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

Chapter 514: White Phantom Vs Blackstar Clan

Gabriel kept his gaze on Barry and asked the question without changing his expression.

"How did you find me?"

Barry lifted his head slightly at that, then lowered it again when Grizzlenaught’s presence pressed down behind him. His fingers curled against the floor before he answered.

"It was my summon," he said quietly. "The hound."

Gabriel said nothing, a quiet signal for Barry to continue.

Barry swallowed and went on. "You had the headband of the first assassin. After he died, his scent stayed on it. I also found a piece of his clothing. I let my summon smell it, and from there it tracked the same scent trail until it led us to the castle."

"That was all. We did not know anything else."

A faint line disappeared from Gabriel’s face.

That answer gave him some relief. Black Star had not seen through the White Phantom identity by skill or hidden intelligence. They had followed a scent trail like hunters. That meant the damage was smaller than he first feared.

More importantly, the first assassin was dead, the backup archer was dead, and Barry’s partner had also died. That left only one person alive who knew about his true identity.

Barry.

The summoner seemed to realize something at the same time.

He looked up a little more than before. His lips parted as if a thought had just hit him too late.

"If I had used that earlier..." he muttered.

Gabriel caught the meaning immediately.

He saw it clearly. Barry had slipped. He had given away the method and lost the only useful thing that might have helped him bargain for his life.

A small smile touched Gabriel’s mouth as he said, "You just realized it."

Barry’s jaw tightened.

Gabriel leaned back slightly on the bed, despite the pain still pulling at his body.

"You can still live," he added calmly. "That depends on how well you cooperate from now on."

Barry looked at him at once.

For a second, it seemed he wanted to ask what that meant, how far the offer went, or what he would have to do. In the end, he did not get the chance.

Gabriel lifted a finger slightly.

"Enough for now."

Grizzlenaught moved immediately.

The huge spectral bear’s paw closed around Barry’s shoulder and chest before the man could react. The floor beneath them rippled, and both vanished underground in a smooth motion, leaving the room quiet again.

Gabriel exhaled slowly after they disappeared.

The silence returned, but his mind did not rest. Barry was useful now. He could act as a guide to Black Star and even serve as a tool for his new camp.

He had already planned on destroying the clan sooner or later. After tonight, that plan no longer needed to wait.

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed as he looked toward the window.

He already had the Soul Key. That meant the main reason for coming here had been achieved. Since he was still inside the city, and since Black Star had already forced itself into the matter, he might as well deal with them before leaving.

"Convenient," he muttered.

His body still hurt badly, and his internal injuries were severe, but the decision itself was simple. One problem at a time. Black Star would be removed while he was still in Stellar City.

Deep beneath the city, inside the hidden Black Star base, Torin paced back and forth with a face that had grown colder than before.

The heat in the lower chamber still pressed in from all sides, but it did nothing to ease the mood inside. Every turn he made was sharp. Every step hit the polished floor with more force than needed.

A messenger had just finished reporting and was now kneeling near the entrance with his head lowered.

"The assassination failed," the man said again, as if repeating it might somehow lessen it. "The backup unit was found dead near the castle grounds. Lenny is confirmed dead as well."

Torin stopped walking. His dark eyes shifted toward the kneeling man.

"And Barry?" he asked. When he mentioned that name, there was a noticeable edge in his tone.

The messenger kept his forehead close to the floor.

"Missing."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Torin paused mid step. That single word carried more weight than the others. Dead members were losses, but Barry being missing was a danger.

Torin’s face hardened further, and the pace at which he moved increased. Barry was valuable to the clan. Not because he was the strongest or the most loyal, but because of what he could do, what he knew, and how carefully he usually operated.

If Barry was alive and in enemy hands, that meant far more than the loss of one operative.

It meant exposure.

Torin resumed pacing, but this time slower. The anger remained on his face, though beneath it was calculation.

"If he talks," he said quietly, "the trail leads back here."

The messenger did not dare respond.

Torin already knew the truth. Black Star survived by staying hidden. An outlaw organization could kill, bargain, move, and grow only as long as the larger powers did not unite against it openly. If their base, their movements, or their role in city operations became public, the clan would be forced into the open.

And in the open, they would be destroyed.

He looked toward the ceiling, as if staring through the layers of stone between him and the city above.

"We need to move faster," he said in a low voice, but the decision behind it was already made.

White Phantom could not be allowed time. Barry could not be allowed to remain alive in enemy hands. If either of those things continued, Black Star’s position in Stellar City and the Valerian Kingdom would rot from within.

Torin’s expression settled into something grim and cold.

"It seems none of them are powerful enough to deal with him... I will step in myself."

...

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