A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

You can’t read many books even if you die!

After all, a lot of time is spent on meditation, experiments, and studying magic, leaving little time for reading.

"Old man," Thomas said amiably to Knight Reynard, who was a little further away, "I heard you received a letter from your hometown."

Knight Reynard's position was merely "(Expired) Director of the Archives." Although he was nominally a mid-level member of the Knights Templar, he was not even qualified to attend such a meeting.

But after the Battle of Smyrna, everyone discovered that the old man was also a national protector...

Then, although his position did not change, he was naturally notified to attend the meeting.

So now, he sits in the back row of the meeting room.

Although it is an inconspicuous position, no one would think it is unimportant.

The Knights Templar only have five protectors (not counting Thomas)!

Knight Reynard stood up and bowed. "Yes, I received two letters from Genoa... One is from my great-nephew, and the other is from the Governor of Genoa..."

He looked a little embarrassed.

Many people know that the old man is from Genoa, and he is not from a famous family, but comes from a small family.

Even the term "small family" was vague; in fact, he was probably not of noble origin at all. More likely, it was because Reynard joined the Knights Templar that his relatives had acquired a vague nobility status.

Anyway, these days, the origins of the great nobles are basically well documented, but as for the lesser nobles, only Christ knows.

It is common practice for pirates and bandits to go home to clean up their mess and buy themselves a noble status.

Of course, no one with any sense would delve into this kind of thing. What's the point of finding out?

After all, the old man has been a member of the Knights for over forty years. Loyalty is definitely not a problem.

I haven't been back for forty years. How many close friends and acquaintances are left at home?

Even if there were relatives, they were people I had never met. Aside from the right of inheritance, there was no connection between the two sides... Oh, that's wrong. After joining the Knights Templar, even the right of inheritance was lost.

If he really wants to inherit, Knight Leonard must first return to secular life.

“They want you to come back?” Thomas asked.

"It wasn't said explicitly." Knight Leonard was even more embarrassed.

It's true that I haven't said it explicitly, only hinted at it. After all, this is a matter of mutual consent. Right now, we're just "feeling the waters."

But the old man knew very well that Captain Thomas would never allow such a thing!

He knows his own affairs and is very clear about where his "protection of the country" comes from.

If he were not the Grand Commander, he would still be that old and useless man who could only look at his armor and cry in seclusion every day.

Thomas's eyes swept through the crowd.

Before anyone else could speak, the flag-bearing officer, Little Balbo, stood up.

"My father wrote to me, too."

He seemed a little confused. "What he said was all incomprehensible."

Uh... Little Balbo is indeed a simple-minded person.

Even though his father is an old fox, it is estimated that little Balbo has not inherited his father's shrewdness and cunning at all.

His talents are all in martial arts.

In politics, especially in power struggles, he is a complete novice.

If you say he is good at charging into battle and fighting one-on-one or in group battles, then he is a master. But to say he has any political vision or can use any conspiracy or tricks is completely overthinking.

"My family also wrote to me..." Knight Joseph began.

As for what the letter said, he didn't elaborate. But even without details, you can guess what it said.

Then, Andrea and Mansreti also said that they had recently received letters from their hometown.

Some were written by relatives, and some were written by government leaders.

The author says:

Author's words: Thanks to readers Qian Qian Shi Shi Ying Zi, Wu Di Zhan Long, and Ye Ye for their rewards.

Chapter 366: Temptation 2

By now, Thomas knew what was going on without asking.

Actually it’s nothing, everyone needs to protect the country.

According to public information, there is no national guardian in this world!

Privately, the dignitaries generally believed that the National Protection System existed, but was deliberately hidden by the state.

But everyone admits one thing.

That is, protecting the country is indeed very rare.

Not to mention protecting the country, even half-step protection of the country is very rare.

Only in big countries can there be warriors capable of protecting the country.

And now, it seems that among the Italian countries, there is a lack of national protection!

Seeing the five national protectors from the Knights Templar, everyone became jealous.

He actually came to poach the Knights!

Thomas snorted softly.

Fortunately, he was well prepared for this, and every protector of the country has been tested.

Knights like Mansredee and Reynard were all losers in life, and were saved by Thomas at the last moment.

Whether it is the vision and mentality accumulated from life experience, or the gratitude and fear in their hearts, they will not be poached easily.

For example, Knight Joseph and Knight Andrea had their inner hearts explored by Thomas through dreams. Their loyalty was impeccable and they could not be bribed by ordinary means such as high positions and generous salaries. They would not betray him in the short term.

Of course, little Balbo is an exception - he is really a young and inexperienced person.

But then again, the simpler the mind, the more stubborn the temperament. Even based on oath and honor, he would not be easily pulled back by his father.

In short, unless the Grand Commander Thomas actively cooperates with external forces to poach talents, the five protectors will not easily jump ship.

Of course, this is the theory, but the actual operation is not that simple.

From time to time, we need to give small reminders and alert them. In addition, we need to do a good job in personnel treatment and solve the problem of spiritual rewards and material rewards.

Let everyone know that staying in the Knights is the best choice.

"It seems that the reputation of the Five Knights of Christ has spread everywhere!" Thomas said, seemingly talking to himself.

This is the most favorable situation for Thomas.

Of the six Knights Protector of the Nation, only Thomas was hidden.

Everyone was relatively calm and no one answered.

There was no way. After the Battle of Smyrna, it was no longer possible to hide it.

How can we hide it when we have already publicly appeared and participated in the war?

Foolish men and women may think that the church’s power is unfathomable, but people with real insight and vision will see that the five protectors represent almost all the power of the entire Roman Catholic Church.

Because while Thomas achieved a glorious victory, the Holy Land was still being suppressed by the Crescent Moon Cultists.

A year or two ago, the two knights joined forces and, with the help of two artifacts, achieved a series of small victories and regained some territory.

But the Star-Moon Cultists soon made a comeback and took back the lost territory.

Now it is said that while the battle at Smyrna was in full swing, several more battles were fought in the Holy Land.

The Christians didn't gain anything.

All we can say is that we avoided the worst possible defeat.

Therefore, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Thomas's side must have gathered all the essence of strength.

However, this poaching incident is just an appetizer for this meeting.

There was another main topic at the meeting.

At this time, a civilian knight in charge of diplomatic and reception affairs stood up.

"Grandmaster, the Sultan's envoy is waiting to be received."

"The Sultan's envoy? A request for peace or a declaration of war?" Thomas asked.

This was a casual remark, for anyone with a common sense would know that the Sultan and the Order did not need to declare war—they had always been at war. This state of affairs had existed since the Order was founded, and it had never changed.

Therefore, the envoys sent by the Sultanate of Rum must be envoys seeking peace.

After the Battle of Smyrna, the Turks were severely damaged and the situation was extremely bad for a while.

Speaking purely from the ratio of casualties, the Knights also suffered heavy losses.

Probably 30% to 40% of the troops were lost!

But the Knights have a trump card, and that is the five protectors of the country!

The Five Protectors of the Nation are difficult to deal with.

Five people don't need much supply equipment at all and can easily cross any terrain.

They move incredibly fast, are almost unrestricted, and most importantly, their combat power is terrifying.

In the worst case scenario, that would be equivalent to five thousand soldiers!

With just five or six thousand people, there is no way they can stop the five protectors of the country.

Just like the battle at Smyrna, if the five protectorates aimed to eliminate the enemy's ordinary soldiers and adopted a piecemeal approach...

That's really hard to deal with!

In other words, it is beyond the capabilities of the current Turks.

After all, the Sultan suffered too many losses of his elite soldiers and spellcasters under the city of Smyrna.

In addition to the threat from the Knights, the Sultan also faced internal pressure.

The Turks are a nation with a very prevalent nomadic culture. Once the leader cannot lead everyone to victory and obtain spoils, the people below will naturally think "maybe it's time to change someone."

Under internal and external pressure, Sudan's request for peace, although somewhat unexpected, is indeed reasonable.

When the man finished speaking, Thomas tapped the table lightly with his knuckles.

"What do you think?"

Knight Andreas immediately stood up and spoke. He was inclined to accept the Turkish peace treaty.

The reason is simple, that is, the Battle of Smyrna also caused huge losses to the Knights.

In the short term, the Knights do not have the ability to counterattack.

Even if the five protectors took action, they could attack but could not hold the city. This would easily lead to a seesaw situation, which would give the Turks an opportunity to take advantage.

Of course, opponents immediately jumped out, and the secretary Dimitrios firmly opposed it.

Although it is necessary to restore strength temporarily, the Knights and the pagans are irreconcilable. Making peace with the Turks, even if it is a very beneficial peace treaty, will bring shame to the Knights.

Thomas sighed to himself.

Demetrios was adequate as a deputy, but lacked some merit as a leader.

He was so kind and upright that he never thought of the option of "making peace first and tearing up the treaty when necessary."

But just as Thomas sighed in his heart, a knight stood up and spoke.

His opinion was exactly what Thomas had just thought: accept peace and get the benefits first, and then wait until he was ready to tear up the contract and start fighting!

Unexpectedly, this statement was immediately met with unanimous opposition from everyone!

The flag bearer, Little Balbo, jumped up and scolded the knight, saying that he had insulted the honor of a knight.

I can only say that the Knights Templar are worthy of being the Knights Templar. Not only is their military strength higher than that of ordinary countries, but their moral standards and sense of honor are also much stronger than those of ordinary nobles!

Chapter 367: Threat 1