I became a god through archaeology in the Wizarding World.

In the morning mist, a mixture of gunpowder smoke and water vapor, Plymouth Harbor presented a desolate and lifeless scene.

After that earth-shattering explosion, seawater rushed back into the huge cavity, stirring up white foam, as if licking the earth's wounds.

The once bustling dock area has completely disappeared, replaced by a charred ruin and countless stranded dead fish.

Rod staggered forward two steps, his military boots sizzling as they stepped into the scalding mud.

"Cough cough..."

He covered his mouth and coughed violently, dark red blood seeping from between his fingers.

Although Titan blocked most of the shockwave, the aftershocks still damaged his internal organs.

"My lord! Lord Rhodes!"

Anxious shouts came from behind.

Several garrison officers, their faces covered in dust and their armor tattered, stumbled over.

When they saw Rhodes still standing, their eyes blazed with almost fanatical worship and relief at surviving a catastrophe.

To mortals, what had just happened was nothing short of a miracle.

He summoned weapons with his mortal body, confronted the fourth-ring deep-sea lord head-on, and repelled him.

This is beyond their comprehension.

"Take stock of the casualties..." Rhodes' voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded on sandpaper. "Seal off the port. No one is allowed to approach the sea. The blood left by that whale... is poisonous."

The officers paused for a moment, then looked at the sea.

Sure enough, although the Deep Sea Lord had escaped, the blood it had spilled when it was injured did not dissipate.

The jet-black blood floated on the sea surface and continued to spread.

Any fish that comes into contact with the black blood will immediately begin to rot and mutate, growing disgusting tumors, and then die belly up.

A nauseating, sweet-smelling odor began to permeate the air.

"Yes, sir! We'll take care of it right away!" The officers shuddered and quickly accepted the order.

Rhodes did not turn around; his gaze remained fixed on the center of the Titan's self-destruction.

There, the waves crashed against the rocks.

In the dim light of dawn, something was shimmering faintly on the water's surface.

Rhodes took a deep breath, forcibly mobilized the last bit of spiritual energy in his body to envelop his entire body, and then leaped into the sea.

The seawater was icy cold and filled with violent remnants of ether.

Rod dived to a depth of more than ten meters and found the glowing object on a scorched seabed.

It was a metal fragment only the size of a palm.

It has a strange dark gold color, and its surface is covered with pulsating patterns like blood vessels.

Even in the icy seawater, it still radiates amazing heat.

This is a fragment of the Heart of Titan.

In its final self-destruction, the ancient weapon released all its energy, leaving behind only this core memory unit and energy crystal.

Rod reached out and grasped it.

"Sizzle~~"

A burning pain shot through his palm, but Rod did not let go.

He could sense that a faint will remained within the metal.

That was a bygone era, when alchemists imbued machines with a fervent obsession called protection.

[...Mission...Completed...]

A faint electronic signal traveled along his arm into Rhodes's mind, then fell completely silent.

Rhodes's expression became complicated.

He carefully placed the fragment into a specially made lead box in his pocket.

As Rod resurfaced and climbed ashore, the sun had finally risen fully in the east.

Golden sunlight shone on the ruins, giving the tragic battlefield a tragic golden edge.

In the distance, the rapid sound of horses' hooves and the roar of steam locomotives could be heard.

They are reinforcements for the empire.

The reinforcements always arrive late.

A group of knights in bright uniforms, riding tall horses, rushed into the harbor.

The leading knight stared in disbelief at the sight before him, dropping his whip to the ground.

"What...what happened here?"

The knight, gazing at the harbor that looked as if it had been plundered by a meteorite, stammered, "Where is the Deepsea Lord? Where is that fourth-ringed monster?"

Rhodes sat on a broken stone pillar, bandaging the wound on his arm.

He didn't even lift his eyelids when he was asked the question.

"They ran away," Rod said calmly.

"They...they escaped?" The knight stared at Rhodes in disbelief, then at the soldiers standing respectfully behind him. "You? You repelled the Fourth Ring?"

Rhodes finally raised his head, his bloodshot eyes coldly sweeping over the knight.

Just one glance.

The knight's warhorse suddenly let out a terrified neigh, its front hooves buckled, and it collapsed to its knees.

Caught off guard, the knight stumbled and fell awkwardly into the mud.

The surrounding garrison soldiers let out a low chuckle.

"Go back and tell your superiors," Rhodes stood up, re-fastening his blood-stained cloak, his tone calm, "Plymouth held. But the Deep Sea's revenge will come soon. If he doesn't want this city to become a fishman's paradise, he shouldn't send these ceremonial guards who only know how to put on a show."

"I need a magic cannon, high-purity aether crystals, and at least three battle mages of the third ring or higher."

Rhodes started walking towards the city.

……

Three days later, in the underground chamber

In the dim light, Rhodes sat cross-legged in the center of a huge alchemical array, shirtless.

His body was wrapped in bandages, but beneath them, the horrific wounds were healing at an astonishing speed.

On the table in front of him lay the fragment of the Heart of Titan.

After three days of analysis, Rhodes finally extracted an incomplete piece of video footage from the fragment.

That was the image captured by a high-precision optical sensor just moments before Titan self-destructed.

The image freezes on the figure standing on the whale's back.

Although the image was somewhat blurry due to the explosion, Rhodes was still able to make out the person's face.

It was a face so pale it was devoid of any color, with narrow eyes and pupils that formed an eerie cross shape.

On his neck, there was a prominent black tattoo, an upside-down anchor.

Rod slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.

"We must improve our strength as soon as possible."

Rhodes looked at his palm.

Although he possessed combat experience and memories from his previous life, the foundation of this body was ultimately too weak.

This victory was entirely due to the ancient weapons found beneath Plymouth.

What about next time?

What if the other side has multiple Fourth Ring Roads? Or even more terrifying Fifth Ring Roads?

We need to seize the time and become stronger quickly.

If the situation becomes unbearable, take the ancient weapons and leave for the central continent.