A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

He had heard the news from Venice through various channels before. Herzl, the protector of the country known for his naval battles, had actually been killed by Thomas in a naval battle. Furthermore, he was killed while falling into the sea.

Ferdinand believed there must be some reason, but no matter how it was done, Thomas won.

How strong Thomas is has become a very important question.

The previous judgment was that Thomas was covered with magical items, and his combat power was estimated to be at the level of half a step to protect the country.

Now he must be treated as a protector of the country.

Even if he was not fully prepared, Ferdinand had no intention of having a one-on-one fight with Thomas.

So he was very interested in Thomas' performance on the battlefield.

"No, I believe not," the attendant replied. "There were several powerful knights. The most outstanding of them was a man wielding two swords. He charged forward, unstoppable, and slew countless Turks."

Dual wielding? That definitely wasn't Thomas, Ferdinand thought to himself. He didn't know much else, but while Thomas was a martial arts expert, he only carried a sword. And according to intelligence, when Thomas actually went into battle, he didn't use a sword, but rather long, heavy weapons like spears and halberds. The longsword was a last resort.

Of course, naval battles are an exception. In naval battles, long weapons are not as effective as short weapons. Scimitars, long swords, and battle axes are the usual choices.

In fact, dual wielding is a very rare option. Very few people choose dual wielding, instead sword and shield, or two-handed longsword are much more common.

"That dual-wielding knight is an excellent fighter?"

"More than just outstanding, his sword sometimes flashes with lightning, sometimes rises with flames, and sometimes is shrouded in clouds and mist. It's truly amazing. I saw several Turkic officers being killed by him in just a few strikes."

The troops that broke into the city this time must have been elite soldiers - no normal person would send cannon fodder to do this kind of breakthrough work - for such elite soldiers, the officers are most likely elite-level fighters.

Able to kill elite warriors in just a few encounters...

If it is not a half-step national protector, then it is the strongest among the elite level.

But then again, Ferdinand couldn't recall any knight in the Order wielding two swords. It was rare, and if he had seen one, he'd have been impressed.

There is no doubt that this must have been after Thomas became Grand Master and joined the Knights Templar.

In other words... the Vatican is quietly strengthening the power of the Knights Templar without making any noise?

This is consistent with Ferdinand's guess.

"And then what? The Turks were defeated just like that?"

Ferdinand had just seen the scene in the city in the distance. The battle had not ended long ago and the corpses had not been cleaned up yet.

But according to the followers, with such an overwhelming advantage... the Turks should not be able to sustain it for that long.

"The Turks were brave," the attendant continued. "Their courage was no less than theirs. Unfortunately, they were inferior in equipment and martial prowess. Besides that, the Knights also had the advantage of long-range archers. The battle lasted a long time, and the Turks charged the breach in the wall three times."

"The first time, the Turks charged, shouting slogans. The second time, their officers led and urged them on. The third time, their officers threatened the soldiers with swords. But by the fourth time, the Turks' morale had completely collapsed, and no threats could persuade them to charge again. They fled the battlefield, leaving behind billowing smoke and piles of rubble. However, their artillery still played a role in delaying the retreat, and the Knights did not dare to charge beyond the city walls in pursuit of the fleeing enemy."

"How many casualties?" Ferdinand asked.

"I estimate that the Turks suffered at least 3,000 casualties, perhaps even more, but the casualties of the Knights are unpredictable. But I am certain that the number of casualties will not be large."

As for those who survived the battle, they would almost all recover with the help of the Bloody Cross Flag and be able to return to the battlefield in a day or two.

"In today's battle, the Turks did not achieve any results, but suffered heavy casualties." said the follower.

"Yes, we've achieved some results," Ferdinand smiled. "After the city walls were breached, their artillery positions gained visibility. Now the situation in the harbor is clear at a glance. The Knights' ships, whether entering or leaving, must first consult the Turkish artillery. While we haven't been able to capture the harbor, we've at least sealed it off. Now the Knights can no longer send in large-scale reinforcements or evacuate on a large scale."

Of course, a small number of people take those speedboats and come and go quickly under the cover of night, which makes it difficult to guard against.

"Sir, what are we going to do next?" the attendant asked. "I'm sure the Turks won't attack tomorrow. And tonight, the Knights will do something, at least to block the city walls a little."

"As for what to do..." Ferdinand replied. "I guess the Sultan will come to invite me tonight."

"Please?"

"The failure of this frontal assault wasn't so great; the heavy losses were secondary. The real threat was the loss of morale. I believe the Sultan, if he's not a fool, will remember the advice I gave him. While he was seeking a quick victory through opportunistic tactics, those suggestions fell on deaf ears and could not enter his heart. But once he truly understands the Knights' strength, he will remember those suggestions... and mine, too."

"Sir, you want command?" the attendant was shocked.

"Hmm, you could say that." Ferdinand smiled again. "The Sultan needs this victory, he needs Smyrna. So, he must be happy to make this deal with me."

"trade?"

"Well, I want Smyrna," Ferdinand said with a smile.

"you?"

"Why, I can't be the lord of Smyrna?" Ferdinand asked. "Smyrna is an important city, but the Sultan can't possibly govern it himself. He'd definitely entrust the city to a governor or lord, wouldn't he? Why can't I be that governor or lord?"

"But the Star-Moon Sword..."

"The Star-Moon Sword... hehe, there won't be any problems." Ferdinand had figured it out. "Their goal is to seize Rhodes Island. Smyrna is in my hands and can be used as a frontline base. No one can object to my approach. This is a very advantageous choice, isn't it?"

Besides, Ferdinand knew that he had no room for improvement within the Star-Moon Sword... In this case, after obtaining the key intelligence on the "Saint", Smyrna became his best place to stay.

It can provide a safe environment and funds to prepare for the next step.

Chapter 285 Intermission 1

The next day, in Smyrna, in the reception room of the city lord's palace.

"This is a magical item. If you must give it a name, you can call it the 'Staff of Impact'." The blue-robed wizard returned the staff in his hand to Thomas reluctantly.

This walking stick was the spoils obtained from the Star-Moon Sword's Great Elder when the Star-Moon Sword outpost was captured.

Thomas couldn't identify it, so he sent it to Radagast for identification.

However, this identification work is not just a matter of taking a look.

Radagast is obviously not particularly good at this, and is far worse than Gandalf.

Gandalf knew what it was and how to use it almost as soon as he took it in his hands and studied it for a moment (of course, if he didn't know, then he really didn't know). But Radagast needed to take it home and study it carefully for many days.

Of course, on the other hand, Radagast was very good at reading the weather and could predict it, but Thomas had never seen Gandalf show this ability.

"Magic" is a broad concept, and ultimately, magicians are only good at a small area within this larger field.

"A shock wand? A magic item?"

"I'm afraid so," Radagast replied.

"how to use?"

"Point the tip of the cane at the target, and pinch the gem on it, the largest one, tightly. Then a force field will be released from the cane. It's quite powerful."

Thomas raised his hand to raise his cane, but Radagast quickly stopped him.

"Captain, this thing is too powerful to be used indoors!"

"Oh!" Thomas took the advice and took the thing back. At least he knew what it was for and how powerful it was. He could try it out later.

"Anything worth noting?"

"The user can unleash its full power all at once, or release it in small bursts. It's at the tail, where the silver and gold intersect. This spot can be rotated, and different positions can release force fields of varying strength. If it were unleashed in its entirety... I believe, aside from its range, its power would be comparable to a cannonball. But even at its minimum power, it's still easy to send a person flying."

"As for the energy, once it's depleted, it takes three days to recharge. However, this is also automatic and does not require any additional consumption."

"Besides that, it's also quite sturdy. If you're not afraid of damaging the gold and silver ornaments inlaid on it, you can use it to block swords and knives."

It's a good protective item.

Especially in those situations where it is inconvenient to carry weapons, you can use it to fight anywhere and anytime.

Thomas noticed that Radagast seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"Master, do you have any questions?"

"Although this thing is a magical item, it's not an ordinary magical item." Radagast thought for a moment before speaking. "It seems to be something... something... degraded."

"What?" Thomas didn't quite understand.

"You should know that ordinary magical items are crafted from the remains of the Old Ones. This is because the Old Ones possess some unknown means of communicating with the Weave without cost. If their remains still retain this ability, they can be used to craft magical items. And this cane... to be honest, its core is just a hollow metal tube."

"Unless that remnant of the Old Ones' body is made of metal, this shouldn't be the case."

"But it's possible." Thomas was very interested in the topic. "If some of the remnants of the old times have metal bones, I wouldn't be surprised at all."

He has seen the remnants of the old days... basically all kinds of them.

Others may not know this, but Thomas, who lived in the information society in his previous life, knows it - in this world, there is a kind of "metal snail", and the shell of this snail is made of iron!

This also means that normal creatures can produce metal parts, regardless of abnormal creatures like the remnants of the old creatures!

"But I'm certain the core of this cane is a hand-carved metal tube! It's not bone. Bone wouldn't have such a uniform texture," Radagast said, shaking his head. "And I have a vague feeling I don't believe its power will last long. A few decades at most. Ordinary magical items are often used for hundreds or even thousands of years without damage. And this cane, even if left unused, won't last more than a hundred years!"

"You mean this thing might involve a kind of enchantment that doesn't require any special materials?"

"Yes, enchantment! That's what I mean!" Radagast sighed. "It's a shame there's so little of it. With only this one sample, no one can infer the technology."

Thomas almost instantly remembered the information about the Sword of Stars and Moon.

The Crescent Moon Sword organization has been around for a long time, but it wasn't a very powerful organization in the early days. Instead, it relied on selling a "blessed weapon" to survive.

It is more like an artisan organization than a religious sect!

It has only been a few decades or even hundreds of years since the Sword of Stars and Moon became what it is today, a religious group that excludes dissidents and promotes faith.

A blessed weapon...?

Never mind. Once this wave of city defense is over, there will naturally be plenty of time to investigate this matter in detail.

"Master Radagast, how about the other matter I asked you to do?" Thomas asked.

"Grandmaster, I've researched this carefully for you," Radagast replied. "This winter will arrive a little later than usual, but the temperature will drop rapidly!"

That's the benefit of magic.

Even Thomas's artificial intelligence and satellite technology in his previous life couldn't do it in early autumn to study when the temperature would drop in winter.

But Radagast can!

"So... there are still about eighty days left?"

"Yes, I estimate it to be seventy-three days, with an error of no more than three days." Radagast was quite proud of this. "I'm sure that when the cold wave arrives, the Turks outside the city will not be able to hold out!"

The Turkic Sultan certainly had no problem; he had no shortage of fur coats to keep him warm, and no shortage of stoves to keep him warm.

But it was difficult for ordinary Turkic soldiers to survive the cold wave.

Providing winter clothing for an army of 200,000 was no small burden. In fact, the fact that the Turks chose this time to deploy such a large army indicated that they had no intention of engaging in a prolonged siege.

If the goal is a long-term siege, then 200,000 men are not needed. Even 100,000 is not needed. 70,000 or 80,000 will be enough.

On the contrary, the Knights had the castle's houses to rely on, and their tolerance for the cold was much better than that of the Turkish soldiers in the camp outside the city.

"There are still about seventy-five days left. It's not easy to defend!" He said so, but Radagast could see clearly that Thomas looked relaxed.

In yesterday's battle, the Knights won a great victory.

The entire army suffered only a few hundred casualties, most of them musketeers! Most were killed in the crossfire. Only two official members of the Knights Templar were killed.

On the contrary, the Turkic corpses left in the city alone numbered over 3,000. Adding those outside the city, including those who escaped after being wounded, it can be estimated that the Turkic losses in this battle were at least 3,500. Even now, the flames burning the corpses have not yet stopped!

"Grand Commander, you are not an ordinary person. This level is nothing to you." Radagast complimented cautiously.

Chapter 286 Intermission 2

"Don't praise me so highly. I'm not good at things either," Thomas replied. "By the way, Master Radagast, have you ever heard of the phrase 'God is King'?"

"God is king? God-king ideology?"

"That's it." This was the last thing Thor and Thomas talked about. Then he refused to talk to Thomas anymore.

Even now, Thomas didn't know why.

Why did Thor immediately ignore him after he displayed his domain?

There were only a few guesses, but a lack of information to confirm what was going on. So Thomas was very concerned about the topic he had last discussed with Thor.

There was no way to discuss this matter with anyone else, so I could only ask Radagast to see if the blue-robed wizard understood this.

"Yes, in ancient times, gods ruled over humanity. Although there are few reliable documents handed down from those times, and most of them can only be gleaned from myths and legends, what is certain is that, at least in ancient Greece, the idea of ​​a divine king no longer existed. Humans and gods had become separate, and those who ruled over humanity were, at most, demigods or descendants of gods. They had the potential to become gods, but they were not gods themselves."

"Qualifications to become a god?"

"In ancient epics, the earliest demigod ruler was Gilgamesh of Mesopotamia. He was a demigod, two-thirds divine and one-third human. He was said to possess the wisdom and power of a god, but not the lifespan of a god. Gilgamesh once sought to become a full god, but had to undergo a challenge. This challenge seemed to require him to remain awake at all times. However, Gilgamesh failed this challenge and lost his right to eternal life."

"I find this kind of challenge unreliable, but the legend itself seems to reveal something. I infer from this that even for a demigod, the path to godhood is extremely difficult. Just because someone has the qualifications and is qualified to initiate the challenge doesn't mean they will succeed."

Thomas couldn't help but nod.

It is indeed difficult. I have no idea at all and am basically groping in the dark.