A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

Although Thomas was a powerful figure in the Knights' territory, he was only considered a newcomer in Rome.

Even if you put on red clothes, it will not affect the interests of others and will not touch the cake on other people's plates.

But obviously, this idea of ​​"thinking that you have nothing to worry about and don't compete with others" does not conform to the actual situation.

Someone wants to harm Thomas.

Although it would not get to the point where "cups are smashed as a signal and swordsmen swarm out from both sides", it is very easy to trip someone up or add fuel to the fire.

The Venetians also brought a squadron of thirty or forty warships, which, by conventional standards, would have numbered five or six thousand men.

Three to four thousand people can be mobilized easily.

As long as they were outside the city of Rome, even the defenders of the country could be worn out to death at the command of the Venetians.

In this situation, Balboa's provocation is obviously not so simple.

But at least on the surface, Governor Balbo kept apologizing.

He seemed to be just an innocent father who couldn't control his naughty child.

But Thomas would never think so.

After this incident, the atmosphere of the dinner became a little dull.

It was not until the end of the evening that everyone returned home.

Thomas naturally did not return on foot, but took the carriage provided by the host.

"Joseph, you said that little Balboa was a genius?" Thomas frowned slightly. He wasn't afraid of powerful figures, but he couldn't do anything to these brainless fools.

The actions of ordinary people or smart people can be predicted, but the actions of fools cannot be predicted.

Chapter 229 Master and Disciple 1

"That's what people say in Rome," Joseph said. "You must be extremely careful."

There were frequent trade and religious exchanges between Venice and Rome, so this rumor was somewhat credible.

"Oh? A mere elite warrior, and I still need to be careful?" Thomas asked. He wanted to see what Joseph knew.

"Although he's only an elite warrior, he's no ordinary elite warrior," Joseph said. "You might have heard that while most elite warriors must transcend life and death or consume extremely rare elixirs to advance to the elite, there are exceptions."

"Oh?"

"Some people are naturally gifted with the ability to reach the elite level," Joseph said. "Legend has it that if such individuals survive, they have a chance of becoming protectors of the nation. And little Balbo is one of them."

"He became an elite..."

"He likely didn't use any external tools, nor did he repeatedly face near-death experiences," Joseph said. "Of course, it's also possible that Governor Balbo deliberately spread rumors to spread rumors. But little Balbo is only the second son, after all, so I don't see the need for that."

"Joseph, what do you think of what happened today?"

"Today's incident may seem like little Balboa's lawlessness, but I think the Governor's instructions are probably involved," Joseph replied. "At the very least, he's fueling the flames!"

"Indeed." Thomas nodded. "Governor Balbo offered a few false words of dissuasion, then allowed his son to provoke me. I'm afraid he was just taking advantage of the situation. What do you think his purpose is?"

"It's very likely that they're trying to force you to take action, to test your strength," Joseph said. "The killing of the Wolf God must have shocked some people."

On the surface, the Wolf God is not very famous. Moreover, his status as a quasi-god is unknown, and he is more often regarded as a protector of the country.

After all, Huguo was only one against a thousand.

In this era, the Protectorate didn't exist on the surface. However, the real high-ranking officials knew that Protectorate-level warriors did exist. It was just that these Protectors were generally unwilling to show their faces and reveal their identities.

If it is exposed, the value of defending the country - its value to the country - will be reduced.

But in fact, the Wolf God's reputation is very scary in the eyes of some other people.

That record was too exaggerated. He once slaughtered tens of thousands of Zoroastrians by himself!

Such a powerful protector of the nation was killed by the Knights of Rhodes Island. Although it was a hard-fought battle, the Knights suffered few casualties.

Who wouldn’t be afraid?

Thomas closed his eyes.

Although he knew that this day would come sooner or later... after a series of events, there would inevitably be forces that would test his background.

But I didn't expect it to happen in Rome, and in this way.

Let a hot-tempered playboy provoke him face to face.

If Thomas's real age was the same as his body, he felt that he really couldn't endure it.

After all, young people of this age find it difficult to tolerate provocation.

As the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, he is on equal footing with the Governor-General. How could he tolerate provocation from a junior?

"Why did Governor Balbo come to Rome?" Thomas asked suddenly.

"It is said that they are here to renew the trade agreement." Joseph replied.

Thomas had no relatives or friends in Rome, except for his teacher, the Pope, so he was not well-informed. But Joseph was a local with many friends and relatives, so he was much more informed than Thomas.

"How long will you stay?"

"He'll probably stay until you don the red robe," Joseph said. "But after that, he'll probably leave. Otherwise, not only the others, but even the Holy See will become suspicious of him."

"Then we'll just wait patiently for a few days," Thomas said. "Louis, you and I should try not to go out these days. If anyone invites me to a party or something, just say I'm not feeling well."

He couldn't figure out what the other party's purpose was for a moment.

But it doesn't matter. As long as we can delay this period of time, Thomas won't be afraid anymore.

No matter how powerful the Venetians were, if they wanted to do anything to the Knights Templar, they had to have a reasonable and sufficient excuse, otherwise it would be a big taboo.

If we just delay for half a year and finish building the castle of Smyrna...

Only then can we find time to deal with all those guys with bad intentions.

Thomas returned to his residence in deep thought.

Of course, he no longer lives in the same places as before, but in a quiet house where the church entertains guests.

Back at the residence, everyone else dispersed and Thomas returned to his room.

Before entering, I saw that the door was ajar.

He was startled because he remembered that he had closed the door before going out.

In other words, there are unexpected guests who come uninvited.

Thomas's spiritual field expanded, and in an instant he recognized who was in the room.

It was his teacher, or rather, Pope Leo XI.

Thomas pretended not to know, pushed the door open, and saw his teacher at a glance.

The old man was still wearing the modified ascetic robe, without a hat, and looked at Thomas with a smile.

"Ah, my dear student." He greeted with a smile.

"Teacher." Thomas naturally did not dare to neglect. He first showed a surprised expression, and then immediately bowed his head to salute.

"It seems that you have finally taken that step." The old man sighed.

Protect the country!

It is easy to get elite troops, but it is difficult to find elite troops to protect the country!

Although the church possesses the divine revelation technique and can theoretically produce an endless supply of national defense weapons, the high cost of divine revelation means that this is just a dream.

In addition, there is also the issue of quality. People with insufficient quality can only become half-step protectors of the country.

Although there is only a slight difference between Huguo and Banbu Huguo in name, the latter is simply a counterfeit product of the former and cannot be compared at all.

"Thank you for the jade bait." Thomas bowed again. "Teacher... no, Your Majesty!"

The old man smiled bitterly.

It can't be hidden after all.

This was normal. Thomas was now a local lord, holding real power and able to obtain a lot of information. It would be strange if we still couldn't guess his true identity.

"Let's not talk about this anymore." The old man waved his hand. "There's no one here right now, so we can just call each other master and disciple. How about the reward I've planned for you?"

"Well, if possible, teacher, I hope to change one." Thomas felt depressed when talking about this.

This award is glorious, but honestly, it's not practical. Not only is it not practical, it also attracts attention!

It is not as practical as money, warships or soldiers!

"Well, actually, there is another reason for this." Speaking of this, the old man sighed.

"Is there another reason?"

"Thomas, you're the Grand Commander over there, so you should be able to sense that," the old man said, emphasizing his tone. "As the Chinese say, 'Human power has its limits.' The best we can do is maintain the current situation!"

"It's 'Human power is limited, but the laws of nature are determined'!" Thomas muttered in his heart.

The old man must be very knowledgeable. It’s the translator’s fault if this sentence is wrong!

Chapter 230 Master and Disciple 2

"Thomas, do you think we have a chance of winning?"

"Teacher, that depends on what we define as 'victory,'" Thomas said. "If we're talking about completely annihilating the Crescent Moon Cult, I'm afraid that's going to be difficult. But if we're talking about maintaining the current situation, I think it's still possible."

Thomas knew about the six wars in the Middle East in his previous life.

The Jews completely defeated the Crescent Moon Christians!

It was almost time to sign a peace agreement with the surrounding countries and achieve complete stability.

"Yes, maintaining the current situation..." the old man sighed. "That's pretty much the limit of what we can do. But think about what will happen decades from now? What if one day, we're all buried? What if the next generation is even worse than us?"

"...The Holy Land has been fighting for over a hundred years. It's time to put an end to the fighting."

"Teacher..." Thomas didn't expect the old man to show such an attitude.

"It is clear to me that the entire Christian world has no interest in further expansion in the Holy Land. The number of pilgrims, donations and jihadists is continuously declining. It is a very steady decline!" said the old man.

The clarion call of the Age of Discovery has finally been sounded.

Money ultimately overwhelmed faith, and excess power should be used to explore new lands, rather than being thrown into the Holy Land and endlessly consumed by the Star-Moon Cultists. That would simply be a bottomless pit!

Thomas began to understand what the teacher meant.

"What does this have to do with the cardinal?"

"Don't be impatient, just listen to me and I will explain it in detail," said the old man.

"Jerusalem means a lot to Christians, but to other religions... for example, the Crescent Moon Cult, it's not as significant. But no matter how significant it is, this long war has almost exhausted everyone's enthusiasm..."

That’s still good!

Thomas complained in his heart.

In this world, a large-scale crusade has only been launched once.

And how many times had the Crusades been launched in Thomas's past life? They had fought many times, but except for the first time, they had failed to achieve sufficient results. They suffered heavy losses but gained nothing!

That's when you're truly exhausted. Or, in other words, you're so scared of fighting that you can't fight anymore!

Later, when the Ottoman Empire was established, the Crescent Moon people came and conquered Christians along the way.

As for the situation in this life, at least judging by the current situation, I estimate that we can fight for another hundred years without any problem!

As long as there is no devastating defeat like the Battle of Harding.

"However, while our enthusiasm has waned, the same cannot be said for the Star-Moon Cultists," the Pope said. "The Star-Moon Cult nations continue to provide assistance, making things very difficult. At this rate, sooner or later, they will overwhelm us! If we take a longer-term view, examining it over centuries, we will find that we are at a greater disadvantage in this war."

Thomas agreed.

The invaders and the invaded obviously differ in their enthusiasm for supporting the war.

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Chinese could shout "Every inch of land and every drop of blood." Did the Japanese dare to shout that?

"Perhaps, we should consider how to end the war."

Thomas was horrified.

This old man is probably really open-hearted with me.