I became a god through archaeology in the Wizarding World.

The obsidian gates of the Golden Flower Palace slowly closed behind them, shutting out the raging flames and the cacophony of screams.

The palace was not as tranquil as one might imagine; an unsettling anxiety permeated the air.

The servants hurried along, each of them with a face etched with fear of the unknown.

The magical lights on both sides of the corridor were turned up to their brightest, as if only in this way could the gloom shrouding everyone's hearts be dispelled.

Rhodes followed behind Sieg, his steps steady as he walked through the long corridor.

Professor Isaac was already exhausted and only managed to stay upright thanks to Rhodes's support.

Instead of being led to the magnificent audience hall, they were taken directly to the strategic command room located deep within the palace.

Pushing open the heavy mahogany door, a strong smell of tobacco hits you.

A huge sand table occupied the center of the room, covered with flags representing different factions.

At this point, the green markers representing the spread of the plague had, like moss, eroded nearly a third of the area on the sand table.

King Edward was standing with his back to the door, in front of a huge map of the capital.

He wasn't wearing that elaborate formal dress, but rather a simple military shirt with the cuffs rolled up, revealing arms that weren't particularly strong but had prominent veins.

Upon hearing the door open, the king slowly turned around.

His eyes were sunken, bloodshot, and he clutched the pocket watch engraved with anti-magic runes tightly in his hand.

"Is this the result you brought back?"

The king's voice was hoarse, revealing neither joy nor anger, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop to freezing point instantly.

His gaze passed over Sieg and landed directly on Rhodes and Professor Isaac, finally settling on the package Rhodes was holding.

King Edward walked to the long table, placed his hands on it, and leaned forward like a lion ready to devour its prey: "Tell me, Rod Griffin, where are my legions? Where are my god-slaying weapons?"

Rod took a deep breath, and instead of rushing to explain, he walked to the table, gently put down the package, and untied the oilcloth covering it.

A metal cover covered with rust and strange loops, along with several drawings that Professor Isaac had hastily copied underground, were presented to the king.

"Your Majesty, the legion lies there, slumbering two hundred meters underground."

Rhodes' voice was calm, without the slightest hint of panic: "This is a sample from the control console; its craftsmanship far surpasses current alchemy. And these blueprints..."

He pointed to the intricate lines: "This proves that there is indeed a vast network of constructs there, capable of upending the entire war."

The king glanced at the objects, and the anger in his eyes did not subside; instead, it intensified.

"I need soldiers who can move! Not just a few pieces of scrap metal and waste paper!"

King Edward suddenly swung his hand, knocking the metal cover to the ground with a loud crash.

"Look outside!"

The king pointed to the crimson night sky outside the window and roared, "That madman Mortimer is slaughtering my people with plague! The Iron Duke's army is dying like flies in the poison gas! Those charlatans in the church are taking advantage of the situation to win people's hearts! And you, you tell me, you spent so much time and resources to bring me this?"

"If you can't activate the legion immediately, you're worthless."

The king placed his hand on the sword at his waist, a hint of undisguised killing intent flashing in his eyes: "I gave you an ultimatum. If you can't solve the problem, then die as an incompetent man."

Professor Isaac was so frightened that he trembled and almost knelt on the ground.

Sig stood in the shadows, making no move, but his gray eyes were already locked on Rhodes' neck.

Rhodes looked at the enraged king, his mind racing.

He knew that the king was currently in a state of extreme insecurity.

Mortimer's frantic counterattack disrupted all plans, and the king desperately needed a lifeline.

"Your Majesty, anger will not solve the plague, nor will it activate the legions."

Rhodes met the king's gaze, his tone becoming even calmer: "The core is alive, but it's locked. Just as I explained to Lord Sig before, it requires a specific bio-key. If we force it to activate, it will only detonate the entire underground energy network of the capital. At that point, Mortimer won't even need to lift a finger; the capital will sink underground on its own."

"So what?" the king asked coldly, "Is this your excuse?"

"No, that's the current situation." Rhodes paused, then changed the subject: "But the situation can be changed. While I can't activate the Legion for the time being, I can solve another problem you're currently facing."

"What's the trouble?"

"plague."

Rhodes walked to the window, looking at the flashing magical shield in the direction of the Necromancer's Tower in the distance, and said in a deep voice, "I observed those corpses on the way back. Mortimer's Corpse Spores are not pure necromancy; they incorporate the growth characteristics of plants. It's a kind of bioalchemical toxin."

The king frowned; though he loathed magic, he knew what it meant.

"Go on."

"Since it's a biological toxin, there must be an antidote." Rhodes turned around and continued, "I am a bloodline wizard, and I have a natural intuition for biological structures and modifications. Moreover, I discovered some special fungal samples in the underground ruins. They can survive in high gravity and strong magnetic field environments, and they themselves possess extremely strong rejection properties."

Rhodes does have a way to deal with the plague, but he relies on the purification properties of the [Poison Vine Demon] gene and [Static Skin] in his body, not some underground fungus.

But he needed a reason, a reason for the king to have to rely on him.

"Your Majesty, the situation is clear. The Iron Duke's army is paralyzed by the plague, and although the Church can purify it, its efficiency is too low. If you want to win this war, you need an army unaffected by the plague, or... a potion that can make your soldiers immune to the poison gas."

Rhodes walked to the table, his fingers lightly tapping the map of the capital: "Give me time, give me resources. I will use the underground laboratory of the History Department as a base to develop a medicine to combat the plague for you. At the same time, I will continue to decipher the core biological key there."

"The underground laboratory is enclosed and has its own independent air circulation system. It is the only safe and suitable place in the city to conduct high-risk experiments."

The room fell into a deathly silence.

King Edward stared intently at Rhodes, weighing his options.

On the one hand, he was extremely disappointed and angry that Rhodes had failed to bring back the legion.

On the other hand, he also knew that what Rhodes said was true.

Conventional military methods have become ineffective in the face of Mortimer's biological attack.

If Rhodes can really create an antidote, it will not only save the situation from crisis, but also severely dampen the arrogance of the necromancy faction and even weaken the influence of the church.

More importantly, Rhodes is currently the only expert besides Isaac who has entered the underground core area and possesses ancient knowledge.

Kill him, and the trail will be cut off.

"How long do you need?" The king's voice softened slightly, but remained cold.

"The first batch of prototype potions will take three days." Rhodes held up three fingers. "As for cracking the core... that depends on when Mortimer dies. Once the Necropolis falls, I can find information about soul manipulation in his lab, which might be used to forge biological keys."

The king remained silent for a long time, his fingers unconsciously stroking the cover of his pocket watch.

Finally, he let out a long breath.

"Three days."

The king held up one finger: "I'll give you three days. In three days, I want to see the first effective medicine delivered to the front lines. If you can't do that..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

"As for that underground laboratory..."

The king turned to look at Sig in the shadows: "Sig, from today onwards, your men will be responsible for guarding the perimeter of the History Department building. No one may enter or leave without my authorization, including the Iron Duke's men."

Sig gave a slight bow.

The king looked at Rhodes again, pulled two parchment sheets from the pile of documents on the table, scribbled a few lines, and stamped them with the royal seal.

"Rhodes Griffin, in view of your exceptional talents in ancient engineering and biology, I hereby appoint you as a special royal advisor, reporting directly to me. This temporary mobilization order is also for you, allowing you to mobilize manpower and resources at any time."

The king tossed the letter of appointment and the temporary conscription order to Rhodes, his face devoid of any smile: "This is your talisman, and also your death warrant. Don't disappoint me."

Rhodes took the thin parchment and felt the ink that was not yet completely dry.

Royal Special Advisor.

This title might normally signify glory and power, but at this moment, it means he has become a card in the king's hand, a card to counter the necromancy and to restrain the Iron Duke in balancing the Church.

But that's exactly what he wanted.

With this identity, his activities in the history department's underground were completely legalized.

Even if the Iron Duke wanted to touch him, he would have to consider whether he was willing to completely break ties with the King.

"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty."

Rhodes performed a standard wizard's salute, no longer the commoner's salute he had previously used.

"Go."

The king waved his hand, looking somewhat disheartened: "Take Isaac away, don't let him die on the way. Those ancient words in his head are still useful."

Rhodes helped the professor, whose legs were too weak to stand, to his feet, and left the command room under Sieg's watchful gaze.

As he stepped out of the palace gates, the night wind, carrying the smell of burning, blew against his face, instantly clearing Rhodes's mind.

"Rhodes...we...we survived?" Professor Isaac asked, trembling. He was still reeling from the oppressive atmosphere.

"Yes, Professor."

Rhodes watched the flashing explosions coming from the direction of the Necropolis Tower in the distance.

"Not only did we survive, we also got a precious sword."

He touched the letter of appointment in his pocket, and then touched the black chip he kept close to his body.

The king thought he had the situation under control and that Rhodes was just a somewhat clever technician.

What he didn't know was that Rhodes not only held the real key to the underground legion, but also cleverly transformed himself from a digging laborer into a plague savior through the conversation just now.

"Back to the lab," Rhodes said to Sig behind him.

Although Sieg is the watcher, he is now also the best bodyguard.

"We need to prepare a lot of things. Medicine, explosives, and... a surprise for Mortimer."

Sig didn't say anything, but silently followed.

On the street, military police were carrying bodies.

The swollen, greenish corpses were thrown into the incinerator, crackling and popping as they were burned.

Rhodes's gaze swept over the corpses, and the "Species Atlas" in his mind vibrated slightly once again.

Since Mortimer has incorporated plant characteristics into necromancy, conversely, if he could extract the genes of a certain high-level plant, could he also suppress this plague, or even... control the infected corpses?

"Corpse mutilation of the mother..."

Rhodes silently repeated the word to himself.

If he wasn't mistaken, Mortimer's Matrix should be in what he considered the safest place, and the safest place would of course be the top floor of the Necropolis.