Because they were also of the God Race, the light barrier Cynthia had left behind did not repel Chloe and the others. However, not being repelled didn’t mean they could enter.

The longer they remained underground, the more danger they were in. Especially since they might have already been exposed, they had to break the barrier as quickly as possible and carry away the unconscious God Race members inside.

But the light barrier was unexpectedly sturdy. Chloe had two of the older God Race members in the group attack it simultaneously to break it. Yet, before they could even rejoice, they discovered another new barrier inside, one even stronger than the last.

The two God Race members turned to look at Chloe at the same time. Chloe was silent for a moment before signaling for them to continue breaking through.

After dealing with the fourth-generation vampire, Darcy rushed to rendezvous with them. Seeing them all crowded in the tunnel, she frowned slightly and asked, “Haven’t you found them? Why haven’t you left yet?”

The commotion they’d made killing that fourth-generation vampire must have already attracted the attention of other vampires.

One of the God Race members noticed Darcy’s arrival and stepped aside to let her pass, answering, “The clan leader and the others are breaking a barrier.”

“What kind of barrier?”

The God Race member shook her head. “I don’t know, but it’s very difficult to break.”

Seeing that they didn’t know the situation either, Darcy stopped asking. She walked through the cleared path to Chloe’s side. First, she glanced at the backs of the two God Race members who were clutching Divine Stones and trying to break the barrier, then she shot a look at Sarah and the others sleeping against the stone wall inside. Her expression was peculiar. “What’s going on here?”

Chloe’s face was dark as she said in a low voice, “Someone protected them with a barrier. The aura it’s emitting is very similar to the aura of a Divine Stone.”

A flash of surprise crossed Darcy’s face. “Could it be that another member of the God Race has also discovered the secret of the Divine Stones?”

Chloe shook her head, her golden eyes fixed on Sarah and the other God Race members. “We’ll have to wait until we rescue them and ask to find out,” she said softly.

Because the tunnel was narrow, and the power activated from the Divine Stones could accidentally harm their companions, sending only two God Race members to attack was the safest option.

Darcy estimated the barrier’s strength and calculated the time that had passed. She was puzzled that they still hadn’t broken it. “Were you delayed by something on the way? How has it been this long, and you haven’t even broken a single barrier?”

“A single barrier?” Chloe glared at the barrier, her expression tinged with anger. She gritted her teeth. “This is already the third one!”

And who knew if there would be a fourth or a fifth one after this.

As the two of them were speaking, the third barrier was finally broken. The two God Race members at the front cautiously checked and, finding no fourth barrier, let out a small sigh of relief. They called back, “Chloe, the others can come over now.”

Chloe nodded, then turned and gave a low command to the God Race members behind her. “Go see if you can wake them. If you can’t, carry them out first.”

After speaking, she stepped aside to let them pass, while she and Darcy took a portion of the God Race to scout ahead.

They had rescued their people; all that was left was to return the way they came. But neither Chloe nor Darcy let down their guard. They each clutched two Divine Stones as they walked out of the tunnel. Just as they reached the entrance, they sensed something was wrong. Chloe turned and met Darcy’s gaze. Then, both of them looked down simultaneously. A thick, blood-red fog was rising from the ground, spreading upward.

“It’s a vampire’s Blood Domain.” Darcy’s expression grew solemn. “…It feels like a third-generation vampire.”

A third-generation vampire… Chloe’s hand holding the stone tightened unconsciously. She glanced back at her clan members, her eyes deep. “Darcy, you take them and leave.”

Darcy frowned and was about to say something when several figures suddenly appeared on the open ground riddled with trenches ahead. Pale skin, sharp fangs, and crimson eyes—all signs of their identity.

Darcy swallowed the refusal on her lips. Pointing at the fourth-generation vampires who had found them, she shrugged. “It’s already too late.”

Chloe stared at the vampires closing in, her grip on the Divine Stone tightening. Some of its sharp edges cut into her palm, and fresh red blood stained the stone. Upon contact with the blood, the Divine Stone began to flicker with a faint golden light.

Chloe took a small step forward and raised the hand holding the Divine Stone. A golden light spread rapidly from her hand, growing stronger and even dazzling. Watching the vampires halt their advance cautiously, she said in a low voice, “It’s not too late. You all leave here first.”

Darcy’s face hardened. “You are Clan Leader Chloe. You’re the one who should leave.”

“A Clan Leader’s duty is to protect her people.” Chloe caught a glimpse of a vampire charging at them out of the corner of her eye and threw the Divine Stone in her hand in that direction. Then, she quickly took out two more Divine Stones and held them in her palm.

Seeing that this was not the time to argue with Chloe, Darcy fell silent. She turned on her heel to clear a path and said in a low voice to the God Race member behind her, “You take a group and leave first. Find a safe place to hide. If you can get out, run to the elves.”

“What about you…”

“Don’t worry about us. Go, quickly.” As Darcy spoke, she threw the Divine Stone in her hand. The golden light turned into a sprinkle of stars in the air before suddenly coalescing into a flying arrow that broke through the vampires’ encirclement.

Following Darcy’s instructions, a portion of the God Race, carrying the sleeping Sarah and the others, charged through the opening. Some vampires tried to give chase but were blocked by a flash of golden light.

The power of a Divine Stone activated by the blood of different God Race members varied. Darcy and Chloe were both elites among their kind. As they threw one Divine Stone after another, the open ground quickly turned into a golden ocean. Some vampires wanted to charge through the Power of Light, but the burning sensation was unpleasant. Moreover, they were wary of Chloe and Darcy using the Grand Light Spell, so they never rashly forced their way through.

They remained in a standoff until a powerful aura suddenly descended. A dense dark presence swallowed all the Power of Light, and the underground area, which had been bright just a moment ago, was instantly plunged into darkness.

The darkness before them made both Chloe’s and Darcy’s hearts sink. Darcy shifted a step to the side. The Divine Stone in her hand had, at some point, been swapped for a larger one that would consume more blood.

Andre floated in the air, looking down at Chloe, Darcy, and the others with a disdainful expression. “Is this all the power the Light Magic that gave even Della trouble has?”

He raised his hand and waved it casually. The tunnel where Chloe and the others were standing suddenly collapsed. They dodged in disarray, but some of the God Race were still hit and injured by the falling rocks.

Andre sneered and gestured with his chin toward the other vampires. “Capture them all. The temple happens to be short on other races.”

The tunnels beneath the Ice Lake were intricate and complex. Cynthia had been walking for a long time without finding where they led. She was standing at a fork in the path, contemplating which way to go, when a blood-red fog suddenly rose from under her feet, startling her.

She looked down at the fog and, recognizing it as the Blood Domain of a third-generation vampire, her brow furrowed instantly.

There was a third-generation vampire here, too. She just didn’t know if this domain belonged to Avira or the vampire she had sensed outside the Ice Lake.

Cynthia lowered her gaze in thought for a moment. Just as she turned to head back the way she came toward Sarah’s group, the ground beneath her suddenly trembled. At the same time, a burst of pure Power of Light erupted from the northwest.

Cynthia’s steps faltered, a hint of astonishment flashing in her golden eyes. This Power of Light was not something Sarah and the others could produce… Who else was here?

Although the tunnels were complex, Cynthia’s memory was excellent. She made it back to the vicinity of Sarah’s tunnel in just half the time it took her to get there. The closer she got, the stronger the fluctuations of light and dark power became.

Many of the nearby tunnels had collapsed, blocking the path. Cynthia caressed the Light Crystal in her hand and softly chanted a spell. Golden flames incinerated the rubble ahead, clearing a path directly through it.

Ahead of the path was the thick, blood-red fog, and within it, a golden light flickered faintly.

The Power of Light from her direction attracted Andre’s attention, but he merely assumed the fleeing God Race members had returned. He paid it no mind, simply signaling a nearby fourth-generation vampire to go capture them while his focus remained on Chloe, Darcy, and the other God Race members.

Although these God Race members were very weak—a single rock could potentially crush them to death—the golden light erupting from their hands surprised him.

The golden light wasn’t enough to make him fearful, but its power had reached a level where it could injure him. The disdain in Andre’s heart faded somewhat, and for the first time, he began to take the God Race seriously.

While he was still studying the Power of Light erupting from the hands of these God Race members, a searing heat suddenly struck from behind. Andre dodged nimbly, and a dazzling golden light exploded where he had just been standing.

The vampires sent to capture her were all repelled by the golden light. Those who didn’t dodge in time had their arms burned to charcoal.

Andre’s face darkened. He looked down in the direction of the golden light. Neither the dazzling light nor the endless darkness could affect his vision, so he clearly saw a silver-haired, golden-eyed God Race member standing at the junction of darkness and light, bending down to pick up a blood-stained stone.

Perhaps sensing Andre’s gaze, the silver-haired God Race member looked up. Although her vision was obscured by the golden light, she still looked accurately in Andre’s direction.

Andre narrowed his eyes, recognizing the golden light as the Grand Light Spell.

He raised his hand to dispel the golden light and looked down at Cynthia condescendingly. “You’re the God Race member who snatched the Beast God’s Godhead from Della?”

Andre’s voice suddenly rang in her ears. Cynthia withdrew her gaze from the stone, raised her eyes slightly to meet Andre’s, and shook her head without a change in expression, denying it. “I don’t know any Della. You must have the wrong person.”

Facing Andre’s suspicious gaze, Cynthia remained perfectly calm. She tossed away the blood-stained stone in her hand, glanced around, and vaguely saw the figures of Chloe and the others. She then started walking toward them.

Andre frowned. After staring at Cynthia for a moment, he slightly raised his hand. Blood-red chains materialized out of thin air beside Cynthia, shooting straight for her neck.

Cynthia, who had been wary of Andre all along, released a prepared spell the instant he raised his hand. Golden flames enveloped her, blocking the approach of the blood-red chains.

Thanks to Cynthia’s appearance, Darcy, Chloe, and the others finally had a moment’s rest. But they still didn’t dare to relax, each one tightly clutching a Divine Stone.

Darcy wiped the sweat from her face, her eyes fixed on Cynthia within the flames. She murmured softly, “The aura of these flames is the same as the aura of a Divine Stone…”

She turned her head and asked Chloe, “Did you see her throw a Divine Stone?”

Although Chloe’s face was pale, her spirits were still decent. She watched Cynthia, her brow tightly furrowed, and slowly shook her head.

Without using a Divine Stone, without using blood, this God Race member had unleashed flames of such immense power. How was that possible?