A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

But how to understand it is another matter.

"No wonder..." the Forest King said. "But please believe me, this natural crystal was equally difficult to create. It took me a lot of time and effort to create it. And right now, it's probably the only one in the world."

Both sides were silent for a moment.

"Why not? Let's both take a step back," the Forest King said. "Do you have anything else to trade? Or perhaps I could offer you some more bargaining chips?"

"...I want to add one condition," Thomas said. "I want to know how to resolve the mismatch between soul and body. Besides that, I also want to know what you're going to do with this golden apple. Why do you need it?"

"Oh, of course, no problem. Also, I must explain something," the Forest King said. "As far as I know, there exists a secret technique in this world that harmonizes the soul and the body. I don't know the specific method, but I can tell you where to obtain it."

“Okay!” Thomas replied.

The vines carried the golden apple and the ashes of the god away, disappearing behind layers of bushes and leaves, but the natural crystals were left behind.

Thomas reached out and took it in his hand. The deal was done.

"Rome!" the King of the Forest said immediately. "In the hands of the Catholic Church."

"You know Rome?"

"Oh, of course I know. Why wouldn't I know? In fact, if I complete the first step towards becoming a god, I will set off for Rome," the Forest King said with a smile. "That will be the stage where I can show my skills."

"Whatever you want," said Thomas. "What do you want with the golden apple? It's not as good as your natural product."

"Oh, that's because natural crystals can only be made by me, who has to spend time and energy to make them, but golden apples can be grown."

"You can plant?" Thomas was surprised.

"I believe so," the King of the Forest replied. "At least we can try."

Chapter 278 The Knights' Determination 1

It didn't take long to leave the Forest King's residence and return to the Chud people's mountain fortress.

In fact, with the help of Hajime, the journey from start to finish would only take a little over half an hour.

Although it is not flying, it is almost the same.

In short, by dusk, Thomas had returned to his starting point.

There were inns and taverns here for the outsiders—once full, now empty.

I guess few of those who went deep into the forest today will be able to come back.

However, the people in the tribe were very calm.

Both the tavern owner and the innkeeper were a little surprised when they saw Thomas.

At night, in the empty tavern, the few guests and waiters were watching Thomas from a distance and whispering to each other.

But I didn't dare to come up and talk to him.

Thomas completely ignored these irrelevant people.

After leaving the forest, he immediately used his magic scroll.

The one that the Grand Commander had given him.

The effect of this magic scroll is to transmit a short message to the other party. At the same time, the other party can also send a message.

In short, it was the text messaging function in Thomas’ previous life. He remembered that each text message in his previous life cost only a dime.

And the text messages in this world... have more restrictions and fewer words, but one message costs thousands of florins.

All I can say is that science and technology are productivity, which means money!

Thomas' message was, "It matches my guess. It should be here."

The other party’s reply was “We were scheduled to be on standby, we will be there soon.”

Having said that, after dinner, Thomas came to the edge of a cliff where he could see the sea and looked at the sea.

Everything that happened today is still a little shocking.

Although he was doing well in the Knights Templar, Thomas had to consider his future.

Rome has the opportunity to be promoted to Protectorate.

When comparing the two conditions of becoming a protector of the country and becoming a high-ranking member of the Knights Templar on the inner scale, the importance of each is obvious.

Because Thomas realized a long time ago that if he wanted to control his own destiny in this world, he had only two choices.

Become a protector of the country.

Or become the lord of at least one city or one place.

Moreover, it is easy for the former to become the latter.

Any ruler, whether a Khan, emperor, king, grand duke, caliph, sultan... would be happy to divide the land and enfeoff a protector as his own subject in exchange for the other party's loyalty.

As long as you swear allegiance, you can easily become an earl.

In fact, even if the monarchs gave up the status of earl, such a transaction was still considered unfair.

Because everyone knows that there are monarchs everywhere who are willing to wait for the throne, but there is not a single protector of the country who is willing to swear allegiance.

In this era, at least on the surface, there is no national defense.

Tsk... What about taking charge of the Novgorod Knights' branch as a branch captain...

I originally thought this was a great reward, but now it seems like a huge loss. I might as well exchange it for some money.

It should be said that the current Knights Templar are no longer worthy of Thomas's ambitions.

The setting sun, like a brilliant gem, has already disappeared halfway on the horizon.

Thomas looked up and saw the tiny sail on the horizon in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The sail's shadow expanded rapidly, and when the sun set completely and only the sunset glow remained, the sunflower on the sail could be seen.

Tsk...it's finally here, faster than expected.

Thomas originally thought they would arrive tonight or even tomorrow, but now it seems that "we will be there soon" is not an empty promise.

I think they set sail only about three or four days after Thomas set out.

The temperature is rising day by day, and the sea ice will decrease with each passing day, allowing ships to sail faster and safer.

So the two parties set out three or four days apart, but arrived at their destination only two or three days apart.

The coastal pier at night is chilly.

Thomas stood at the dock, watching the figures coming off the ship.

Knight commanders and squad leaders came down from the boat one by one, with the Grand Commander walking in the front.

The knights had serious expressions and looked like they kept strangers away. Even the local Chude tribesmen did not dare to approach them.

"Thomas?" The Grand Commander spotted Thomas waiting at the dock.

"Grandmaster!" Thomas said. "Let's go over there, to the inn, eat something and rest for the night. This damn weather!"

The Grand Commander looked at Thomas in confusion, sizing him up and down.

"Not rushing?"

"No rush!" Thomas said. "And I think it might be better to wait a couple of days."

"Okay, let's go!" said the commander-in-chief.

There really aren't that many people coming from the Knights.

There were about twenty people on the boat.

But except for the Grand Commander, everyone else is an elite warrior.

"Are there only so few people?" Thomas asked in surprise.

"Isn't that enough?" A hint of gloom appeared on the captain's face.

"No, I was just being a bit too talkative." Thomas realized he had made a mistake. The Knights had suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Marlowet. With over twenty elite soldiers, the Knights had practically emptied out their remaining resources.

But thanks to the promotion potion, Thomas has met many elite warriors recently, so he is not so sensitive to the elite level.

Especially the Gwalan family, which has dozens or even hundreds of elite warriors.

This is the difference between having potions and not having potions.

With the potion, it is no problem for the Knights to recruit hundreds of elite soldiers.

They quickly arrived at the inn and checked in. The owner, evidently experienced with guests leaving and never returning, immediately cleared out some of the rooms to prepare for the new guests.

The place that can accommodate two to three hundred people now houses more than twenty people and it is not crowded at all.

The night is getting darker.

In the warm tavern, at the table closest to the fireplace, there were only Thomas and the Grand Master.

"Let me first tell you about our journey here," the Grand Commander surprisingly did not let Thomas speak, but took the initiative to speak first.

The news for the Grand Master was not good, because he had originally planned to take over the Novgorod branch, but in fact he arrived a step too late.

The main members of the detachment, the elite combat force, a total of seven or eight people, including the detachment leader Luca, have all left.

When asked where they had been, they knew nothing.

The commander-in-chief also noticed something was wrong, so he rushed over as quickly as possible.

So adding the time and space together, although he set out three days later than Thomas, he actually arrived here only one day later than Thomas.

"Wait, Your Excellency the Grand Master, I have a question for you. Do you have paper and pen here?"

"Yes!" There was no need to look for them, as the Grand Commander already had paper and pen with him.

Thomas immediately began writing.

It's not writing, but drawing, and the drawings are of people.

Chapter 279 The Knights' Determination 2

"This is..." The Grand Commander didn't know what Thomas wanted to do.

"Is this person our Captain Luca?" Thomas handed the portrait in his hand to the captain.

He was a middle-aged bald man with a square face, who looked very serious and old-fashioned. He had a very obvious scar on his face.

Thanks to the basics he had learned in the monastery, Thomas picked up his paintbrush again in order to write the "Book Without a Name".

So even though the technique is crude, I don't think it's too far off. I wouldn't say it's 80% or 90% accurate, but it's about 60% or 70% like. This is especially true of the scars on the face.

"No," the Grand Master replied. "But this person... well, looks familiar. I'll go ask him."

He immediately went to ask at other tables and came back a few minutes later.

"This is a Knight Commander," the Grand Master said. "He must be one of Captain Luca's subordinates. He disappeared with him this time."

“That’s right,” Thomas said.

At this point, all questions have been answered.

"Where did you see him?" asked the Grand Master.

"In the forest... Specifically, I saw his body, nailed to a tree by a wooden stake."

"what?!"

"Not only that, I also saw several corpses... Their clothing and armor were different from those of ordinary mercenaries and adventurers," Thomas said. "But this one's facial features were particularly distinct, so I took a closer look and took note."

"what do you mean……"

"Your Excellency, Grand Master, who exactly is Prince Yaroslav?"

"If you must say, he is a 'landless prince', but if it weren't for the trick of fate, he should have been the Grand Duke of Chernigov. He once stayed in the Kiev court for a few years, and I have met him. He once fervently wanted the help of the Grand Duke of Kiev to regain the position that rightfully belonged to him. But how to say it... In short, everything is already a fait accompli and it is difficult to reverse it." said the Grand Commander.

"An ambitious young man with a legitimate claim?"

"You could say that," the Grand Master replied. He also drew a simple portrait with pen and paper. "That's him."

"He was the one who posted the reward overseas... right?"

"From what I understand, that's true. But I don't know his motives."

"I'm afraid the prince has messed up!" Thomas said. "He's probably dead by now. His body is in the woods. I saw someone who looked a bit like him...either a stand-in or the real him."