I became a god through archaeology in the Wizarding World.

The carriage bumped along the muddy road, the sound of its wheels crushing the water drowned out by the booming thunder.

The lights in the carriage were off, with only the occasional flashes of lightning outside the window briefly illuminating Rod's pale and cold face.

Benjamin gripped the reins tightly.

He would occasionally look back at the roof of the car.

Even through the thick wooden planks, he could still feel the heavy weight of the steel monster and its eerie, barely audible breathing.

"Rhodes, are we really going to Sector C-13?" Benjamin's voice sounded somewhat faint in the wind and rain. "It's a stagnant area that was sealed off fifty years ago. I heard that even the sewer rats don't dare to build their nests there."

"That's why it's the perfect breeding ground for filth and corruption."

Rod closed his eyes and tapped his knees lightly with his fingers.

His brain was working at high speed, comparing the map he had taken from Kruger with the underground pipe network map of Plymouth in his mind.

"The Iron Duke was a smart man, but he was too superstitious about violence and fear. He thought that as long as he chose a place that was dark and gloomy enough, no one would dare to come near it. But he forgot that fear is often accompanied by huge energy fluctuations."

Rhodes opened his eyes, and deep within his pupils, a golden stream of data flickered faintly.

"In my perception, the energy reaction in Sector C-13 was as blinding as a lighthouse in the dark. It smelled like a mixture of abyssal source matter and high-pressure steam... nauseating."

The carriage came to a sudden stop.

Ahead was a huge rusty iron gate with a skull and crossbones sign that read "Extremely Dangerous, Do Not Enter".

This is the end of the city's drainage system and the entrance to abandoned mines and underground rivers.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of sulfur, mixed with the fishy stench of some rotting seafood.

"arrive."

Rod pushed open the car door and jumped into the ankle-deep mud.

A soft metallic scraping sound came from the roof of the car, and the executioner, like a giant gecko, silently slid down and lay down beside Rhodes.

Its scarlet electronic eyes scanned the darkness, and the heat dissipation fins on its back opened slightly, spewing out a scorching white vapor that instantly evaporated the surrounding rainwater.

"Benjamin, you stay here and provide backup. If I don't come out in an hour..." Rod paused, then pulled a modified large-caliber revolver from his pocket and handed it to him, "blown up the entrance and then go ask the academy for help."

Benjamin took the gun, gritted his teeth, and said, "Be careful. Those lunatics are capable of anything."

Rhodes didn't turn around, but simply waved his hand and led the executioner toward the massive iron gate.

The gate is about ten meters high, and the thick steel is covered with green moss and rust.

Ordinary lock-picking techniques are useless here, as it is controlled by an internal hydraulic system.

But this didn't stump Rhodes.

He walked to a control valve next to the gate, stretched out his gloved right hand, and pressed it against the cold pipe.

"Structural analysis... hydraulic transmission... old-fashioned gear meshing structure."

Golden light shimmered in Rhodes' eyes.

"We've found the weakness."

Instead of resorting to violence, he took out an extremely thin mithril probe from his toolbox and precisely inserted it into a tiny gap at the pipe connection.

Noisy!

With a slight audible pressure release, a muffled rumble emanated from inside the massive gate.

Then, the door, which had been sealed for decades, slowly slid open to both sides, revealing a bottomless dark passageway behind it.

An even stronger, fishy stench wafted over.

Rod frowned, took out a handkerchief soaked in peppermint oil from his pocket, covered his mouth and nose, and stepped inside.

The passageway was wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side.

Every few dozen meters along the wall, there was a dim gas lamp emitting a ghastly green light, casting long shadows of Rhodes and the executioner that twisted into grotesque shapes on the wall.

The deeper you go, the clearer the mechanical roar becomes.

Boom, boom, boom.

It was the sound of some kind of huge piston pounding, or like the heartbeat of some giant beast.

After walking for about ten minutes, the view suddenly opened up before us.

This is a huge underground cavern, which was originally an abandoned mine, but has now been transformed into a massive underground factory.

Countless thick steam pipes, like blood vessels, climbed all over the rock walls, transporting an unidentified green liquid to a huge pool in the center.

Around those pools were rows of production lines in operation.

Rod hid behind a huge rock, looking down at everything. When he saw the products on the assembly line, even with his composure, he couldn't help but feel a wave of nausea.

That's not a machine.

Those were human bodies that had been cut open.

They were strapped to the cold operating table, most of them already dead, or in some kind of semi-dead coma.

Alchemists dressed in dark red robes were gathered around the operating table, saws and needles in their hands, forcibly stuffing various metal parts into the bodies of these people.

Some had their legs cut off and replaced with rough tracks; some had their eyes gouged out and were stuffed with inferior optical lenses; and some had their entire spine removed and replaced with steam pistons that were still dripping with engine oil.

At the very center of the factory, several huge glass jars are suspended.

The jar was filled with green nutrient solution, and clumps of meat were wriggling and growing inside.

It was tissue from some kind of deep-sea creature being forcibly grafted onto a human body.

"Is this what the Iron Duke calls the new order?"

This is not alchemy at all; it is a desecration of life, a slaughterhouse devoid of any beauty.

"Crude, inefficient, and ugly."

Rhodes gave his evaluation.

He patted the head of the executioner beside him.

"Go. Show them what true perfection is."

The red light in the executioner's eyes suddenly intensified.

It does not require any further instructions.

The instinct to hunt has long been written into its core code.

Whoosh!

A silver-gray blur darted out from behind the rocks, leaping off a cliff more than ten meters high and crashing heavily onto the factory floor.

boom!

The shockwave from the landing instantly overturned the two nearest operating tables, scattering corpses and parts all over the floor.

"What is that?!"

"Enemy attack! Alarm! Alarm!"

The factory instantly descended into chaos.

A piercing alarm sounded, and the red warning lights began flashing wildly.

The alchemists in red robes scattered in panic, while the guards raised their muskets and fired wildly into the center of the smoke.

Bang bang bang!

The dense barrage of bullets struck the executioner's armor, sending up countless sparks, but not even a scratch was left.

The smoke and dust cleared.

The ferocious steel behemoth slowly straightened up and let out a deafening roar.

The executioner's figure darted into the crowd like a ghost.

With each swing of its sharp, high-frequency vibrating claws, it would bring forth a shower of blood and severed limbs.

It completely ignored the soldiers' attacks, and its long tail with the heavy hammer swept out, smashing three soldiers who tried to surround it into a bloody pulp.

"Monster! This is a monster!"

The soldiers' defenses collapsed instantly.

Just then, a roar came from deep within the factory.

"A bunch of useless idiots! Release the tyrant!"

At this command, the several huge glass jars in the center of the factory suddenly shattered.

The green nutrient solution spilled all over the ground.

Three enormous figures, each over three meters tall, emerged from inside.

They have human-like outlines, but their muscles are extremely swollen, and their skin is a deathly gray color, with thick iron plates sewn on it.

Their right hand was modified into a huge chainsaw, and their left hand into a crude cannon.

"roar!"

The three tyrants roared like wild beasts and charged toward the executioner with heavy steps.

"Is this your trump card, Balthazar?"

Rhodes remained standing on the high rock, his hands in his trench coat pockets, coldly watching the battlefield below.

In his eyes, the data of these three tyrants was instantly analyzed.

"His strength is decent, but his nerve reaction speed is too slow. The sutures at his joints are a weakness. The output power of his magic core is unstable... He's full of openings."

The battle below has already broken out.

A tyrant charged ahead of the executioner, raising its massive chainsaw and bringing it down with a devastating blow.

It's sizzling!

Sparks flew everywhere.

The executioner did not resist directly. Its body twisted at an incredible angle, avoiding the sharp edge of the chainsaw. At the same time, its long tail, like a venomous snake, stretched out and instantly wrapped around the tyrant's ankle.

Pull hard!

boom!

The enormous tyrant lost his balance and crashed heavily to the ground.

Before it could even get up, the executioner had already jumped onto its chest.

Those sharp claws instantly pierced the tyrant's thick breastplate, accurately locating the steam core hidden beneath.

puff!

The core was forcibly dug out, and black engine oil and red blood gushed out.

The tyrant twitched twice, the light in its eyes quickly dimmed, and it turned into a pile of scrap metal.

Sold out instantly.

The whole process took less than three seconds.

The remaining two tyrants seemed stunned. Their brains, driven only by animalistic instincts, could not comprehend why their companion had died so quickly.

But the executioner did not give them time to think.

Its heat dissipation fins emitted white steam again, and it transformed into a silver lightning bolt, charging towards the second tyrant.

This was a one-sided massacre.

Rhodes watched this scene without the slightest ripple in his eyes.

The Iron Duke attempted to encase steel with flesh and blood, but overlooked the repulsive reaction between the two.

Rhodes, on the other hand, uses steel to reshape bones and algorithms to optimize instincts.

Just as the executioner was about to tear the last tyrant apart, a strong sense of crisis suddenly overwhelmed Rhodes.

"Um?"

Rod turned his head sharply, looking into the deepest shadow of the factory.

There was an inconspicuous little door there.

At that moment, the door opened.

A middle-aged man wearing a black tuxedo and a monocle came out.

He held an exquisite cane in his hand, looking like an elegant gentleman, completely out of place in this bloody factory.

But in Rhodes's mechanical divine vision, this man was nothing more than a mobile source of pollution.

His body has no bones; instead, it has countless wriggling tentacles.

At the location of his heart was a pitch-black vortex, exuding an abyssal aura.

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!"

The middle-aged man clapped gently, a warm smile on his face.

"I never expected to see such exquisite construct technology in Plymouth. Let me introduce myself, I am a special envoy of the Church, you can call me Doctor."

His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly pierced through the noisy battlefield and reached Rhodes' ears.

The executioner seemed to sense the threat as well. It abandoned the tyrant, which had been torn to pieces, turned around, and let out a low growl at the man.

"A doctor?" Rhodes narrowed his eyes. "When did the priests of the Abyss Cult start working as doctors on the side?"

"Heh, healing the sick and saving lives is a doctor's duty. It's just that I'm healing the sickness of this world."

The doctor smiled, raised his cane, and pointed to the mutilated corpses around him.

"Humans are too fragile, Earl Rhodes. Flesh and blood are weak and helpless; only ascension can save them. Although the Iron Duke is foolish, the materials he provided do give me a glimmer of hope for evolution."

"Evolution?" Rhodes sneered, leaping off the rock and landing steadily beside the executioner. "You dare talk about evolution after turning people into these inhuman monsters?"

"You are too narrow-minded, Earl."

The doctor's eyes turned fervent.

"You only see the ugliness, but you don't see the power. The power of the abyss is boundless, as long as one can wield it..."

He suddenly ripped open his shirt.

What you could see on his chest was not skin, but a huge mouth full of sharp teeth!

Embedded in that mouth was a black crystal the size of a fist, radiating a terrifying aura that made people suffocate.

"This is... a high-level abyss core?!"

Rhodes' pupils contracted sharply.

Cores of this level are usually only possessed by lord-level monsters in the deep sea.

If it were detonated here, the entire lower city would be razed to the ground.

"Come on, let me see if your toys can stop the embrace of the abyss."

The doctor spread his arms, and the huge mouth on his chest suddenly opened, from which countless black tentacles gushed out, instantly transforming into a huge black net that enveloped Rhodes and the executioner.

Corrosive slime flowed from those tentacles, and wherever they went, even steel sizzled as it corroded.

"Executioner, Overload Mode activated!"

Rod shouted and clasped his hands together.

hum!

The dark blue core on the executioner's chest instantly turned into a blinding bright white.

It no longer retains any energy; all power is channeled to its limbs and weapon systems.

Its body surface even began to turn red due to the high temperature.

"roar!!!"

The executioner let out a deafening roar, and instead of retreating, charged forward to meet the sky full of tentacles.

Its claws swung out in a silver storm, severing the tentacles inch by inch.

Black blood and slime splattered everywhere.

But those tentacles regenerate at an astonishing speed; as soon as they are severed, new ones grow back immediately.

Moreover, the doctor wasn't idle.

He slammed his cane to the ground.

The blood and corpse fragments on the ground began to writhe strangely, coalescing into small flesh puppets that lunged at Rhodes.

"Damn it, it's a combination of necromancy and bio-alchemy."

Rhodes drew the alchemical revolver from his waist and fired several shots at the charging flesh golem.

Each bullet is engraved with explosive runes, and explodes into a ball of blue flame upon hitting the target.

But this is just a drop in the ocean.

There were too many enemies, and the doctor clearly hadn't used his full strength yet.

"The source must be cut off."

Rhodes's gaze locked onto the black core on the doctor's chest.

Only by destroying that place can all this end.

However, the executioner was entangled by the tentacles and could not break free for the time being.

"Looks like we need to get serious."

A sudden change occurred.

Boom!

The rock wall above the factory suddenly cracked open.

Countless huge boulders fell, crashing down on the flesh and blood puppets.

A dazzling beam of holy light shone through the hole, illuminating the entire underground factory.

Immediately afterwards, a clear and authoritative female voice came from above.

"In the name of holiness, purify the defiled!"

Whoosh whoosh!

Dozens of spears radiating golden light descended from the sky, precisely piercing the regenerating tentacles and pinning them to the ground.

The holy light scorched the abyss's aura, emitting a piercing scream.

The doctor's expression changed drastically, and he had no choice but to retract his tentacles in defense.

Rod looked up and, through the hole, saw a figure standing in the torrential rain.

It was a woman dressed in silver-white armor, holding a longsword burning with holy fire.

Behind her was a squad of elite knights carrying steam jetpacks.

"church?!"

Rhodes was stunned for a moment.

He never expected that the church's armed forces, which had always been at odds with the royal family and claimed to be neutral, would appear here.

The female knight jumped down from the hole, her jetpack spewing blue flames as she slowly landed in front of Rhodes.

She turned around, her striking face bearing a hint of arrogance.

"Earl Rhodes, it seems you need some help."

She is Catherine, one of the chief inquisitors of the Crusades.

"Although I despise you mechanical heretics, compared to..."

Catherine raised her longsword, the tip pointing directly at the doctor who was retreating.

"I hate these stinking scum from the abyss even more."

Rod put away the syringe, a smile playing on his lips.

The situation has reversed.

With the Crusaders joining the fray, the balance of the battle completely shifted.

"Then let's cooperate this time, Your Honor."

Rhodes reloaded the revolver, and the executioner broke free of his restraints and returned to his side.

"You take care of the tentacles, and I'll take care of the core."

Catherine gave a cold snort, which was taken as tacit agreement.

"All troops, charge! Leave no one alive!"