A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

After all, it is Christianity, and there is no need to burn paper money. At most, you can just present a wreath.

As for why... you can figure it out even with your toes.

It's nothing more than wanting to show your power so that you can come over and make conditions.

It's like the United States in a previous life. If they don't have bargaining chips, they create them! For hundreds of years, the tactics really haven't changed!

Chapter 327 Blackmail 2

But...

In Thomas's eyes, this move was absolutely stupid!

Thomas is now a real local lord. Just as his teacher promised in the past, he will listen to the church's orders if he wants to and ignore them if he doesn't want to.

If it was emotional kidnapping or trying to save face, Thomas really couldn't disobey.

After all, the Knights Templar were also subordinate to the Church, and he himself wore a red robe. Leo XI's affection for the church remained!

Even if the Pope issued an order that was not in the interests of the Knights Templar, Thomas would obey it once or twice.

There's no way, he feels like he is a nostalgic person.

But using this kind of tactics... hehe...

It's not impossible to say that. If it happened before the Battle of Smyrna, it would have been really disgusting.

but now……

Now that the Turks have been defeated, it's impossible for the Crescent Moon Cult to gather a large army again in the short term. The Knights are already like a dragon entering the sea and a tiger occupying the mountains, and they can ignore the Church!

Trying to suppress them, I'm afraid you've chosen the wrong target!

"I understand." Thomas said calmly, then turned and left.

Accompanied by the other party, or under his surveillance, he left the city of Rome.

Back to his own place - Thomas is now staying in the best hotel in a small town outside the city.

It’s not just ordinary accommodation, but the entire hotel is booked!

I had just returned to the hotel and within a few minutes someone came to visit me.

The person who came was a stranger Thomas had never seen before. He was dressed like an ascetic monk, but his fair face and slightly plump figure showed that it was just a disguise.

This person should not be an ascetic!

The time is almost right, and it’s time for the lobbyists to come and negotiate.

"Lord Thomas." Although the stranger was humble, he could not suppress the arrogance of a nouveau riche at all.

When one person attains enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven!

"Who are you? I don't seem to know you." After the host and guest took their seats, Thomas spoke first.

"It doesn't matter who I am," the stranger laughed. "It's who I represent that matters, isn't it?"

"Oh, who does it represent?"

"Of course the Holy Father."

"If I'm not mistaken," Thomas replied with a half-smile, "he hasn't been crowned yet, hasn't even been given a title? He's not even considered the Holy Father yet, is he?"

When each pope is crowned, he or she will take a new name for himself or herself, which represents a kind of rebirth.

The new pope has not yet been crowned; in fact, he was elected only a few days ago.

I guess he is still busy fulfilling some of the promises he made during the campaign.

Some promises can be broken, some can be delayed, but some need to be delivered in a timely manner.

"Grandmaster, you're being picky. I'm here today out of the generosity of the Holy See."

"Benevolent and righteous? He actually wouldn't let me enter Rome..."

"But the Holy Father has already made amends and allowed you to come in to offer your condolences, hasn't he?" the other party replied immediately. "Grandmaster, you probably don't understand that you have already caused public outrage in Rome."

"Me? I really don't know. How did I cause such public outrage?"

"To put it simply, the previous Holy See's loan of two sacred artifacts to you has already aroused great suspicion. And yet you've been holding onto these two artifacts and refusing to return them... Forgive me for saying this, but everyone in the Church is deeply dissatisfied! These are Christ's sacred artifacts, not the private property of the Knights!"

He said eagerly, unaware of the coldness in Thomas' eyes.

"So, what does our new Holy See mean?"

"He hopes you will return the two artifacts. I admit that the Knights need them, but Rome needs them even more," the other party said. "I can imagine that the previous Holy See had a need to lend the treasures to the Knights. But the Knights' situation is no longer so critical."

Not only was the situation not critical, but the Turks were actually pushed back. It was said that the Sultan's personal guards suffered heavy losses and their officers and men were alienated.

Thomas didn't answer, but just sneered a few times.

This is the wrong person!

Do you really think it’s a lie that the local lords only obey orders and not announcements?

"Captain, please don't make the mistake!" Seeing Thomas's expression, the other party's face also turned ugly.

In fact, he fought for this task.

As long as he could persuade Thomas to hand over the two artifacts, he would have established himself in front of the new Pope. His future success and wealth would be assured.

But if I fail, all my efforts will be wasted, and I'm afraid I'll be stuck with the label of "incompetence."

He was anxious, and his voice naturally had a threat in it.

"My own fault?" Thomas smiled. "Did you make a mistake?"

Now the Knights Templar have nothing that can be controlled by the Holy See!

The Knights of Rhodes Island are different from the Sunflower Knights that Thomas once served.

Although nominally loyal to the Pope, it is actually completely independent. Its finances, personnel, diplomacy, declaration of war, conclusion of treaties, etc. have nothing to do with Rome.

The name is the Knights Templar, but it is actually an independent country! Do whatever you want!

If we must say, the power to appoint the Grand Master belongs to the Pope.

But the Grand Master was a lifelong position. Unless Thomas voluntarily apostatized, the Pope would have to wait until Thomas died before sending the next Grand Master.

Maybe he had obeyed Rome before, because he was too weak and had no choice but to obey. But now...

Thomas was looking for a good opportunity to conquer Anatolia, so why did he need the Roman Catholic Church to give him advice?

If I listen to you, I'm giving you face. If I don't listen to you, there's nothing you can do!

"I haven't borrowed anything from the Vatican," Thomas said coldly. "Louis!" he shouted out the door.

The entourage came in from outside.

"Show him out!" said Thomas.

"You..." The uninvited guest was shocked and angry, "Captain, you must know the consequences of your actions!"

"What consequences?" Thomas sneered.

"Leo XI did give you the divine weapon and five divine enlightenment techniques! But he's dead now, so he can no longer control everything..."

Thomas tilted his head, so Louis grabbed him and dragged him out rudely.

Louis was very strong and it was easy for him to deal with these people who had no martial arts skills.

Thomas walked to the window and looked at the flag at the highest point of the town in the distance.

This is the flag of Rome.

On the fluttering flag emblem, at the top is the triple crown representing the three powers of the Pope. The crown is surrounded by a red ribbon, and below it are crossed Peter's gold and silver keys, symbolizing all power on earth and in heaven.

In addition to these symbols, each pope's emblem is different, and generally uses the family's shield as the main body of the emblem.

The family crest of Leo XI has been replaced by that of another family.

It won't be long before all the flags in Rome are replaced.

Looking at the obviously newly replaced flag, Thomas inexplicably felt a strange emotion in his heart.

Everyone is still mortal... What about the Pope? What about contact with the seventh layer of the Demonic Web? What about protecting the nation? You still die, don't you?

After death, all traces of your existence will be erased by time.

Even gods can die!

Or to put it another way, extinction.

No, a thought suddenly came to his mind.

Gods cannot die.

Yes, those lesser gods will perish, but...

Those higher gods seem to be immortal!

Chapter 328 Treasure

A few minutes later, Louis returned to the reception room on the second floor of the hotel.

“How’s it going?” Thomas asked.

"Your Excellency, he uttered a few curses and made some meaningless threats," Louis replied truthfully. "In fact, I don't think he is a member of the Church. He may represent the will of the Pope, but he certainly does not represent the Church."

Thomas nodded slightly.

The Pope and the Church are two different things.

"Is my stuff ready?" Thomas asked.

"Ready!" Louis replied, quickly taking out a document and presenting it with both hands.

Thomas took the document and unfolded it to look at it.

This is a document issued by a certain Jew. With this document, one can use the various Jewish post stations. In the post stations, one can change horses, or get food, rest and other services.

In order to ensure timely communication between each other, different Jewish communities set up a series of post stations.

Although these stations are not as good as the official stations established by the country, they are still very useful. Most importantly, they transcend national borders! You can travel between different countries.

With the help of these post stations, Thomas could travel between countries at a very fast speed, riding two horses day and night, playing the "800-mile express" game.

That was the case with Thomas in the past.

But if it were Thomas now...

Then he could move at a speed unimaginable to humans of this era. After all, he could use magic!

"When I leave, remember to tell them I'm closed to visitors!" Thomas said. "It might take me a few days to come back!"

This will be a quick and swift operation.

Thomas now had to be careful. The Battle of Smyrna was over, and Thomas's hard work had paid off, but new problems followed.

That curse!

He didn't know who cast the curse, but there was no doubt that the church was a strong possibility.

Radagast promised that Thomas would know the source of the curse in two days.

"Louis, how do you think I'm doing?" Thomas asked.

A flash of purple appeared in Louis' eyes, like mist, temporarily covering them, and disappeared after a moment.

"You're unlucky," Louis said honestly. "Even compared to an average person, your brilliance is slightly inferior, but the difference isn't particularly significant."

"Compared to the worst kind of people...like street beggars?"

In any era, beggars are the most unfortunate group of people. In fact, let alone this era, in Thomas's previous life, even in the beacon country of America, the average life expectancy of a homeless person was only three to five years.

The human body is not as tough as we imagine.

Without eating well, dressing well, and sleeping well, few people can survive more than two or three years.

"It's still slightly better than those street beggars," Louis said. "But if it gets any lower, I think it'll be the same as a street beggar."

The only thing lower than beggars is the sick.

Louis has had his own extraordinary vision for some time, so he basically has a basic evaluation standard for the well-being of human beings.