A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

Thomas knew very well that human nature could not stand the test!

Fortunately, it doesn’t matter. His current private demiplane can be used for at least a few decades.

When the demiplane collapses due to the end of its lifespan, perhaps I will be able to use ninth-level spells.

"Master, I see there's about 400,000 florins here," Thomas said. "Since we're entering together, why don't we split it?"

Radagast looked a little stunned.

He obviously hadn't expected Thomas to make such a suggestion.

However, Thomas knew very well that Radagast was of great value, and if a mere 200,000 florins could be exchanged for the old wizard's sincerity, it would be worth it.

Although this amount of money seems to be a lot, it is nothing to Thomas.

Any of his golden apples could be sold for 70,000 or 80,000 florins. Even if sold at a discount, there would still be 50,000.

Compared to the money, his real gain was this thing that looked like the remnant of a god. In fact, even if all these things were added together, they would definitely not be as valuable as the statue hidden in his sleeve.

Calculating the time, by the time all these precious metals were moved into their own demiplane, it would be almost dawn.

I should be able to leave here quietly.

"Thomas, I'm afraid I need to take a break." The voice sounded in my mind again.

Thomas felt the sound fade away, just like a human falling asleep, and could no longer feel anything.

……

At the far end of the distance, the sky was already showing a hint of paleness.

In the conference room, the meeting was coming to an end.

"...In that case, there are no problems for you gentlemen, right?" said the handsome attendant.

Governor Balbo quietly glanced around at the others.

You can feel that these old foxes are sitting on the Diaoyutai with a sense of security.

If there is a bargain, you will naturally take it, but if you encounter a tough problem... you can wave the flag and shout, but if you want to stand up and fight, there is no hope.

Although everyone is gathered here, there are actually huge conflicts of interest between different states.

"...How powerful is the Knights Templar now?" the Grand Duke of Milan suddenly asked.

"The navy has four squadrons," Governor Balbo replied. "The army has about 10,000 men. That's about it!"

He was very concerned about the situation of the Knights Templar. It was hard to say about the high-level intelligence, but he had never lacked basic intelligence.

The handsome attendant smiled. "Back when Grand Master Fernando was here, the Knights were able to adequately fulfill their mission of protecting the Holy Land's shipping routes with less than two naval squadrons. Four squadrons is indeed too many. So, even if they suffer a severe blow, the Knights will still have sufficient capacity to fulfill their original duties, correct?"

"Without a doubt," Governor Balbo said with a smile.

The Pope's greed was a bit unpleasant—but it didn't matter. Governor Balbo was definitely making a profit.

He is different from others.

The others had been in the Order for years, and their emotional ties to their homeland, if not completely severed, were at least sparse. This was especially true of Knight Reynard—the old man had been in the Order for forty years, and most of his friends and family were probably dead.

But little Balbo had been in the Order for less than a year, and there was absolutely no problem with the relationship between father and son. As long as the Pope issued a bull approving it, he was 100% sure he could get his son back. If not...it wouldn't be a big deal!

He knew his son very well and naturally knew how to convince him.

Chapter 339 Coercion 1

"What is Captain Thomas doing now?" The flag-bearer of justice asked seemingly unintentionally.

"He should be in a small town on the outskirts of Rome, about half a day's journey from here. A horse would take him a moment to get there," the handsome attendant said. "He's awaiting the Holy Father's forgiveness."

"Forgiveness? I'm afraid not." Governor Balbo thought to himself, but he couldn't say it out loud.

The Pope took things for granted.

He hoped to use diplomatic and public opinion pressure to force Thomas to give up, surrender, and return the artifact and the national defender-level warriors to the Holy See.

If that fails, threaten with force.

Rome's military force was not enough to threaten the Knights - Rome had never been a city that relied on military force - which was why so many allies were needed.

In short, we hope to resolve this issue through diplomatic means.

But what if diplomacy doesn’t work?

Thomas was no ordinary man—in just a few years, he almost single-handedly transformed the Knights, which were on the verge of collapse, into the prosperous state they are today.

How could such a man sit there and wait for death? In fact, the moment Balboa laid eyes on Thomas, he was convinced he was ambitious and unruly. He was definitely not one to follow the rules. And he had every right to break them.

The Knights have five protectors of the realm...tsk tsk.

The five protectors of the country are already a huge bargaining chip that is enough to change the balance of power between the Star-Moon Religion and Christianity!

No one in the Mediterranean is willing to touch this tough nut.

"We don't have much of a chance," Governor Balbo said. "Once the Grand Master returns to Rhodes or Smyrna... there won't be much we can do."

"They only have four squadrons, Your Excellency, the Doge. Venice has at least twenty squadrons, right?"

"Yes," Governor Balbo laughed. "But the Republic doesn't have five protectors!"

In fact, there wasn't one—if little Balbo was counted as part of the Knights' side.

By the way, he glanced at the Genoese.

The Republic of Genoa also has a navy of nearly twenty squadrons.

The other party cleverly avoided looking at him.

It seems that everyone is here to wave flags and cheer, not to charge into battle.

It all depends on whether the Pope's methods will work.

Although he wasn't optimistic about the Pope's plan, Governor Balbo had to admit that he wasn't a god and had made mistakes before. What if he was wrong this time too?

In fact, he had misjudged Thomas once.

If he had known that Thomas was so difficult to deal with, he would not have sent his most capable spies there, and they would not have been wiped out by Thomas.

And he also paid the price of a half-step national defense!

"What did you mean by 'should have'?" the Grand Duke realized. "He's gone?"

"We received news that he reached an agreement with the Jews. Specifically, he paid for a license to use the Jewish post station... I think you all know what that means." The handsome attendant replied.

"Post station? Where is he going?"

"It should be Bohemia. His hometown. But where exactly he went is unclear. At least not yet. As for what he did... it must be something he can't tell anyone!"

The Grand Duke shrugged. "In that case, this must be a very private operation. How did you know about it?"

"The Jews told us." The handsome attendant smiled brightly. "The Grand Commander actually did business with the Jews... so he wasn't being thorough in his thinking."

"He probably doesn't know what a real Jew is!"

"So, he's not outside of Rome now?"

"I'll be back soon. Just a few days! If we use the post station, not to mention riding a horse, even taking a carriage will only take a few days."

"Then our plan can begin?"

"No, that's not necessary. We have a friend who's willing to help. They've already taken action. In short, our Grand Master Thomas must have his own secrets. And they're secrets that can't be made public!"

Everyone exchanged glances. Another friend? Who was that?

As we all know, the church, especially Rome, does not have a strong military force. Both its navy and army are very limited.

But they do have a very strong intelligence system.

The handsome attendant turned his head and looked out the window.

Outside the window, you can clearly see the dawn.

It's almost dawn.

……

On a road in northern Italy.

Two men dressed like small businessmen were walking on the road.

It wasn't a busy road; in fact, the only people visible were the two of them and a carriage that had just passed them.

"The fish is in the net," the two men said as they walked. "We just need to send a signal."

"Well, have the people on the other side arrived?"

"He's here. He's the captain of the local garrison, an elite warrior. He's a very prestigious nobleman with direct access to Rome. If he comes forward to testify, the matter will be settled!"

"As long as he can actually see with his own eyes that Thomas is actually associating with a magician..."

Then, most of the arrangements for the whole thing are completed.

Thomas would soon go from being a hero famous throughout the Mediterranean to a traitor who blasphemed Christ!

"The only thing I didn't expect was that Thomas actually hired a few mercenaries. This will make things a bit troublesome..."

"I don't know. I guess he had a premonition."

The two of them exchanged words quickly and quietly.

This time, the Knights' victory in Smyrna was not just an ordinary siege victory.

Anyone with a strategic vision could see that this meant the fall of the Sultan's authority and the inevitable subsequent expansion of the Knights.

Of course, if the time is limited to a few months, or one or two years, perhaps the Knights will not make any moves.

But this is only temporary.

Five national guardians! Two divine artifacts!

This is a force that is enough to easily crush any medium-sized war.

Not to mention Thomas, a brave and meritorious commander, there would be no problem replacing him with a pig as the Grand Master of the Knights Templar.

But the problem is... many people don't want to see this kind of scene

In particular, we do not want to see the Knights Templar expand in a reasonable and legal manner with evidence.

But now he had the chance. No matter what Thomas wanted to do, since he was hanging out with a magician...

No one can tell the consequences of this matter, maybe big, maybe small.

But it is conceivable that Thomas will face a choice.

And by then...

Chapter 340 Coercion 2

As they were talking, the two of them quickly rushed up a small hill.

There is a pile of arranged fireworks here. As long as it is lit, a column of smoke will rise into the sky.

It can be seen within dozens or even hundreds of kilometers!

The two started a fire and lit it.

A column of smoke rose into the sky.

"In that case, that's about it, right?" one person said.

"A little slow, the smoke column is not rising as fast as expected!" Another person was a little worried.

"It's alright. No matter how fast or slow the carriage goes, it won't leave the main road. As long as the news of his collusion with the evil wizard gets out, whether we achieve any results or not, our goal will be achieved."

Their goal was to shake the relationship between Thomas and the Roman Catholic Church.

Their work has been basically completed, and all they have to do now is wait patiently for the smoke column to last a little longer.

"By the way, is that magician really a blasphemer?" someone asked.

"I've met him. He used to be a retainer of the prince, but after the Battle of Smyrna, he defected to the Knights." Speaking of this, the other man clearly knew the truth. "He's likely one of the culprits behind our disastrous defeat in Smyrna. That battle might have been a trap set by the Knights from beginning to end!"

"I see……"

"His Majesty the Emperor has issued an order, and the Church has confirmed that the magician is an evil and corrupt person. He has long been notorious, and Thomas actually got involved with such a person..."