I became a god through archaeology in the Wizarding World.

Chapter 137 The Dark Age, the Prelude to Divine Punishment

The jet-black throne, formed from pure abyssal obsidian, is cold and hard, its surface shrouded in dark red runes of destruction. It stands tall in the very center of the former holy city of Rumen, like a black thorn piercing the heavens, announcing the arrival of its new master to the entire world.

Rhodes climbed the steps made of bones and scorched earth.

With each step he took upwards, the abyssal aura beneath his feet intensified. The sacred hymns that had echoed across this land for thousands of years were now replaced by mournful wails and the whispers of abyssal monsters.

High above, Pope Clement VII, pinned to the highest point of the ruins by the cold iron of the abyss, let out intermittent screams of agony. The demonic energy of the abyss, like countless tiny venomous snakes, slithered through his veins, gnawing at his flesh, yet clinging to his last breath. This once invincible representative of the gods had now become the perfect embellishment to the throne of the abyss.

Rhodes walked to the throne, slowly turned around, flicked his tattered yet fluttering black cloak, and sat down with a sweeping motion.

"Boom!" The moment his body made contact with the throne, a tangible black ripple spread wildly in all directions from the throne. The abyss demon realm, spanning thousands of miles, seemed to come alive at that moment, the earth undulating as if breathing, spewing out dense miasma and demonic energy.

Rhodes rested his chin on his hand, his dark eyes utterly undisturbed. He felt the vast, abyssal power within him, as boundless as a starry sea. After devouring the soul essence of ten thousand fanatics, his soul had undergone a complete transformation, transcending the limits of mortals and reaching the so-called "divine realm."

Now, even a single breath from him can resonate with and distort the laws of the surrounding space.

"Is this the perspective of a god?" Rhodes sneered inwardly. "Looking down on all living beings, regarding everything as ants—no wonder those false gods in the Astral Plane are so arrogant. Unfortunately, my Abyss is far deeper than your Astral Plane."

Just then, the space beneath the throne began to distort violently.

Accompanied by a strong smell of blood and death, three figures knelt on one knee in the void, bowing their heads deeply.

The man on the left is clad in heavy dark gold armor, his body wreathed in eerie green necromantic flames. He is Gareth, the first general under Rodmor, the former Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and now the "Knight of Death."

The man on the right, shrouded in a wide gray robe, held a staff inlaid with a scarlet skull. He was Victor, the most infamous necromancer on the continent and Rhodes' most loyal and fanatical follower.

The figure in the middle was a seductive fallen angel with a pair of tattered black wings on her back, the succubus queen, Lilith.

"Welcome, Sovereign, to ascend the divine throne!"

The three voices merged, echoing across the empty ruins, filled with fervor and awe. They could clearly sense that the man sitting on the throne was no longer the powerful Abyss Agent he once was, but a true Abyss God, capable of rivaling the Astral Gods!

"Get up." Rhodes' voice wasn't loud, but it clearly penetrated the depths of everyone's soul, carrying an irresistible authority.

The three of them stood up tremblingly, but still dared not look Rhodes in the eye.

"Gareth, what's the situation outside?" Rod asked casually.

Gareth stepped forward, his armor clattering with a dull thud, and respectfully reported, "Reporting to the Sovereign, news of the Holy City's destruction has spread throughout the entire continent within half an hour via magical communication arrays. Divine authority has collapsed, and the source of the faith in light has been completely severed by you. Now, the entire continent is plunged into unprecedented panic."

"It is said that the old emperor of the Northern Ice and Snow Empire vomited blood and fainted the moment he heard the news. The entire empire's army has entered a state of first-level combat readiness, hiding inside the Winter Wall, and dares not move an inch south."

"Those old fogies in the Eastern Magic Council are terrified. They've shut down all inter-domain teleportation arrays and activated the highest-level defensive barrier, the 'Wall of Sighs,' seemingly fearing you'll be their next target."

Upon hearing these reports, a mocking smile curled at the corner of Rod's lips.

"A bunch of short-sighted good-for-nothings," Rhodes coldly remarked. "Do they think they can escape this reckoning by staying indoors? The Holy See has exploited this continent for thousands of years. Aren't these so-called royal families and councils accomplices of the Holy See? Haven't they all stained their hands with the blood of mortals?"

Victor chuckled maliciously and stepped forward, saying, "Your Majesty is wise! Those mortal rulers were nothing but dogs kept by the Church. Now that their master is dead, the dogs will naturally tuck their tails between their legs. At your command, I will immediately lead the undead army and trample..."

"Pingbing Snow Empire, transform their corpses into your most loyal warriors!"

Lilith chuckled and licked her crimson lips. "My Lord, the souls of those mages from the Eastern Magic Council are quite delicious. If you could sacrifice them all to the Abyss, your power would surely surge once again."

Rod did not answer immediately. He raised his head and gazed intently at the dark sky.

Although the will of the astral gods had faded, Rhodes could clearly sense that the laws of this world were undergoing some extremely subtle yet deadly change.

"Crushing them is a simple matter of turning one's hand," Rhodes said slowly, his voice tinged with solemnity. "But our enemies now are no longer these mortal ants."

Upon hearing this, Gareth and the other two were all taken aback.

"My Lord, do you mean—" Gareth asked tentatively.

"The false gods of the Astral Plane have their eyes on this place." Rhodes stood up, walked to the edge of the throne, and looked down at the endless abyss below. "You should have sensed that golden eye just now. It was a projection of the will of the supreme god of the Astral Plane. I destroyed their anchor point on Earth and cut off their source of faith. They will never let this go."

"Divine punishment will come soon."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the three people below the throne changed drastically.

Divine punishment!

In the historical records of the continent, divine punishment has only occurred once. That was tens of thousands of years ago in the ancient times when a powerful race called the "Titans" attempted to challenge the authority of the gods. As a result, the astral plane unleashed a world-destroying flood and celestial fire, completely erasing the entire Titan race from history without leaving a trace.

Now, divine punishment is about to descend once more?!

"The Overlords—how should we deal with this?" Viktor's voice trembled slightly, a rare occurrence. Even the most fanatical necromancer would feel an instinctive fear when faced with the legendary Astral Gods.

Rhodes turned his head, looked at the fear in the eyes of the three people, and suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahaha—what? Are you scared?" Rhodes' laughter was filled with arrogance and unbridled spirit. "Since I dared to devour the souls of ten thousand believers and hang the Pope there like a sky lantern, I naturally have no fear of those high and mighty false gods!"

He suddenly pulled out the sword "Calamity" that was stuck beside the throne, and pointed it at the sky.

"So what if they punish me? If they dare to unleash heavenly fire, I will devour it with the abyss! If they dare to send an army of angels, I will break all their wings and condemn them to eternal damnation in the mire of the abyss!"

Rhodes' body erupted with monstrous demonic flames, and his domineering aura of absolute arrogance instantly dispelled the fear in the hearts of Gareth and the other two, replacing it with a kind of blind fanaticism.

"We swear to follow the Sovereign to the death! We will shatter the Star Realm! We will slaughter the false gods!" The three knelt down in unison, shouting at the top of their lungs.

"Very good." Rhodes sheathed his longsword, his eyes regaining their cold and rational expression.

Arrogant as he may be, Rhodes was by no means a mindless brute. He knew very well that with his current strength, which had just entered the realm of gods, trying to confront the entire universe of gods head-on was tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock.

The reason the astral gods have yet to descend in their true forms is because an extremely strong dimensional barrier exists between the material world and the astral world. The more powerful a god is, the more severe the repulsion they encounter from the laws of the material world when they descend upon it. If they wish to unleash true divine punishment, they must first find new "coordinates" in the material world, or forcibly tear open a dimensional rift.

And this is Rhodes's chance.

"Before the divine punishment truly descends, I must unite all the forces on this continent and forge the entire world into an impregnable abyssal fortress," Rhodes secretly plotted in his mind.

He turned around, sat back on his throne, and scanned the three people below with lightning speed.

"Issue my decree from the Abyss!"

Gareth and his two companions immediately held their breath and listened attentively to the sacred sound.

"First, Gareth, you immediately lead the First Legion of the Abyss Demon Army northward. Deliver my ultimatum to the Emperor of the Ice and Snow Empire: surrender, or perish. I will give him only three days. If he does not personally come to the Holy City to kneel and kowtow after three days, slaughter the entire Ice and Snow Empire royal family, leaving no one alive!"

"Yes, sir!" Gareth's eyes flashed with a bloodthirsty red light as he kowtowed heavily.

"Secondly, Victor, take all the necromancers and go to the Western Ten Thousand Mountains. There lie the remains of ancient dragons who perished in battle. Use the power of the abyss to awaken them all. I want to build an Abyssal Bone Dragon Legion as the main aerial force against the Astral Angels!"

"Hehehe—Rest assured, Master, I will definitely forge an invincible army of undead dragons for you!" Victor trembled with excitement.

"Third, Lilith." Rhodes' gaze fell on the succubus queen.

"Your subordinate is here." Lilith bowed her head respectfully.

"Go to the Eastern Magic Council yourself." A glint of light flashed in Rhodes' eyes. "Tell those old fogies in the council to hand over the Spacetime Star Chart they've guarded for a thousand years." If they're willing to hand over the star chart, I can allow them to retain their magical heritage and become vassals of the Abyss. But if they dare utter a single word of dissent—"

Rhodes sneered, "You'll dismantle them from within. Mages are a bunch of selfish, power-hungry lunatics. The magical energy of the abyss holds a fatal attraction for them."

"Hehehe, Your Majesty truly understands those hypocrites. Leave it to me, I'll make them obediently hand over their star charts." Lilith chuckled as she accepted the order.

The Spacetime Star Chart is the prized possession of the Eastern Magic Council, said to be a divine artifact capable of peering into the mysteries of dimensions and interfering with the laws of space. Rhodes wants to obtain it not only to enhance his power, but also to prepare a grand "surprise" for the astral gods when they attempt to tear apart the dimensional barriers.

"Go, let the entire continent tremble in the shadow of the abyss." Rhodes waved his hand.

The three bowed again, then transformed into three streaks of black light and disappeared from the spot.

Once again, only Rhodes remained on the empty ruins, along with the Pope's faint wails from high above.

Rhodes closed his eyes and immersed his consciousness in the abyssal vortex within his body.

After devouring the souls of ten thousand believers, the Abyss Star Vortex rotated more than a hundred times faster than before. With each rotation, it frantically absorbed dark energy from the void, tempering Rhodes' divine body.

However, Rhodes knew that was not enough.

"The gods of the celestial realm hold the power of creation and destruction. Although I have entered the realm of the gods, my foundation is still too shallow."

Rhodes' consciousness wandered in the deepest part of the Abyss Star Vortex. There, a crystal emitting a faint golden light floated.

That was the "Seed of Holy Light" extracted from the Pope's body, and it was also the purest source of light on this continent.

"Light and darkness are two sides of the same coin in the universe. The astral gods consider themselves the embodiment of light and regard the abyss as evil."

But what if—I could completely merge this ultimate light into the abyss?

A crazy, even treasonous idea popped into Rhodes' mind.

He would use the laws of the abyss to analyze, devour, and assimilate this seed of holy light! He would build within his own body...

Establish a brand-new cosmological model where light and darkness intertwine and yin and yang coexist!

Only in this way can he completely break free from the rules set by the astral gods and truly possess the power to kill gods and overthrow the astral plane.

"Come on, let me see what this so-called absolute light can forge in the furnace of the abyss."

With a thought, countless black chains of law immediately split out from the Abyss Star Vortex, tightly binding the golden seed of holy light like an octopus.

"Hiss hiss hiss"

A violent clash between light and darkness erupted within Rhodes' body. Even Rhodes, who had already achieved a divine body, couldn't help but groan, a trace of black divine blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

This kind of pain is no less than tearing your soul in two and then forcibly stitching it back together.

But Rhodes's eyes grew increasingly crazed and bright.

He gritted his teeth, letting the power of light and darkness rage within his body, frantically urging the Abyss Star Vortex to gradually erase the divine mark on the Seed of Holy Light.

Time seemed to lose its meaning in the abyss.

One day, two days, three days —

Outside, the entire continent has been plunged into unprecedented war and turmoil due to Rhodes' decree.

Under the terrifying pressure of the Abyss Demon Army, the Emperor of the Ice and Snow Empire finally chose to submit, fleeing to the Holy City with his royal family overnight to plead guilty; deep in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, the skeletons of ancient dragons that had slumbered for tens of thousands of years rose again under the infusion of Abyss demonic energy, roaring silently to the sky; a serious rebellion broke out within the Eastern Magic Council, with countless mages yearning for power throwing themselves into the embrace of the Abyss, and the "Time-Space Star Chart" was in grave danger.

On the Abyss Throne in the Holy City of Rumen, Rhodes remained seated like a statue.

Until midnight on the seventh day.

"Click."

A faint, yet seemingly explosive, cracking sound emanated from Rhodes' body.

The seed of holy light, representing the will of the astral gods, finally succumbed to the endless erosion of the abyssal laws and shattered completely.

But it did not dissipate; instead, it transformed into countless extremely pure golden specks of light, which were greedily absorbed into the Abyss Star Vortex.

The next second, Rhodes suddenly opened his eyes.

His left eye remained a pure, abyssal black, seemingly capable of devouring all light; while his right eye had turned into a strange dark gold, exuding a terrifying aura that intertwined holiness and destruction.

A terrifying pressure, several times stronger than before and completely beyond the comprehension of the laws of this continent, surged into the sky from Rhodes' body.

"Rumble! At the very moment that Rhodes completed his transformation, the sky over the entire continent suddenly trembled violently."

The once pitch-black sky was suddenly torn open, revealing a massive rift tens of thousands of miles long. Blinding holy light poured down from the rift, illuminating the entire world shrouded in the abyss.

Accompanying the arrival of the holy light were a series of grand, solemn, yet endlessly murderous hymns.

"【The heretic Rhodes, who usurped divine authority, has corrupted the world.】"

"By the command of the Supreme God, a world-destroying divine punishment is unleashed to purify all defilement!"

From within the rift, countless legions of angels with pure white wings and wielding flaming swords crashed down towards the holy city of Rumen like a dense meteor shower.

Divine punishment has finally arrived.

Rhodes slowly stood up. He looked up at the angel legion falling from the sky and felt the terrifying power that could destroy the entire continent. Instead of fear, he grinned with an extremely cruel and excited smile.

He raised the sword "Calamity" in his hand, the pitch black of his left eye and the dark gold of his right eye reflecting each other.

"So, they've finally arrived, you lackeys of the Astral Plane?"

With the blessing of the laws of the abyss, Rhodes' voice transformed into rolling thunder, rising against the tide of holy light and shattering the protective shields of countless angels.

"Today, I will use your blood to hold a true coronation ceremony for my throne of the abyss!"

Rod bent his knees slightly, then suddenly exerted force.

"Bang!"

The seemingly indestructible Abyss Throne was cracked by his kick. Rhodes transformed into a black and gold meteor, charging headlong into the sky-filling angelic army and the dimensional rift that tore through the heavens!

One man, one sword, defying the heavens!

The first war of the gods in the Dark Ages officially began at this moment.