I became a god through archaeology in the Wizarding World.

As Rhodes' figure disappeared into the shadows of the governor's mansion gates, Balthazar's smile vanished instantly, replaced by an icy indifference.

"Come out, Victor."

He spoke softly to the empty room.

The wall that was originally covered with a huge oil painting of naval battles suddenly caved in silently, revealing a hidden door.

A hunched old man wearing a gray robe and brass goggles came out.

He held a recording crystal that was still trembling slightly in his hands; it was the complete recording of Rhodes' conversation with the Duke.

"How about it?" Balthazar relit his cigar, took a deep drag, and said, "How believable are this kid's lies?"

The old man, known as Victor, did not answer directly. Instead, he walked to the huge tactical sand table and gently traced his withered fingers across the Obsidian Guard blueprint that Rhodes had just left behind.

"The blueprints are genuine, Your Grace." Victor's voice sounded like two rusty iron plates rubbing together. "The structure is ingenious and logically consistent. This design, which uses high-pressure steam to drive the core gears, is indeed in line with the engineering characteristics of the early Second Age. This lad didn't try to fool you with a fake."

"But..." Victor changed the subject, a hint of fanaticism and doubt flashing in his cloudy eyes behind his goggles, "It's too clean."

"Clean?" Balthazar frowned.

"Yes, clean. No redundancy in the etheric loops, no interfaces etched with souls." Victor looked up, his tone becoming urgent. "Sir, do you remember that thing we dug out deep in the Black Iron Mine?"

Balthazar's eyes suddenly narrowed.

That was a top military secret.

Three years ago, he discovered the remains of an ancient arsenal in an abandoned mine within his territory.

Although it is far smaller than the one underground in the capital, it preserves several relatively complete prototypes.

Over the past three years, he has gathered all the alchemists and engineers in the military and worked day and night to try to replicate that power.

"We found a large amount of biological tissue residue and complex soul-binding arrays in that prototype," Victor explained. "The power of ancient weapons lies not only in steel and steam, but also in the fact that they are forbidden creations that fuse living beings with machines. That was the price that had to be paid to bear high-level energy."

The old man pointed to the blueprints on the table and sneered, "The blueprints that Rhodes gave you, though exquisite, are merely a purely mechanical creation. Its potential is locked. It's like a sophisticated toy gun—it looks intimidating, but it can never penetrate real armor."

Balssard remained silent.

He walked to the wall and pressed a mechanism.

With a dull creak of gears turning, the floor slowly cracked open, revealing a staircase leading underground.

A mixture of smells of blood, engine oil, and the roar of some wild beast rose up from below.

"Come with me."

Balthazar led Victor into the basement.

This is not an ordinary wine cellar or dungeon, but a huge, steampunk-style secret laboratory.

In the center of the laboratory stands a massive metal skeleton, five meters tall.

It looks like a bipedal Tyrannosaurus Rex, covered in thick black iron armor, with countless thick pipes inserted into its back, supplying a green fluorescent liquid.

But that's not the most creepy part.

Inside the thoracic cavity of the metal skeleton, instead of a cold power furnace, there was a huge glass jar.

The jar was filled with murky nutrient solution, in which the heart of a sub-dragon-type magical beast, its skin peeled off and still twitching slightly, was soaking.

In the cockpit area at the head, you can even see half of the brain that has been cut open and connected to a complex network of electrode wires.

"What Rhodes gave me were blueprints for mass production." Balthazar looked at the grotesque half-biological, half-mechanical monster before him, his eyes gleaming with ambition. "Those are consumables for ordinary soldiers. What we're making is an ace."

"That's right, sir." Victor gazed at the Tyrant, his eyes filled with fascination. "While our Tyrant may not be as precise as that Titan, we're taking a different path. Once we resolve the rejection reaction and allow this dragon heart to fully take over the mechanical body, its explosive power will rival any fourth-ring transcendent!"

Balthazar turned to look at Victor: "What's the current progress?"

"Seventy percent. The main problem is still the control center." Victor sighed. "The souls of beasts are too violent, making it difficult to control complex mechanical commands. We need more advanced... materials."

"Material……"

Balthazar narrowed his eyes, the image of Rhodes' seemingly submissive but actually cunning face flashing through his mind.

The Titan that Rhodes unearthed from the underground ruins—although Rhodes claimed its core had melted down—Balthazar absolutely refused to believe that the cunning boy would come empty-handed.

Rhodes must possess some key technology for controlling ancient weapons, or some more advanced soul algorithm, a level that pure flesh and blood modification cannot reach.

"Rhodes thought he was using me, trading a second-rate blueprint for my protection."

Balthazar sneered, reaching out to stroke the Tyrant's cold leg armor. "But little did he know, his blueprints actually helped me complete the final piece of the puzzle."

"Victor, extract the steam transmission structure from the blueprints Rhodes gave us and apply it to the Tyrant's limb joints. Our design is too cumbersome; it lacks this kind of ingenious mechanical transmission."

"Yes, sir! If we can combine that structure, the tyrant's flexibility will increase by at least three times!" Victor rubbed his hands excitedly.

"besides."

Balthazar's eyes darkened. "Send the Night Owls to keep an eye on Rhodes. Don't make a move, and don't get caught. I need to know who he sees each day, what he eats, and even how long he spends in the bathroom."

"Pay special attention to whether he has come into contact with any high-level soul crystals or ancient chips."

"That Titan's core... if it really is still in his hands, it would be the perfect key to awaken the tyrant."

Balthazar turned around and looked at the dragon's heart beating in the glass jar.

"Rhodes thinks I'm just a swordsman who only knows how to wield a sword, and Edward is just a coward who only knows how to play power games."

But he was wrong.

"In this world, only those who have grasped the range of truth are qualified to define what justice is."

"When the tyrant is finished, I will personally drive it to the capital and knock on Edward's door. And while I'm at it... twist that kid Rod's head off and see how many secrets are inside."

In the basement, the enormous mechanical monster seemed to sense its master's murderous intent. The dragon heart inside its chest contracted sharply, emitting a deep, thunderous thud.

Boom!

The entire underground area of ​​the Governor's Mansion seemed to tremble.

On the ground, Rhodes, who had just sat in the carriage, suddenly felt a chill creep up his spine.

He subconsciously glanced back at the imposing governor's mansion, a hint of solemnity flashing in his eyes.

He knew the Iron Duke was a dangerous adversary.

But he didn't expect that this steel behemoth that roamed the north had already honed its own fangs in the darkness, and... the blood and madness stained on those fangs were far more profound than he had imagined.