My Beautiful Duchess Wife

Looking at the city, Shia couldn't help but frown. After all, he knew his own fiefdom well. Compared to these large cities, his Darkmoon City was really just a town.

She sighed softly, looking at the scenery outside with a hint of helplessness. Meanwhile, Gree, walking ahead, gave the Flame Chariot a vicious glare.

Even someone of my rank doesn't own a tank like this, yet that staff officer does. Although it's not as prestigious as Lieutenant General Kerry's.

However, at least within the territory, he truly had the power to mobilize an army. Being the territory's deputy commander was far better than having his brother Kerry, who was always away.

After all, even if you're in the capital, you'll eventually have to come back. And the lord of the Red Devil territory always needs an heir. Therefore, Gree has never really taken Kerry seriously.

But now, just Lin Peng alone has really dealt him a blow.

"Lin Peng, hehe, when the time comes, I'll make sure you die at the hands of the punishers!" He chuckled sinisterly, then seemed to convulse with ecstasy.

Kerry, standing beside him, chuckled inwardly. "Laugh, laugh. But then you won't be laughing anymore. Always relying on Father's favor, I never imagined you'd actually disregard me."

Hehe... This Lin Peng is someone even Jess has to suffer for. It would be best if you both were severely injured. Then I'll be the one to reap the benefits!

He sneered, then glanced at the flame chariot as well.

Only the troll warlord seemed to be so persistently pursuing his own path. External matters always passed him by like the wind.

Chapter Sixty-One: The Dark Ranger Fario

Night, a deep, dark night. The red moon had long since set, but the white moon hung high in the sky. Within Ironblood Fortress, all was silent, without a single sound.

The lights had long been extinguished after the red moon set. Unlike Fire City, Ironblood Fortress was a city under military administration. Almost the entire population was a soldier. One could imagine how powerful they would be in a real battle. Of course, this was also the only reason they hadn't been ravaged by riots.

And the lord of Ironblood Fortress, Grice and Kerry's uncle, Mingde, was an even more iron-blooded and tough man, his muscles looking as if they were cast from steel. Under the illumination of the magic lamp, they appeared somewhat shiny.

His deep, hoarse voice carried an extraordinary sense of vicissitude. Nearly two meters tall, he possessed an abundance of fire elemental energy so potent that he could ignite anything around him.

He is definitely a Demon Emperor-level expert, and even among Demon Emperors, he is considered one of the top.

His square face exuded a military air. He didn't bother to get close to Gree and Kerry; even these two most likely heirs showed a hint of obsequiousness in his presence.

A welcoming banquet still needed to be held, and Mingde took the seat of honor. He first swept his cold gaze across everyone present, and finally, his gaze settled on Lin Peng.

Lin Peng felt very uncomfortable with that eagle-like, sharp gaze. However, he made no attempt to dodge. Instead, he responded coldly, seemingly with a hint of murderous intent.

Although Lin Peng hadn't killed anyone, he still understood a bit about that kind of murderous aura. The two stared at each other for about ten minutes before finally stopping amidst Mingde's hearty laughter.

"You've got guts. I like your personality, haha... Unlike my two nephews, one is too effeminate, and the other is too opportunistic. Haha... Hmm, how about I take you as my disciple? You're a fire-attribute demon king-level expert, and you seem quite young. Haha, if it's a good fit!"

Upon hearing this, Gree's face immediately turned ashen. Kerry, on the other hand, looked at Lin Peng with a strange expression. He had heard that Lin Peng was a true strategist in Darkmoon City.

This guy orchestrated most of the things.

In Mingde's words, how did he become a generous and forthright person?

Lin Peng and Xi Ya exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with a strange expression. After a slight pause, Lin Peng cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Ming De and chuckled, "I'm afraid I'm not qualified to be your disciple. Hehe, look at Lord Gree's expression, does he really think he can kill me?"

As they spoke, Gree realized he might have gone too far. He immediately toned it down and turned to Mingde with the same smile.

Mingde snorted and slammed his hand on the table: "Gree, you've gone too far lately. Even Kerry, your older brother, is being suppressed by you. Two brothers are two brothers. No matter what happens, you can't be suspicious of each other. Humph, otherwise, Jerry and I will get back at you!"

As he spoke, the accompanying officials were all taken aback. It seemed Jerry was quite fond of Gree these days. However, he really didn't intend to suppress Kerry.

So, according to Mingde, does that mean that neither of them has yet chosen a true successor?

Immediately, the entire banquet was filled with conspiracies and plots. Only the troll general seemed completely oblivious to all of this, continuing to eat his food with his head down, as if he hadn't heard a thing.

Mingde turned and looked at Lin Peng again. Just then, a dark light suddenly appeared in the banquet hall, shooting towards Gree with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, it was already in front of him.

pat...

The black light seemed to be immediately interrupted, breaking in two. With a loud bang, everyone within a ten-meter radius was thrown to the ground.

Of course, Gree was thrown back and crashed into a large pillar. With a "pfft," he spat out a mouthful of blood. After interrupting the black light, the troll general coldly looked towards the outside of the banquet hall.

Just then, several beams of black light shot in. Compared to the previous speed, it was a little slower, but still very fast.

Moreover, one of them was actually shot towards Lin Peng.

There were a dozen or so streaks of black light, but their power was far inferior to the previous one. Lin Peng curled his lips into a sneer, snorted coldly, and then suddenly reached out and grabbed one of the black lights, which was still wreathed in flames.

Only after the black light dissipated did they realize that it was actually an extremely small black arrow.

"Archer?" Lin Peng was slightly taken aback and looked outside with some confusion. Mingde slowly stood up and walked out of the banquet hall.

The troll warrior and Lin Peng also stood up.

As Mingde reached the center of the banquet hall, a figure appeared at the entrance, dressed in a black cloak. The entire face seemed to be hidden beneath the cloak, and a pair of black leather boots completed the scene. The person appeared to be shrouded in darkness.

Mingde frowned and snorted, "Dark Ranger Fario, are you declaring war on me?" His icy voice seemed to send chills down one's spine, like snow falling in December.

However, the archer opposite seemed even more ruthless. From the darkness beneath the cloak, a pair of red eyes flashed. After scanning the entire hall, a cool voice appeared: "Mingde, if it weren't for this guy, our Punishment City wouldn't have helped those people from the Crimson Demon Territory. Hmph, I didn't expect this guy to even dare to betray the Blood Knights."

Pointing at Gree, who had just been helped up by a guardian knight, Fario's voice, seemingly filled with murderous intent, made everyone understand what had happened.

Every year, the people of Punishment City would come out to buy some necessities. And everyone knew that Punishment City had no source of goods.

Moreover, those merchants dared not risk punishing them.

Basically, they send their own people to purchase everything. Because the land is barren, food is even less of a concern. And within the Crimson Demon territory, there have always been designated merchants trading with the City of Punishment.

Of course, it's under Jerry's control. Every year, he gives a small amount of supplies to the City of Punishment. Then, he lets the people of the City obtain more of the food and other necessities they need.

However, what no one expected this time was that Gree was the one who interfered, causing a major riot in the southeastern territory.

According to Fario, this means that they were the ones who started the riot.

Mingde glared at Gree, who was shrinking back somewhat, while Kerry seemed to be gloating. Lin Peng, however, frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Was it a loss at Arthur's hands?"

Fario was taken aback for a moment, then gave Lin Peng a strange look.

"I'm from Darkmoon City, heh, I have absolutely no connection with this scoundrel. Although Punishment City is a city of chaos, it should still have the right to survive. Moreover, what I admire most are wanderers like you. Haha... When you're not used to the order set by others, you should break that order."

As he spoke, he burst into laughter.

Mingde looked at Lin Peng with some surprise, then a slight smile appeared on his lips. Gree, on the other hand, glared at Lin Peng with malice.

"Since it's a declaration of war, we accept. Heh... It's been a long time since we fought the people of Punishment City, so let's take this opportunity for a real battle. Fario, you Punishment City, will you accept?" Under that aggressive gaze, Fario coldly snorted: "This time, it is we, Punishment City, who are declaring war on you. Hmph, then we'll see who's the real deal!"

With that, he turned around and disappeared into the darkness.

After this incident, the banquet essentially lost its desire to continue. Each person walked thoughtfully towards their lodgings.

After not mentioning taking on any more apprentices again, Lin Peng decided to make a quick getaway. He hadn't been out long when he saw Kerry. Kerry was also walking towards his residence with his head down, looking deep in thought.

After a plan flashed through his mind, Lin Peng hurriedly stepped forward: "General Kerry, please wait?" Upon hearing this, Lin Peng was almost stunned.

It seems that in that famous book, there was a character who used this phrase "Stay" to cause the deaths of countless people.

With a smirk, he looked at the bewildered Kerry, approached him, and said, "I wonder, do you want to dethrone Gree now?"

Kerry was taken aback, then frowned and asked tentatively, "What? Does Staff Officer Lin Peng have some good idea that can help me?"

Despite saying this, Kerry secretly harbored resentment: this time, even if he was being used, he was determined to make Gree fall from grace.

Lin Peng nodded slightly and said softly, "It's simple. I believe we can make a small fuss about today's events. It seems Gree's reputation will soon suffer! Hmm... Also, someone like Gree is easily provoked. At least a little provocation will do. I wonder if he'll be the first to try. Heh heh, the people of Punishment City really want him dead, don't they?"

Kerry's eyes lit up, and he nodded. He had already thought of the first point, but he hadn't considered the second one. He then looked at Lin Peng with hope in his eyes once more.

"As for Lord Mingde, I'll handle that. Heh, I'll see if I can help you get General Mingde on your side. With his support, do you think your chances are better, or his?"

For a fleeting moment, looking at the somewhat sinister Lin Peng, Kerry felt a sense of kinship. After discussing it again, the two returned with satisfied smiles.

Of course, Kerry is out of his mind right now. Although Mingde has some feelings for Lin Peng, it seems that matters of their family are not for Lin Peng to control.

After all, he's from Darkmoon City!

Chapter Sixty-Two Cooperation

A tense atmosphere permeated Ironblood Fortress. Squads of soldiers and generals who were about to go into battle could be seen everywhere.

Lin Peng was among them. He led three thousand men, his mission being to pacify Ross City, which was only about three hundred miles from Ironblood Fortress.

He waved goodbye to Shia, who was standing on the city wall. He felt a pang of sadness; he had never really liked war.

Asking a peace-loving person to command an army and cause slaughter is no ordinary crime for him! Without looking back, he chose a direction and boarded the blazing chariot.

Inside the chariot, Medusa and Angelina were already waiting. Of course, there was also a strategist named Corant, who remained seated calmly and composed, seemingly lacking even the courage to move. Medusa was simply too beautiful; just the sight of her open eyes made him feel as if he were being drawn into them.

He had always assumed she was Lin Peng's woman, so of course he didn't dare to look at her twice.

The troops slowly began to move. After a moment of silence, Lin Peng asked, "Korant, how is Ross City? Is there anything particularly special about it, or rather, anything that's difficult to understand?"

As soon as Kelan opened his eyes, he immediately closed them again and began to ponder. After a long while, he began to explain, "Speaking of which, the strangest thing about Ross City is that it has a very small population, so small that it doesn't feel like a city at all. It's more like a town, a slightly larger town." "Wouldn't it be easy to take it down?" Lin Peng was surprised and somewhat confused.

Given Gree's personality, he shouldn't have chosen an easier city to attack. Besides... honestly, he's not really good at commanding.

"No, no, no, actually, Ross City is very difficult to conquer. Although the population is small, it seems that almost everyone in the city is at least a mid-level demon. Even the commoners could be mid-level demons. Moreover, I've heard that powerful demons, or even demon lords, frequently appear in Ross City." After saying this with some envy, Corant shook his head while looking out the window. Although the population is small, if several demon lords lead hundreds of thousands of mid-level demons in battle, forget about attacking; they'll just eat you up.

Lin Peng also fell silent.

A city like this, if you really want to defend it, might actually be impossible to take! Speaking of which, it seems like I've been in the Demon Realm for more than half a year now, and a lot has happened in that time.

He had access to many more things, which taught him how to fight. He learned that in the Demon Realm, ultimately, strength is what matters.

That's why he craves power so much now. He wants to protect himself and truly protect the people he cares about.

Medusa snorted coldly, saying nothing more. Angelina, however, thought for a moment before speaking up: "Brother, don't you remember Arthur's badge? If we had that badge, perhaps we could have received better treatment?"

Lin Peng was taken aback, then burst into laughter, slapping his thigh hard: "That's right, how could I forget that? Others attack cities, but we won't attack first. We'll just move into the city. Then, we'll tell the Ironblood Fortress that we've already conquered it. After Shia arrives with a few people, we can circle around from Punishment City back to our Darkmoon City. Would they dare to send troops to attack us then?" Suddenly, Lin Peng, as if a revelation had dawned on him, laughed heartily.

And so, the large group of people traveled for three days before finally arriving at the city of Ross. The city wasn't very big, but it did indeed have a very old feel to it.

The city walls seemed to have been neglected for a long time, appearing somewhat dilapidated. Lin Peng, who had no intention of fighting, clearly did not launch a direct attack on the city.

He simply stood at the foot of the city wall, looking up at the strange soldiers on the wall with a somewhat odd expression.

The soldiers were also puzzled. This guy hadn't shouted a challenge, hadn't made any other moves. He was just standing there, tilting his head and staring at the city wall. Could it be that he had something wrong with his head?

Thinking of this, they dared not be careless. Immediately, a captain sent a messenger to summon the city's commander-in-chief.

Soon, a cloaked supervisor and a very burly man in leather armor appeared on the city wall. However, when the man looked down at Lin Peng, he almost burst out laughing.

The cloaked figure beside him also had a strange expression on his face.

"Lin Peng, I never expected it would be you who attacked my Ross City! Hahaha... Unbelievable, truly unbelievable!"