God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World! Chapter 601: Old Enemies Make their Move

Pope Valen Demond raised his head, his gaze falling toward the doorway. His voice was calm, yet carried an authority that could not be ignored.

"Then... who exactly is this messenger who returned alive from the Tomb?"

Footsteps echoed from outside the hall, but the person did not enter.

A moment later, a low, steady voice sounded from the doorway.

"Reporting to Your Holiness, the one who returned alive was not an ordinary priest or believer but a cultivator from Tianlan."

Even after that, the cultivator still did not step into the room.

He simply stood outside, separated by the open doorway as he delivered his report. His voice was clear but carried a deliberate sense of distance.

Pope Valen Demond neither urged him to come in nor showed the slightest displeasure. He merely listened in silence, slowly setting down the cutlery in his hands. His wrinkled hands folded gently together atop the table, the movement elegant enough to resemble a ritual.

The man outside continued.

"The two Cardinals never reached the innermost region of the tomb. They fell in the outer passageways. According to the survivor’s account, as well as the traces left at the scene... only one person truly entered the deepest core. That person was the masked figure known as the White Phantom."

"In other words, the two Cardinals dispatched by the Church never reached the tomb’s deepest chamber. The one who truly came into contact with its greatest secret was an outsider of unknown identity. Not only did he survive, but he may also have taken away the treasures the Church was after."

Pope Valen Demond’s gaze rested on the empty doorway. There was no anger on his face, nor any trace of panic. There was only an unfathomable calm.

That calm was far more chilling... because he understood that this was no longer merely the deaths of two Cardinals.

It was the first time he had heard about the White Phantom. Although the ordinary citizens of the Valerian Kingdom knew about him because of his recent rise in popularity, top powerhouses like the Pope, who lived in seclusion, did not concern themselves with the public.

Still, this was merely side information and was not really important. What mattered was what the White Phantom had seen inside the core. That information was far more important.

To the ruthless Pope, he could overlook even the deaths of Cardinals for this.

...that was until the man spoke again.

"But... there’s something else," the man suddenly said, and the Pope raised his head.

"Go on."

He swallowed once, then after a moment of hesitation, spoke.

"The Broken Dawn Guild and the Holy Church passed through the same route, but somehow Broken Dawn survived."

"What’s the history between the Church and Broken Dawn?"

Now one would wonder why the Pope was asking this when, in fact, he was the leader of the organization. But the thing was that the Church had considered the issue with Broken Dawn to be something trivial, so he had not been informed.

No one had ever imagined that it would one day escalate to this point.

"Bad. The relationship between Broken Dawn and the Church is irredeemable," the Pope’s personal servant on the other side spoke this time.

"That settles it then... we have a lead. Investigate this Broken Dawn. If possible, pay them a visit."

Pope Valen Demond picked up his knife and fork once more, but his movements were noticeably slower than before. He spoke no further. He merely gazed quietly at the sky beyond the window as the daylight gradually faded into evening.

"It seems I might step out of this room after all these years. I wonder what the real world looks like right now."

At the same time, not far from there, Stellar City had already erupted into complete excitement.

Only a few days remained before the Ascension Championship officially began.

It was as though the city had been infused overnight with boiling blood. The forums were overflowing with speculation and discussion. Some enthusiastically analyzed which players were most likely to claim the championship. Others frantically predicted the emergence of dark horses. Still others placed their bets on powerful figures who had remained hidden for a long time. Guilds were busily selecting their representatives.

The flow of people throughout the city grew denser by the day.

Players, merchants, nobles, spectators, and visitors from every corner of the world poured in without end. Every hotel was fully booked, and adventurers carrying weapons and clad in every imaginable set of equipment could be seen on every street. The air was filled with the mingled scent of excitement, tension, and anticipation.

At this moment, it seemed as though the entire human world had focused its attention on Stellar City.

And among these crowds were three interesting figures. They moved through the crowd, drawing quite a bit of attention to themselves as players pointed and shouted as if seeing their favorite celebrities.

These three figures were Ragnarok99, SniperBowLegend, and Bunny, and they were the people representing Broken Dawn in this tournament.

...

While all this was happening, something else was unfolding in a distant land.

Far away from the bustling city, amid a desolate stretch of rolling hills, a man dressed in a perfectly pressed military uniform knelt on one knee and drove a black banner trimmed with gold firmly into the earth. The flag snapped violently in the wind, releasing a deep, resonant sound.

The man slowly rose to his feet and looked out over the wilderness.

Behind him stood dozens of soldiers in flawless formation. They wore identical military uniforms, their armor reflecting a cold gleam beneath the sunlight. Not a single one of them moved. They stood in utter silence, like statues.

They were none other than the Edgeburn Military.

And at the very front of this great army was none other than General Everest Tempest himself.

No one noticed that this army had already arrived in silence.

And no one noticed that the instant the banner was planted into the earth, the Edgeburn Military had already declared war on Gabriel and Broken Dawn.