God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World! Chapter 645: The Goblin’s Lair [2]

The black cloaked man walked up to the goblin that had escaped from the front.

"What happened on the front line?"

The goblin immediately lowered its head.

"We lost."

"The commander?"

"Dead."

The black cloaked man frowned. "Did the elves deploy an Elder?"

"No." The goblin quickly shook its head. "It was a human."

"A human?"

"Yes, a human." It seemed to remember what had happened earlier, and even its voice became noticeably unnatural. "He had red hair and wielded a huge crimson greatsword. He... he killed the commander."

The black cloaked man’s previously calm expression visibly shifted.

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed slightly as well.

If this man had ever received intelligence from Stellar City, then those two characteristics were already distinctive enough.

Sure enough, after several seconds of silence, the black cloaked man suddenly asked,

"What’s his name?"

"We don’t know." The goblin shook its head. "We only know he suddenly fell from the sky, and then..."

"Enough."

The black cloaked man interrupted it.

He did not continue asking about the battlefield.

Instead, he glanced back toward the fissure.

"The eleven pieces of merchandise are still here?"

Up in the canopy, Erin’s grip on her bow instantly tightened. Hearing one of her kin being referred to like that pissed her off, and if not for the presence of Gabriel, she might have put an arrow through the cloaked man’s skull already.

The goblin immediately answered. "They’re all here."

"Good."

The black cloaked man visibly relaxed.

"Move them tonight."

The goblin froze. "Wasn’t it supposed to be tomorrow?"

"There’s been a problem on the front line. The schedule has been moved forward." The black cloaked man said coldly, "The fourth transport point is already prepared. Move all the merchandise there tonight. Once they arrive, they’re no longer your responsibility."

The goblin hesitated. "Then the things we were promised..."

"You’ll receive them once the transaction is complete."

Impatience had already entered the black cloaked man’s voice.

"The weapons, mana crystals, and remaining potions have all been prepared. As long as there’s no problem with the quantity of the merchandise, you won’t be missing a single thing."

"And one more thing."

He paused. "Tell your leader not to send those idiots wandering around the fourth transport point tonight. The person coming from the Holy Church this time holds a fairly high position. If anything goes wrong, forget the remaining resources. You won’t receive so much as a single mana crystal from us ever again."

At those words, Gabriel’s interest was piqued.

The black cloaked man did not linger. He soon walked back into the fissure, while the goblin that had escaped from the front was led inside by the guards. Before long, the area surrounding the entrance became quiet once again.

Erin stared at the fissure for more than ten seconds before she finally spoke.

"They’re still alive."

"Yeah, it seems so." Gabriel replied.

Erin visibly relaxed, but immediately turned toward him.

"We should go back and get the others."

"No rush."

"They’re being moved tonight."

"That’s exactly why there’s no rush."

Erin frowned, wondering what he was up to this time.

Gabriel looked at her. "If we charge inside now, do you know where they’re keeping the children?"

Erin did not answer.

"We don’t know the underground layout, we don’t know how many goblins are inside, and we don’t know whether they have other exits. If we alert them now, their first response might not be to fight us."

Gabriel’s gaze returned to the entrance.

"They might move the children immediately."

The urgency on Erin’s face gradually disappeared.

She was not stupid. She had simply lost some of her composure after confirming that the children of her people were still alive.

"Then what are you planning to do?"

"Wait."

"Wait for them to bring the children out themselves?"

"Yes."

Gabriel said, "We don’t know where the fourth transport point is. They do. We don’t know who’s responsible for transporting them. They’ll show themselves. We don’t know who the Holy Church sent this time."

Gabriel paused.

"But tonight, we’ll know that too."

Erin stared at him.

Gradually, she understood what he meant.

This was no longer merely about rescuing eleven children.

If they attacked now, at most they would destroy a single entrance.

They might not even find the children.

But if they allowed the transaction to proceed according to plan, the goblins would bring the children out themselves.

The Chain of Veylor would appear on its own.

And the people from the Holy Church would appear as well.

Everyone who was originally hiding in different places would gather together because of the same transaction.

As that thought occurred to her, Erin suddenly felt a chill run down her back.

Because from the moment Gabriel heard the words "fourth transport point," he no longer seemed to be considering whether they should stop the transaction.

What he was considering was when to strike so that he could kill the greatest number of people at once.

"What about the goblin lair?"

Erin suddenly asked. "Didn’t you say we were attacking it tomorrow?"

"We are."

"When?"

"After the transaction is dealt with."

"..."

Erin stared at him for several seconds.

Finally, she understood.

The plan had never been canceled. Only the order had changed. First, rescue the children. Then deal with the Chain of Veylor.

After that, handle the people from the Holy Church.

And finally, turn around and attack the goblins’ underground territory.

Erin suddenly felt a little sympathy for those goblins.

Of course.

Only a little.

Gabriel had already risen from the branch.

"Let’s find somewhere we can keep watch on this place. Since they’re moving the children tonight... we’ll wait here for them to come out."

Erin immediately stood. But just as she prepared to leave, something suddenly occurred to her.

"What if they change exits at the last moment?"

Gabriel stopped before looking at her.

"That means you have something to do now."

"What?"

"Find the other exits."

Erin: "..."

She finally realized it.

The reason this man had brought her along probably had never been merely because he needed someone to guide him through the forest.

"You planned this from the beginning?"

"Just thought of it."

"I don’t believe you."

Erin took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to argue with him. Then she closed her eyes and sensed the surrounding trees and terrain before quickly choosing a direction.

"I’ll need an hour at most."

"Mm."

"If I find another exit, I’ll inform you."

"Fine."

Erin was just about to leave when Gabriel suddenly spoke.

"Don’t alert them."

Erin turned and glared at him.

"I’m an elf and this is a forest. I don’t need you teaching me how to do this."

The moment her words fell, she lightly pushed off with the tip of her foot.

Her entire figure instantly disappeared among the treetops.

Gabriel watched the direction she had left and slowly turned his attention to the entrance.

From here, he could see the fissure hidden between the rocky walls perfectly.

There was still plenty of time. He did not mind waiting. After all, compared to simply charging inside and slaughtering a group of goblins, what might appear tonight was clearly far more valuable.

If he was lucky enough, perhaps he could even obtain more information about the slave trading network from them.

With that thought, Gabriel slowly leaned back against the tree trunk, his gaze never leaving the underground entrance.

’Now we wait.’