A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

The answer is: We can’t beat them either.

Although the Knights had just won the Battle of Smyrna and were in their prime for a while.

However, based solely on publicly available information, it's clear that the Knights are currently facing severe financial constraints and have suffered heavy casualties, with no immediate means to replenish their ranks.

Before the war, there were nearly 400 official members of the Knights Templar, but after the battle, there were less than 300 left.

The five protectors of the country are indeed powerful.

Even if the three kingdoms joined forces, they could not swallow the Knights in one gulp.

But do the Knights dare to fight a protracted war?

And the Turks are watching covetously from the side!

In addition, the Pope supported the three countries' military actions behind the scenes, giving them full legitimacy and rationality!

It would be difficult for the Knights to find allies to help them in the battle.

So the Governor could be sure that Captain Thomas had no choice but to give in.

With three truths and one lie, no matter what Captain Thomas does, Venice will benefit a lot.

This is the so-called "fake pearls".

Only a fool wouldn't make money for no reason!

"Master...what if they don't want war either? I mean, the Genoese...or the Florentines, they might just make verbal threats."

Threatening war does not mean actually going to war. The Republic of Venice itself is the best example.

"It doesn't matter." Governor Balbo shrugged. "The benefits have already been obtained."

At least I got half of it!

The rulers of these four countries are all old foxes, unwilling to release their eagles until they see the rabbit. Empty promises are useless. The new Pope has no choice but to grant these four countries numerous economic, political, and religious privileges.

These benefits have already been secured.

Therefore, the Republic of Venice will not suffer any loss.

This shows that the new Pope is still a bit naive in politics.

He couldn't wait to achieve his goal, but he didn't know that this eagerness became his weakness and the bargaining chip of the old foxes.

If he had been patient, appeased the Knights while negotiating with various countries for a long time, then perhaps he would not have to pay this price.

Of course, none of this is the Venetians’ business!

He gained benefits with just a diplomatic letter, and there would be no sequelae...that's enough!

Is there anything better than this?

Thinking of this, he laughed out loud again.

As Governor Balbo laughed, on the other side of Italy, in the Governor's Palace in Genoa.

The Governor of Genoa sat at his desk, his chin resting on his hands, staring at the person in front of him.

His gaze was penetrating, making the other person tremble with fear and stutter when speaking.

"...So, this is the final conclusion?"

"Sir... well... I've searched every possible place where the information could be stored... but there's no file left. You know, there can't be no files for something like this. If there aren't any, it means..."

"Knight Reynard's joining the Order has nothing to do with the Republic of Genoa!" the Governor shrugged, somewhat regretfully. "This isn't the result of some secret treaty."

Really...his exes and exes...

He couldn't even protect his own country! He ran off to the Knights...

As a result, the current Republic of Genoa has no national defense!

For any nation, a national defender-level warrior is an extraordinary treasure, an invaluable asset, and their value is no less than that of a divine weapon.

The allegiance of a protectorate, in any country, is worth that of an earldom.

Unfortunately, this deal is unsustainable. There are monarchs all over the world who would trade a real earl title for the protection of their country, but a protectorate willing to pledge allegiance to a monarch for the title of earl... sorry, I haven't heard of one yet.

Although this was within his expectations, it was still a bit frustrating when he actually confirmed it.

As soon as he got the news, he went to find the relevant personnel.

No news found.

But considering that many of the relevant personnel have passed away or are so old that they are disabled, he still holds on to a glimmer of hope.

After all, that happened at least forty years ago, and it was a very confidential transaction.

But now, after careful searching, he was finally sure.

"It seems..." He tapped the table lightly with his finger. "This is where we can go."

If Knight Reynard had nothing to do with the secret covenant, then he must have joined the Knights Templar out of his devotion to Christ.

Even if we start a war, it won't bring him back. It might even provoke resentment in him, and even a war with our motherland is not out of the question!

This is too bad!

Although the Republic of Genoa had no intention of sending troops from the beginning, it is even more impossible to do so now.

"I hope... the Venetians can give me some help." He said to himself.

Venice is now the overlord of the sea, and with the help of Milan and Florence, it is more than enough to deal with the current Knights Templar.

As long as the Venetians were willing to give their all, Genoa wouldn't make a difference. The Venetians' military and financial resources were not something the Knights could contend with.

The Knights should compromise, right?

It is said everywhere that Grand Master Thomas was a wise leader. He should have been able to see that the Knights would never be able to defeat the Triple Alliance - a Triple Alliance backed by the Pope.

As long as there is a compromise, Genoa can take the opportunity to ask Knight Leonard to come back.

Of course, even if the plan failed, Genoa would only feel a sense of regret, not pain. After all, it happened forty years ago. The generation of forty years ago would probably have regretted it immensely. But the new generation now feels such intense pain.

At most, I can only lament the incompetence of our ancestors!

The Governor of Genoa suddenly laughed, because the image of the Grand Master's face, with his mouth wide open in surprise after reading his letter, suddenly appeared in his mind.

Since Genoa had no secret agreement with the Knights Templar, it naturally had no human or financial support, let alone debt.

Captain Thomas would be very surprised at first, and then he would think that the letter was sent to the wrong place!

But it doesn't matter, even if Genoa is fake...

The other three are real!

Three true and one false, the false will become the true.

"Not bad!" he whispered to himself.

I was able to take advantage of the Pope and the Venetians.

It has always been the Venetians who have been taking advantage of Genoa!

In addition, this time the Pope did bleed a lot - there is no way, no matter which party it is, they all know not to believe the empty promises made by charlatans.

It is common practice not to release the eagle until the rabbit is seen.

It’s not that people don’t respect the church, but they have been deceived so many times that they have learned their lesson.

Chapter 374 Everyone’s Choice 3

At the same time, in the official residence in Milan.

The Grand Duke paced back and forth in his reception room with his hands behind his back.

At the same time, listen to the reports from your subordinates.

The content of the report was none other than the Knight Andrea, who was from Milan and was one of the Five Knights of Christ.

Knight Andrea, born into a minor noble family in Milan, showed excellent talent since childhood and was considered by more than one person to be a "promising protector of the country."

It must be said that although this kind of evaluation has been received, this evaluation itself is not valuable.

In every country, basically every few years, there are a few young people who receive this kind of evaluation.

But how many people can really become protectors of the country?

At least within the known range, there is not one!

I still have to go to Rome and buy the divine revelation technique!

But no matter what, anyone who receives this kind of evaluation is definitely an outstanding talent and young hero of his generation.

He should have stayed in Milan, either joining the army as an officer or being recommended as a government official, living a quiet life. Until one day, he broke through the daunting barrier between elite soldiers and protectors, becoming a protector-level warrior and ultimately serving the Grand Duke.

Unfortunately - as is often the case in all noble houses - a battle for inheritance ended everything.

While primogeniture is the prevailing rule, it doesn't guarantee the eldest son inherits everything. While the law guarantees the eldest son the majority of the estate, other regulations are more relaxed. Other sons are guaranteed a share of the estate, and how this share is divided is a complex matter.

Some shared equally, some shared unevenly, and some even got nothing!

Basically everything is "discretionary" and the judge has the final say.

Knight Andrea was the unlucky guy who ended up getting almost nothing in the distribution of the inheritance.

Knight Andrea, who failed in his fight for the inheritance, broke off all ties with all his relatives, left Milan, became a monk, and joined the Knights Templar.

From then on, I never had any contact with my hometown again.

This is clear because since joining the Order, Knight Andrea has never written a letter to his relatives at home.

In addition, according to the intelligence of the spies, Knight Andrea never mentioned his family and relatives to anyone in the Knights Templar.

It is clear how much damage the fight for the inheritance had caused him. He has completely abandoned his origins.

What a huge loss it also brought to the Grand Duke.

This is a national defense!

Just like that, it fell into the hands of the Knights for no reason.

Current public opinion believes that Knight Andrea was promoted by divine inspiration after Grand Master Thomas took office - a divine inspiration worth one million florins.

Given the greed of the Roman Catholic Church, everyone believed that the one million could not be waived for no reason, and even a discount would be a terrible expense.

Of course, the Knights couldn't afford such a large sum of money...

So the one who paid this money must be the Grand Duke.

The Grand Duke, the former Pope and the Knights Templar reached a secret deal. By paying this money, the Knights Templar had an extra protector of the country!

That's what the rumors say, and they say it with all the confidence, as if they had seen it with their own eyes.

But the Grand Duke knew his own business. He hadn't contributed a single penny.

In fact, before hearing the rumors about the Five Knights of Christ, he had no idea there was such a person as Andrea.

Even if he knew, he wouldn't care.

There were many Milanese who joined various knightly orders, and even Andrea was not worthy of the Grand Duke's attention.

So the conclusion is obvious: Knight Andrea relied on his own efforts to cross that chasm.

This is a very rare example, but it is theoretically possible.

The Grand Duke did not support the Knights, if only verbally.

By this time, the men had finished reporting all the details about Knight Andrea.

The Grand Duke sighed slightly.

We failed to retain talented people in the first place, which led to unnecessary setbacks.

If something like this happens again, the Grand Duke feels he needs to pay a little attention. He can't let talented people lose their enthusiasm.

"Sir, if the Knights refuse to send back Knight Andrea, will you go to war with them?" A subordinate who knew the inside story asked rashly.

"War?" the Grand Duke laughed. "For what reason?"

The Knights do not owe the Grand Duke any debt!

Knight Andrea is also a living person. Any attempt to frame the Knights Templar, including lies about kidnapping and fraud, will be exposed by Knight Andrea himself.

Not only that, it will also cause him to become enemies with Knight Andrea.