A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

"Kill him!" the governor stared at the other person and said to his servant.

The next second, the servant pulled out a loaded pistol and pointed it at the other man's forehead.

The small businessman was so frightened that he knelt on the ground. "Sir, I don't know anything..."

"If you know nothing," Doge Balbo said calmly, "then you are useless. You are spreading rumors detrimental to the Republic of Venice, so as a spy, you shall be executed on the spot!"

"No, I really didn't..."

"You know nothing, yet you're talking nonsense. If this isn't a rumor, what is it? Kill him!"

The servant immediately pulled the trigger.

Now, it seemed that he could blast the opponent's brain out of his body with just a snap of his fingers.

Of course, Governor Balbo would not kill anyone, and even if he did, he would not do so in his own reception room.

In fact, the gun was loaded with gunpowder but not bullets.

"Wait, master, he may really know something, give him a chance." said the servant.

It's like this in acting, one plays the good guy and the other plays the bad guy.

Depending on the type of person the other person is, you should prescribe the right type of medicine.

For such a timid little person, it would be best to give him a scare.

As expected, the frightened businessman immediately told everything he knew.

He certainly didn't see the five Christian Paladins.

But he heard the news from someone at the dock.

Mainly when I was strolling around the dock, I heard an officer of the Knights Templar proudly showing off to others.

According to the official, the Battle of Smyrna was a complete trap.

Because the Knights have received the blessing of Christ, there are five national protector-level warriors!

If the Sultan had known this earlier, he would never have dared to attack so easily.

It was precisely because of this that the Knights tried every possible means to hide the news and finally lured the Sultan to lead the army in person.

The Turks seemed to have the support of the entire Crescent-Star world, while the Knights were isolated and helpless, but that was just an illusion. In reality, the final outcome had already been determined.

Under the attack of the five Christian paladins, all the Turkish siege efforts were in vain. In the end, the Turks suffered heavy losses, especially the Sultan's own personal soldiers, who lost more than half of their troops.

After this battle, the Sultan's prestige suffered a severe blow and the strength of the Rum Sultanate was greatly weakened. They would not be able to gather such a large army for a long time in the foreseeable future.

"How interesting...are there really five protectors of the country?" After letting the small businessman leave, the governor sat in his reception room and talked to himself.

Although the letter to the cardinal was also important, he felt that this matter was more important.

After all, the election of the Pope couldn't be decided by a single letter. Before the white smoke appeared, nothing was impossible.

The Knights' affairs might be even more important. However, he didn't need to do anything; more accurate information would arrive automatically.

Soon, he would know the names of the five knights.

But no one knows which force lent its national defense-level warriors to the Knights.

I guess the former Pope must have been the one who orchestrated this.

Maybe it's just an absurd rumor?

"Do you think it is really possible for five protectors of the country to appear at once?" he asked casually.

Although it was really just a casual question, I didn't expect my old servant to bow to me. "Master, I think it is possible."

"How?" The Governor found it a little funny.

"The Church possesses divine revelation. Although it may seem difficult to perform five divine revelation techniques at once, it is not impossible for the Holy See."

"How is that possible? Divine Revelation... You know, Divine Revelation isn't a silent spell. It has a wide-ranging impact and can't be concealed. This has long been a consensus. If there were five Divine Revelation spells, the whole world would know!"

"But no one has ever stipulated that divine revelation can only be used in Rome! It is a spell after all!"

"Ah! Where could it be? You know, the influence range of divine revelation is extremely large. Even a large area of ​​the entire city of Rome can sense this spell. How can such a spell be concealed?"

"For example...at sea!" the servant replied respectfully.

"Ah! Ah!" The Governor came to his senses. Thinking carefully, he realized that the servant was right. He had been stuck in a rut!

Oh, if only my son were one of the five... But it would be nice to be able to make friends with one too. I need to write a letter and explain it to him.

Suddenly, there was a noise outside. The governor immediately stood up and went to the door, where he saw a servant rushing in in a hurry.

"Sir," the servant stammered, "white smoke is coming out of the Sistine chimney!"

Chapter 326 Blackmail 1

"What?!" the Governor asked. "Where did the news come from?"

"There's urgent news from the city," said the attendant.

A method of communicating information was also established between the Republic and the city of Rome.

Carrier pigeon delivers message.

This was one of the fastest ways of transmitting messages in that era. News from Rome in the morning could be delivered to the Doge of Venice in the afternoon.

Of course, since the Governor was in his own private estate, an additional step was required to get the message from the city to the Governor's estate, but this would only delay the process by an hour or two.

However, pigeon messaging is very expensive, so it can only be used to transmit the most important information.

The news about the new Pope definitely falls within this category.

"Is there any more news?" The Governor still felt it was sudden.

A new pope was chosen so quickly? This doesn't happen often.

"Sorry, that's all the news."

"Who wears the triple crown?" Governor Balbo said to himself.

Names came to his mind one by one.

The fact that he dealt with all his competitors in such a short time proves that he has everything he needs in terms of status, background, family, and ability.

Although none of the cardinals are simple people, even so, those who meet so many conditions at the same time are still rare animals.

Who has this ability?

He had a rough guess.

It's not very accurate, but it is certain that there is no need to continue writing the letter he was about to write.

The premise of bargaining is that the goods are worth this value!

If you don't have this value, or if you fail to be elected Pope, then you have no right to bargain with the Republic of Venice!

He paced around a few times and suddenly burst into laughter.

The servants were all puzzled.

"Sir, what are you laughing at?" After a long while, a servant asked cautiously.

"I'm laughing at Grand Master Thomas of the Knights," Governor Balbo said. "I reckon he must have just made it outside of Rome and realized there was no need for him to come!"

Judging from the time, this is exactly the case.

Thomas is also a cardinal. Although he is a fake cardinal and cannot become Pope, the vote in his hand is real.

As soon as the fighting in Smyrna subsides... he will definitely run to Rome.

On the one hand, it was to mourn his mentor, and on the other hand, it was to go to the Sistine Chapel to participate in the election.

Too bad the election is over.

However, the people that Governor Balbo had in mind would not give Thomas a good face!

If Thomas had participated in the election in time, he could have used his vote to win favor, but now it is impossible.

In fact, the Knights' victory in the East, especially the emergence of five protectors...

This will definitely cause a backlash from the church.

The five protectors of the country could not have fallen from the sky. They could only have been given to the Knights Templar privately by the late Leo XI!

The Pope can certainly do that!

Five divine revelations, that's five million florins!

They directly took five million florins from the Vatican...

How could the church not hold a grudge?

……

Thomas stopped before the tombstone.

He arrived too late, the funeral of Leo XI had already ended.

The Pope's funeral lasts nine days, nine days of official mourning.

Everything is done according to tradition. The Pope's body must be buried no earlier than four days and no later than six days after his death.

Before the last rites were performed, the Pope's body was placed on a bier, a raised coffin, which was displayed in the basilica of St. Peter's Basilica to be venerated by all the faithful.

And all this is over.

Thomas had just departed from Rhodes when the coffin carrying Leo XI's body was being saluted and worshipped by believers. There was no other way, he had to wait for news from the Battle of Smyrna.

Although Leo XI noticed that he was not in good health and sent a messenger early...

But Thomas really couldn't get away.

He had to guard Rhodes Island just in case.

After all, this battle is a catastrophe of ascension for him, and it does not allow for any hesitation or risk.

Although theoretically losing wouldn't kill him, if he lost to a thief, then he was completely finished. All his efforts would be wasted, and the best outcome would be to hide his identity and flee far away.

There is even a chance of joining the ranks of those saints who died gloriously.

At this point, the Battle of Smyrna was won...

From a utilitarian point of view, Thomas doesn't have to worry about the replacement of the Pope at all.

No matter who replaces him, it is impossible to shake Thomas's position.

As long as Thomas did not openly raise the banner of rebellion, declare apostasy or even convert to the Crescent Moon Sect, the Knights would definitely follow Thomas.

No one else's orders will work.

Even now, without waiting for many years, if Thomas tried to find a way to "secularize" the Knights Templar, a large number of them would not strongly oppose it.

Looking at the tombstone, Thomas's mind flashed with his teacher's round face, chubby figure, slightly cunning expression, and...

To be honest, the total time he and Leo XI spent together was probably less than three days. They shouldn't have had a deep emotional bond.

But Thomas had to admit that without the other party's recognition, he would never have become the Grand Commander.

It was Leo XI who gave Thomas the medicine to break through the bottleneck of the Protectorate and gave him the position of Grand Commander.

A real favor of recognition!

So it’s quite unpleasant to think that we are separated forever at this moment.

Especially since he knew in his heart that the other party's death was most likely caused by his curse.

After sighing for a long time, he finally took his eyes off the tombstone.

Transfer to the priest following behind.

"Grand Master, the mourning is over." The priest said expressionlessly.

Thomas's mouth twitched.

The Holy See, or the new Pope, has begun to exercise his powers, although he has not been formally crowned.

He has ordered that Thomas is not allowed to return to Rome!

Thomas was able to visit his teacher's grave under the pretext of mourning.

I only stayed there for about ten minutes.