God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World!

Chapter 387: Staying Behind

Now that they had been caught, it would be quite suicidal to fight so deep in enemy territory, so the best bet was to rendezvous with the rest of the group outside and launch a coordinated attack.

Though the enemy numbers were far higher than theirs, and the likelihood of surviving a full frontal war was rather slim.

Even after hearing Gabriel’s words, no one moved at first. Neither did the war tanks or those from the eastern camp. It was as if they were afraid of destroying their own precious camp.

Gabriel saw through this and smirked. If they were to open fire, not only would they destroy their own infrastructure, they would also risk killing their own subjects who were still converging toward the first class zone.

It was no secret that the subjects were extremely important to the lord of the camp. The more subjects he controlled, the stronger he became. That was the very reason he could grow passively while dining lavishly and fooling around with women.

Finally, Sophie looked at Gabriel and spoke.

"No. You are not doing this alone."

Gabriel did not turn to look at her. His eyes remained fixed on the tanks, on the elevated balconies, and on the subtle shifts in the air that told him more enemies were already locking onto them.

"This is not a discussion," he said calmly. "If you stay, you slow me down. If you slow me down, we all die."

Sophie gritted her teeth. She wanted to refuse, but she knew very well that Gabriel was right.

Scarlet and Gabriel exchanged a glance. The two did not say a word, yet it felt as though they understood each other completely.

For a brief second, no one moved.

Then Scarlet exhaled softly. "He is right. This area is already compromised."

Bunny swallowed hard, her fingers tightening around her weapon. "We meet at the fallback point?"

"Yes," Gabriel replied. "If I am not there in ten minutes, assume the worst and execute the secondary escape route."

That finally did it.

Sophie stared at his back for a long moment before turning away. "Do not die," she said quietly.

From the balcony, IceQueen frowned as she saw them turning around one after the other and dashing toward the eastern direction.

"They are getting away. You need to stop them," she warned, panic creeping into her voice.

Henry did not immediately respond. His eyes were fixed on the eastern side of the camp, watching as silhouettes peeled away from Gabriel one after the other, moving at frightening speed.

They did not care about the civilians or the stalls in front of them. Their only goal was to reach the outer area.

"Relax," Henry said at last, his tone as confident and arrogant as before. "They are heading for the eastern gate. There is no way out from there. I already have guards stationed along the walls. They will be blocked."

He raised a tele com to his mouth, his brows knitting together as he issued the command. "Eastern wall units, respond. Status report."

Silence. The faint crackle of static was the only answer.

Henry frowned, irritation flashing across his face as he tried again, this time louder. "Eastern wall, this is your lord. Report immediately."

Still nothing.

The irritation twisted into unease.

IceQueen noticed it instantly. Her gaze snapped toward the device in his hand, then back to the battlefield below, where Gabriel remained standing in front of the two tanks and dozens of men.

"Why are they not responding?" she asked sharply.

Henry did not answer. He switched channels rapidly, contacting the secondary line that linked directly to the wall commanders. "Captain Rourke, report your status."

Silence again.

The unease blossomed into dread.

Henry’s breathing grew shallow as a cold realization began to form, one he desperately did not want to acknowledge.

BOOOM!

He glanced down just in time to see a distant explosion ripple along the eastern side of the camp, not near the battlefield, but closer to the walls.

Henry’s fingers trembled as he lowered the tele com slowly. His face paled, the color draining as the implication slammed into him with full force.

That explosion meant only one thing. The eastern wall had already fallen.

Unknown to him, every single guard stationed there had been eliminated long before Gabriel and the others were discovered. Their bodies lay cold and unseen, the camp’s defenses rotting from the inside out.

"Impossible," Henry whispered, more to himself than anyone else. "How did they get rid of everyone on the walls without sounding an alarm? Not even a hero rank should be capable of that."

IceQueen felt the urge to curse violently, the words burning at the tip of her tongue. She had warned him. She had trusted her instincts, and now the price of his arrogance was unfolding in real time.

But she forced herself to suppress it.

This was not the time for anger.

Her eyes locked onto Gabriel. He was still there. He had not retreated with the others. He was deliberately drawing attention to himself.

"Let the others go," she said suddenly, her voice low but firm. "He is the most important one. Forget the rest. Just get rid of him."

Henry turned sharply toward her, startled by the sudden clarity in her tone.

"What?"

"Broken Heaven," IceQueen continued, her eyes never leaving Gabriel. "He is the core. The rest are dangerous, yes, but they follow him. Kill him here, and everything else collapses."

Henry clenched his jaw, conflicted fury and fear swirling violently in his chest. He hated being cornered like this. Hated that the otherworlder woman was right.

Slowly, his expression shifted into cold resolve. Slowly, he channeled mana into his voice and spoke in a clear, amplified tone that echoed across the first class and second class areas.

"All units, redirect focus. Forget the fleeing ones. I want Broken Heaven dead."

...

The rest of the group had successfully made it to the mini city, which was still in the process of being built, when they heard the sudden announcement.

Sophie stopped and turned back, but a hand grabbed her firmly by the wrist.

Stunned, she looked at the person holding her. It was Anna.

"You have to start trusting master," Anna said with a small smile. "If he was not sure he would survive, he would not have stayed behind."

Sophie did not respond at first. Her eyes flashed with worry, then determination. She nodded and continued running.

Finally, they made it out of the camp, returning to the entrance of the eastern gate, where thousands of Broken Dawn members were already waiting for them.

...

Meanwhile, back at the entrance of the first class area.

BANG!

The moment the first tank fired, everything slowed.

The thunderous boom did not sound like a normal explosion. It was deeper, heavier, as if the air itself had been grabbed and crushed before being released in a violent scream. The massive shell tore through space and slammed straight into Gabriel.

The instant the cannon fired, Gabriel activated Iron Skin. At the same time, Guard Rob flared, encasing him in a soft silver barrier layered seamlessly with his Indestructible Body talent. It was not a reckless decision. It was calculation. He knew exactly what those tanks were capable of, and he knew exactly what his body could withstand.

Just as his activations finished, the shell collided with him head on.

BOOOOOOM!

The impact was catastrophic. The ground beneath him shattered instantly, cracks spiderwebbing outward in every direction. Stone, metal, and debris were flung into the air. A violent shockwave expanded outward, ripping apart nearby stalls, shattering windows, and tossing lesser awakened like ragdolls.

From the balcony, Henry watched with a cold expression on his face. Even if the camp was damaged, killing Broken Heaven was worth the cost.

Smoke engulfed everything. For a brief moment, the first class zone vanished beneath a thick gray cloud, visibility dropping to nothing. Even the tanks recoiled slightly from the backlash of their own fire.

Further away, the awakened and players of the eastern camp began to laugh.

"Did he really just stand there?" someone scoffed.

"So much for Broken Heaven," another mocked. "He was too scared to even dodge."

Henry leaned forward slightly, peering into the smoke, his lips curling into a satisfied grin. "Hype. I knew he was nothing but hype."

At that point, several hero ranks had also appeared on the scene. Among them were the Lin sisters, staring at the smoke with a mixture of concern and disappointment.

Lin Xiyumi looked at Xueyi as if silently asking, is this the person you placed all your hopes on?

Xueyi avoided her sister’s gaze, her eyes fixed on the smoke, lips pressed together.

Unconsciously, the tension in the air began to ease, as the supposed core threat had seemingly been erased in a single shot.

However, only IceQueen did not laugh or make any degrading comments.

Her eyes were locked on the smoke, unblinking, her heart pounding violently against her chest. Something felt wrong. Deeply wrong.

She had fought Gabriel Reyes before. She had watched him survive situations that should have killed him. No, survive was the wrong word. He somehow ended up thriving in them.

"He would not," she whispered. "He would not die like that."

At that moment, the smoke began to thin.

First, a silhouette appeared.

A single figure standing upright at the center of the impact crater.

Then the wind shifted.

The smoke peeled away in slow curls, revealing cracked ground, molten fragments of metal, and at the very center of it all stood Gabriel.