My Beautiful Duchess Wife

Spider patterns immediately appeared beneath Lin Peng's feet. The shattered ground seemed unable to withstand such force and trembled a few times. Then, the fire giant suddenly tilted its body and unleashed another sweeping punch.

The blood-stained battle blade released the flaming blade that had been blocking his attack. The one-horned Azure Wind Wolf even lightly touched the ground and leaped away to the other side.

Lin Peng's lips curled into a smile. This attack seemed to have given him an advantage, but in reality, he had suffered a loss. He hadn't expected there to be such a knight. It seemed that in terms of speed and agility, whether in direct combat or on the run, he had a clear advantage!

Arthur, however, had a glint of bloodlust flash in his deep eyes.

Chapter Fifty-Two: The Blood Knights

"You're quite good!" Arthur said coldly, the sword in his hand seemingly emitting an even more dazzling light. The blood-red sword, as if dripping with blood, was slowly raised above his head.

"You're not bad either!" Lin Peng grabbed the flaming battle blade and slowly tilted it to one side. The flaming giant in mid-air also descended instantly, landing right in front of him, seemingly as a shield to block the attack.

The unicorn-like Azure Wind Wolf, quite intelligently, slowly retreated a dozen steps, its massive body, as large as an ox, beginning to slowly crawl towards the ground. Its gaping maw parted slightly, emitting a low, growling sound.

Both seemed to be preparing for a real battle, but in an instant, the One-Horned Azure Wind Wolf charged forward once more. It seemed completely unafraid of the fire giant, charging directly towards Lin Peng.

Lin Peng gripped his flaming battle blade tightly with both hands. His eyes narrowed slightly, leaving only slits.

The one-horned Azure Wind Wolf dodged the fire giant's fist in an instant. A deafening roar erupted, sending countless sparks flying. Simultaneously, the dust on the ground surged up to half the fire giant's body.

The entire battle scene was completely obscured by smoke and dust.

However, the faint sound of weapons clashing could be heard. At the same time, the fire giant, always a beat too slow, slammed into the ground beside him, exploding into even more flames and dust. In less than a quarter of an hour, the fire giant suddenly retreated, and simultaneously, two figures sprang from the dust cloud. Lin Peng's flaming battle blade had vanished, and his body seemed to bear some sword wounds and bloodstains.

Arthur was in the same boat; several parts of his leather armor were charred black. The large holes revealed his lean, yet somewhat frail, muscular body. His deep-set eyes, with their deep sockets, seemed exceptionally cold.

Blood gushed from the left paw of the one-horned Azure Wind Wolf. Arthur bent down and wiped the wound. A flash of red light, and the wound vanished instantly. However, looking at the still panting Azure Wind Wolf, Lin Peng chuckled, "I didn't expect you, a knight, to have such speed. Heh... you could say that even a wind-elemental demon king-level expert would only have a speed like yours at most!"

On the other side, Abel snorted coldly, seemingly with disdain. However, his eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a hint of ferocity. It seemed he harbored deep hatred for this group of knights.

Arthur nodded slightly and chuckled dryly, "You're not bad either. At least your speed is about the same as mine. And... your strength isn't as bad as I imagined!"

Lin Peng touched his nose, feeling a little awkward. Why did everyone seem to think he was weak? He looked at his relatively normal arms and his perfectly normal physique.

A smirk played on his lips as he uttered a low shout: "Flame Hammer!"

Suddenly, his fists clenched, and flames erupted. At the same time, the fire giant in mid-air also clenched its fists. All four fists attacked Arthur simultaneously from all sides. This attack was truly one he could only withstand.

Although the unicorn-like Azure Wind Wolf was extremely fast, all four of its paths were blocked. Unless it had a teleportation ability.

At this moment, the one-horned blue wind wolf retreated more than ten steps, seemingly intending to flee. Arthur, however, remained standing resolutely. His square face now appeared to be red.

Like a warrior drenched in blood, his entire body was oozing blood. His head was tilted back to the sky, and in an instant, after completing these actions, the four enormous flaming hammers were now only half a meter away from him.

Boom! The enormous explosion sent a shockwave shooting out in all directions. Even trees in the abyss's edge forest, at least three hundred meters away, were knocked to one side by the powerful impact of the airflow.

Within a radius of 100 meters at the center, it rose from the horizon like a giant mushroom of fire. From a distance, it looked as brilliant as fireworks.

However, Lin Peng, standing at the center of the flames, noticed something alarming. Arthur seemed to glow red in an instant. His entire body flushed red, as if he had emerged from a rain of blood.

The flames were immediately pushed away as they approached the crimson light. It was as if an infinite force was repelling them.

And at that very moment, the blood-red assault began. Arthur, glowing with blood, moved with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, he passed through the flames and arrived directly in front of him.

The fire giant, controlled by Lin Peng, appeared before him in an instant. At that moment, Arthur's right hand, seemingly a spike made of blood, thrust directly at the fire giant's head.

It leaped high into the air, its form tinged with a bloody light even in this world of flames. Then, a single thrust shattered the fire giant's head. Boom…

From within the flame mushroom, a muffled sound rang out once more, as if a double explosion had occurred. The flame mushroom slowly rose into the sky, while Arthur shot directly down towards Lin Peng.

With fingers spread wide, all ten of them fired a barrage of beams at Arthur, who was hurtling down from mid-air. The scorching rays seemed to fly out relentlessly, hundreds of them instantly forming a magnificent, rainbow-like pillar of light.

To Lin Peng's dismay, Arthur, during that brief moment of airtime, transformed his hands into sharp, blood-red spikes. His hands moved in unison, creating an impenetrable wall of blood-red light.

As it plummeted to the ground, the spikes nearly pierced Lin Peng's neck. However, Arthur suddenly stopped. He slowly turned his head in surprise, looking at the bloody hole in his shoulder, from which a faint blue smoke was rising.

"Hehe...you win!" Lin Peng said gently, with a hint of slyness.

Arthur frowned and stared at Lin Peng for a long time: "Why? You could have won, and... this ray of light should have shot out the instant after I broke through those hundreds of rays of light! If it had hit my forehead, you would have won now!"

He shrugged helplessly and chuckled, "Is it really necessary? To me, victory or defeat is just a game. Besides... it seems you're short of food or money! Well, you're probably even more short of food! Although the caravan doesn't have much rations, I can still help you out and give you some crystal coins! Hehe... Hmm, looking at the bundles on your wolves' backs, hmm, they should be meat! Hehe... Don't be surprised, just consider us friends!"

With a faint smile, he slowly walked towards Arthur. He grabbed Arthur's shoulder, patted him hard, and said, "A real man indeed. Consider it a friend's help. Hehe..."

The moment she hugged Arthur, a bag of amethyst coins was stuffed into Arthur's somewhat tattered leather armor.

The smoke slowly dissipated, appearing from afar like the smoke before a grand ball. A gentle breeze blew by, carrying away the wisp of smoke. Finally, the figures of the two were revealed.

Lin Peng slowly walked towards his convoy, shouting as he went, "Nadas, give each of them a bag of dry rations and some fruit wine!" Nadas was a little stunned, but then nodded and immediately ordered the soldiers to start preparing.

Arthur, who was still standing in the same spot, suddenly threw something that looked like a token at Lin Peng, who turned around and hurriedly caught it.

"Lin Peng, you will always be my friend, Arthur." With that, he turned and mounted the Unicorn Blue Wind Wolf, slowly leading the squad toward the caravan. Shia nodded slightly. After handing the packed items to the knights, Nadas rode away, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Shia hesitated for a moment, then looked at Lin Peng, who was leaning against the carriage watching the wolf rider squad disappear into the distance, and asked, "Is this considered bribery?"

Medusa was taken aback, and then looked at Lin Peng with some surprise.

Abel, now seething with hatred, gritted his teeth: "You idiot, do you even know that those are the largest ranger organization in the Crimson Demon Territory, the largest bandit group? The Blood Knights Bandit Group of Sin and Punishment City?"

Angelina frowned slightly, her voice carrying a hint of coldness: "If I remember correctly, there isn't a Blood Knight Thieves' Group in the City of Sin and Punishment, but rather a Blood Knight Legion! When have you ever seen them robbing anything?"

Shia and Medusa both looked at Abel, while Lin Peng smiled knowingly. To Abel, this seemed like mockery. She stomped her foot angrily and shouted, "Just now, didn't they try to rob us of our food and money?"

"No, no, no, they were fair. They only said to hand over our food and money, but they didn't say they would kill us if we didn't. In the end, they even defeated me with a fair challenge before taking their things! These things all belong to them?"

Lin Peng spoke in a serious tone, leaving Abel speechless. After standing there dumbfounded for a while, he snorted, turned around, and entered the carriage.

Looking at the crimson moon already high in the sky, Lin Peng sighed: "Being able to befriend such heroes is really just a personal hobby of mine. Hehe... Your Grace, you won't blame me, will you? Hmm, by the way, it would be best to find a reliable person to go back and call Ray and Howard to prepare their horses. Then, inform Brook to help us find a place to hide temporarily in the Red Devil territory!"

With a sigh, he turned and climbed onto the driver's seat of the carriage.

Shia paused slightly, then looked once more at the Blood Knight Legion, which had long since vanished. Looking at the red moon in the sky, she seemed to detect something unusual in Lin Peng's words.

Chapter Fifty-Three: A Show of Force

Within the Crimson Demon Territory, the most famous city is Fireshine City, where the current lord resides. The entire city seems to be built upon a volcano. The thirty-meter-high city walls gleam with a faint red light under the crimson moon. The whole place looks just like a real, active volcano.

The massive city gate, nearly ten meters high, was entirely constructed from the rarest of mixed metals. It appeared heavy and imbued with an ancient aura. A magical lamp hanging atop the gate emitted a faint red glow.

From the front, it looks just like a primordial fiery beast lying on the ground, waiting for people to enter its mouth.

As soon as he arrived at the city gate, the oppressive heat and violent aura hit him. However, this very heat actually brought Lin Peng a sense of joy. It seemed as if his entire body had become extremely relaxed.

Firelight City covers an area of ​​over ten thousand square kilometers. It's roughly three times the size of Darkmoon City. The entire city has a population of approximately three million, not including transient residents. In the Dark Empire, such a city can be considered a truly large metropolis.

Of course, only a lord like Jerry can truly keep this territory in check.

The Crimson Demon Territory is a paradise for fire demons, home to countless volcanoes. On the other side of the abyss, bordering the Crimson Demon Territory, lie hundreds more volcanoes, at least ten of which are active.

Therefore, the fire element here is exceptionally dense. After quietly adjusting his breathing, Lin Peng slowly began to relax his body. The fire seed in his chest seemed to automatically absorb the surrounding fire element.

A constant flow of heat emanated from its body. The flaming warhorse seemed to particularly enjoy this place, its light steps slowly making its way to the city gate.

At this moment, a tall, handsome young man stood at the city gate, accompanied by a group of people who appeared to be officials, waiting respectfully. It seemed that Shia wasn't a particularly powerful duke. But at least, he was a member of royalty, and certain formalities were still required.

The young man appeared to be nearly two meters tall, his robust physique exuding a sense of security. His handsome face, always bearing a smile, had exceptionally beautiful eyes; each glance seemed to hold a sparkle.

He stepped forward and bowed slightly to the blazing chariot: "Deputy Commander Kerry of the Third Legion of the Dark Empire greets Your Highness the Duke!" As he spoke, his slightly tight military uniform wrinkled as he bowed in salute.

Lin Peng pursed his lips, surprised that this guy was actually a deputy commander of a legion. According to the Dark Empire's military rank system, he was at least a lieutenant general. So... he was at least a Demon Emperor-level expert.

From his imposing physique alone, one could tell he was an extremely powerful individual. Moreover, he possessed fire attributes. After all, almost everyone in the Crimson Demon Territory was a fire-attribute individual.

Shia stepped out of the carriage, her expression still as cold as ever. She glanced at the burly, handsome Kerry before her, a slight smirk playing on her lips, and said coldly, "Hmm, lead the way!"

Lin Peng was somewhat surprised; Shia was really showing this guy no respect. Kerry must be Jerry's eldest son. Jerry had eight sons in total, but only two of them were successful.

The other six were nothing but a bunch of good-for-nothings. Of course, their two promising sons were also exceptional talents. One was said to specialize in warrior skills, possessing extremely formidable fire-attribute combat abilities.

The other one is a master of both magic and martial arts. He seems to be at the level of a great demon king, and... he is deeply loved by Jerry and has received widespread acclaim.

Shia entered the carriage again, following Kerry, whose face looked somewhat grim, into the city. Upon entering, behind the city walls appeared two small volcanoes, resembling small hills. Only after walking over a thousand meters could they see rows of neatly planned houses.

The moment he stepped onto the ground, he felt a burning sensation travel from the soles of his feet throughout his body. His entire body seemed to feel refreshed. Lin Peng looked at the ground with some surprise, a slight glint in his eyes.

He hadn't expected the road surface to be made of volcanic rock. No wonder it was so hot. If someone with fire attributes fought on this, their attack power would be multiplied many times over.

As for other attributes, they will all be significantly weakened.

He nodded slightly. It seemed that attacking this city would be virtually impossible without a multiplier of at least three. And... even if they did manage to capture it, the losses would be devastating.

After walking for almost an hour, they finally arrived at the city lord's mansion in the city center. However... no matter how you looked at it, this city lord's mansion seemed to be a castle. It was like a volcano slowly rising from the ground.

The volcano, towering over twenty meters high, still glowed red from its fractured surfaces. The Fire Demon, as expected, loved flames just like the Flame Demon. Training in such a place would undoubtedly increase one's speed several times over.

Kerry chuckled, a smirk playing on Lin Peng's lips as he looked at the somewhat envious Lin Peng: "Hmm, this must be Duke Shia's advisor! Heh, I didn't expect you to be a fire elementalist too. Heh, if you like, you can stay here!"

After saying that, he even blinked.

Lin Peng gave a wry smile and shook his head: "Well, I still prefer Darkmoon City. This city is just too big. Besides, I'd feel uneasy without anyone I know here!"

"What do you mean by 'safe or unsafe'? We don't even need you!" Abel jumped off the carriage and snorted coldly.

Kerry frowned, glanced at Abel, then continued smiling: "If you're not familiar with each other yet, you can get to know each other slowly. How could you not get to know each other on a volcano like this?"

As they spoke, they began to walk up the steps to the top of the volcano, which resembled burning flames. The issue wasn't whether they were tired or not walking from the bottom to the top of the mountain, but rather whether they were hot or not; most people would have already given up.

Even a minor expert like Nadas, possessing the strength of a great demon, couldn't help but wipe away beads of sweat. Lin Peng, Shia, Medusa, and Angelina, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected as they walked along.

The city wall at the gate wasn't very high, maybe only ten meters at most. However, compared to the outer city wall, this wall was far too hot. The temperature was at least around 40 degrees Celsius. If some demons who cultivated water magic were to live here, they would basically find no water element; at most, there would be a little more water vapor.

After passing through a square that stretches for a kilometer and a garden in the middle planted with fire spirit flowers, we finally arrived at the hall.

Upon entering the hall, one could see what appeared to be some kind of magic circle. It wasn't too hot, nor too cold; there was a warm, comforting feeling. The hall was enormous, almost like a meeting hall.

At the very head of the table, on a long red dragon chair resembling a royal throne, sat a burly man—no… it should be said that he was so fat he was practically inhuman. His beard was extremely long, and his hair was entirely fiery red.

He was about the same height as the average person, around 1.8 meters. However, his shoulders were twice as wide as an average person's. And his waist... well... it seemed like he didn't have a waist at all. His entire body seemed to be that wide.

Shia looked at the man in the seat, and the man in the seat looked at Shia. After a long while, a thunderous laugh erupted. The entire hall seemed to tremble, and some of the officials standing on both sides began to slowly bleed from the corners of their mouths.

"Hahaha... Little Shia, I didn't expect you to have become so beautiful after all these years! Hahaha... Hmm, not bad. If you have nothing to do, you should come and play at Uncle Jerry's place more often!" As he spoke, he slammed his large hand on the dragon head of the red dragon chair, and with a loud bang, a sound like an earthquake was heard.

Lin Peng's lips twitched. Jerry... he hadn't expected someone at the Demon Emperor level to be this powerful. Then... what about the Demon Lord and the Demon God?

She shook her head, instantly becoming clear-headed, and then looked at the man in the seat.

"Uncle Jerry, I wouldn't dare stay here long-term. What if I get roasted alive? Who's going to take responsibility?" His words carried a chill, as if the entire hall had suddenly turned cold.