God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World! Chapter 556: High Cardinal Alfonso

While Gabriel remained positioned before the ancient knight, another section of the tomb had already sprung to life.

Martial Palace proceeded along its designated path with significantly more discipline than the majority of the invited factions. Their formation was compact, their movements deliberate, and the cultivator guide at the vanguard seldom needed to issue instructions as most members were already adept at navigating such an environment.

Gabriel couldn't witness it firsthand, but due to the tomb's peculiar architecture, residual presences occasionally impinged upon his senses. The interconnected pathways created a strange spatial effect, making distant groups seem closer than their actual locations.

Liang advanced near the core of Martial Palace's formation, with Evelyn maintaining a close proximity. His countenance was serene, yet his gaze frequently darted, scrutinizing the walls, the patterns on the floor, and the subtle fluctuations of qi in the atmosphere.

Evelyn directed a glance at him after they passed a dislodged stone marker. "Why did you propose a spar with White Phantom earlier?"

Liang did not immediately meet her gaze. He stepped over a fissure in the floor, ensured the others traversed it safely, and only responded after confirming the formation's integrity. "I wished to ascertain his capabilities."

Evelyn's eyes flickered, but she refrained from probing further. Having served alongside Liang for an extended period, she grasped his inclinations; a formidable adversary was something he found difficult to disregard.

"You already suspected he was no ordinary individual," she stated.

Liang offered a subtle nod. "He was withholding his true strength. I aimed to witness his full power, or at least a fraction of it."

A silence fell upon Evelyn thereafter.

She understood him intimately. This was precisely why he had extended a personal invitation to Gabriel—Liang sought to contend with the powerful, not out of recklessness, but because such tests were integral to his cultivation journey. Alas, Gabriel had not materialized with Broken Dawn.

Recalling Sophie's composed response at the station, Evelyn tacitly concluded that Gabriel was likely occupied elsewhere. As this was not a matter she could easily verify, she continued walking beside Liang without further comment.

Several corridors distant from their position, the Longsword Guild encountered considerably less seamless progress.

Their guide had already issued three urgent warnings within a mere five minutes, yet monstrous entities persisted in their assault from both sides of the passage. Undead monstrosities emerged from fractured walls, skeletal sentinels clawed their way from ancient burial sites, and the pervasive spectral qi intensified the drain of each confrontation.

"Defend the left flank!" the Longsword leader commanded, felling an undead creature that lunged at him. One of his subordinates attempted to comply, but three skeletal assailants surged forward simultaneously. He parried the first, narrowly evaded the second, only for the third to impale him through the abdomen with a jagged spear.

"Senior brother!" Blood welled in the man's mouth as his form was dragged backward. The remaining members strove to reach him, but an overwhelming influx of monsters flooded the passageway before any intervention was possible.

BANG!!! A forceful palm strike annihilated two undead entities concurrently, yet it failed to alter the tide of the engagement. More foes emerged, and the confined corridor became congested with bone fragments, decaying flesh, shattered weaponry, and the anguished cries of injured cultivators.

The Longsword leader's expression soured. They had entered this tomb with considerable arrogance, perceiving external factions as the primary threat. Now, their own contingent was being compelled into a tactical retreat, with each fallen monster only reinforcing the grim realization that the tomb presented a far graver peril than initially surmised.

The guide's voice trembled slightly. "We must advance before the next wave coalesces."

"Advance where?" a member implored. "They are emerging from all directions."

The guide offered no reply.

The tomb was escalating in danger. Fatalities were beginning to occur.

Among all the assembled groups, the Holy Church navigated their path with the greatest ease.

Their route had also faced multiple incursions, but the predominant presence of undead proved to be a decisive factor. Holy energy radiated throughout their formation, repelling the necrotic qi and causing the undead creatures to falter upon close approach. The priests advanced in a practiced cadence, while the knights formed the outer perimeter, shields braced. Behind them, the two High Cardinals proceeded with measured steps, their imposing aura unsettling the surrounding undead.

A phalanx of skeletal warriors charged from an adjacent chamber, their rusted blades scraping against the stone floor. One priest raised his staff. "Cardinal." The foremost High Cardinal halted his advance. Having worn his helmet since his arrival in Tianlan, his visage remained concealed. His right hand ascended slowly, and a radiance of white-gold light coalesced above his palm.

The undead reacted swiftly, pulling back. Retreat was the aim for some, while others desperately clawed at the ground, their shattered jaws gaping in silent dread. Holy energy was their bane, and even without complete sentience, they grasped the inherent peril.

The High Cardinal offered them no respite.

"Cleanse."

The concentrated light erupted forward.

BOOM!!!

An expansive wave of holy power surged through the passage, utterly obliterating the initial ranks of undead. Bones splintered, desiccated forms incinerated, and the passage floor was left coated in pallid ash, interspersed with faint, luminous marks from the attack's passage.

The assembled members of the Holy Church offered no cheers.

They pressed onward, as if this outcome was an inevitability.

The High Cardinal lowered his hand, and for the first time since they had entered this sepulcher, he reached up and removed his helmet. His face was revealed in the dim, pale light.

Had Gabriel or the principal figures of Broken Dawn been present, they would have surely recognized him.

This was none other than High Cardinal Alfonso.

The very individual Gabriel had brought to shame during the Inter-Guild Display Event.

His gaze drifted towards the path where Broken Dawn's contingent had proceeded. He had observed them closely upon their arrival, and one crucial detail had been starkly apparent from the outset.

Gabriel was conspicuously absent.

Alfonso’s grip tightened on the rim of his helmet. Broken Dawn had ventured into this tomb devoid of its leader, without the man whose presence had so publicly embarrassed him, and crucially, without the one person who could potentially complicate his plans.

A priest standing nearby inclined his head. "Your Eminence?"

Alfonso remained silent for a moment. His eyes stayed fixed ahead, and the holy luminescence surrounding him pulsed once, causing the nearby remnants of the undead to disintegrate further.

After a brief pause, his voice finally broke the silence.

"Proceed."

The priest acknowledged with a nod before resuming his position within the ranks.

With the helmet tucked under one arm, Alfonso resumed walking, his expression markedly colder than before. His thoughts had already strayed from the immediate adversaries, as the true prize lay concealed elsewhere within this ancient tomb.

Broken Dawn was here.

Gabriel was not.

This presented the singular, perfect opportunity.

His voice dropped to a whisper, audible only to the priest closest to him.

"None of them will depart this tomb alive."