I became a god through archaeology in the Wizarding World.

Goldenrod Palace, Council Hall.

The heavy oak doors shut out the continuous chimes and rain from the outside world, but they couldn't shut out the tense atmosphere inside the hall.

The enormous crystal chandelier emitted a cold light, illuminating several gloomy faces around the long table.

King Edward sat at the head of the table, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the armrest, making a monotonous "tap-tap" sound.

The elderly monarch had deep-set eye bags, clearly awakened from his sleep by the midnight alarm, and was now in a state of extreme agitation and unease.

On the left side of the long table, the Iron Duke Balthazar was dressed in full military attire, his armor still stained with wet rain and mud.

Several newly delivered battle damage reports were piled up in front of him, the numbers on them shocking.

On the right side of the long table, Bishop Cecil, dressed in a pristine white robe, held a golden scepter in his hand, his expression sorrowful and solemn, as if he were mourning for the city.

"This is divine punishment."

Bishop Cecil broke the silence first, his voice calm yet echoing through the hall: "Mortimer's blasphemy has enraged the evil spirits of the deep sea, and the royal family's leniency towards heresy has dimmed the holy light that protects the capital. Those sea beasts are not ordinary wild animals; they are the embodiment of sin."

"fart!"

The Iron Duke slammed his fist on the table, causing the silver candlesticks to jump. "That's an army! An organized and tactically trained invading army! My soldiers are bleeding in the port, and you're here talking about divine punishment? If your men could chant fewer sutras or cast even one more healing spell, I could save a few brothers from dying!"

"Your Grace, please watch your words." Cecil was not angry, but merely glanced at him coldly: "Without the support of faith, how can the swords of mortals fight against the curse of the abyss? The Holy Knights of the Church have already assembled, but if the royal family cannot set an example in faith, for example... by making certain blasphemous alchemy taboo, the Lord's glory will not be able to protect this city."

This is blatant political blackmail.

The Church is using this crisis to try to further expand its divine authority and even wants to take the opportunity to suppress the newly emerging alchemical forces, especially targeting Rhodes, who has recently been gaining popularity.

The king's face grew even more somber.

He certainly understood Cecil's subtext, but he couldn't afford to turn against him now.

"Enough," the king said hoarsely. "This is not the time to argue about doctrine. Balthazar, what do you need?"

"Money, and supplies," the Iron Duke said bluntly. "With the port fallen, our supply lines are cut off. I need the royal treasury to immediately open its coffers and allocate three million gold coins for relief and recruitment. In addition, I need to requisition all the blacksmiths and alchemists in the city to produce armor-piercing crossbow bolts and fuel oil at full capacity."

"Three million?" the Chancellor of the Exchequer exclaimed in surprise. "The national treasury is currently..."

"Here you go." The king interrupted the finance minister, his eyes cold and stern. "As long as we can hold out, money is no problem. But if we can't, are we going to leave the money to be used to pay for the deaths of those merfolk?"

Just then, the door was pushed open.

Sig walked in, exuding a chilling aura, followed by a calm-looking Rhodes.

All eyes immediately turned to Rhodes.

Cecil's eyes flashed with disgust, the Iron Duke scrutinized him, while the King's eyes held a hint of anticipation.

"Your Majesty." Rhodes bowed, his movements so perfect they were flawless.

"Rhodes, you've come at the right time." The king pointed to the map on the table: "The port has fallen, and those monsters are infiltrating the commercial district. You are an honorary scholar and a hero in resolving the plague; I'd like to hear your thoughts."

Without a word, Rhodes walked straight to the end of the long table, took out a stack of parchment that had been prepared beforehand, and had his servants distribute it to everyone present.

"What is this?" The Iron Duke frowned as he looked at the densely packed anatomical diagrams and data on the paper.

"Report on Physiological Structure Analysis and Weaknesses of Deep-Sea Invasive Organisms".

Rhodes' voice was calm and objective, entirely in the tone of an academic discussion: "On the way here, I dissected the body of a Deep One's kin and, combined with the information I consulted in ancient texts, came to some conclusions."

He pointed to a mark on the drawing: "The scales of these creatures are covered with a high-density mucus, which has extremely strong physical lubrication and elemental resistance. Ordinary swords will slip off it, and fire magic is greatly reduced in power in a humid environment. This is why the port garrison suffered heavy casualties."

The Iron Duke's expression turned serious, which explained why the soldiers were complaining in the battle reports from the front lines that their weapons were not working properly.

"But..." Rhodes changed the subject, "Their physiological structure is not perfect. To adapt to the high-pressure environment of the deep sea, their bone density is extremely high, but this makes them extremely sensitive to high-frequency vibrations. Strong vibrations can directly shatter their internal organs."

"Furthermore, their nervous system is highly developed and spread throughout their bodies to sense changes in water flow. This means they are almost defenseless against lightning attacks. Even a weak electric current can paralyze them for a long time."

Bishop Cecil sneered, "Lightning? Are you saying we should rely on the weather?"

"No, Your Grace." Rhodes looked at Cecil, his gaze unwavering. "I mean, we need scientific weapons. For example... shock bombs, and lightning elemental alchemy potions."

Rhodes turned to the king: "Your Majesty, conventional defensive warfare will only deplete our manpower. We need targeted weapons. I can produce a batch of thunderstorm dust and concussion mines within three days using the existing alchemy workshops. Once these are distributed to the army, even ordinary soldiers can inflict fatal damage on those sea monsters."

A brief silence fell over the hall.

The Iron Duke looked at the report in his hand, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

As the commander-in-chief, he could discern the value of this report.

If what Rhodes said is true, it will completely turn the tide of the battle.

"What do you need?" the Iron Duke asked, his tone much gentler than before.

"Materials," Rhodes replied, "A large quantity of lightning-attribute materials. The bones of thunder frogs, the glands of electric eels, lightning-struck wood... and those high-grade lightning element ores sealed in the royal treasury."

"Impossible!" the Chancellor of the Exchequer exclaimed again. "Those ores are strategic reserves, meant for..."

"Give it to him."

The king interrupted the dissenting voices once again.

He looked at Rhodes, his eyes deep: "Rhodes, are you sure these things can stop them?"

"I can't guarantee it will stop them all, but I can guarantee it will cost them dearly," Rhodes said calmly. "And this is just the first step. If given sufficient authority and resources, I can also attempt to repair some of the defenses in the underground ruins. They were specifically designed by ancient mortal dynasties to counter this threat."

This is bait.

Rhodes is hinting to the king that the Titan prototype and puppet army underground might be useful in this war.

The king stopped tapping his fingers.

He weighed the pros and cons.

The church wants to seize power, the military wants to expand its armaments, and Rhodes... although this young man is greedy, the plan he provides is the most feasible at present, and it is also the one that will allow the royal family to take the initiative.

"it is good."

The king stood up and surveyed the entire room.

"Effective immediately, Rod Griffin is appointed as the 'Technical Advisor for the Defense of the Royal Capital,' with the same rank as an earl. He has the authority to mobilize all alchemical resources within the city, including lightning-attribute materials from the Royal Treasury."

The king looked at the Iron Duke: "Balthazar, your army must cooperate with his technical guidance. I don't want to see soldiers fighting monsters with sticks anymore."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Although the Iron Duke disliked being told what to do by a scholar, he chose to obey for the sake of victory.

The king then looked at Cecil: "Bishop, the Holy Knights of the Church will be responsible for logistics and the treatment of the wounded. As for the idea of ​​divine punishment... we can discuss it further after we win this battle."

Cecil's expression changed slightly, but faced with the powerful king and the one-sided situation, he could only bow slightly: "As you wish, Your Majesty."

End of the meeting.

Holding the decree personally signed by the king, Rhodes walked out of the council hall.

In the corridor, Sieg was waiting for him in the shadows.

"You're very bold," Sieg gestured in sign language. "You just asked the King for the most precious part of the royal treasury."

High-grade lightning-attribute ore is the core material for crafting high-grade magical artifacts, and each piece is priceless.

Rhodes folded the warrant, put it in his pocket, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"This is called mutual benefit, Lord Sig."

Rhodes said in a low voice, "The king needs victory to consolidate his power, the military needs weapons to reduce casualties, and I... I just need a little bit of material to do experiments."

Of course, he wouldn't tell anyone that the so-called thunderstorm dust only required low-grade thunder frog bone powder.

As for those precious Thunder Origin Stones and Storm Crystals...

That would be his personal project, intended to power the Titan prototype and to build his own second-circle spell model.

"Let's go, Lord Sig."

Rhodes strode toward the Royal Treasury.

The rain outside was getting heavier, and the shouts of battle in the distance were getting closer and closer.