I became a god through archaeology in the Wizarding World.

The air in the courtyard was scorching and murky; every breath felt like inhaling red-hot iron filings.

Rhodes stood in the shadow of the half-collapsed porch, his gaze passing over the chaotic battle lines and fixed on the necromancer tower that was teetering on the brink of collapse amidst the gunfire.

The Iron Duke's magic cannons are unleashing a barrage of attacks, and the Holy Knights of the Church of Morning Star are advancing from the ground. Under such an intense offensive, it's only a matter of time before the Necropolis's defenses collapse.

Once the defenses are breached, the enraged army and fanatical followers will flood into the tower, crushing everything in sight to dust.

Mortimer will die, there is no doubt about it.

But Rhodes knew even better that with Mortimer's death, the core research data on the biobeacon, as well as the matrix sample that combined deep-sea and necromancy technology, would be destroyed in the chaos, or fall into the hands of the Iron Duke and the Church.

Without obtaining that information, he would not only be unable to truly control the underground construct army, but also unable to analyze the genetic sequences of deep-sea creatures in the "Species Atlas".

"This is the only chance."

Rhodes turned around and looked at the shadow behind him.

Sig stood there, his demon-slaying short sword still in its sheath, the blade reflecting the flickering firelight outside.

The royal assassin leader's gaze was not on the battlefield, but remained fixed on Rhodes' neck.

The sword would sever his carotid artery should Rhodes show any sign of trying to escape or do anything wrong.

Rhodes did not avoid Sig's gaze. He raised his hand and pointed to the top of the tower above, which was shrouded in green poisonous mist.

"Lord Sig..." Rhodes' voice sounded unusually calm amidst the bursts of explosions: "Mortimer is up there."

Sig didn't speak, but simply narrowed his gray eyes slightly.

"Although the army below is launching a fierce offensive, it's a frontal assault. Mortimer is a third-ring wizard; since he dared to unleash a plague of this scale, he must have left himself an escape route. Once the outer defenses are breached, he'll likely detonate the entire tower or escape via the teleportation array."

Luo De quickly and calmly analyzed the situation: "His Majesty wants results. If Mortimer escapes, or if he dies without any evidence, the aftermath of this plague will become incredibly complicated. We need his head, and we also need his research data."

Sig's eyes flickered.

"Those carrion spores are bioalchemy products; they mutate and lie dormant. The current silencing agents can only suppress them temporarily. If we can't obtain Mortimer's original experimental data, we won't be able to develop an antidote to eradicate the plague. Then, the capital will still be a dead city."

Rhodes wasn't after the plague; what he wanted was the forbidden knowledge that would allow him to glimpse higher life forms.

But he knew that for Sieg, who represented the king's will, eliminating the threat and eradicating the root of the problem was an irresistible reason.

Sig was silent for two seconds.

He slowly raised his left hand and made an extremely simple gesture: What do you want?

"cooperate."

Rhodes looked directly at him: "You're in charge of killing him, taking care of Mortimer and his guards. I'm in charge of finding the data in the chaotic lab. We'll finish this before the army storms in."

Sig stared at Rhodes for a full five seconds.

As the king's shadow, he possessed extremely high tactical skills and judgment.

He knew Rhodes was right; while the advance on the main battlefield was steady, it was indeed too slow for capturing a high-ranking wizard who was prepared to perish together with his enemies.

Moreover, Rhodes's obsession with the antidote is very much in line with the mentality of a technician who is eager to make a name for himself and wants to prove his worth to the king.

Although dealing with a third-ring necromancer alone is risky, he is not without ways to cope.

Sig twirled the short sword in his hand and gripped it in a reverse grip.

He nodded, then pointed to a shadow on the side of the tower, which was the outer wall of the sewage pipe and the weakest blind spot in the entire tower's defenses.

"Professor, you stay here."

Rhodes turned to Professor Isaac and shoved a spare bottle of silencing potion into the old man's hand: "Find a safe place to hide. If anyone asks, say we got separated underground. Don't wander around; stray bullets don't have eyes here."

Professor Isaac was pale, but he knew that following him would only be a burden.

He nodded tremblingly, clutching the blueprints, and shrank back inside the basement entrance.

Rhodes straightened his leather armor and checked the dagger at his waist and the alchemical potion in his pocket.

"Walk."

Two figures darted out like ghosts, using the smoke and dust of the battlefield as cover, and moved along the base of the wall toward the side of the tower.

Sig moved at an incredible speed, making almost no sound as he went, and even his breathing was synchronized with the shockwaves from the surrounding explosions.

Although Rhodes didn't have top-tier stealth skills, he activated [Moonlight Mimicry].

On the edge of the battlefield, where firelight and shadow intertwined, his body appeared in a semi-transparent, blurry state. Light refracted on his surface, making him look like a wisp of smoke drifting in the wind.

The two avoided the meat grinder battlefield at the main entrance and arrived at the west wall of the tower.

The area is filled with thick copper pipes, their surfaces slippery and covered with green moss.

Without any hesitation, Sieg thrust his short sword into the gap in the pipe, using the force to leap into the air, and like a gray gecko, rapidly climbed the vertical wall.

Rod followed closely behind.

Instead of using tools, he activated the localized mutations of [Stone Skin] and [Steel Mane].

His fingers became as hard as iron, with barbed keratin growing from his fingertips, digging deep into the stone walls and metal pipes, making each exertion as steady as a rock.

Fifty meters, eighty meters, one hundred meters.

As altitude increases, the concentration of toxic smog in the air becomes higher and higher.

The green spore mist seemed alive, trying to penetrate the two people's mouths, noses, and pores.

Rhode felt a series of stinging sensations on his skin; it was the [Crystal Shell] automatically resisting the erosion of magic.

"Smack."

A soft sound.

A gargoyle hovering in mid-air spotted the two intruders.

It let out a piercing shriek, folded its stone wings, and swooped down from above, its sharp claws aimed straight for Rhodes's head.

Just as Rod was about to raise his hand to retaliate, Sig above him suddenly released one of his hands.

A flash of cold light.

A crossbow that had appeared in Sig's hand at some unknown time emitted a clanging sound.

A pure silver crossbow bolt pierced the gargoyle's open mouth with pinpoint accuracy, penetrating its core rune.

The red light in the gargoyle's eyes went out instantly, and its heavy body brushed against Rhodes's shoulder as it fell, turning into a pile of rubble in mid-air.

Sieg didn't look back and continued climbing upwards, as if he had just swatted a fly.

Rhodes withdrew his gaze and quickened his pace.

Five minutes later, they arrived at the terrace below the top floor of the tower.

This platform, originally used to dock airships, is now piled with alchemical scraps and broken remnants of constructs.

A heavy, black iron gate blocked the way, and a chilling dark green light shone through the cracks in the gate.

Two necromancers dressed in black robes stood in front of the door, chanting incantations and maintaining some kind of defensive magic circle.

Sieg flipped over the edge of the terrace, and the moment he landed, he became a gray afterimage.

The wizard on the left had just realized something was wrong when a line of blood appeared on his throat, and his incantation turned into a hissing sound that leaked air.

The wizard on the right raised his staff in terror, trying to unleash a bone shield.

But Sieg had already pressed close to him, the short sword piercing through his jaw and going straight through his brain.

The two corpses fell limply to the ground without making a sound.

Sig flicked the blood off his sword and turned to look at Rhodes.

Rod stepped forward and placed his hand on the black iron gate.

Instead of using force to break down the door, he mobilized his mental energy to sense the magical pathways leading to the door.

The locking mechanism inside the gate clearly came to mind.

"There were no traps, but it was locked from the inside."

"Rhodes said in a low voice."

He pulled a bottle of highly concentrated acid from his pocket and poured it through the crack in the door.

A hissing sound of corrosion rang out as the mechanical structure of the door lock rapidly softened and disintegrated under the influence of the strong acid.

Rhodes nodded.

Sig stepped forward and kicked hard.

"boom!"

The lock, already corroded and fragile, broke, and the heavy door swung open inwards.

A dense, almost liquefied aura of death wafted over, mixed with the damp smell of the sea and the stench of decaying plants.

Rhodes held his breath, activated the maximum defensive power of the [Crystal Armor], and rushed in right behind Sig.

This is the top floor of the Necropolis, Mortimer's core laboratory.

There were no windows, and the walls were inlaid with countless glowing green crystals, casting a ghastly green light over the entire space.

The floor was covered with intricate blood runes, and countless conduits hung from the ceiling, converging in the center of the hall.

There, there is a huge alchemical pool with a diameter of more than ten meters.

The pool was filled with a viscous, dark green liquid, from which huge bubbles occasionally rose.

Mortimer stood on the high platform by the pool, his back to the gate, his hands raised high, guiding the final ceremony.

Hearing the door being broken down, he didn't turn around, but instead let out a maniacal laugh.

"Perfect timing... Witness this moment."

Rhodes' gaze passed over Mortimer and landed in the center of the alchemical pool.

There, a creepy object floated.

It was a huge sphere, half plant and half flesh.

Its lower half is composed of countless thick black tentacles and plant roots intertwined, deeply embedded in the bottom of the alchemy pool, drawing energy from it.

Its upper part, however, is a mass of flesh that is constantly writhing and expanding.

Embedded on the surface of this mass of flesh and blood are dozens of distorted, pained faces, their mouths agape, seemingly wailing silently.

Surrounded by these faces, at the very center is a huge, single eye that is slowly opening.

That eye had no pupil, only endless deep blue, as if it connected to another distant and profound sea.

This is the beacon parent body.

This was also the real goal of Rhodes' trip.

"What a perfect creature..."

As Rhodes stared at the monster, the "Species Encyclopedia" in his mind erupted with unprecedented tremors, its pages flipping wildly as if yearning to devour everything before them.

Sieg didn't waste any words.

The moment he saw Mortimer, his body tensed to the extreme.

The gray figure sprang up, the demon-slaying short sword in his hand transforming into a streak of light, piercing straight for Mortimer's back.

At the same time, Rhodes also moved.

But instead of rushing towards Mortimer, he rushed towards the control panel next to the alchemy pool.

There was a thick stack of parchment manuscripts and several memory crystals containing core data.

That was Mortimer's life's work, and something Rhode had to get.

"You want my results?"

Mortimer whirled around, his withered fingers slicing through the air.

"A wall of bones!"

A wall made of countless bones rose from the ground, blocking Sieg's fatal blow.

Then, he looked at Rhodes, who was rushing toward the control panel, a hint of resentment flashing in his eyes.

"Rhodes...you greedy rat!"

Mortimer roared, pointing his staff at the alchemical pool.

"Now that you're here, become nourishment for the mother!"

"Roar~~!!!"

The beacon mother structure suspended in the pool suddenly let out a deafening roar.

Countless black tentacles shot out from the pool, carrying a foul stench and deadly poison, sweeping towards Rhodes and Sieg.