My Beautiful Duchess Wife

"Of course not. If all our soldiers were like that, we would have killed them long ago. But they are thieves. Of course they are like that. Can thieves really become an army?"

Howard spoke as if it were a matter of course, and even boasted for a while about the power of his family.

Lin Peng couldn't take it anymore and turned to look at the back of the stronghold. This cliff face was located in a mountain range next to the stronghold. From there, the entire stronghold was laid out before him.

Of course, such a good location is not easy to get to. If it weren't for the darkness of night, it might not be possible to get up there.

Behind the stronghold, the mountains seemed to merge seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. Meanwhile, numerous lights illuminated the area behind it. Overall, the area behind, with its fewer buildings, was actually brighter than the outposts of the stronghold itself.

This immediately piqued Lin Peng's interest. If there was nothing behind this, even he himself would find it hard to believe.

“Let’s go take a look over there. Anyway, these sentries are practically useless!” With that, he tugged at the leather rope around his waist and started climbing down the cliff face. Little Angelina, on the other hand, obediently climbed onto Lin Peng’s shoulders.

The three of them moved with incredible speed, arriving at the backyard of the mountain stronghold in the blink of an eye. The light here seemed less intense than the light emanating from the back mountain. However, from this vantage point, they could see more than a dozen large and small caves in the back mountain.

The light emanating from each of the large holes was as bright as day.

The three exchanged a glance, all somewhat surprised. After all, who would live in a cave for no reason? Of course, sitting in the house outside was much more comfortable. At the same time, they realized that there was definitely a big secret here.

"Crystal?"

Still clinging to Lin Peng's neck and leaning against his back, Angelina whispered something with a puzzled look. Lin Peng frowned slightly and asked softly, "What is a crystal?"

Ray and Howard seemed to have gotten used to Lin Peng's idiocy, and neither of them turned around to continue looking at the caves.

"The Demon Realm uses three types of currency: Dark Gold Coins, Magic Crystal Coins, and Black Crystal Coins. Crystals are the materials used to make those Magic Crystals. They are also excellent materials for magical alchemy," the little girl explained, lowering her voice as much as possible.

Lin Peng nodded and said "Oh." It seemed that the secret of this cave was even greater.

Angelina hesitated for a moment before saying, "If I'm not mistaken, these caves are for mining crystals. There might be a crystal mine here!"

Ray and Howard's hearts skipped a beat. A crystal mine—what an incredible thing! If the reserves were large, perhaps the next step would be the moment for Darkmoon City to rise to prominence.

Even a small amount of crystal ore could potentially create many powerful warriors.

After all, many warriors below the Demon King level could create a large number of them using those high-end alchemical potions. Hmm... they could even select some powerful high-ranking demons and directly upgrade a batch of them into Greater Demons.

What a great demon! Such a powerful being can basically roam freely below the Demon King level.

When the two looked at Lin Peng, they were surprised to find him unusually calm, his expression remaining completely unchanged. This… he's too composed! However, when Lin Peng pointed to the cave entrances, their expressions changed slightly.

The large holes were very close together, all in the mountainside, so ladders were needed to climb up. However, the guardians of the ladders below were all high-ranking demons. One great demon led seven high-ranking demons to guard them. It would be virtually impossible to get through without alerting the bandit group.

Even Lin Peng couldn't kill that great demon so quickly.

"Then what do we do? We can't just let this crystal mine go like this!" Howard said, somewhat dejected, looking at Lin Peng with a helpless expression. Giving up such a large fortune was truly unbearable.

Lin Peng waved his hand and lowered his voice, saying, "There is a way, but, hehe... Lei, you go out now and disappear into the shadows to Darkmoon City to tell the princess everything. Howard and I will stay here and take a look! After all, we don't know if it really is a crystal mine!"

Angelina wanted to say something, but seeing Lin Peng's gaze, she immediately shut her mouth.

Lei nodded slightly, then vanished. While such a band of thieves could be taken down one by one, actually discovering them was incredibly difficult. Of course, if the people of Darkmoon City sent their army, that would be a different story.

Putting everything else aside, even if it were just the city defense team coming, led by either Sia or Eileen, then... it would practically be a guaranteed win. However... even with such a sure-win situation, Lin Peng still wanted to try and see if he could get into that crystal mine.

After all, if it wasn't, they would have made a wasted trip. However… given Angelina's eccentricities and the tight security here, it's safe to say that even if it's not a crystal mine, it's definitely something extraordinary.

He looked at Howard, flashing a set of pearly white teeth, and said, "Brother, how about you go distract these guys?" He even gave Howard a threatening look. Howard immediately broke out in a cold sweat and didn't know what to say.

"Hurry up and go, what are you standing there for?" Lin Peng seemed to be urging him directly, his starry eyes widening incessantly.

Howard's lips twitched a few times, but he couldn't resist this shameless guy, and finally turned into a black shadow and ran off in another direction. Actually, he originally wanted Lin Peng to distract them so he could go in and check.

After all, a crystal mine is an extraordinary thing!

By the firelight, a dark figure could be seen running swiftly in one direction. All the high-ranking demons stared at the greater demon, seemingly seeking his opinion. However… to Lin Peng's dismay, the greater demon didn't react at all.

As Howard, drenched in cold sweat, ran straight past them towards the stronghold, the Great Demon's booming voice finally rang out: "Enemy attack! Enemy attack..."

Lin Peng suddenly felt like he'd been choked, unable to speak. The little girl on his back was practically bursting into laughter. This devil was anything but ordinary! He completely ignored everything except entering these caves. After yelling a few times with his eyes closed, he closed them again and started to doze off.

At that moment, the mountain stronghold was suddenly brightly lit. Howard broke out in a cold sweat, cursing inwardly: "Are you kidding me? I'm standing in front of you, at least move an inch!"

However, after glancing back in the direction of Lin Peng, he resolutely ran towards the swamps beside the stronghold. At the same time, most of the bandits in the stronghold, along with the two great demons, also followed.

Of course, Lin Peng had absolutely no idea.

"How about this, brother, you go and distract them, and I'll go in?" Angelina's eyes darted around, and she asked seriously.

Lin Peng was taken aback at first, then said, "This... I think it's better not to! What if something happens to you?"

The little girl was momentarily touched, punched Lin Peng's shoulder, and said in a low voice with a smile, "Brother, do you really think I'm such a fragile person? You know, before I met you, I was always fighting!"

As she spoke, she jumped off Lin Peng's shoulder. At the same time, her large eyes curved into crescent moons as she looked at Lin Peng.

He glanced at the thieves over there—seven high-level demons and one great demon! Lin Peng pinched his chin with two fingers for a moment, then nodded slightly. Then, he began to slowly flick his fingers.

Then, wisps of flame appeared beside the fingers.

After a sinister smirk, he spread his fingers and slapped the high-ranking demons. With a few swift, sweeping sounds, five scorching beams of light shot towards the demons.

The speed was extremely fast, but at such a distance, even a high-ranking demon couldn't react in time. He immediately blocked with his battle blade, his face serious.

After all, this time they were attacked directly, unlike the previous person who simply ran past them.

However, to the high-ranking demon's dismay, the scorching light pierced through the steel blade and struck his abdomen. With a soft "thud," the high-ranking demon stared in disbelief at his abdomen, a searing pain almost causing him to collapse to the ground.

At the same time, another of those scorching rays pierced through the chest of the demon. The demon collapsed to the ground, seemingly unharmed. Just those five scorching rays had killed one high-level demon and severely injured another.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Demon King Level, the Captain Appears

Lin Peng was somewhat helpless at the effect achieved in such a short time. If it were at close range, those five scorching rays of light would definitely bring down five high-level demons. Of course, they might also have been able to sneak up on the greater demon and injure it.

But at such a great distance, even under the radiance of light, I could see where they were standing. However, while my thermal aiming was sufficient for accurate targeting, my physical strength was lacking!

I can't truly, or better, control the flames.

At that moment, the great demon's tiger-like eyes glared directly at Lin Peng. It held a massive greatsword in its hand, and with a single swing, a burst of demonic flame followed the sword's shadow, slashing directly towards Lin Peng.

Boom...

A deafening explosion rang out, shattering the three-meter-tall rock into dust. Simultaneously, Lin Peng, his feet ablaze with flames, charged forward. His flaming battle blade flashed, slashing towards the nearest high-level demon.

The remaining five high-ranking demons were already on guard, but how could an ordinary battle blade be a match for the flaming battle blade? Combined with the momentum from Lin Peng's current strength and speed, the blade was severed in two, cleaving the high-ranking demons' bodies in two.

With a hissing sound, the person cleaved in two didn't bleed or spill any internal organs. It seemed as if they had been directly burned to ashes by the flames of the flaming sword. However... the two halves of the body did separate and fall to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The other four high-ranking demons were stunned. Such power had killed their brother, who was of similar strength, in a single move. They then looked at the Great Demon Captain with terrified eyes.

"Hmph!" The Great Demon snorted coldly, realizing that this guy's strength was at most that of a Great Demon. He then brandished his greatsword, which was wreathed in demonic flames. The sword was aimed straight at Lin Peng's head, but after Lin Peng dodged to the side, the sword's momentum shifted and slashed horizontally again.

Lin Peng used his flaming battle blade to directly block the Great Demon's attack. He didn't dodge an inch, standing upright with a seemingly smiling expression. Suddenly, the flaming battle blade expanded to over two meters in length; the intense heat even made the Great Demon uncomfortable. With a sudden swing of the flaming blade, the Great Demon was flung twenty or thirty meters away.

Then, the flaming giant blade suddenly shot out, slashing horizontally towards the great demon.

"Captain!" a high-ranking demon exclaimed in surprise, then rushed forward to try and stop Lin Peng. Of course, Lin Peng had only drawn them over in the first place. Now, facing several high-ranking demons and a powerful demon alone, the fight was actually taking them further and further away.

While wielding his flaming greatsword, Lin Peng glanced towards the cave. He had actually used his thermal senses to probe Angelina before, but what he discovered had startled him.

It's purple, which means it has the same strength as Sia. However... the purple seems a little different, and it gives one a strange feeling. That color is actually Angelina's natural body color.

Therefore, he had always thought Angelina was not very strong. However, when he saw Angelina fly up into the cave without using a ladder, Lin Peng was so frightened that he almost failed to dodge the giant sword.

After seeing Angelina go inside, Lin Peng focused even more intently on the battle. After all, his opponents were several high-level demons and one great demon. Moreover, this great demon was also at the peak level.

Just like me, I'm only one step away from advancing.

The clash between demonic flames and pure fire has reached its ultimate form. A moment's carelessness could lead to becoming a Demon King. But... just as easily, failure to advance means death.

The Flame Blade remained at about two meters long, and each sweep brought forth a dazzling light and a small flame.

Those fiery blades, only about a foot long, were enough to give the high-ranking demons a hard time. They dodged them as if they had encountered the Grim Reaper. And at that critical moment, a flicker of danger appeared in the flame that danced on their chests.

The violent throbbing made Lin Peng feel inexplicably uneasy. Suddenly, the Flaming Battle Blade flew out of his hand, shooting towards the great demon before flashing away in another direction.

Boom...

A huge flame and a shower of rock dust filled the air, and where Lin Peng had been standing, a massive crater was now visible. It was at least five meters deep and more than ten meters wide.

A man with triangular eyes, dressed in leather armor, stood opposite him.

"Commander!" Upon seeing this, the high-ranking demons all knelt down on one knee and shouted excitedly. Even a Demon King-level commander had been mobilized; this guy who could use fire was clearly no match for him.

"Hmph, a peak-level Great Demon, yet you can control fire elements. I must say, your luck is quite remarkable! However… that's all you can do. Let me show you the true power of demonic flames!" The triangular-eyed figure swept coldly across the group, then suddenly narrowed. With a boom, countless demonic flames erupted from the captain's light leather armor.

It seemed that the black demonic flame was entirely a mass of black mist. Its entire body was enveloped in black mist. Then, the leader sneered and suddenly threw a punch at Lin Peng.

In an instant, the black mist seemed to break through space itself, flying towards Lin Peng at an incredible speed. It transformed into a fist, but only grazed past his arm. It landed on the mountainside behind Lin Peng with a deafening boom... The immense sound and power shook the earth. After a slight tremor, he turned around, somewhat stunned. A section of the entire mountainside seemed to have collapsed. Within a radius of fifty meters, there were countless pits and craters that made one's eyes bulge. It was as if something had directly cleaved a section of the mountainside flat.

Fortunately, and very fortunately, Lin Peng dodged that attack. Otherwise, he might really be dead by now.

His lips twitched slightly; even though he had dodged it, his arm still ached with a chill. He grimaced, then turned and ran towards the mountain stronghold.

The speed was extremely fast; in fact, flames appeared on its feet.

The demon-level leader paused for a moment, then chuckled coldly a few times before chasing after them like the wind.

Meanwhile, the high-ranking demons looked at the great demon and asked with some fear, "Captain, should we give chase?" Even if the leader had already given chase, what if they suffered some losses or were ambushed?

In this way, all the responsibility truly falls on oneself.

The burly captain's scarred face contorted into a grimace. He gave a cold snort and shouted, "You stay here, I'm going!" With that, he took off after them.

In the distance, two more flames could be seen. Of course, those were the flames emanating from Lin Peng's feet.

The remaining high-ranking demons exchanged glances, then shook their heads bitterly and sat down cross-legged. However, they were quite far from the cave. Lin Peng, who had been luring them this way while fighting, had calculated the distance perfectly; this distance seemed to put them right next to the backyard of the stronghold. Moreover, the Demon King's attack had extinguished many torches, making the place even darker.

However, Angelina cautiously made her way to the innermost part of the cave. Her small body was constantly obscured by every rock. In less than ten minutes, she could already see some of the interior from a distance.

A thief who appeared to be a high-ranking demon, dressed in loose leather armor, coldly shouted, "Hurry up, all of you! Get those cartloads dug up before dawn tomorrow, or... none of you will have anything to eat!"

As he spoke, the injured black leather whip lashed violently against the wall. With a crack, the bent-over men swung their miner's pickaxes even more vigorously. Each one seemed to be pounding the ground as if they were risking their lives.

Angelina, with her sharp eyes, had already spotted some bright spots, things that seemed to reflect light. They all emitted a shimmering purple glow, and in this environment, they were surprisingly beautiful.

However, the occasional shouts made Angelina's delicate eyebrows furrow slightly. After a slight twitch of her small nose, she slowly reached for a gleaming dagger at her waist.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he moved forward slowly like a cat.

Every step seemed meticulously calculated, his body perfectly concealed by a protruding rock. About ten meters from the small mine, he flicked his foot, sending a small pebble flying towards the high-ranking demon's buttocks.

With a snap, the high-ranking demon screamed in fright, "Who!" He then turned to look at the passage. On his seemingly coal-black face, his eyebrowless eyes narrowed slightly.

After drawing his long sword from his waist, he slowly and cautiously walked towards the passage. With each step, he turned back to glance at the miners, his cold, icy eyes making the miner slaves even more obedient.