God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World! Chapter 514: White Phantom Vs Blackstar Clan

Gabriel fixed his stare upon Barry, voicing the query with a steady expression.

"How did you find me?"

Barry raised his head a touch in response, only to drop it back down under the weight of Grizzlenaught’s looming presence behind him. His fingers gripped the floor tightly before he spoke.

"It was my summon," he murmured softly. "The hound."

Gabriel remained silent, a subtle cue for Barry to proceed.

Barry gulped and continued. "You possessed the headband from the first assassin. His scent lingered on it after his death. I also discovered a fragment of his garb. My summon sniffed it, then followed the identical scent path right to the castle."

"That was everything. We knew nothing more."

A subtle tension eased from Gabriel’s features.

This revelation brought him some comfort. Black Star hadn’t pierced the White Phantom guise through cunning or sharp insight. They’d simply trailed a scent like mere trackers. Thus, the harm was less severe than he’d initially dreaded.

Even better, the initial assassin lay dead, the reserve archer was slain, and Barry’s comrade had perished too. Only one soul remained who grasped his real identity.

Barry.

The summoner grasped the implication in that instant.

He lifted his gaze higher than earlier. His lips parted as a realization struck him belatedly.

"If I had used that earlier..." he whispered.

Gabriel understood the hint right away.

It became crystal clear. Barry had faltered. He’d revealed the tracking method and squandered his sole bargaining chip for survival.

A faint smirk curved Gabriel’s lips as he remarked, "You just realized it."

Barry’s jaw clenched hard.

Gabriel eased back onto the bed a fraction, ignoring the lingering ache in his frame.

"You can still survive," he stated evenly. "It hinges on your cooperation moving forward."

Barry’s eyes snapped to him instantly.

For a brief moment, it appeared he yearned to probe the offer’s scope, its limits, or the required tasks. Yet, the opportunity slipped away.

Gabriel raised a finger just a bit.

"That’s enough for now."

Grizzlenaught sprang into action without delay.

The massive ghostly bear’s claw enveloped Barry’s shoulder and torso before he could twitch. The ground below shimmered, and they sank beneath it seamlessly, restoring peace to the chamber.

Gabriel let out a gradual breath once they were gone.

Quietness reclaimed the space, yet his thoughts churned on. Barry held value at present. He could guide against Black Star or even function as an asset for his emerging faction.

He’d long intended to dismantle the clan eventually. After this night, no delay was necessary.

Gabriel’s gaze sharpened as he glanced toward the window.

With the Soul Key secured, his primary goal here stood fulfilled. Still within the city, and with Black Star thrusting itself into the fray, he could settle their score prior to departure.

"Convenient," he murmured.

Agony throbbed through his body, his inner wounds grave, but the choice proved straightforward. Tackle issues sequentially. Black Star would fall while he lingered in Stellar City.

Far below the city in the concealed Black Star lair, Torin strode restlessly with a countenance icier than prior.

The sweltering air in the subterranean room bore down relentlessly, yet it failed to lighten the heavy atmosphere. Each pivot was abrupt. Every footfall struck the gleaming floor harder than required.

A courier had just relayed his report and now knelt humbly by the doorway, head bowed low.

"The assassination failed," the man repeated, as though iteration might soften the blow. "The backup squad lay dead near the castle perimeter. Lenny’s death is verified too."

Torin halted his stride. His shadowed eyes turned to the prostrate figure.

"And Barry?" he demanded. His voice sharpened noticeably on that name.

The messenger pressed his brow to the ground.

"Missing."

Silence.

Utter silence.

Torin froze in mid-stride. That lone word outweighed all others. Fallen comrades were mere setbacks, but Barry’s absence spelled peril.

Torin’s expression grew stonier, his movements quickening. Barry proved vital to the clan—not for raw power or unwavering devotion, but for his unique abilities, his knowledge, and his typical caution.

Should Barry live and fall into foe’s grasp, the implications dwarfed a single agent’s demise.

It heralded betrayal.

Torin paced anew, though more deliberately this time. Fury etched his face, masked by underlying scheming.

"If he speaks," he uttered softly, "the path traces straight back here."

The messenger dared not reply.

Torin was fully aware of the harsh reality. Black Star persisted through secrecy alone. An outlaw faction could assassinate, negotiate, shift, and expand solely while the greater forces refrained from openly allying against it. Once their hideout, operations, or influence in city affairs leaked out, the clan would get dragged into plain sight.

And out in the open, annihilation awaited them.

His eyes shifted upward to the ceiling, seemingly piercing the thick stone barriers to the city overhead.

"We need to move faster," he murmured in a hushed tone, though the choice had long been finalized.

White Phantom must not gain more time. Barry could not be left breathing in foe captivity. Should any of that persist, Black Star’s foothold in Stellar City and the Valerian Kingdom would decay from the inside out.

Torin’s face hardened into a severe, icy resolve.

"It seems none of them are powerful enough to deal with him... I will step in myself."

...

Gratitude to everyone supporting this novel. I truly appreciate it. Two more chapters arriving shortly!