A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

The boat sailed quickly into the distance.

On this side, the alarm suddenly sounded on the merchant ship, and figures rushed to the side of the ship.

"Hurry up and save the young master! He's been captured!"

"There is an assassin..."

But it was too late. The boat was moving incredibly fast and the figure had already disappeared into the night.

Andrea was on the boat, smiling as she looked at the merchant ships in the distance, which were bustling like a hornet's nest.

"Master Lucas, you are really amazing. You succeeded with ease." The boatman laughed.

"Powerful? No, we are not powerful, we just caught our opponent by surprise." Andrea's face had unconsciously changed into another one.

Changing one's appearance might not seem very useful in combat, but... it's extremely difficult to guard against.

It seems simple, but it is not accidental.

The core of everything lies in the principle of "surprise." No matter how powerful a warrior or how shrewd a businessman is, if they are unprepared, they are no better than an ordinary person.

“What’s next?” asked the boatman.

"Of course, we'll use the Rhodes Island Chamber of Commerce to stir up conflict between the local residents of Rhodes Island and the Knights," Lucas said with a smile. "We have to intensify the situation so we can force Thomas to submit!"

"Grandmaster Thomas is brave and resolute. Trying to force him to hand over the sacred object by force is too risky, not to mention whether it's even possible. The only way to achieve our goal is to use soft tactics, targeting the economy, public opinion, and public sentiment. We'll make him vulnerable on all sides, leaving him with no way forward, and finally, crush him with debt. That's the easiest way to achieve our goal."

This is just the first step.

There is still a lot to do!

……

The city of Smyrna.

The City Lord's Mansion, which was originally reduced to ruins by the war, has been initially repaired and is now habitable.

Some high-ranking members of the Knights now live here.

Although the accommodation conditions were simple, the leader took the lead and set an example, so no one could say anything.

At this moment, a group of high-ranking members of the Knights Templar gathered in the conference hall of the City Lord's Mansion.

The atmosphere was so tense that it seemed as if invisible arcs were jumping in the air.

Everyone's attention was focused on a few people in the middle of the room.

Those people were the treasurers of the Knights Templar.

The Knights Templar have more than one treasurer. Specifically, there are three people, one chief, two deputy treasurers, and several secretaries.

At this time, except for one person who stayed in Rhode Island, everyone else is here.

Everyone was nervously reviewing the terrible project financial budget.

"Grandmaster!" one of them suddenly exclaimed in surprise. "I've found a loophole. There's some usable stone in the old walls of Smyrna. If we use that old stone, we can save at least... three thousand florins!"

"Keep going!" Thomas ordered.

Too bad this is the last wave.

Because no one spoke for a long time afterwards.

In the end, even the last person raised his head and met the disappointed gazes of the crowd.

Engineers from Italy had already completed plans for the future city of Smyrna... and came with a horrific budget.

It is estimated to take two years and three million florins...

The time is not a big deal, two years is within everyone's expectations.

But three million florins...

The capture of Smyrna and the seizure of a million florins of spoils was a remarkable victory.

But faced with the financial black hole of 3 million florins, everyone was unsure.

Can this new type of fortress be built?

"Grand Master..." Finally, after a brief discussion among several financial officers, one of them stood up and reported to Thomas.

“How much funding gap do we have?” Thomas asked.

"Even if the fiscal revenue for the next two years is as high as expected..." the financial officer gritted his teeth. "There will still be a funding gap of one million florins!"

"In fact, that's the ideal situation. Taking other factors into consideration, I think we have a funding gap of at least 1.3 million!"

Even Thomas couldn't help but gasp.

"We need to raise 1.3 million within two years..."

Thomas looked around and saw that everyone was keeping their heads down and silent.

When it comes to building a castle... you either do it to the end or don't do it at all.

Because a half-built castle is the same as no castle at all - it can't defend against the enemy anyway!

"And considering the engineers' requirements, we have a funding gap of 900,000 within the first year! There's no way around it. Navy expenses are too high! Unless we halt our naval reconstruction efforts!"

The Knights had initially restored their naval strength through the warships captured in Smyrna.

In the next year and a half, the series of warships previously ordered will arrive in succession.

However, the Knights only had so many men. The previous defeat had caused heavy casualties, and even today they have not recovered.

Previously, the battleship was taken away by traitors and enemies, so it seemed that some people had no ships.

But to be honest, this "man" is actually not a lot. The current fleet is a bit short of manpower. Therefore, when these new warships are commissioned in the future, the navy's personnel must be expanded.

This will result in high fiscal expenditure.

After all, staff salaries, equipment, daily repairs and maintenance of ships, etc. all cost money!

The navy is a veritable money-eating beast. This is not only a problem of ship construction, but also the problem of daily maintenance costs.

"That is to say," Thomas said. "Unless we find a way to fill this 900,000 florins shortfall, then..."

"Otherwise, we can only choose between the navy and the castle!" the treasurer continued. "Choosing both means neither will be successful!"

There is no point in having a half-built castle or an unmanned warship.

It may even become the enemy's spoils!

In the first year, 900,000 florins must be paid, and in the second year, 400,000 florins.

He had a hunch before, but he really didn't expect the gap to be so big!

Everyone looked at Thomas, but Thomas was thinking about something else.

Golden apple!

If he sold the golden apples... it would be easier to cover the cost...

But no, because the wolf god will come.

Thomas guessed that it was a quasi-god, but even if it was not a quasi-god, it was at least a high-level national protector.

Thomas needs the golden apple to quickly advance to the high rank of Protector of the Nation in order to prepare for this fierce battle.

Giving up the navy is not an option, because once the navy is given up, the next wave of natural disasters that will siege Rhodes Island will be difficult to deal with.

On the other hand, if the navy was fully replenished, Thomas would be sure to win. Even a siege wouldn't be possible!

Just like in the stories of cultivating immortals, although there will be heavenly tribulations when ascending to heaven, immortals can directly offset the tribulations with merits!

Of course, we can't stop in Smyrna either.

Without the bastion, Smyrna really cannot withstand the counterattack of the Rum Sultanate!

"Damn it, God, this is really forcing good women into prostitution...ah, no, forcing good women to become thieves!" Thomas couldn't help but blurt out!

"Grandmaster, what did you say?"

"Nothing!" Thomas stood up and looked around at everyone.

For some unknown reason, all the high-ranking members of the Knights Templar felt a little uneasy under the gaze of the Grand Master.

This is really a fierce look in the eyes!

"I'll find a way to solve this problem!"

Section 156 Investigation

After the meeting, everyone returned to their own residence to rest.

The management and construction of Smyrna was quite complicated, and the Knights had invested most of their energy in it. In fact, all the senior leaders gathered here, and Rhodes Island was temporarily left behind.

The Knights have ruled Rhodes Island for decades, and there are no major internal problems. The danger lies in external invasion.

At this stage, Rhodes Island is very safe. There are still thousands of city defense troops and some members of the Knights on the island. They will definitely have no problem facing a small number of invaders.

If the enemy had assembled tens of thousands of naval and land forces, the Knights would have received the news long ago.

Large-scale military operations are difficult to conceal, especially naval ones.

No one sees anything wrong with this.

Thomas only stayed in his residence for a few minutes before leaving immediately.

In the city, the former barracks now belonged to the Knights, and all the Knights' troops were stationed there.

During this period, the morale of the soldiers remained high because the battle to wipe out the forces surrounding the Star-Moon Cultists was going smoothly.

With the wood golem leading the charge, the battle resulted in almost zero casualties, yet a large amount of looting income was generated.

The Knights could only ensure that the warehouses in the town would not be destroyed, but the property of those Crescent Moon believers, especially those who resisted, naturally became the target of looting.

With money, everyone is naturally willing to follow the Knights... Oh, no, it should be said that seeing the prospect of victory, everyone is willing to fight for Christ.

Several important towns around Smyrna, such as Pergamon, Philaea, and Cleistomenae, were all occupied by the Knights.

In fact, the entire Smyrna fell under the rule of the Crescentians for not too long, and there were still many Christians. It can even be said that in towns and rural areas, Christians still accounted for the vast majority of the population (of course, they were Orthodox, not Catholic).

The city is actually where the Star-Moon Cultists hold the upper hand.

But even so, enough troops must be stationed to intimidate the Star-Moon Cultists to prevent others from taking advantage of the situation.

Thomas did not enter the barracks to inspect the situation, but came to a room outside the barracks.

He knocked on the door, heard the voice of "Come in!", and pushed the door open.

The room behind the door was filled with books and files, and behind it was a white-haired old man.

"Knight Reynard!"

"Grand Commander?!"

The "clerk" of the Knights of Rhodes Island wasn't actually responsible for clerical work, but rather served as the de facto vice-captain. The true head of the archives was Knight Reynard, currently the oldest and longest-serving member of the Order.

I am too old to fight on the battlefield, so I am responsible for clerical and archival work here.

But surprisingly, he was very suitable for this job.

This time when Smyrna was captured, he also came here to organize various files and prepare for the Knights' long-term rule here.

This is actually not an easy job.

You can tell from the fact that he is still working hard at this late hour.

Leonard was shocked, but he didn't know why the Grand Commander visited him so late at night.

"Grandmaster, what brings you here? Please take a seat. Please take a seat first. This..." He wanted to get something to entertain him, but found that he had nothing. He couldn't possibly treat the Grandmaster to a meal of book pages.

"It's alright, Knight Reynard. No need for all the formalities. I'm here for something," Thomas said. "I heard you've served in the Order for forty years?"

"Actually, it's only been thirty-nine years...it's just that everyone overestimated my age," Reynard said modestly. "It's an honor to serve Christ. But, Grand Master, is there anything I can do for you?"

Isn't it just a simple matter for the Grand Commander to modify the files? Why did he have to come to me secretly at night?

"Well, there's one thing I've always wondered about. How did the Holy See acquire Rhodes Island from the Byzantines?" Thomas said bluntly. "If anyone in the Knights Templar knows the secrets behind this, it's probably you."

Because all the files are in the hands of Knight Leonard.

"This matter..." Reynard was also surprised. He didn't know why the Grand Master cared about this matter. "It is indeed recorded in the files of the Knights Templar. The Pope originally spent 10,000 florins to purchase this place from the Byzantine Empire..."

"Knight Reynard, to be frank, buying Rhodes Island at this price is no different from getting it for free," Thomas said sternly. "I want to know the reasoning behind this. Do you know?"