Hao Ren noticed that there seemed to be something wrong with Kaim's negotiations with the defenders. The Broken Sword Knight who had been extremely confident all the way came back with a slightly shocked look, which made him unable to help asking: "Having a problem?"
"It was a bit of an accident," Kaim shook his head, and said what the soldiers had told him, "... This is different from the plan I knew when I set off. Her Royal Highness and the Grand Duke of the North have advanced the marching plan, and it has advanced More than a little bit—so that the Broken Sword Knights from other parts of the empire and the rebel army who responded to the call are likely to lose touch with the frontline offensive."
Cam had a puzzled look on his face, obviously he didn't know why Princess Constance attacked with such urgency.
"It seems that the situation that Her Royal Highness is facing is not very optimistic," Vivienne immediately smelled something bad from the accident, "It is a taboo for military strategists to launch an attack in advance when the preparation is insufficient. , there is only one possibility for her to do so, and that is when the situation forces her to..."
"Aren't we going into the city?" Lily blinked her eyes from Hao Ren to Frost Snow City, "Should we just turn around and chase after that princess?"
"Go to the city and rest for the night." Hao Ren patted Lily on the head, telling the husky girl to get rid of the idea of rushing into the snow field and rushing hundreds of miles to the front line - although he also understood that the guy who was born as a sled dog was seeing The excitement of the ice and snow, but the team is not full of ice and snow reckless people like her. Charlemagne and others are ordinary people with flesh and mortal bodies. The pine forest was bombed all the way by ancient weapons with aerial bombs, and it was already exhausted. At this time, if they were dragged across the snow field for hundreds of miles to the front line, the steel hunk would have to kneel...
Moreover, Hao Ren himself really planned to take a rest in the city. Not only was he a little tired from the journey, but more importantly, he needed to calm down and sort out a lot of information just collected, and this place is the closest to the Gorgon Abyss. He was also curious as to whether any clues would be found in Frost Snow City.
Cam also nodded: "This is the best. I heard that there will be a snowstorm tonight. Although our car is protected, there may be wandering monsters from the North during the snowstorm. It is really not a good idea to continue on the road."
Vivian asked curiously: "Do we have a place to live in the city?"
Cam said in a chivalrous manner: "The Broken Sword Knight has a station in Frost Snow City, but if Charlemagne and His Royal Highness Evanna are willing, I can arrange for you to go to the post house specially prepared for important envoys—there will be It's more comfortable."
Charlemagne nodded: "Then I will trouble you—we have come to the land of Her Majesty Constance, and I believe that my sister and I are safe here."
So under the guidance of Kaim, an active Broken Sword Knight, Hao Ren and his party finally entered the largest fortress in the northern region - Frost Snow City.
After passing through the extremely thick entrance of the fortress consisting of a large number of enchanted stone bricks and defensive machinery, the true appearance of Frost Snow City was presented to everyone. The layers of thick walls are like a protective shell covering the appearance of this "mountain city", but the inside of the fortress will not be dimmed by the walls. , there are a large number of crystal clusters like ice crystals arranged in an exquisite array, leading the outside sunlight into the first floor of the city, and on the mountain of the first floor, more crystal clusters can be seen growing along the building —Those crystal clusters extend all the way to the hollowed-out interior of the mountain, reintroducing the light from the outside...
And the entire Frost Snow City is shining brightly in the miracle of light outlined by the ice crystals.
Due to Shuangxue City's special structure of "living by the mountain and digging the mountain", the city can be said to be arranged in three dimensions, and the posthouses for important envoys are located near the lord's castle, which is close to the top of the mountain, and the The residential area has a height difference of several kilometers - but visitors don't need to climb up the winding stone stairs between the buildings, because there are as many as 122 buildings in the mountain. Elevators operate around the clock, just like the public transportation system, providing convenience for people living in the city.
Hao Ren and his party put away the vehicle again, and accompanied by Kaim and a few soldiers from the northern border, passed through the traffic area at the bottom of the city, and entered the elevator hidden in the mountain that circulated along an inclined ramp. With a slight sound of mechanical friction, the very large lifting platform began to accelerate smoothly, moving towards the top of the mountain.
"This platform is specially prepared for guests who need to visit the top of the mountain. It will not stop halfway, and the speed is twice as fast as other platforms," a northern soldier in charge of escorting proudly introduced the city, " You can see a transparent passage in the middle, which is made of ice blocks with permafrost effect, so you don’t have to worry about falling, and you can see the inner city inside the mountain through it.”
The platform runs briskly in the inclined elevator passage, and at intervals there will be a light source passing around, which is the crystal cluster buried in the mountain, and the sunlight from the outside is sent into the city through the crystal cluster, just like a natural lamp Average. Not long after walking, Hao Ren saw the "transparent passage".
It is like a section of glass tube specially reserved for tourists. Through the crystal clear ice wall, Hao Ren saw the inner city of Frost Snow City. He saw a large number of buildings lined up in the mountain in an orderly manner. Among them There is no shortage of factories and other facilities, but probably because the army has already set off, the inner city is not as lively as imagined, but a little deserted: after all, every city in the northern border is first and foremost a military fortress. Yes, after a large number of soldiers are transferred away, the operation of the city will naturally slow down.
Suddenly, Hao Ren's attention was attracted by a particularly eye-catching building in the inner city: it was a large building standing in the center of the mountain cavity. Its main part is a palace divided into three floors.
The palace was obviously out of place with the surrounding buildings. It was enclosed by itself. Not only was it surrounded by a wall, but soldiers could also be seen patrolling and guarding it. If Hao Ren hadn't known that the castle of the Grand Duke of the North was located on the top of the mountain, Hao Ren would have almost He thought that this palace located in the middle of the mountain was the lord's mansion of Frost Snow City.
"What is that?" Lily also saw the black palace sharply, and couldn't help asking curiously.
"Ah, that's the old palace," Kaim replied casually, "Thousands of years ago, His Majesty the Emperor lived there."
Even though he was already on the side of the "rebels", when Kaim mentioned the words "His Majesty the Emperor", he was not at all unnatural, and there was even a touch of respect in his tone. There was no abnormal behavior either, which made Hao Ren couldn't help but look at him a few more times.
"The old palace?" Lily's curiosity was even stronger, "Wait... You said before that the Dragon Empire moved its capital, and the old capital was in the north, so..."
"Don't you even know this?" The northern soldiers who accompanied him gave Lily a surprised look, "Frost Snow City is the old capital of the empire—but that was thousands of years ago."
"They don't know much about the history of the Dragon Empire," Kaim took over and changed the topic, "Actually, most of the city has been remodeled and rebuilt in the same way as a fortress. It is completely different from the old capital. Of course, the old palace you see still retains its original appearance, and there are several commemorative places that also maintain the appearance of the old capital. If you are interested, tomorrow I will I can take you to visit these places—except that you cannot enter the palace, many places are open to the public.”
Hao Ren looked at the old palace that was almost out of sight, and whispered to himself: "Thousands of years of history... It's really interesting that it can still stand intact."
The voice of the data terminal sounded in his mind: "What's more interesting is that there are some weak energy pulses released from under the old palace, and the energy samples are quite complicated."
Hao Ren nodded slightly, and replied in his mind: "This city is worth exploring."
Then he quickly added: "I'm talking about the kind that won't explode!"
Data terminal: "... Well, this machine hasn't said anything yet..."
Hao Ren: "..."
With the recommendation of Cam and the "identity certificates" brought by Charlemagne and Awenna, the group's check-in in Frost Snow City went very smoothly.
In fact, Hao Ren didn't care at all about how Kaim, Charlemagne and the others negotiated with the interim governor in the city. He was just looking forward to settling down in the posthouse and starting his own investigation.
Before night fell, everyone finally moved into the warm post house near the lord's castle, and had a sumptuous meal in the warm fireplace hall.
This can be said to be the first meal that Hao Ren and his party ate seriously in a stable environment since entering this world.
If it wasn't for Vivian and Hao Ren's cooperation, Lily would have almost eaten the whole table...
After dinner, the exhausted people were naturally not interested in participating in any visits. Hao Ren also said good night to the others and returned to the guest room he had arranged for himself.
The mountain platform where the post house is located is not blocked by the city wall, and the cold night falls into the house through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, and the fire-like red light of the Gorgon Abyss is also mixed in the night, as if filled with blood.
The city has calmed down, but the wind from the plain is gradually strengthening and roaring across the sky, and in that wind, the shadow of the blizzard can already be seen.
Hao Ren knocked on the casing of the data terminal: "Synchronized vision, help me keep an eye on my surroundings."
The data terminal flickered for a moment, and then Hao Ren felt a blur in front of his eyes, and his field of vision suddenly switched.
A world full of thunder and flames appeared before his eyes.
The field of vision comes from Probe No. 3, the current location, the outer area of the Gorgon Abyss.
The first thing that appeared before Hao Ren's eyes was the wreckage of an extremely huge starship. There were striking words on the wreckage:
Apocalypse number.