Chapter 980: The Battle for the High Tower (14) (Patreon)

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After the overseer left, almost all the slaves lay despondently on the ground. Everyone felt that this was an impossible task. They were sure they would be thrown into the magma. However, at this moment, Batman threw the Imp in his hand and said to him before throwing him out:

"Go, shout as loudly as you can, gather everyone's attention to me."

The Imp was thrown to the ground with a "bang," falling flat on his face. But seeing Batman's threatening eye contact, he still made an effort to do as instructed. He jumped and shouted in place until all the demons had focused their attention on Batman.

Confirming that the overseer had gone far away and that the group of beholders seemed not to care about any actions of the mining slaves other than mining, Batman jumped onto the mine cart. Seeing everyone looking up at him, he said in a deep voice:

"If you want to survive, do as I say. It is not impossible to mine two mine carts in one night."

Upon hearing this, all the demons stared at him. Batman looked up, glanced at all the minerals in the mine, and then said,

"Currently, all the minerals on the surface of the mine are enough to fill these two mine carts. However, we must first mine every corner of the minerals, leaving no omissions."

After hearing what he said, some old miners began to assess the situation in the mine. After recovering from the initial panic, they began to talk in low voices:

"It seems plausible. As far as I know, although our mine is shallow, there are quite a few minerals. If we can mine them all, maybe we can really fill it."

"Impossible. Even if we can mine all the minerals on the walls, what about the overhead ones? We don’t have flying demons here. What about the overhead ores?"

"Maybe we can try. Even if we can't completely fill it, as long as we work hard, maybe they will let us off considering our good results."

"Right, right. I really don’t want to be thrown into the magma. Please, I beg you all!"

"Quiet, everyone," Batman spoke again. "As long as you are willing to listen to me, I guarantee that we can definitely complete the task."

"Indeed, it's difficult to mine the minerals at the top of the mine without anyone who can fly. But it's not entirely impossible. However, first, we need to start working immediately and mine all the obtainable ores."

Under Batman's arrangement, the entire mine began to operate methodically. Under the pressure of death, everyone behaved obediently and worked hard. After all, demons were chaotic, cunning, and evil, but they also feared death.

Moreover, intelligent beings, in times of panic, often instinctively rely on those with the loudest voices, regardless of whether they are right or wrong. As long as they can point the direction for everyone, they will naturally gain leadership, and that was exactly what Batman did.

Before Batman changed the rules of mining in the mine, the demons would randomly find an exposed ore layer and start digging. After digging the ore, they would put it in a basket nearby and then carry it to the mine cart and pour it out themselves.

This would cause significant problems. The Imps couldn’t dig the ore, so they could only send a little bit of debris each time. Although the Trolls dug a lot of ore, their movement speed was slow. It took them enough time to carry a basket that they could have mined two ores.

Batman clarified each person's responsibilities, turning individual tasks into collective cooperation, and efficiency quickly improved.

The mine was bustling with activity. Trolls kept repeating their actions, using their strong arms to smash rocks. Imps, agile in their movements, shuttled under the Trolls' feet, picking up all the fragments and throwing them to the Tritons.

Tritons, with the lower bodies of serpents and human arms, could bend their tails and bounce to high places. They were very fast, often placing baskets of ore overhead, leaping up, smashing directly into the mine cart, and then climbing out.

There were also various demons of smaller stature but adept in using tools. They were responsible for the smaller minerals in the rock layers, picking out the fragments in crevices or corners where Trolls couldn’t reach and putting them into baskets to be transported to the mine cart.

As time progressed and they approached the death line, everyone's actions became faster.

Just when there were still over two hours left before the death line, the demons finally finished mining all the ores except those at the top of the mine.

Now, two mine carts were filled to one and a half, but there was still half a cart empty. At this moment, all the demons turned their eyes to Batman. They didn't know what miraculous methods this human could still come up with to mine the ores at such heights.

The cave was very large, with a high ceiling. There were many stalactite-like spikes hanging down, surrounded by well-developed minerals. If all could be knocked down, it would be more than enough to fill half a cart.

At this moment, Batman took a step back, and a shadow monster exactly like Hexagon trembled forward. He spoke in a trembling voice, "You... all of you, retreat, hide in the tunnel, and don’t show yourselves. I haven't said it, so please don't reveal yourselves."

All the demons looked puzzled, exchanging glances, unsure of what to do. However, some old miners seemed to have an idea. They waved and said, "Follow me! Everyone, into the tunnel! Retreat to the innermost part!"

The demons dispersed into the passage, and Batman followed them into the nearest tunnel. Instead of retreating further inside, he stood at the entrance to observe the situation.

The shadow monster squinted fiercely and suddenly let out a silent sharp whistle. Sound waves spread out, blowing away dust, and all the demons instinctively covered their ears.

In an instant, the tentacles of the shadow monster spread out, turning into terrifying shadowy giants. But even more terrifying were the two bursts of shadow vine erupting from the corners of the mine.

The shadow vine surged out like a thunderstorm, sweeping through every corner of the mine in a few seconds. Countless vines swept through, like a hurricane passing over the sea, unleashing an unstoppable wave, causing the entire mountain to tremble.

After two to three minutes, the chaos gradually subsided, and the shadow vines retracted into the rocks. The first demons to rush out shouted:

"Ores! All ores! Quick, look, the ground is covered with ores!!!"

The demons streamed out, astonished at the sparkling ores on the ground. When they looked up, the stalactite-like spikes had disappeared, and more than half of the cave roof bore the marks of the whipping vines.

A massive, dark-red Troll licked his lips and said shakily, "God, so the shadow vine is this powerful? They actually knocked down all the ores in an instant..."

Beside him, an old and wrinkled Triton sighed, "This reminds me of the vine disaster back then. Even the powerful Demon Lords couldn't handle united underground shadow vines..."

When Batman walked out of the entrance, he wasn't surprised. He had noticed the unusual nature of the shadow vine long ago.

One clue was when he was treating Hexagon's injuries, he discovered a peculiar property in the black mist on Hexagon's tentacles, similar to Shadow Ore, resilient and solid but weightless.

Batman's gauntlets couldn't pierce through that black mist, and the tentacles seemed to stretch infinitely. Besides fire and heavy blows, cutting or chopping had little effect.

Discovering this miraculous property, Batman inquired about the habits of the shadow vine from Hexagon. According to Hexagon, these plants were incredibly mysterious. When they inhabited the ground or mountainside, they occupied no space, needing no nests or dwellings. Just like true shadows, they adhered to the surface of minerals.

However, if they materialized, they could infinitely extend. The greater the stimulation, the faster the eruption and the more violent the force.

Hexagon also revealed a secret to Batman: the shadow monsters born from the shadow vine could not only appease them but also stimulate these plants to erupt instantly.

Afterward, Batman gave Hexagon a plan to use the characteristics of his shadow monsters to stimulate the shadow vine, punishing the Lava Demons who bullied him. This also provided Batman with an excellent opportunity to observe these plants.

After confirming that the shadow vine could indeed cause massive destruction in a short period, Batman observed another detail. The overseers' whips were likely related to the shadow vine.

The shadow vine was black, and during the eruption, it resembled a black wave. However, at the eruption points, Batman observed a hint of green light.

This green light reminded Batman of All Things Green, which had once descended upon Gotham. He thought that all plants in space were under All Things Green's jurisdiction, so it was possible that the shadow vine was also included. The reason the whip could cause such damage to the demons might also be because it borrowed the power of All Things Green.

And the outrageous work demands from the overseers gave Batman another opportunity. He found that the method used to stimulate the shadow vine seemed unrelated to magic or mysticism but rather utilized a certain sound frequency.

Batman felt he had caught the key. But just then, the Death line finally arrived. After pouring the last collected basket of minerals into the mine cart, the overseers strode in aggressively.

After seeing the two carts filled with ores, the overseers were dumbfounded.

"How is this possible??? You foolish slaves, how could you actually... in just one night..."

"Damn it! Someone must be cheating!!! Claude's idiotic miners couldn't possibly be this diligent. Come out! Show yourself!"

"I can't let Claude beat me! Our Fourth Mountain is the most favored mine by General Putrescent. The central mine has so many minerals untouched. Claude must step aside!"

The leading demon swung the whip fiercely and said, "Take them all away, throw them into the magma! The slaves in the central mine haven't completed their tasks, kill them all!"

Standing behind the mine cart, Batman narrowed his eyes. It turned out that these outrageous work demands were not because the overseers had gone mad but rather were related to power struggles within the mining hierarchy.

Apparently, this supervisor named Claude had been occupying the central mine, causing dissatisfaction among other small mine supervisors. They wanted to join forces to kill the slaves in the central mine so Claude couldn't complete the task.

In such a situation, if the slaves were thrown into the magma, delaying General Putrescent's progress, the fate of this supervisor named Claude could be imagined.

Just as the overseers viciously wanted to seize someone, a figure wearing a black cloak jumped onto the highest mound in the mine. His voice echoed in the cave:

"Stop! You cannot take anyone from here!"

Batman overlooked the strong demon overseers and said, "This is neither fair nor just... Stop your actions, let them go!"

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

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 981 Battle for the High Tower (Fifteen)