God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World! Chapter 519: Attacking the Black star Clan [2]

Beneath a dilapidated structure that appeared half-forsaken from the exterior, the Black Star base lay hidden.

Cracks scarred its walls, dust coated the windows, and the main door seemed untouched for years. Any bystander would dismiss it as merely another forgotten spot in the city, unworthy of notice from anyone noteworthy.

Yet under that decaying facade, a stark contrast awaited.

Tight stairways descended into fortified hallways. Secret tunnels linked chambers together. Sentry posts were embedded in the walls, and as depths increased, the atmosphere grew hotter and more confined. Stone-mounted lanterns emitted a faint crimson glow, making every passage feel even more oppressive.

Gabriel waited at the entryway, Barry at his side.

The summoner, eyes covered by a blindfold, appeared ashen even in shadows. His breaths remained ragged since Grizzlenaught had hauled him up, and each thought of the ghostly bear caused his shoulders to tense subtly.

Gabriel glanced at the weathered structure once, placing a hand on one of the Twin Fang swords.

Stealth was not his plan.

Eliminating the clan fell short. He aimed to reveal this lair. He desired word to spread among locals—from spies and sentries to common folk—that a major event had unfolded here this night.

"You truly intend to charge straight in?" Barry questioned cautiously.

"If silence was my goal," Gabriel answered, "you wouldn't be here now."

His grip firmed on the hilt. The first blade slid free with a soft metallic rasp. The second emerged moments after, streetlight glinting briefly on their icy edges.

Gabriel advanced and struck twice.

Shing! Shing!

Twin force waves erupted, slamming into the doorway. One ripped through the facade wall. The other hit below, shattering the concealed brace underneath.

Boom!

The facade structure imploded violently. Debris of rock, timber, and grit erupted outward as the earth trembled. Enough of the sham ruin caved in to reveal the descending tunnel to the real stronghold below.

Within the base, pandemonium erupted at once.

Shouts echoed from the depths. Boots thundered along the passages. Insiders posted further in scrambled toward the noise, while some halted, instantly grasping that their camouflage was breached.

A figure close to the top stairs reeled back, yelling, "We're exposed!"

Someone else snatched up his armament with trembling fingers. "What's become of the entrance?"

Alarm raced through them like a raging blaze.

Deep in the base's core, Torin sat in lotus position as always during meditation. The sweltering lower room left him unmoved, but when the entry detonated, his eyes snapped open.

"We have been compromised," he murmured.

Shadows crossed his features, though he stayed seated for the moment. The doubt gnawing at him for hours hardened into fact.

Barry.

Barry was the culprit.

Such exposure was precisely what Black Star strived to prevent, hence the reserve killers. When one botched the job, the next snuffed out the evidence before it trailed back.

This instance, the trace endured.

Torin's fingers clenched briefly on his knee. Rage simmered beneath his surface, yet he suppressed it, maintaining steady breaths.

Charging forth recklessly would be folly. His vast wisdom and years ensured he sidestepped such blunders.

He shifted his gaze toward the attendant by the exit.

"Dispatch the rest," Torin commanded. "Instruct them to delay White Phantom."

"Yes, Lord Torin."

The servant inclined his head and vanished swiftly from the room to execute the directive.

Outdoors, the haze from the demolished entryway started to clear.

Amid the haze and rubble, silhouettes emerged from below. Black Star operatives surged forward one by one, blades at the ready. Their forehead bands gleamed distinctly now, dozens bearing the black serpent emblems.

That sight confirmed everything for Gabriel.

"So it truly is located here," he declared.

Surprise was absent from his tone. His arm lifted faintly. The earth nearby undulated, summoning Grizzlenaught anew with its menacing red form and radiant blue gaze. Its appearance halted several Black Star fighters in their tracks.

Gabriel nodded toward Barry.

"Escort him away."

Barry's head snapped upward instantly.

"No," he blurted, the refusal spilling out too hastily. "Hold on. Don't make me go back there."

Terror laced his words openly now.

His fellow clansmen caught every bit of it, glancing nervously between Barry, Grizzlenaught, and the poised white-masked warrior. Barry had long been among the steadiest. His breakdown only heightened their own dread.

Gabriel felt no concern. Linking the summon back to him would alter nothing. Not one of them would leave this place alive. He was completely assured of that fact.

Barry retreated half a step, his breathing quickening.

"I cooperated, you said—"

Gabriel silenced him with a sharp glance.

"I said you could live based on your usefulness, and I'm honoring my promise. But right now, you need to stay aside."

With those words, Grizzlenaught’s paw clamped around Barry before he could beg further. The summoner emitted a choked gasp as the ground below rippled.

In the next instant, both he and the spectral bear plunged into the earth and disappeared.

The clan members peering from the revealed entrance gulped nervously. The sound of their swallows rang louder than expected. No one dared speak or move ahead.

All of them hesitated before the man who had left one of their clan's strongest utterly powerless.

Gabriel shrugged one shoulder and lifted both swords into position.

Light from the wrecked entrance gleamed on the blades, dust-choked air swirling nearby. Crumbled stones littered the ground under his feet. Crimson dust lingered in the area behind the lead assassins.

As his stare returned to them, several members twitched involuntarily.

Gabriel regarded the group and spoke with a weary tone.

"Let’s get this over with."