I became a god through archaeology in the Wizarding World.

The iron door to the underground laboratory slammed shut behind Sieg after he left, making a dull thud.

A faint smell of ozone and blood lingered in the air.

Rod did not stop to rest.

He knew very well that Sieg had only taken two samples; to suppress the plague that was sweeping the city, he needed tons of medicine.

Within this sealed-off academy, there is only one person capable of providing this level of industrial-grade production capacity.

Ten minutes later, a knock was heard on the freight passage on the side of the history building.

Professor Isaac nervously opened the door, and a round figure nimbly squeezed in.

"Oh, praise be to the goddess of fortune, Mr. Rhodes, the fact that you're still alive is the best news ever!"

The man who arrived was Benjamin, the fat businessman who skillfully navigated between the black market and the academy.

He looked rather disheveled at the moment; his expensive silk dress was covered in dust, and his once sleek and shiny hair was now a mess.

"Enough with the nonsense, Benjamin," Rhodes said without turning his head as he adjusted the pressure valve on the large still. "I know you've stockpiled a batch of alchemical materials in the academy's underground warehouse, originally intending to sell them to those noble apprentices preparing for their graduation projects."

Benjamin wiped the sweat from his brow and said with a bitter face, "I do have some, but with things in this chaotic situation outside, those things are my life-saving money..."

"Move all the silver nitrate, the dried Thunder Frog carcasses, and the high-purity industrial alcohol here," Rod interrupted him. "Also, I need all your apprentices—call them over to help, as long as they're still alive and haven't mutated yet."

Benjamin's eyes widened, and he was about to refuse when Rhodes turned around and threw the temporary mobilization order on the table.

"This is a royal warrant. Benjamin, you're a smart man. Gold coins can't buy life now, but this batch of medicine can." Rhodes pointed to the bottle of pale blue liquid next to him: "Help me produce it, and I'll guarantee you'll survive the upcoming purge, and I might even make you a special supplier to the royal family."

The fat merchant's eyes darted around, and his keen business sense allowed him to instantly weigh the pros and cons.

He gritted his teeth, his fat face trembling slightly: "Deal! But I have one condition: I want to keep ten bottles of the first batch of potions for my own use."

"Five bottles," Rod said coldly. "The rest will be sent to the front lines."

"Deal!" Benjamin cut to the chase, turning and yelling at the door, "Come in, all of you! Bring everything in! Hurry up, or you'll end up like those green monsters outside! After you're done, get everyone to bring everything from the warehouse in too..."

Soon, the once deserted underground laboratory was transformed into a bustling assembly line factory.

Rhodes stood on high ground, calmly directing the apprentices Benjamin had brought.

He broke down the complex alchemy process into a dozen simple steps: grinding, dissolving, heating, stirring, and cooling.

Each step requires no advanced magical knowledge; it simply involves mechanical repetition.

The most crucial step, injecting the suppressive toxins from the [Poison Vine Demon], was personally performed by Rhode.

He stood before the enormous reactor, his left hand pressed against the metal wall. The magic within him was transformed into special biological enzymes along the genetic chain, continuously flowing into the churning liquid.

This high-intensity output made Rhodes' face pale, but his eyes remained steady.

This is not just about saving lives, but also about a deep exploration and refinement of the [Poisonous Vine Demon]'s genes.

He could feel that, with the repeated depletion and replenishment of magic, the somewhat restless gene seed was gradually and perfectly merging with his body.

……

Royal Palace, Council Hall.

The huge crystal chandelier was only half lit, and the dim light made the atmosphere in the hall even more oppressive.

The king sat on his high throne. He looked older than the rumors suggested, with sparse, gray hair plastered to his scalp and deep bags under his eyes.

However, he still exuded the aura of a superior, an aura accumulated from years of wielding the power of life and death.

To his left stood a tall man clad in full black armor, his helmet tucked into his arm, revealing a face as resolute as a rock.

That was Raymond, the Iron Duke and the kingdom's military commander, a powerful three-ring knight.

Sieg knelt on one knee in the center of the hall, holding the two pale blue test tubes high with his hands raised.

"Is this the antidote developed by that young scholar?" The king's voice was hoarse and deep.

Sieg nodded. Although he couldn't speak, he took out a detailed experimental report from his pocket and had it presented to him by a servant.

The report, written by Rhodes, concisely and clearly explained the drug's principles, effects, and limitations.

"It can only be suppressed, not cured... and it will also cause infected people to die from petrification." The king quickly glanced through the report, his brow furrowing slightly, but then relaxing again: "But that's enough. As long as there are no more explosions and no more transmission, it doesn't matter how many civilians die."

"Your Majesty," Duke Raymond's voice was as harsh as metal scraping, "if this potion truly works, I request that it be immediately deployed to my siege forces. The poisonous fog surrounding the Necropolis is too dense; my soldiers are infected before they even get close. We need this potion to clear a path."

The king nodded, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest of his throne. "Granted. Sig, how many of that young man named Rod can produce now?"

Sieg made a gesture: Two thousand, that's the limit for the first batch.

"Two thousand doses..." The king hesitated for a moment, his gaze turning cold. "Issue my order. The first batch of potions will be prioritized for the Royal Guard and the Iron Duke's siege forces. The rest will be distributed to the noble families of the Upper City."

Sig suddenly looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in his gray eyes.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he could only let out a silent breath.

"You have an objection?" The king looked at him coldly. "The population density in the lower city and slums is too high. Two thousand doses of medicine wouldn't even make a ripple. Besides, those lowly people are inherently unstable. Since we can't save them, then seal them off. Have the military police block all the exits from the lower city; no one is allowed to enter or leave."

This is an extremely cruel order.

This means that the royal family decided to abandon the common people, who make up 70 percent of the city's population, and let them fend for themselves within the lockdown zone, serving as a human defense line to stop the spread of the plague.

The Iron Duke had no reaction to this; to him, war was about victory or defeat, not mercy.

Sig remained silent for a long time before finally bowing his head and performing a standard knightly salute.

He was the king's shadow, and a shadow cannot have its own will.

……

The college's underground laboratory.

The first batch of sealed silencing agents has been packed into wooden crates.

The pale blue liquid sloshed in the glass bottle, emitting a faint fluorescent glow.

Benjamin wiped his sweat, looking at the potions with greed in his eyes: "Mr. Rhodes, if these were taken to the black market, each bottle could be exchanged for the same weight in gold."

"That's money from the dead. You might earn it, but you might not live to spend it," Rod replied coldly.

Just then, the messenger sent by Sieg arrived.

It was a royal scout dressed in light armor who handed Rhodes a parchment stamped with the king's seal, along with two chips representing authorization.

Rhodes took the order and quickly glanced at it.

His previously calm expression instantly turned serious.

"Prioritize supplying the upper city and military camps? Blockade the lower city?" Rhodes' voice carried a hint of suppressed anger: "Don't these idiots know which way the wind is blowing?"

Professor Isaac leaned closer, and after reading the order, his face turned deathly pale: "This...this means abandoning those civilians? Rhodes, this is too cruel! Moreover, if the lower city falls completely, the accumulated necromantic energy there will form a terrifying plague storm, and then the upper city won't be able to hold out either!"

Rhodes gripped the parchment tightly in his hand; he knew, of course, what it meant.

From an epidemiological perspective, this isolation strategy may be effective in the short term, but for necrosis spores with storm algae characteristics, it is practically suicide.

Storm algae thrive in environments with high density of organic matter. Once the lower city becomes a dead zone, even more terrifying mutants will hatch there.

The king and nobles only saw the immediate benefits. They thought that building high walls would stop the virus, but they didn't know that they were nurturing a monster that could devour the entire kingdom.

"Mr. Rhodes..." Benjamin looked at Rhodes cautiously, "Then... shall we do as he says?"

Rhodes closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Disobey orders? He doesn't have the authority to do so right now.

If he refuses to hand over the potion, the Iron Duke's army will raze this place to the ground, seize the potion, and send him to the gallows.

In this world, truth lies in the hands of cannons and the strong.

Do as instructed.

Rhodes opened his eyes, the anger gone, replaced by absolute rationality and coldness: "Give them the potion. But, Benjamin, when you're packing, keep some from every single box."

"Huh?" Benjamin paused, then said, "But you just said..."

"Distribute the confiscated drugs through your underground channels to the biggest gang leaders in the lower city," Roddick said quickly. "Tell them it's the only antidote. If they want to live, organize a team to use these drugs to clean up the sewer system, not to use them for infighting."

Since the authorities have abandoned the lower city, let the stray dogs there fight their own way out.

This was not only to save people, but also to prevent the lower city from becoming a breeding ground for the undead, thus threatening Rhodes' own safety.

"Got it!" Benjamin's eyes lit up; he was best at this kind of double-betting.

Rod walked to the window and pushed open the heavy partition.

At that moment, a muffled rumble of thunder suddenly came from the distant sky.

"Boom!"

The earth trembled slightly.

Rhodes raised his head and looked at the towering necromancer tower in the center of the city.

A dazzling burst of fire exploded on the barrier surrounding the tower, creating ripples that spread out in layers.

Then came the second sound, the third sound...

The Iron Duke's artillery units began their attack.

Each shell that landed was accompanied by a rise of pale blue mist.

The once indestructible dark yellow barrier began to flicker erratically under the combined assault of the potions and artillery.

Countless green specks of light flew out from inside the tower; these were the startled gargoyles and exploding corpse insects. But the moment they came into contact with the pale blue mist, they froze and turned to stone, falling like rain.

"here we go."

Rod watched the spectacular scene, clutching the temporary mobilization order tightly in his hand.

This temporary mobilization order gave him the power to mobilize the college's resources, and also officially drew him into this vortex of power.

The king wanted to consolidate his rule, the Iron Duke wanted military merit and power, and Mortimer wanted to sacrifice the entire city to achieve his goal.