God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World! Chapter 555: Getting a Lead

Without any preamble, the knight lunged into action.

FWOOOSH!

Its worn-out body suddenly surged with unexpected life, and the massive halberd swept low across the ground with a speed Gabriel hadn't anticipated from the seemingly decrepit figure. The wicked blade hurtled directly towards his legs, possessing the power to shatter both knees upon impact.

Reacting instantly, Gabriel leaped backward, bracing a foot against the side wall. He propelled himself away just as the weapon sliced through the space he had occupied moments before. The air screamed under the halberd's passage, and the stone floor fractured, a deep, long gash appearing where it struck.

BOOM!!!

Chunks of broken stone exploded outward, creating a trench nearly a foot deep that stretched across the floor. Landing several yards away, Gabriel briefly glanced at the devastation before fixing his gaze back on the knight.

"So, you were still holding back that much, huh?" he murmured, a flicker of genuine admiration in his voice.

The knight offered no response. Instead, it adjusted its footing and, with a single hand, drew the halberd back, the ancient armor groaning at the shoulder as if protesting each movement.

Observing that solitary action, Gabriel immediately grasped the truth: while the knight's physical form had deteriorated, its combat technique remained as potent as ever.

The knight's timing was incredibly precise.

Its initial assault, directed low, exploited the confined space that restricted vertical maneuvers. The weapon had covered almost the entire width of the chamber in a single, devastating arc. Had Gabriel reacted even slightly slower, he would have been compelled to block the attack directly, surrendering the initiative to the knight for the subsequent exchange.

Without a second's hesitation, Gabriel surged forward.

The Twin Dragonfangs gleamed in his grasp as he closed the distance. The knight responded by transitioning the halberd into an upward-slicing motion. Gabriel met the strike, crossing his blades to deflect the assault, sending the weapon crashing into the adjacent wall instead of his body.

BANG!!!

A significant crack spiderwebbed across the wall, dislodging stones that rained down. Seizing the opportunity, Gabriel lunged, aiming for the knight's neck. However, the ancient general, with astonishing swiftness, tilted its helmet mere inches from Gabriel's blade before charging forward, its shoulder leading the way.

The forceful impact sent Gabriel staggering back.

His boots skidded across the stone, leaving faint trails as he twisted his wrist. He managed to parry the follow-up strike with his left blade while his right sword swept across the knight's flank, shearing off a sliver of aged metal from its armor.

Once more, the knight shifted its attack.

This time, the halberd spun once, its heavy momentum controlled with uncanny precision. Gabriel was forced to duck beneath the haft before slipping within its reach. His knee drove into the knight's waist plate with such force that the ancient armor buckled slightly inward. Yet, the formidable warrior refused to lose its balance.

Instead, it planted the butt of the halberd firmly on the floor, using it as a stable anchor.

Gabriel's eyes narrowed.

The knight's body was undoubtedly ancient, its movements sluggish compared to the sharp intent behind each attack. Nevertheless, every single action utilized superior body structure to overcome its physical limitations. It fought not like a mindless automaton, but like a seasoned warrior who had navigated countless battlefields through sheer experience and cunning.

The ensuing exchange unfolded with increased velocity.

Gabriel attacked from his right; the knight countered from its left. Steel rang against steel three times in rapid succession, showers of sparks erupting across the chamber. Each time the halberd's trajectory was altered by the parries, crater-like holes the size of basins appeared in the floor where the redirected force impacted.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The resounding echoes reverberated throughout the chamber as cracks radiated outward from the floor's center towards the walls. A fine layer of dust settled around their feet, yet neither combatant yielded ground for more than a fleeting moment.

Adjusting his stance subtly, Gabriel lowered his right shoulder.

The knight reacted without delay, advancing with its left side once more as the halberd swept across in a familiar pattern. Gabriel instantly recognized the rhythm, not due to its obviousness, but because the identical sequence had been employed during three prior exchanges.

Concealed behind his mask, Gabriel's expression remained composed.

He allowed the knight to believe the perceived opening remained, stepping forward just enough to invite the strike. The halberd descended with blinding speed, its aim to crush his shoulder and pin him to the ground.

Gabriel moved at the absolute last instant.

His left blade intercepted the halberd's shaft near the head, pushing it aside. Simultaneously, his right foot slid expertly within the knight's effective range. Before the ancient general could regain its posture, Gabriel's second blade rose, stopping mere inches from the center of its chest plate.

The sword's tip hovered less than a finger's breadth from the ancient armor.

An profound silence enveloped the chamber.

Motes of dust drifted lazily between them, and the crimson luminescence within the knight's helmet flickered once. Gabriel did not press his advantage, even though impaling the damaged plate from such proximity would have been a simple matter.

For a prolonged moment, the knight remained utterly still.

Finally, it lowered its formidable halberd.

Gabriel eased his blade downward slightly, though vigilance remained. The knight had conceded the outcome, but acceptance wasn't surrender, and he wasn't so foolish as to forget that distinction.

"Your combat style suggests past lives," the knight observed.

Gabriel's gaze sharpened infinitesimally.

A pause seemed to settle upon the knight, its crimson helmet glow momentarily fading before it continued, "Nay. That's imprecise. You fight as one who recalls the errors that led to his demise."

The words resonated more deeply than expected, yet Gabriel's expression remained impassive. This knight possessed no insight into his history, and yet, experience at such a profound level apparently granted the ability to perceive beyond conventional senses.

Leaning one sword across his shoulder, Gabriel inquired evenly, "You pledged to impart knowledge."

"Indeed, I did."

With deliberate movements, the knight reached beneath its breastplate. Metallic fingers found a concealed seam, and with a subtle click, it produced a small shard swathed in aged, dark cloth.

The shard itself was a deep crimson, shaped like fractured crystal, with ethereal lines meandering within its depths as if trapped inscriptions lay just beneath the surface. The instant it manifested, the very atmosphere within the chamber seemed to shift subtly.

"Within this lies the authentic formula for the Core Suppressing Spike," the knight declared. "Not the fabricated tales circulated publicly, nor the condensed accounts provided to intermediaries. This is the complete design."

Gabriel advanced and accepted the shard.

The very moment the fragment made contact with his palm, his Extraction talent surged, and a system prompt materialized before him, inquiring if he wished to extract its essence.

Gabriel's fingers tightened around the crystal, a sudden realization dawning in his mind. This object was not merely a repository of valuable data; it was something that could be extracted and utilized at a later juncture.

'Excellent.'

Maintaining an outward show of minimal interest, he secreted it away within his inventory.

The knight observed this action before lowering its hand. "One final piece of information you should possess before your departure."

Gabriel regarded the knight.

"The imprisoned deity did not endure a forced confinement," the knight stated. "My liege consented to this state willingly."

Gabriel's eyes grew colder. "Why would a divine being consent to eternal burial?"

"A promise," the knight responded.

The explanation was startlingly direct, yet the knight's tone conveyed that it possessed no further understanding. It wasn't evasion; it genuinely only knew of the promise's existence.

"Issued by Tianlan's sovereign?" Gabriel probed.

"Negative."

The knight's helmet glow flickered once more.

"It was an entity distinct from them."

Turning slightly, the knight faced the deeper passage behind it. "Should your path lead you toward the spike, understand this: its removal might resolve one predicament, yet awaken another. The seal endures precisely because the promise remains unbroken."

Gabriel's fingers tapped rhythmically against his sword's pommel. "And should the spike falter in its function?"

The knight's voice descended into a deeper, darker resonance.

"If the spike holds, then yes. Should it fail, none of us will endure."