I'm really not a Sanctuary Warlock.

“It’s a vampire.” Lisa drew her sword decisively.

Lynn scanned it with his appraisal skill.

Race: Vampire

[Level: 49]

[Sanity Value: 51]

There are approximately thirty or forty of them.

The grade isn't high, but the quantity is large enough.

"How did they end up here?" Lynn frowned. "This isn't a cemetery."

Anna's gaze shifted from the group of demons to the dark, annihilated area on her left.

“Vampires are cave-dwelling creatures, usually living in caves or underground caverns,” Anna said calmly. “Look at the boundary of that annihilation zone; it extends all the way to the foot of the mountain.”

Lynn followed her gaze.

indeed.

That neat black line stretched from the plain all the way to the edge of the rocky outcrops at the foot of the mountain, and in some places it even encroached into the mountain itself.

"Their original nests may have been located within the annihilation zone."

"Vampires also rely on magic to survive. After the Annihilation Zone expanded, their nests became dead zones, forcing them to come out."

“So what if they’ve run away?” Lynn jumped off the unicorn’s back and cracked his knuckles. “I’ll take care of them.”

"Wait a moment."

Lynn looked back and saw Anna getting off the unicorn's back.

Lisa reached out to help her, but she was gently pushed away.

Anna raised her right hand.

A ball of holy light, like a small sun, hung in her palm, illuminating the space within a dozen meters around her.

“I think…” she looked at the ball of holy light in her palm, a slight smile playing on her lips, “I’m almost fully recovered.”

Her other hand clenched in mid-air.

A silver-white staff appeared.

Since she was afflicted with fire, she has not touched a weapon for more than a month.

Anna tapped the ground with the end of her cane.

Centered on the spot where the staff landed, a ripple of holy light spread outwards, coating the pebbles and withered grass with a halo as it swept across the ground.

The group of vampires two hundred meters away sensed this aura, and their originally lazy posture instantly changed.

The hissing sound suddenly intensified.

Dozens of grayish-white figures emerged from the shadows, baring their teeth and snarling at the three of them.

But they didn't rush over.

Because the afterglow of the setting sun is still there.

Vampires are afraid of light. Although the sunlight is now very weak, it is still a natural barrier for them. As long as the sun has not completely set, they dare not leave the shade.

Anna clearly knew this, so she directly used wind magic to ascend into the sky and take the initiative to attack.

He held the silver-white staff in his right hand, the tip of which trailed a pale golden light.

"Judgment of Light".

A thick golden beam of light descended from the sky and struck the very center of the rock formation with pinpoint accuracy.

Holy light exploded in the shadows, like a sun suddenly born on the ground.

The demons enveloped in holy light turned to ashes instantly, without even having time to struggle.

The first attack wiped out nearly ten of them.

The remaining demons were enraged.

Overwhelmed by anger and the will to survive, the instinct to fear light was extinguished, and more than twenty gray-white figures pounced on Anna at the same time.

Anna hovered in mid-air, looking down at them.

The staff swept horizontally.

"Holy Light Barrier".

A semi-transparent wall of light unfolded before her, and three demons charging at the front crashed into it, their bodies immediately emitting white smoke and sizzling sounds.

They screamed and fell back to the ground, their skin charred black.

Anna gave them no chance to catch their breath.

Tap the staff again.

"Chains of Light"

Countless chains surged from the ground, binding the five or six demons closest to her and pinning them to the spot.

Then.....

"The Holy Spear of Light".

Six holy spears appeared out of thin air, piercing through the demons bound by chains.

The whole process was very quick.

Lisa stood next to Lynn, holding a longsword, her eyes fixed on Anna's back.

Lynn was also watching this spellcasting spectacle.

"It's been a long time since I've seen the Holy Maiden fight."

Lisa didn't reply, but her grip on the sword loosened slightly.

Anna slowly turned around in mid-air, facing the remaining dozen or so demons that were scattering and fleeing.

"Olympiad Math Wheel"

The staff was raised above the head.

The gem at the tip of the staff emitted a dazzling golden light, which quickly spread and formed a huge halo above Anna's head.

The light wheel rotates.

Then it shattered into dozens of golden streams of light, pouring down like a torrential rain, precisely tracking each fleeing demon.

Screams erupted one after another.

Thirty seconds later, the last vampire turned to ashes.

Anna slowly descended back to the ground, her staff twirling in her hand before disappearing.

She turned around and looked at Lynn and Lisa.

The setting sun shone from behind her, bathing her in a golden glow.

"How are you feeling?" Lynn asked.

"It's alright, it feels like something I haven't felt in a long time."

Lisa finally relaxed her tense smile a little.

Lynn walked up to Anna and said something in a very soft voice as he passed by her.

"Your Highness, congratulations on your recovery."

Anna paused for a moment.

She didn't turn around, but Lynn noticed that the tips of her ears seemed to have turned a little red.

After the vampires were cleared out, Lynn wanted to travel a distance before nightfall.

But Anna called out to him.

"Wait a moment."

Anna stood amidst the rock formations scorched by holy light, her gaze fixed in one direction.

"what happened?"

"Come and take a look at this."

Lynn followed Anna's gaze.

At the innermost part of the rock formation, where it is obscured by several huge boulders, there is a clearly man-made circular entrance.

It is about two meters in diameter, and the rocks on the edges are cut very neatly. Although it is severely weathered, traces of its original construction can still be seen.

The cave entrance slopes downwards, making it impossible to see anything inside.

“Aren’t those demons gathered around here?” Lisa stepped forward. “This is probably their lair.”

Lynn crouched down and touched the rocks at the edge of the cave entrance with his hand.

This rock is much harder than the surrounding natural rock formations, and its surface has a cool, almost metallic feel.

"Look at this."

Lynn pointed to a rock wall to the left of the cave entrance, where something seemed to be carved.

Weathering has blurred most of the engravings, but upon closer inspection, the outlines of some patterns can still be discerned.

Anna leaned closer and looked for a few seconds.

Then her expression changed.

“These are dwarven runes.” Anna squatted by the cave entrance, her fingers gently tracing the blurry engravings. “The carving style is typical of the dwarven mountain clans, and it must be quite old, at least several hundred years old.”

"Did the dwarves dig a hole here?"

“It’s not a simple hole.” Anna stood up, dusted off her hands, and looked down into the dark passage that stretched downwards. “The layout of this entrance, plus the way the runes are arranged…”

She paused for a moment.

"If I'm not mistaken, there should be a dwarven furnace down there."

"A furnace?" Lynn and Lisa exclaimed at the same time.

“The Sky Mountains were inhabited by dwarves in ancient times,” Anna explained. “Dwarves have a tradition of building forging facilities deep in the mountains. They use the natural magma underground as a heat source to forge weapons and armor. These facilities are called dwarven forges.”

Lynn glanced into the cave entrance.

It was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything. But he could feel the fire element surging up from below.

“If the magma channels are still there, the furnace might still be usable,” Anna said, having also sensed the elemental fluctuations.

"A furnace from hundreds of years ago, can it still be used today?"

“Don’t try to understand dwarven craftsmanship with normal thinking.” Anna’s tone was unusually wistful. “The things they put their heart and soul into building are definitely of high quality.”

Lisa looked at the sky.

"The sun is about to set, shall we go down?"

“Let’s go down and take a look,” Lynn decided. “We’re going to camp at the foot of the mountain anyway, and since there’s a cave here, it’s better than being exposed outside.”

Lisa's expression clearly showed her disapproval. An ancient mine tunnel with an unknown destination might still harbor remnants of demons or other things.

But Anna had already reached the entrance of the cave.

A light shone from her palm, illuminating the first few meters of the passageway.

The passageway descends, with a gentle slope of about thirty degrees, and is just wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

Every few meters along the rock walls on both sides, there are sets of dwarven runes carved, some of which still retain a faint blue glow.

“The runes still have some energy left.” Anna reached out and touched the blue-glowing runes. “This is a common lighting spell used by dwarves. It relies on the ore itself to store energy, and theoretically, it can keep burning as long as the vein is still there.”

Her finger pressed on a rune, infusing it with a ray of holy light.

"Om."

A deep tremor came from beneath my feet.

Then the dwarven runes on both sides of the passage began to light up in groups, starting from the entrance and extending downwards, quickly spreading to the end of the line of sight.