out a long sigh.

"How long has he been there?" asked the Pope.

"Three days," a monk replied. "Ever since the Holy See... refused to receive him... he's been waiting there!"

"Grand Captain Pierre... has not gone to sleep, has not eaten, has not put on warm clothing... He... Your Holiness, if you refuse to see him, he will remain there until he dies..."

"Why bother..." The Pope sighed again.

It seems there is no way.

Even at such a great distance, the Pope could still feel the pressure. Even he felt a faint sense of suffocation.

The sound of horse hooves could be heard in the distance.

The snow was not very thick yet, so the metal horseshoes still made a loud noise when hitting the stone road.

This voice is familiar to everyone; it is the messenger.

Only privileged messengers were allowed to ride horses through the city of Rome.

A messenger rode into the square, holding a banner high in his hand.

"Good news! Good news!" Even though the messenger was covered in snow, his voice was still filled with enthusiasm.

"Tell Pierre I will see him in my drawing room," said the Pope.

Being the Pope also comes with unbearable pressure.

For example, this kind of death-defying remonstration.

If he had turned a blind eye and let Pierre die in the square, he would probably be infamous forever!

A short while later, Leo XI listened to the long report read by the messenger in his luxurious reception room.

The content of the report was very simple. In short, the Knights of Rhodes Island had swept through all the strongholds, towns, villages, and checkpoints of the Crescent Moon Cultists around Smyrna over the past few months, and completely controlled the entire territory.

Now, the Knights occupied not only the city of Smyrna, but the entire territory. They had annihilated thousands of various Crescent Cult troops and captured a large amount of spoils, achieving brilliant results.

To be honest, considering the Knights' total strength in Smyrna was only 3,000 men, this was truly an amazing achievement.

Of course, at the end of the lengthy report, it is still Captain Thomas's unchanging three-piece set.

Cry poor, cry miserable, and ask for money.

This content occupies one-third of the report. But by now, everyone, including the Pope himself, has learned to turn a deaf ear to it, or at least let it go in one ear and out the other.

Anyway, as soon as Thomas achieved victory, he would immediately report the victory to Rome and cry poor and ask for money. This was already a routine operation.

Everyone in Rome knew that since Grand Master Thomas took office, the Knights of Rhodes had been aggressive and victorious in every battle.

Before, everyone had privately laughed at him, thinking that this Grand Master, who had emerged from nowhere, would destroy the Knights of Rhodes Island. But the facts proved the Pope's foresight.

Apart from anything else, the fact that a single knight order easily defeated a powerful enemy and captured Smyrna is truly an achievement worthy of special mention.