From Justes' temporary stronghold, there should be nothing to investigate.

This kind of double-storey building, which looks like a round cake and looks like a crown, he also saw it in the barren fields of coal more than a decade later.

This is called a "base room". It is a very popular form of architecture in underground cities.

On the ground floor, there is a reception desk and lounge with seven doors leading to the kitchen, a two-room storage room, a power room and four residences. After going up the stairs on both sides of the ring, there are eight more rooms upstairs, making a total of twelve dwellings.

In general, when it is unclear whether to build a city or not, or whether people will come, this type of stronghold is paved first.

This kind of building with complex functions belongs to the one that will not be demolished in any place, and can be placed anywhere. Even if there are more residents in the back, it can be converted into a bar, hotel, shop, warehouse, dormitory or safe house.

This can be regarded as the initial "population building".

Five or six in a row are enough to accommodate the use of the pioneer stage.

Generally speaking, the higher the proportion of base houses in the city, the lower the degree of development of the city.

After Annan followed Justes out of the stronghold, he saw the desolate streets.

Compared to the barren coal barren land more than a decade later, this place may not even be a tenth of the area. It's not so much a city as a garrison in the wilderness...... It's like one of those run-down towns in Westerns.

Even the sky is not so bright. This is because the carcasses of light ants here are not too thick, and they have not formed a layer of light ants that can emit light for a long time.

The ground here is a dark brown color of dried lava, and there are only three streets in total, two horizontal and one vertical, and the number of buildings can almost be counted on two hands.

The streets are empty at the moment. There was nothing but Annan and the others - no people, no insects, no monsters...... Not even the wind, it was unusually quiet.

"Judging by the furnishings in your room, you should have been here for a short time."

Annan raised his eyebrows and turned to look at Justes: "Is it usually so quiet in the barren coal embers?" ”

"How is that possible?"

Justes frowned, "Before it was flooded by lava, this was a famous gold and coal mine. Later, it was flooded with lava and destroyed the city, also because of the mistake of the workers, who dug through the leylines.

"You may not know it, but it's directly above here...... It's the furnace hill in the province of San Felix. ”

"I think Furnace Mountain is an active volcano."

Annan raised an eyebrow.

Of course he knew the name.

Frederick, as a Winterman, should also know.

Furnace Mountain is one of the few mountains in the Duchy of Winter that is not completely covered in snow, and it is also the place where those who have been expelled from the city gamble - if you are lucky, you can dig through a thin layer of snow to find the windbreak cave left by the predecessors.

The cave in Furnace Mountain has natural underfloor heating, which can also heat the snow to obtain fresh water, and can also roast meat and boil water, so it can survive safely even in winter. In the harvest year, Lushan is a famous hot spring area in the Duchy of Winter.

The only problem is...... Lushan is not an extinct volcano, but an active volcano that has been in an active period. This is also the reason why there are no cities near Lushan.

"Usually when the Furnace Mountain is about to erupt, the Storm Tower is responsible for suppressing it. But this only delayed the eruption and gave the residents of nearby towns time to evacuate...... Lushan still maintains the pattern of eruptions once every 15 to 20 years. ”

Justes sneered: "But do you think ...... Where did all the magma that was crushed by the Tower of Storms go?

"—the embers of the barren land, that's how it was destroyed."

"But it's rebuilt now."

Annan said calmly.

He walked slowly and vigilantly down the street with Justers, not too far away from the reliable teammate.

Justes' eagle-like gaze was also scanning around.

He scoffed as he searched for anomalies around him, "Who let it produce gold?"

"The diggers and wise men clearly thought that gold was worth more than human life. Hence the investigation report...... The report shows that the probability of a re-eruption of the volcano near the ember barren land is extremely low, and it is recommended that prospecting operations be resumed. ”

"Extremely low?"

"Extremely low – very low, of course. Before it was called a 'barren field of coal', it was called a 'black gold field', and the last safety report was simply 'safety'. In fact, if it weren't for the Storm Tower's action, it really couldn't have had an accident...... But who can say such a thing? ”

Justes grinned, took the flask from his waist and took another sip.

He muttered under his breath, "When the volcano is about to erupt, it is impossible for the Winters to inform us in advance, 'The volcano is about to erupt, we need to let the Storm Tower strike'." ”

"They don't have the time."

Annan said softly.

Justus sneered silently, "Even if the Winter People had this time, the Council of the Wise would not have informed us. The wise man has no feelings.

Because the cost of disaster relief is too high.

"If they knew that this place could be destroyed at any time, it would be impossible to send a mercenary group to enter and lead the inhabitants to evacuate...... Because it is illegal to hide this kind of information, and if you disclose this information to the mercenary group, you will have to add money.

"No one knows what the scale of this disaster will be. Will the leylines collapse? Will the mine be destroyed? Will lava pour in, and if so, how much, will it destroy the town, or will it just fill the ground? Or will the city be submerged altogether?

"If they rescue, they have to be rescued by everyone. It's too costly...... At the same time, if the damage is not severe in the end, then the mine owners and miners will be the first to come out and complain about the 'big fuss'.

"Because the evacuation has seriously delayed their work...... It can even lead to their equipment being stolen, vandalized, or damaged by a disaster.

"The wise men of the Council of the Wise don't do that. If the Winter Men did give a warning, they wouldn't have passed it on...... Mercenaries may even be sent to stuff back those who have escaped, especially the mine owners.

"In this case, the 'mining license' sold in the city can be sold again, and there will be no compensation because the owner of the mine is also dead. Everything was just an accident...... Then there will be no one to sue, and the matter will end there. ”

Justes grumbled.

His words were full of mockery...... and subtle hatred.

Annan paused.

He was going to take a risk.

So Annan opened his mouth and said slowly: "You still can't forget Ingrid." ”

Hearing this, Justes turned his head and stared at Annan behind him.

Annan did not look at him.

Instead, he continued to walk forward with a blank face.

Because Justes was much taller than Frederick, Annan's hood was pulled down to hide most of his expressions. This made his emotions difficult to fathom.

It was a moment before Justes followed.

“…… Yes. ”

Justes whispered, his tone unusually calm.

"I'll make them pay sooner or later......"