A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

The two sides naturally came into contact.

This reminded Pierre of Portugal's history - Portugal was able to establish itself as a country thanks to the help of the Crusaders who captured Lisbon!

Now they want to rely on the help of the two knightly orders to obtain the port of Ceuta.

Really are……

Well, the Portuguese’s ability to take advantage of opportunities is quite extraordinary.

It's not easy to convince someone like Thomas.

His consciousness began to blur again.

That was just the first wave...isn't it the end, but just the beginning?

He was a bit confused. What was going on? While using one's own power would have its own backlash, this backlash was unusual. Like a wave, one wave after another.

He suddenly thought of a possibility... Was he looking at someone he shouldn't have?

Or is it that after repeated accumulation, it is finally time for a final settlement?

"Grand Commander," someone whispered in his ear and gently patted his shoulder.

……

"Grand Commander," someone whispered in his ear and gently patted Pierre's shoulder.

Pierre suddenly woke up.

He looked around. This was not a war meeting room, but a battlefield.

Beside him were the Knights Templar soldiers arranged in battle formation, the bloody cross flag fluttering above the army, and a group of giant golems lined up in front of the army.

On the distant city wall, it was obvious that the enemy's morale was declining.

Although the concept of "morale" seems to be invisible and intangible, in fact, anyone who has been to the battlefield will know that it can be observed with the naked eye.

Just by looking at the enemy's movements on the distant city wall, you can tell the enemy's morale at the moment.

Basically, all experienced generals know something about this "art of observing qi".

"Where is this?" Pierre asked his men.

"Misrata," the subordinate replied. He felt a little uneasy because the Grand Commander did not look well.

Everyone knows that the Grand Commander has been sleepwalking since the expedition began.

Those who don't know think that this is the Grand Commander humbly handing over the command to Thomas, but those who know understand that there may be something wrong with the Grand Commander's own mental state.

The defense of Misrata cannot be said to be bad, but facing such a military appearance, the city walls cannot give the defenders much confidence.

That row of giant golems was truly intimidating. Although they were slightly shorter than the city wall, they could reach the top by simply raising their deformed arms.

The messenger has been sent.

The city of Misrata had to pay a "ransom" of 100,000 florins, and if it refused, preparations would be made for an attack on the city.

After breaking the city, the Knights Templar can do whatever they want!

No one would think that the Knights Templar would be as polite as the Knights of Rhodes, who would only loot and not kill after attacking the city.

Not to mention the Crescent Moon Cultists, even Pierre, the Grand Commander, did not have this confidence.

Pierre clenched his fists and seemed to feel the flesh and blood beating between his hands.

After killing many people, blood and flesh will always stain the hilt of the sword and eventually seep into the gaps between the fingers.

While he was imagining the feeling in his fingers, a white flag was raised on the city wall.

The expeditionary soldiers under the city all cheered loudly.

Chapter 167 Expedition 4

Night, beach.

The expeditionary force set up a temporary camp on the beach, and now there are bonfires everywhere.

The camp was simple, but not defenseless. Among other things, a team of giant golems were patrolling outside.

Their skinny and evil figures look very dangerous.

Although most soldiers had never seen these wooden golems fighting, they knew from their imagination that they were very powerful and dangerous.

This is the Holy See’s most precious treasure!

Misrata obediently handed over the money and also provided a large amount of food, including fresh grains, meat and vegetables, to entertain the troops.

Anyway, there are only five or six thousand people, and we can afford to provide them with a meal.

In the camp, the top leaders of the expeditionary force were unfolding a map.

This is the fourth successful robbery...ah, no, it is the success of spreading the glory of Christ.

Abu, the ruler of the Hafsid dynasty, was weak and did not take any action. Of course, it is also possible that the expeditionary force advanced too quickly for him to take any action.

Four hundred thousand florins had been obtained, and now Thomas was pointing out the next target.

He pointed to a black dot on the map that represented a city. It was not an ordinary city. There were densely packed villages and towns surrounding the black dot.

Even someone who knows nothing about the area around the Mediterranean can tell at a glance that this is a key geographical location, a hub of land and sea, controlling the east and the west.

"This is our next target, the city of Tripoli!" said Thomas.

He turned his gaze to Grand Commander Pierre who was also present.

The Grand Commander has been like this ever since he boarded the ship.

He looked absent-minded, half asleep and half awake.

But today it seems to have recovered a little.

Tripoli is different from others. It is a large city with excellent natural conditions, a large population, many good ports and prosperous business. It is known as the "White Bride of the Mediterranean".

Her size and defensive capabilities are not inferior to Smyrna.

The reason why the Knights were able to capture Smyrna last time was ultimately because Smyrna’s defenders were insufficient.

Not only was it insufficient, but it was also attacked by the Byzantines first, resulting in considerable losses and several large holes in the city walls.

In fact, if there were no involvement of the eastern border, the Sultan could easily add another 10,000 or 20,000 troops to Smyrna.

If that were the case, even if Thomas had two treasures in his hands, let alone one more, he would not dare to cross the sea for an expedition.

The risk and reward were not proportional. Even if they won, let alone lost, the Knights would not have the strength to defend Smyrna.

The expeditionary force only had 5,000 men this time. Honestly, they had no problem dealing with Misrata, but if they wanted to attack Tripoli...

At least if you look around, you will know that no one actually has much confidence.

In fact, you can skip this and go directly to the final destination of the expedition, Ceuta.

Not to mention attacking Ceuta, it wouldn't be a loss to go back home now.

After all, without losing a single soldier, they successfully spread the glory of Christ. No one can say it was a failure.

But Thomas couldn't do that. His shortfall was not just 400,000 florins (not to mention that a portion of it had to be given to the Knights Templar), he was short of 1.3 to 1.4 million florins!

"Master Thomas, do you think this is possible?"

"We can do it!" Thomas said confidently. "You may have heard that Tripoli is a formidable city, with strong defenses, deep trenches, high ramparts, and walls covered with battlements and towers. But please don't forget this."

"Now, it's a group of businessmen who rule this place!"

This is what I learned from the Wolf's Lair.

In fact, this matter was not a secret at all. It was nothing more than a powerful merchant taking advantage of a favorable opportunity to control the city's finances and military power, thus gaining autonomy. This kind of thing was very common in this era.

Venice, Genoa and other places all started out like this. Later, when they became strong, they became independent and declared themselves republics.

Although Tripoli has not completely broken with the Hafsid dynasty, it is already in a semi-independent state.

"Merchants don't have a strong fighting spirit."

"When faced with difficulties, they will definitely compromise and take the more 'intelligent' path of reconciliation!"

Thomas vaguely remembered that the area around Tripoli was called Libya in his previous life.

There is a well-known incident in which merchants in Tripoli launched an armed rebellion against the central government in Tunis.

In the original history, these merchants were very dissatisfied with the Tunisian central government and had always sought treatment similar to that of the Italian Commercial Republic. However, the Tunisian central government could not accept this, and the conflict between the two sides eventually led to war.

In the end, the merchants of Tripoli joined forces with the Barbary pirates, expelled the central officials in anger, and declared independence.

Then the Spanish army invaded and captured Tripoli. After the Knights Hospitaller were driven out of Rhodes, the Spaniards handed it over to the Knights Hospitaller.

Yes, many people know that the Spanish gave the island of Malta to the Knights Hospitaller, which led to the order being called the "Order of Malta." But in fact, the Spanish gave the Knights not only Malta, but also many places, including Tripoli.

Unfortunately, the Ottoman Turkish army could not be stopped on land. After the Knights Hospitaller held out for twenty years, Tripoli was captured by the Ottomans.

The history of this parallel dimension has developed differently, but some things remain constant.

For example, the human heart.

Merchants and warriors have completely different personalities.

What is supposed to happen may be delayed by magic, but it will never disappear.

The development of the world is inevitable.

Even without Saladin, the Mamluks would have gradually taken control of Egypt, and even without the Battle of Hattin, the Crusaders would still have been in decline.

"Sir Thomas, what if... I mean 'if', those merchants did not do as you expected?" asked a knight.

"I think we can capture part of the city and then propose conditions," said Thomas.

He was 100% confident that he could break the city wall.

Everyone's eyes were focused on Grand Commander Pierre.

Just as the Knights of Rhodes Island trusted Thomas immensely, the Knights Templar also trusted their Grand Master.

It must be said that the Holy Land can still barely hold on despite the pressure from all sides...

The captain's accurate judgment is absolutely of great significance.

Furthermore, a select few knights knew that the Grand Master's extraordinary ability was to peek into fate.

It wasn't the ordinary ability of divination or prophecy. It wasn't about capturing a single, easily misjudged fragment from the vast, chaotic flow of fate, nor was it about foreseeing a specific future scenario—common divination and prophecy abilities were almost always like this. They were always filled with speciousness, deception, and deception. It could only be said that even if mortal eyes could perceive fate, they couldn't truly and accurately understand what they were seeing.

Pierre is different. He can truly see fate... see someone's true fate and outcome. At least one part of it.

The kind that cannot be misunderstood.

So if he wants to spy, he has to pay the price.

"I think so," said Pierre.

He had seen the end of his destiny, so he knew that Thomas would not lose.

At least this time, he wouldn't lose. Thomas had staked everything on this expedition as well. If he lost, there would be no future.

Chapter 168 Expedition 5

A few days later.

The sky is clear and the sky is blue.

The two captains stood on the boat, looking at the sailor waving flags on the mast of a ship in the distance.

Thomas has already promoted flag signals throughout the Knights' fleet.

Flag language is actually not difficult, it is a kind of "breaking through the window paper" technology.

As long as it is pointed out, everyone will know it.

"What did he say?" Pierre asked with great interest.

"A small-scale skirmish occurred between the vanguard fleet and the Tripolitan fleet," Thomas replied, observing the flag signals. "Tripoli's harbor is well-defended, with crossbows, artillery, and ample soldiers. A direct naval attack is impossible."

Thomas had only fifty warships and could not invade from the port if the enemy was well prepared.

But then again, Thomas didn't expect to attack with his own warships.

"It is said that this city is famous for its trade, and the Merchant Council controls a good naval force. Although it lacks offensive capabilities, it is more than enough for defense," said Pierre.