A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

"Just like before, let's find a suitable place to land. It's okay if it's a little further away."

At dusk, the expeditionary force's army troops landed.

It was too late to move, so we set up camp a few kilometers away from the city.

The city of Tripoli sent out part of its troops, attempting to attack the expeditionary force halfway across the river when it landed, but Thomas had already summoned his wooden golem.

Faced with a whole team of giant golems, the defenders of Tripoli wisely retreated.

The two captains went ashore together and were able to see the city from afar in the sunset.

"What a magnificent city." Thomas exclaimed.

If it were in the world without magic in the previous life, without tens of thousands of elite soldiers, there would be no way to pose even the slightest threat to this city.

"Aren't you going back to deal with the city of Melfa?" Pierre asked.

The city of Melfa is located between Misrata and Tripoli, controlling the passage between the two cities.

"It's just a small town, not much money." Thomas replied.

He was now too proud to care about small sums of money. He had also set a price in his mind for Tripoli, the white Mediterranean bride.

Three hundred thousand florins.

For other cities, this price might be high, but for Tripoli, it was a sum of money that the city could raise immediately.

Then Tunisia was next... But while Abramovich was incompetent, he was still the ruler of a region. It wouldn't be easy to get him to compromise. Thomas had already decided to let Tunisia go.

Just go around it.

Then continue extortion all the way, oh no, spread the glory of Christ all the way to the port of Ceuta.

……

at dusk,

The Knights of Rhodes' headquarters.

A group of merchant ship owners are gathered together, waiting for an explanation from the Knights.

These merchants and ship owners were all excited and angry.

"You must give us an explanation!"

"Why would our ship be looted while it's in port?!"

"You're still talking about not having enough manpower to catch the bandits! This is your responsibility! If you can't even manage the harbor properly, who would dare to come here?!"

"Maybe they stole it? They're pretending not to know. I heard not long ago that the Knights were desperate for money!"

Someone started to sound sarcastic.

However, no matter how short-handed the Knights were, they could still deploy soldiers to block key street locations.

So this group of people were actually just blocked on the periphery and kept shouting.

Andrea stood on the terrace of the headquarters, looking at the noise below, frowning slightly, a little irritated.

"Sir, there are a lot of people outside... They say their cargo ship was stolen or robbed while it was anchored. Some of these people suffered heavy losses, some less. But when you add them all up, it's not a small amount."

The officials in charge of the dock and port also looked worried at this time.

"Sir, what do we do now?"

"To be able to rob a docked merchant ship in such a short time... this is definitely not an outsider, but an insider! There must be enough spies and intelligence on the Rhodes Island side. Many merchant ship owners have fallen for it... Some even think it was us who did it! This is simply outrageous!" The official was a little indignant.

This was absurd. The Knights robbed their own port?

But with so many people talking at once, I couldn't find a way to defend myself.

"I have written a report requesting support. Don't worry, they should be here soon." Andrea frowned and answered in a deep voice.

He was well aware of the situation of the Knights.

The Grand Commander led the main force of the navy on an expedition, and the remaining army was stationed in two places. The local military strength of Rhodes Island dropped significantly!

This kind of thing actually happened at this time...

It was obvious that someone was taking advantage of the situation. But it was unclear who was behind this.

The other party clearly wanted to find out the Knights' cards through repeated tests and then take action.

That's what conspirators always do.

What he said was true, but it was hard to say when and to what extent support would be provided.

The Knights Templar are now very short of manpower and financial resources.

Swallowing Smyrna and trying to digest it really reached the limit of the Knights' power.

"You mean, I still have to endure it?"

"Well, continue to be patient!" Andrea said. "Wait until reinforcements arrive. It's best to wait until the Grand Commander returns!"

Although Andrea is a senior member of the Knights Templar, he knows very well that he may not be able to solve this problem.

Because it’s useless to solve it, the mastermind behind the scenes will not give up.

Moreover, the mastermind behind this is definitely not an ordinary person. In fact, only the leader is qualified to decide how to deal with this matter.

All he can do now is to avoid the escalation of the conflict.

At this time, in a hotel somewhere in the city, two figures were sitting and eating snacks while looking into the distance and watching a show.

"How patient," one of the two men laughed. "That Knight Andrea must have a bit of a tortoise in him. He's actually cowering."

"Yes, the means we prepared...are useless now." Another person said with some regret.

They had already prepared an assassin. As long as Andrea came out to explain, he would blend in with the crowd and strike.

One bullet could kill Andrea.

Even if the assassin was caught, it wouldn't matter, because the work had been subcontracted layer by layer. Even if the assassin confessed everything, the Venetians wouldn't be traced back to them. On the contrary, the Rhodes Island Chamber of Commerce would most likely be found.

If Andrea died, the Knights would definitely seek revenge, and then the situation would become more complicated than it is now.

"Forget it, it's okay... Even if I don't come out and act like a turtle, it doesn't mean I can delay it indefinitely..."

Chapter 169 Expedition 6

"The Rhodes Island Chamber of Commerce's plan... has also been obtained?"

"Well, yes. They're planning a commercial blockade and trying to raise prices."

"Smart!" the man laughed. "Businessmen can't stir things up on their own; they have to incite the people. The best way to incite the people is to create problems. Rhodes Island may be known for its wealth, but there's still a lot of room for improvement!"

"If there are a few more pirate robberies... Haha, we can pretend to be the Knights Templar and rob Christian merchant ships..."

"This...will others really believe it?" The subordinates were confused.

"Believe it or not, the Knights will have to send personnel to conduct a thorough investigation," the man said with a smile. "We want to get them moving. The workload will increase... The Knights' lower ranks will undoubtedly complain due to the fatigue, and their actions will become even more brutal and violent! This will only lead to more resistance."

"I want to see how much this Andrea can endure. And see what that Grand Commander Thomas can do! Oh, someone's coming!"

He was sharp-eyed and saw a commotion coming from the dock.

Soon, a group of fully armed soldiers walked up the street.

These are not the city defense forces, but the Knights’ Marines, the real elite troops!

He should have been temporarily transferred from Smyrna.

Leading the way were three knights, all mounted on fine horses.

The capture of Smyrna and the complete annihilation of the garrison had greatly increased the Knights' equine stock, so officers were now equipped with horses.

"What are you all doing here? Are you planning a rebellion?" Seeing the crowd in front, the officer at the front immediately shouted at them.

His eyes swept over the crowd arrogantly.

"Everyone, disperse! Anyone who disobeys my order will be charged with treason!" The officer—in fact, judging from his attire, you could tell that he was an official member of the Knights Templar—drew his sword on his horse and pointed it forward.

The Marines are the elite troops of the Order, and most of their officers are official members of the Order.

The soldiers also held their weapons in their hands, prepared for battle, and began to slowly approach the crowd.

These merchants did not dare to face the soldiers and were slowly being forced back and were about to collapse.

The two people watching the show over there were enjoying it very much.

"Very good, very good... That's as good as it gets." The leading man smiled. "The Knights' upper echelons may be clear-headed, but it's useless. Among the lower-level knights, these hot-tempered warriors still make up the majority."

Although they were dispersed today, it does not mean that the problem is solved.

It's okay to vent your resentment a little at a time, but if it accumulates over a long period of time, it will definitely cause problems.

He finished his last snack, then stood up and left, walking away in another direction.

The noisy voices behind me gradually subsided.

The two went to the dock, where a boat was already waiting.

The man boarded the boat, but his men did not follow him. Instead, they stayed here to observe how the situation developed.

"Oh, by the way, it seems that the Knights' navy went to the Holy Land?" He suddenly asked his subordinates when they walked into the port and prepared to board the ship.

"Yes, it is said that almost the entire navy has been mobilized...it is said that they are going on an expedition." The subordinate answered cautiously.

An expedition? Was it to attack Egypt?

What’s further away is not not wanting to, but not being able to.

Due to various restrictions, especially the availability of fresh water and the impact of disease, the "point-to-point" sailing distances of ships of this era were limited.

The shelf life of fresh water is only fourteen days, which means that the safe sailing time is only fourteen days. It will be difficult to sail beyond this time.

Long-distance voyages require stops along the way and rely on port cities along the way for supplies.

Rhodes Island is located in this position and is an important port for Christian ships in the surrounding area. Otherwise, there would not be a knightly order stationed here.

But I can't figure it out.

The Knights' current military strength is limited, and they can only capture Smyrna. They have no spare energy to capture other territories.

Even if there were no soldiers stationed there, the Knights would not be able to occupy the place for long.

Otherwise, it would be like a snake trying to swallow an elephant and would be stuffed to death.

In fact, if you swallow Smyrna now, you will show signs of "dying from overeating".

Otherwise, it wouldn't have so many loopholes and be exploited by others.

"The Fatimid dynasty in Egypt...now the Mamluks are in power. The Mamluks are not easy to deal with! If they want to attack Egypt, let alone two of his artifacts, even if he has ten, it's hard to say. How could Grand Commander Thomas be so foolish?"

"Could it be that repeated victories have really led to arrogance?"

"But the Republic is also planning to attack Egypt, and this time Thomas has given the Republic a head start. It really kills two birds with one stone!"

Since he couldn't figure it out, he gave up thinking about it and got on the boat and left.

We must report the progress here to Lord Lucas as soon as possible.

……

Outside the city of Tripoli, the expeditionary force formed up their battle formation, ready to attack the city.

The city gate opened a small gap, and the messenger came out. He quickly returned to his camp and met the two commanders.

"Lord Thomas, they refuse," the messenger said. "I'm afraid we'll have to attack the city."

Although Tripoli also has a team of giant golems and 5,000 well-equipped soldiers, its confidence is different from that of other small and medium-sized cities.

The city wall is more than a head taller than the wooden golem.

The city defense equipment is also very complete, and there are also many soldiers.

In fact, the number of defenders compared to the expeditionary force, even if not an advantage, at least not a disadvantage.

"Tell me the details," Thomas said.

"I entered the city, went to the town hall, and met with the Merchant Council," the messenger said, trying to be concise. "I asked them for a ransom of 300,000 florins, but the merchants just laughed..."

"Even though they were laughing, did they do anything rude?" Thomas interrupted.

"That's not the case. There's nothing wrong with their words and etiquette, but the contempt and ridicule on their faces..." Speaking of this, the envoy's face was full of indignation.