Chapter 974: The Battle for High Tower (Part Eight) (Patreon)

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Hexagon's incredulous voice echoed, then he said, "Aren't you humans supposed to fear Demons a lot? Why are you humans so strange?"

"Before, I reached my tentacles into my neighbors' rooms, and they were scared out of their wits. As long as I casually said a few words like 'I'm going to swallow you' or 'I'm going to take a bite out of you,' they would tremble and beg for Demon Lord's forgiveness..."

"Not only are you not afraid of me, but you also injured my foot, and now you want to treat my injury. Are you insane?!"

"I'm not insane," Batman said very calmly. "Humans have a rule, which is to repay kindness with kindness and revenge with revenge. You have told me a lot of information and even informed me of the escape route, so I am willing to repay you, to provide treatment..."

"No, you must be trying to deceive me." Hexagon resisted strongly, saying, "You're trying to deceive me, and after I extend my foot, you'll burn it with fire..."

Batman heard some movement from the other side, and it seemed like the Demon had curled up in the corner.

But he remained unmoved, picked up the mat from his room, and said, "If you don't extend your foot, I'll light this mat on fire and throw it in front of your cell door. That way, the flames will burn into your room. Trust me, it will be much more painful than being struck by Lava Demons' fireballs..."

"You... you..." Hexagon seemed unable to find words to describe Batman. After hesitating for a while, he only said, "You wicked human..."

After a while, a trembling black tentacle reached into Batman's cell. Batman grabbed the tentacle and took a glance. He found that the surface of this black tentacle was covered with a shadow-like mist, a mist that Batman had never seen before and couldn't deal with. However, beneath the mist, there was a solid body, and there was a scar that looked like a burn on it.

It was somewhat similar to burns Batman had seen before, and he could even see the charred tissue beneath the black skin. He touched the edge of the wound with his hand, and Hexagon let out a severe scream.

After some thought, Batman said, "The burn on the wound is not a big problem, but hitting your thing damaged the soft tissue and scratched the muscles. I need to debride the wound first, and then I may need to perform some sutures..."

Having said that, he started the treatment without hesitation. Of course, under such conditions, there was no way to anesthetize. From the beginning screams to later, Hexagon didn't even have the strength to scream anymore. When he withdrew the tentacle after bandaging it, he said in a trembling voice:

"Humans are truly terrifying..."

After bandaging, Batman also felt a bit tired. It was already late at night, so he hung the torch back on the wall, laid out the mat, leaned against the wall, and slowly fell asleep.

The next morning, he was awakened by the shouts of his neighbor Hexagon.

"Oh my god! It doesn't hurt anymore! Why is that? Is this some kind of magical treatment? Are you a sorcerer among humans?"

The still-drowsy Batman rubbed his eyes to wake himself up, then asked, "Do you know sorcerers among humans?"

"I've seen one before." Hexagon hesitated a bit. "Last time, someone came to inspect the mine, and I saw a guy who was said to be a human sorcerer, but I didn't see him perform any magic..."

"The overseer said human sorcerers are powerful. They can travel to Hell, make deals with powerful Demon Lords, and they know a lot of magic, some for combat, some for treatment..."

Hexagon muttered quietly all the while. Batman got up from the ground, washed his face in the nearby basin, and as he finished washing up, the overseer opened the doors to their respective rooms, waving at them, saying, "Get up and get to work! No dawdling! Yes, I mean you! Hexagon, hurry up!"

Batman walked out of his room and finally got a clear look at his neighbor. Those black tentacles were not his feet, but his main body. Hexagon was a mass of black tentacles, with not just six feet but probably more than sixty.

The tentacles alternated to support him walking, looking somewhat comical. In the middle of the tentacles was a black mist, within which was a crimson eyeball. He blinked at Batman as if expressing gratitude, then followed the overseer and left.

Batman shook his head where he stood. He never thought that one day he would be standing in Hell, marveling at how innocent the Demons here were.

However, this innocence wasn't without reason. According to Batman's understanding of societal knowledge, most lifeforms in the lower strata of society, closed off, lacking systematic education, and unable to engage in contemplation, tended to be more innocent. This innocence didn't refer to kindness but to sheer ignorance, because of ignorance, they were innocent.

Another overseer led Batman upstairs, where he met Schiller. Together, they followed the overseer into the depths of the mine.

During yesterday's tour, they only saw a part of the mine's environment, while the actual work site was deeper in the mine.

Riding in a minecart to the mining site, Batman saw layers upon layers of wooden support structures appearing before him. The overseer raised his whip in the air, swung it twice, and said, "Go over there! Take the tools and start mining! Don't let me catch you slacking off!"

Following the overseer's instructions, Batman picked up a strangely shaped pickaxe, found a spot where the ore was exposed, and began mining.

Schiller stood slightly ahead of him, also chipping away at the ore. Batman had never seen this professor do any physical labor before, and from the way Schiller exerted force, it seemed he truly had never done any physical work.

When Batman swung the pickaxe, he lowered his center of gravity, using the strength of his entire upper body to chip away at the ore, instead of just swinging his arms. He knew that if he swung his arms alone, he would quickly tire. But Schiller was just the opposite.

At first, Batman was still worried about Schiller's incorrect way of exerting force, thinking it might exhaust him quickly. But soon, he realized he was overthinking it.

Schiller indeed had never done any physical labor, but his skill at slacking off was top-notch. Every time the overseer glanced over, he would raise both arms high, and when the overseer turned away, he would gently lower them. He managed to avoid the overseer's gaze and slack off without working much, leaving only superficial scratches on the rock after an hour.

Not only did Schiller not work, but to prevent the overseer from noticing insufficient mineral output, he also took advantage of nearby Demons focusing on their work to dump the ore they dug into his own basket, pretending it was the result of his labor.

Moreover, he began to establish relationships with the neighboring Demons. It was unclear what persuasive techniques he used, but in no time, he was chatting with the old miners nearby.

By the time Batman had filled a basket with minerals, Schiller had already started distributing nose cigarettes among the miners.

In Hell, there were no cigarettes like those in the human world, but there was something similar—nose cigarettes, stored in small bottles and appearing like sulfur powder. By gently blowing air into the bottle, the powder would rise, and when inhaled through the nose, Demons would show a relieved expression, appearing quite relaxed. Schiller somehow acquired a bottle of this and was currently distributing them.

Batman loaded his mined minerals onto the minecart and found Schiller chatting with the overseer nearby, each holding a bottle of nose cigarettes and chatting away.

Curious about their conversation, Batman approached during a lull in transporting minerals and overheard Schiller saying, "In my opinion, the situation at the border is nothing. Astaroth is indeed strong, but is Beelzebub weak? Let alone the fact that Beelzebub is also one of Satan's, even if always considered the weakest. Still, that's much stronger than Astero, who only rose to prominence in recent years..."

"I agree," the overseer with red skin said after taking a puff of nose cigarette. "Cough, cough, the situation at the southern border is not good. How dare they act on the eastern border? If they dare to attack, they'll face a double attack from Beelzebub and Lord Belial..."

"Those guys are just worrying too much. Astero keeps boasting about his Flying Spear Army, but whether it's strong or not isn't just about boasting. Would he dare to compare it with Lord Belial's Tusk Army? Probably would be scared off..."

The overseer chuckled twice and said, "Flying Spear Army? We all call it the Flying Fish Army! That fool Astero, not knowing where he got two fish from, treats them like treasures and even says something about Lord Beelzebub's surface army being two hundred years behind. When I heard this news, I almost laughed to death!"

Schiller then took out a handful of powder from his suit pocket and handed it to the overseer, saying, "Here's another one. Once you're done, I'll start working."

The overseer coughed heavily, sneezed, then said, "You're indeed someone who escaped from the bureaucracy office, got some insights. How about this? You go watch them load the ore onto the nearby minecart. This job requires some keen observation..."

Schiller waved at him and went to sit by the minecart, placing a rock nearby to sit on. He smoked a nose cigarette while chatting with the nearby miners.

With a bang, a piece of ore was set down, and without looking up, Schiller said, "This cart's full. Next one."

When Schiller looked up, he saw Batman. He took out a packet of powder and handed it to Batman, saying, "You can try it. It's a specialty of Hell, quite potent."

Batman stared at Schiller without saying anything. Schiller clapped his hands, stood up, and said, "Looks like your plan is still to leave here as soon as possible, right? Well, I don't oppose it, you can go first, but I'm staying..."

"I'll take you, Alfred, and Merkel out together. Hell is very dangerous, and Alfred is quite old now. If something happens, his soul may suffer serious damage..."

Schiller chuckled and shook his head, saying, "Looks like you still don't quite understand your butler... Oh, by the way, it's time to eat. Let's go, we'll head up first."

After setting down the minerals, Batman followed the group of miners out. The overseers were shouting and cracking their whips behind them, urging the tired miners to move faster, leaving the mining tunnel.

As they emerged from the mine, the light became slightly brighter, but there were no clear skies in Hell. The brightness came from the rivers of magma left in the air and the constantly erupting volcanoes nearby.

Just as they left the mine, Batman began to look around in the crowd, trying to find his butler's figure. However, he didn't spot Alfred until they reached the dining area.

Alfred was squatting on a rock beside the food bucket, holding a nose cigarette to his nose and taking a puff. He said to the overseer serving the food, "With Astero's abilities, he dares to provoke Lord Belial? The Tusk Army has already been deployed to the eastern front for training. When the battle starts, he'll be crying to go back home..."

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 975: High Tower Battle (Nine)