A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

If Milan and the Knights confronted each other on the battlefield, the Grand Duke was certain that Knight Andrea would definitely stand on the side of the Knights!

"Don't worry, we don't need to send troops." The Grand Duke waved his hand. "Milan's naval strength is very limited. With the Venetians and Genoese, one more of us won't make a difference, and one less won't make a difference!"

At most, they could just play a supporting role, sending one or two warships as a gesture. After all, Venice was the current hegemon of the seas, and the Genoese were the former hegemons. If these two countries joined forces, the Knights would have no chance of defeating them.

Although the Knights were thriving under the leadership of Grand Master Thomas, they still had too little capital, not to mention that they had just experienced a fierce battle and suffered heavy losses.

"I have reached an agreement with the Standard-Bearer of Justice of Florence," said the Grand Duke.

Venice is the current hegemon, and Genoa was the previous hegemon, both possessing navies exceeding twenty squadrons. Venice, in particular, is undeniably the naval hegemon. Compared to these two giants, the military might of Florence and Milan, especially their navies, is somewhat lacking.

The weak naturally tend to gravitate toward one another.

So in fact, the two sides have already reached an agreement.

The Grand Duke also knew that the other protector of the kingdom, the Knight of Mansreti, although a Florentine, was of commoner origin.

Specifically, he was a mercenary.

He was initially employed by the Knights Templar, and later, probably because he was favored by a high-ranking member of the Knights Templar, he joined the Knights Templar.

Finally he became the trainer of the Knights' new recruits.

But there is no doubt that it is not his turn to use the divine enlightenment technique.

Even if the Florentines offered money, they would not choose the Knight of Mansreti as their target.

There are many more suitable candidates!

It's unclear why he became the Protector of the Nation, but...it's likely related to the Knights' last defeat.

The defeat was extremely tragic. Fernando, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was killed, as were many of the Knights Templar's officers and high-ranking officials.

But Knight Mansreti was one of the few mid-level officers who survived that battle.

So, maybe Knight Mansredee's becoming the Protector of the Nation wasn't divine revelation, but rather something he inherited from the fallen Grand Master during the fierce battle?

Having said that, even if it was through divine inspiration, it had nothing to do with Florence.

If he was protecting the country from the beginning, why did he become a mercenary?

Before joining the Knights Templar, he could not be a protector of the country.

Of course, this is just a reasonable guess.

After all, protecting the country is too mysterious.

"Let the Venetians and Genoese fight the war!"

With these two Mediterranean overlords joining forces, the Knights had no chance of winning at all.

If Thomas the Dumpling still had any brains left, he should have compromised.

Fortunately, whether it is the Pope, the Venetians, or the Genoese, they all seem to have little interest in the protectorate of others because they have their own protectorate to worry about.

That's why I didn't come to inquire about the affairs of Knight Mansreti and Knight Andrea in detail.

Otherwise, they should have known that these two people joined the Knights Templar for personal reasons rather than official "quiet support."

The Pope was new in office and did not have enough time to understand the details, so he did not know the situation of these two people.

In other words, this Pope may be good at making money, but he is not good at holding power.

He rashly called a meeting of the leaders of the four countries.

But I don’t know.

It was precisely because they didn't know that Florence and Milan were inexplicably pulled into this alliance by the Pope.

He made a huge profit for no reason.

If this succeeds, Captain Thomas will be scared...

It would certainly be great if Knight Andrea could return to his country and serve the Grand Duke.

But even if he refused, the Grand Duke would not lose anything.

After all, the benefits given by the Pope have already been pocketed.

For these experienced politicians, it is impossible to take back these benefits.

In other words, if you insist on taking it back...

Then the price you pay will definitely be higher!

Chapter 375: Summons 1

Rhodes Island, in the meeting hall of the Knights' headquarters.

The envoy's eyes fell on little Balbo.

"Mr. Balbo, your father..." The envoy was interrupted by the other party before he finished speaking.

"I don't want to go back." Little Balbo spoke in a very rude tone, without any courtesy at all.

"Ah...but he misses you..."

"I don't miss him," replied little Balboa. "Not yet!"

This is not a lie.

He has never been a content person since he was a child.

Since he became an adult, he could no longer stay at home and often traveled to various countries in Italy with others.

He seeks people to compete in martial arts and learn martial arts, is brave and aggressive, and stirs up trouble.

In this era, transportation is not well developed, so it is normal to travel for several months.

Sometimes, even the governor had to forcibly keep him by his side in order to prevent him from going out and causing trouble.

And it hasn't even been a year since he joined the Knights Templar.

If I were to say if I felt homesick... I'm sorry, I really don't.

Maybe in three to five years, there might be a chance, but not right now! He was very satisfied with his life in the Knights.

"Enough!" Thomas suddenly shouted angrily.

Although these four letters made him confused for a while.

But Thomas finally came to his senses.

Even though the candidates he personally selected to protect the country had been tested and would not be easily poached, but...

To steal the Knights' members right in front of him—this was a bit too rude.

Do you really think that this great leader is made of clay or wood?

Even a clay figure still has some temper!

But he knew that even though the other party was so rude, he couldn't draw his sword and kill him immediately.

Civilized people don't do this kind of thing!

The light was insufficient, so few people could see a faint ripple emanating from Thomas, like a ripple in the air, sweeping across the entire conference room.

Even those with sharp eyes can't see clearly and cannot confirm it.

Thomas stared at the envoy.

The two looked at each other.

It was clearly a normal gaze, but the envoy suddenly felt an inexplicable fear.

The fear was so intense that I wanted to scream and run out of the room.

He didn't know where this fear came from, but he was very clear that he was fine just now, but now his legs were weak and he couldn't use any strength.

This fear that came from nowhere was like a wild beast released from an iron cage and began to devour his sanity.

Thomas casually pulled out a piece of paper, picked up a pen, wrote a line, then put it in an envelope and threw it over.

The envoy instinctively took the envelope.

"Take him out!" Thomas said coldly.

Two guards, one on the left and one on the right, held the envoy hostage.

Logically, he should have struggled, protested, or even cursed loudly.

But now he couldn't move.

Not only that, those with sharp eyes saw a trace of water on his crotch.

And this water mark is rapidly expanding.

More than one person laughed out loud when they saw this scene.

Until the envoy disappeared outside the gate, Thomas looked at the letters on his desk again, handed them to Demetrios, and asked him to circulate them to everyone.

After it was circulated, the atmosphere in the entire conference room was completely different.

"Let's ask the Sultan's envoy to come over." Thomas spoke after a long time.

This time, no one raised any objections.

We are not fools.

Even the most politically clueless person could sense the intense hostility from the naked threat of war in the letter.

These four letters were taken from the Pope's envoy...

What does this mean?

The new Pope wants to suppress the Knights Templar.

They did not play any game of playing hard to get or using someone else as a substitute, but instead suppressed the Knights openly and without any concealment.

That's totally the face of a bandit.

Although the Knights Templar can actually be considered a pirate group, at least they fight under the banner of "fighting for Christ."

The naked act of piracy was covered with a religious fig leaf.

This time, the Pope's behavior has no excuse at all.

There is no reason, no excuse, I just want to suppress you!

People like Thomas had long seen through the essence of things like "the Knights Templar have nothing to ask of the Pope" and "the Pope cannot harm the Knights Templar", so they were naturally not panicked.

But this kind of vision, formed under the influence of the tide of information in modern society, is rare in this era.

Not to mention that Thomas was an atheist.

He himself is a quasi-god, so why would he believe in Christ as the savior?

So everyone felt heavy in their hearts.

After all, the Pope is Christ's spokesperson on earth.

With someone stabbing them in the back, if the Knights continued to fight the Turks...

That is extremely unwise behavior.

Although the Knights Templar were founded to target pagans, they weren't completely foolish. After all, they couldn't just kill every single Crescent Moon believer they saw; the specific situation needed to be analyzed.

Thomas had previously issued an order allowing the Crescent Moon believers to do business within the Knights' territory to protect their lives and property.

The same is true for the Star-Moon Cultists.

Although it's a life-and-death fight on the battlefield, everyone is still very flexible outside the battlefield.

This is not the first time that an armistice treaty has been signed.

This was the first time for the Knights of Rhodes Island, but it was not the first time for the Holy Land either.

After all, under the siege and pressure of the Star-Moon Cultists, even the most devout people have to learn to be flexible.

The Knights relied primarily on the sea to isolate the enemy's land forces, so there was no need to compromise. Of course, after the Knights' navy was completely destroyed, they did want to compromise. But under those circumstances, even if they wanted to, the enemy wouldn't agree.

A short while later, a messenger dressed in Saracen clothing entered the meeting room.

"Grand Master," the envoy said. "The Sultan sent me to bring his greetings."

Although it was just a simple and ordinary greeting, it was much better than the one sent by the Pope.