A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

Without saying a word, she turned around and led the way

Thomas had no choice but to follow.

According to regulations, the Knights could only be mobilized on missions with official documents. They had to have an order from the Patriarch.

After all, judges cannot conduct trials casually. They must obey their superiors and the central spirit.

But Bai Lan ignored all this. If Thomas continued to question her, there would probably be another conflict.

Soon, the team split into two teams, one chasing along the main road and the other searching along the small road.

Thomas was in charge of searching the trail.

I searched from morning to noon, but found nothing.

Then, when the sun was blazing down and everyone was sweating profusely, someone from the other side announced that Bai Lan had found the target and asked Thomas to lead the others to rendezvous.

By the time Thomas arrived, the matter was almost over.

On the side of the road, next to several overturned carriages, a man dressed as a businessman was kneeling on the ground.

There were about eighty or so corpses lying around him.

The bodies were armed, and some were armored. They were probably guards and servants of the caravan.

Bai Lan faced the man who was kneeling and begging for mercy, and looked around with a cold gaze.

This was the scene Thomas saw when he arrived.

The problem was, the man begging for mercy was holding a cross in his hands - a cross with a chain hanging around his neck.

This shows that the other person is a Christian.

Looking around, this is a typical small-scale business travel team. However, there are only five or six people left.

Almost all the men were killed - the only survivors, except the merchants themselves, were the trembling women and children.

"It's a misunderstanding... It's a misunderstanding... I'm a devout believer in God. I'm a Christian... I'm..." The businessman tried to explain. But Bai Lan seemed indifferent.

Although the land of Russia is full of pagans, to be honest, it is normal to encounter a few Christians.

"Captain, is there something wrong?" Thomas was a little surprised.

"Whether you're wrong or not, I have the final say!" Bai Lan replied coldly. "Tie him up and take him away!"

Several soldiers rushed forward and tied up all the survivors without saying a word.

Then a few people were left to clean up the scene, and the rest of the people escorted the prisoners back.

Thomas originally thought that they would return to their base, or perhaps return to the Knights of Kiev, but he did not expect that when they passed by the gate of a noble manor, Bai Lan announced the disbandment of the team.

Everyone returned, and she herself entered the manor with the captives.

From beginning to end, it ended inexplicably.

The group of people were confused, but helpless, and finally they could only go back to the base in groups of three or two.

"Janos, do you know who owns this manor?" Thomas had no idea and could only ask Janos.

"Oh, it should be &#￥." Janos said a name that seemed familiar to Thomas.

He was a nobleman from Kiev, a relative of the current Grand Duke, and a notorious criminal.

Thomas figured it out almost instantly—this merchant had most likely offended the nobleman for some reason. Then, using the name of the judge, he arrested him.

Bai Lan's team is nominally an inquisitor, but in reality they are just his own private army.

She was simply relying on her position and authority as judge.

Typical case of misusing public resources for personal gain.

Chapter 23 Kidnapping Case 1

"We are clearly a knight order of the church...how could we do such a thing?" Thomas was still a little surprised.

"The captain just finds any excuse to drag us into this mission," someone nearby chimed in, their voices clearly filled with resentment. "Today was relatively good, but there have been worse ones. A few times, we almost got into fights with other Inquisitor teams."

"Ah... isn't this a good idea? Why didn't anyone report it?" Thomas asked.

"Someone reported it before, but not only did the higher-ups ignore it, they even reported it to the captain. So the captain pulled the guy out, beat him up, and kicked him out. No one dared to do it again after that. You'll see." The man curled his lips and pointed to the noble manor in the distance. "The captain knows exactly what he's doing."

Bai Lan uses the power of the judge to curry favor with the powerful, and naturally she will get their protection and help.

Damn, this is not easy!

Thomas began to understand where he was.

In the end, everyone is using each other.

Bai Lan is using his position as an inquisitor for personal gain.

But the church also used her as cannon fodder to chew on the hard bones.

Of course, the unlucky ones are the people under her.

Thomas began to understand the sympathy in those people's eyes.

There's more than just sympathy for the dangers Thomas faces in this position.

I still sympathize with Thomas's future - under Bai Lan, there will never be room for advancement. It will be impossible for him to climb up and take on a higher position.

Thomas frowned slightly.

It seems like I'm in a very bad position.

The income seems not low, but in fact there is no room for improvement.

The biggest difference between the Knights Templar system and other systems of the church, namely priests and ascetics, is that they can perform meritorious deeds.

For priests and ascetics seeking advancement, the criteria were very flexible.

You can rely on your father, or you can buy it with money. As long as you have enough money and a powerful father, you can become a bishop at a young age.

On the contrary, even at the age of seventy or eighty, he is only fit to guard a small church!

But for knights, being rewarded for meritorious service is a hard standard.

For those who do not have this ability, it is useless even if they hold a high position. That is like occupying the toilet without doing anything, and they will get into trouble sooner or later.

After all, you'll be facing enemies in combat, and they won't know your dad. Or even worse, they'll be focusing on you!

However, although meritorious service is a hard standard for being rewarded, there are actually exceptions.

For example, subordinates who are unruly, disobey orders, or even cause trouble will advance much slower than others. This is something everyone knows tacitly.

Of course, one would superficially find a reason—but as Thomas knew, the easiest thing to find in the world is a reason. Who couldn't come up with a few?

Damn, it looks like I have to leave this place.

Janos would probably accept it because he just wanted to make money and had no intention of getting promoted.

But Thomas was still an official knight after all, and he was not satisfied with just receiving money.

We have to think of a way.

Thomas understood by now.

In this corrupt social environment, if you want to move up, you must do whatever it takes.

A few days later, in a tavern in the nearby city.

Thomas and several sergeants were having lunch over there.

It's natural to chat about all kinds of rumors around.

However, the rumors these days are almost all focused on one topic: kidnappers.

There have been criminals who kidnap children recently.

Deceiving or kidnapping women and children and selling them as commodities was a common practice in ancient history. In other words, this practice has existed since ancient times and has never ceased.

Although it is a very evil business, it is indeed impossible to eradicate it.

Kiev is no exception.

But the problem is, why kidnap anyone's child when they have to?

The nephew of the Grand Duke of Kiev, who was about seven or eight years old, was kidnapped a few nights ago. The kidnappers broke into the mansion and took the child away without anyone noticing.

After half a night, the maids and servants finally realized that the child was missing. They also found the kidnapper's route from the various traces left and confirmed that the child had been taken away.

It is said that the Grand Duke was awakened in bed by this sudden news before daybreak.

Needless to say, all the high-ranking officials in the city of Kiev were alarmed.

The kidnapping of a child is not a big deal, but the kidnapping of the Grand Duke's nephew is another matter.

This incident has become big news that everyone in the city of Kiev knows about.

It's even becoming international news.

Of course, everyone was just a bystander in this matter, discussing the kidnapper's audacity and luck, and speculating on the ransom he would ask for - and how the Grand Duke would retaliate after the incident.

Thomas rationally estimated that the kidnappers would demand a ransom of 10,000 florins, while others thought that amount was too little.

Thomas chose this number because he felt that too much ransom was not a good thing.

Ten thousand florins weighed roughly the same as a person, so you could just hang it on a saddle and run away.

The kidnapper rides two horses, one for himself and the other for the ransom, so that he can escape as quickly as possible.

A man riding two horses is not very noticeable in the wild - many fast travelers are equipped with two horses.

However, others do not agree with Thomas's view.

Everyone felt that after handling such a large case, you would be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't get 30,000 or 50,000 florins. Some even thought it would be foolish not to extort 100,000 gold coins.

Everyone even started a small bet and placed a bet on this matter.

Of course, this is just entertainment for the spectators.

It's rare to have a big melon like this.

But the joy of the spectators soon disappeared, because as soon as they returned to the base after lunch, they found themselves involved.

An official document has come down from the church, requiring everyone to help the Grand Duke search for the kidnapper.

The reason is simple - according to the judgment of the superiors, the kidnapper did not run far away and was hiding somewhere in Kiev.

Kyiv is so big that if you want to find people, you have to mobilize all the forces you can.

So even though it is a team of religious inquisitors, they must be included.

After all, the Grand Duke is an indispensable support force for the Church.

If something happens to the Grand Duke, the Church has an obligation to help with all its might.

In short, the Grand Duke mobilized all the forces he could and searched all the filthy places in the city.

Places that previously relied on connections to evade high-level inspections will no longer be able to escape this strict inspection.

This naturally includes brothels, black markets, casinos and other such places.

Chapter 24 Kidnapping Case 2

Thomas led the way into a brothel.

There are very few people who are truly clean in this kind of business. Even in those high-end clubs, where there are only exotic faces, it is hard to tell the origins of the women inside.

This is especially true in ordinary places. There are too many examples of women of good character being forced into prostitution.

It is also said that this kind of place is often used as a dungeon to detain new recruits - it is the focus of this large-scale search!

Following Thomas, dozens of soldiers filed in.

The guards and thugs guarding the door did not dare to stop them. The men and women inside ran around in fear, but their way was blocked and they could not escape.

"According to the Grand Duke's order, the whole city is under strict investigation! Everyone, squat down and put your hands on your head!" someone shouted with full energy.

Seeing that the visitor had ill intentions, the person in charge here was immediately alarmed.

A fat, fierce-looking woman came with several armed men.

"What right do you have to search here?"