I became a god through archaeology in the Wizarding World.

Plymouth Harbor, dawn.

Twenty-four hours have passed since that earth-shattering explosion.

The sky still had a sickly grayish-yellow hue, the etheric dust left over from the overload of the Titan Furnace, mixed with gunpowder smoke and water vapor, like a giant lid covering the city.

The sea was unusually calm, so calm it was suffocating.

But on the ruins of the breakwater, the atmosphere was as tense as a fully drawn bowstring.

No one spoke; there were only heavy breathing, the screeching of stones scraping against each other, and the clanging of metal clashing.

"Quick! Use this armor plate as a base to stand it upright!"

A blood-soaked garrison officer, his left arm bandaged and brandishing a dulled sword in his right hand, roared hoarsely, "Don't stop! That monster could be back at any moment! Do you want to become fish food?"

Under his command, hundreds of surviving soldiers and able-bodied men were frantically building fortifications along the broken coastline, like ants.

They had no cement, no decent building materials.

They used shattered house beams, iron plates salvaged from shipwrecks, and even massive metal fragments left behind by Titan armor.

Fear is the best supervisor.

Every now and then, everyone would stop what they were doing and look in horror at the deep sea.

The slightest surge of a wave, the movement of a shadow, could plunge the entire defensive line into a deathly silence. Countless bloodshot eyes stared intently at the sea, fingers tightened on the trigger, until they were certain that it was just a floating plank.

Rod sat on a broken piece of concrete at the highest point of the breakwater.

He changed into a slightly cleaner linen shirt, but it still couldn't hide the weariness that emanated from his very bones.

He held the fragment of the Titan's core in his hand, and from this angle, it was just right to block out the blinding morning light.

"Mr. Rhodes."

Benjamin walked over carrying two jugs of cheap rum, carefully handing one to Rhodes. "Have a sip, warm yourself up. The sea breeze is too harsh."

Rod took the flask and took a swig.

The spicy liquid burned down his throat, bringing a slight warmth to his heart, which had become unusually cold due to the fusion with the siren's heart.

"How are the soldiers' morale?" Rhodes asked casually, looking at the busy crowd below.

"It's terrible." Benjamin gave a wry smile and sat down beside him. "Everyone's saying that the whale just went to feed, and it'll come back and wipe Plymouth clean. Some people are even saying... they heard whispers coming from the seabed last night."

Rod squinted and looked into the distance.

In fact, he knew the situation at the bottom of the sea better than anyone else.

Since merging with that heart, his senses have undergone some subtle changes.

He could hear the rhythm deep within the waves and sense the emotions contained in the water.

The nauseating, oppressive atmosphere of corruption from yesterday has vanished.

Instead, the original emptiness and desolation of the deep sea were replaced.

"It's not coming back," Rhodes said softly.

"What did you say?" Benjamin paused, then his eyes lit up with surprise. "Are you sure? Then can we...?"

"Don't make a fuss."

Rhodes interrupted him, his eyes sharpening. "Fear can unite people, but it can also keep them vigilant. Now that we've told them they're safe, the moment they relax, this hastily assembled team will crumble instantly."

More importantly, Rhodes knew that the danger was not over.

Although the whaler is gone, that pale bishop is a big problem.

Just then, a piercing scream suddenly came from the front of the defensive line.

"It's here!! There's something underwater!!"

"A giant wave! A giant wave!!"

"Fire! Fire now!!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Several surviving steam cannons misfired in the extreme tension, and the shells hit the sea, creating towering columns of water.

The soldiers dropped their tools and retreated frantically, some even tripping and falling in the chaos, crying out in despair.

Rhodes suddenly stood up, his dark blue pupils instantly contracting.

He looked out at the sea.

Something has indeed arrived.

But that wasn't a Kuroshio whale.

On the horizon, what broke through the fog was not the back of a monster, but warships forged from steel.

Those were three steam-powered ironclad warships flying the kingdom's naval flag, their huge smokestacks belching black smoke as they cleaved through the waves, majestic and menacing.

Above the fleet, a streamlined armed airship hovered, its side adorned with the insignia of the All-Seeing Eye, a symbol that only high-level spellcasters could use.

"That's..." Benjamin's mouth dropped open, the flask in his hand falling to the ground. "The Kingdom's Storm Fleet? And... the Truth Society's airships?"

The unrest on the defensive line gradually subsided.

The soldiers stared in disbelief at the scene, then erupted in cheers of relief at surviving the ordeal.

"Reinforcements! Reinforcements!"

"We're saved! The kingdom hasn't abandoned us!"

Cheers resounded through the sky, and many people knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly.

However, there was not a trace of a smile on Rhodes' face.

He looked at the airship high above him, feeling the undisguised, powerful mental energy scanning coming from that direction.

That was a reconnaissance mission from a third-level mage, or even a higher-level mage.

The whaler was forced to retreat because he was seriously injured.

This group of people swam over like sharks, drawn by the smell of the Titan's self-destruction.

"Benjamin."

Rod pulled up his hood to cover his face, his voice low and calm.

"Get everyone back to work, stop staring like a bunch of clueless idiots."

He turned around and tucked the Titan core fragment deep into the dark pocket in his pocket, close to his cold, beating heart.

"Sometimes, the person trying to save you might be more dangerous than a monster that wants to eat you."

Rod patted Benjamin on the shoulder.

"Get ready, we're going to greet these important people."