Chapter 986: Battle for the High Tower (Twenty) (Patreon)

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As tired slave miners leaned against the walls of the corridor, intending to take a break, suddenly, a rumbling sound came from below the ground, causing all the demons to immediately scramble up, looking around anxiously.

Even Batman, lost in thought, was startled awake. However, he quickly grasped the situation. He lowered his head, gaze piercing through layers of mountains, towards the lava sea at the bottom of the mine.

"Someone is manipulating magma! Someone is manipulating magma!" Elder Triton shouted loudly. "This is an ancient fire magic that can cause magma to surge into huge waves or even trigger volcanic eruptions. Hurry! Hurry and leave this place!"

Upon hearing the words "magma eruption," Batman immediately thought of the mountain's structure.

The mountain structure of the mine was different from other peaks. There were too many cavities nested together, forming a complex network, which was advantageous for guerrilla warfare.

However, there was a major issue: once the main structure was compromised, it would inevitably lead to a complete collapse. Under the force of gravity, with a mountain pressing down, no one would survive.

Batman had anticipated facing a tricky problem someday, namely magic. However, he hadn't expected it to come so soon. General Putrescent's reaction was much quicker than he had imagined. The underground magma was indeed a strategic target.

What surprised Batman was General Putrescent's willingness to sacrifice. Even under the pressure of Belial's production demands, he dared to cause such a commotion, abandoning the entire central mine to confront them.

But Batman knew they had no time to hesitate now. They had to evacuate immediately. Once the mountain collapsed, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Fortunately, he had already sent people to survey the retreat route. Watching the chaotic demons in the mine, Batman once again leaped to a high point and shouted, "Everyone, follow me! Let's retreat first!"

The leadership mechanism he had established came into play. All the demons instinctively followed him, rushing towards the passage.

Fortunately, the number of slave miners was not too high, and they were not all concentrated in one place. The rehearsed retreat route proved effective. Although the slaves were somewhat panicked, under the guidance of some experienced old miners, they orderly evacuated through the corridor.

The earthquake grew increasingly intense. Even Batman, who was very coordinated, found it difficult to steady himself. Those demons with already malformed bodies could hardly move forward.

They fell in the middle of the road, but no other demon stopped to help them. They just kept running forward. Facing this scene, Batman felt a sense of indignation and sorrow.

He wasn't angry because no demon helped their companions, nor did he expect any kindness from the demon race.

However, those fallen demons seemed resigned. They didn't seek help from anyone, nor did they try to stand up. They just despaired, curling up and enduring the pain of rocks falling on their bodies.

Batman grabbed an imp that was trampled on the ground, throwing him to the front of the team. Then, swiftly, he picked up five or six imps and placed them in the upper-level passage to avoid being crushed by other demons.

A tall troll, due to the violent shaking of the mine, fell and got stuck in a rock crevice. Passing demons hurriedly ran past him, nobody lent him a hand. Yet, Batman went against the flow, rushing over and grabbing his ankle, pulling hard to free him.

At that moment, Batman saw no demons. Or rather, he saw himself as a demon, and these demons as his kin and comrades. He saw them as the people he once wanted to save in the slums but didn't know how.

He knew that disasters like the one happening now were occurring in Gotham. The citizens, driven mad, were constantly attacking each other. Giant broccoli covered the ground, rendering transportation impossible. Behind the scenes, dark forces plotted conspiracies. In the face of such a series of disasters, the situation for the lower class would only become more difficult.

With his mind full of thoughts, Batman didn't delay his actions. He used all his strength to help the troll up, gesturing for him to run forward. The troll glanced back at him but still staggered away.

Just as Batman was about to leave the passage, he saw a tentacle of a shadow monster pinned under a fallen rock. As he ran over, he realized it wasn't Hexagon. He sighed in relief and then attempted to help the shadow monster free its tentacle.

However, the damage caused by the boulder pressing down on the tentacle far exceeded the defense of the shadow monster's black mist layer. The shadow monster let out a piercing scream, but Batman remained calm. He said, "Cut off this tentacle, or you won't be able to escape!"

"No!! My foot!! My foot... my foot really hurts!!" Almost identical to Hexagon's voice, when it came, Batman's hand paused for a moment. But the next second, without hesitation, he used the edge of his gauntlet to cut off the tentacle, then dragged the other tentacles of the shadow monster and ran forward.

During the subsequent retreat on the road, Batman acted like a busy firefighter, sometimes picking up imps and throwing them forward, sometimes helping up fallen trolls, sometimes assisting shadow monsters in freeing their entangled tentacles, even helping Rotten Mud Wraiths pick up debris, stopping the spread of Mars on Lava Demons, and supporting injured crimson demons through the passage...

Batman's compassion was only for humans, but he knew that now, saving demons was also saving himself. If after this retreat, he had no one left to rely on, failure would be inevitable. He had to rescue as many living beings as possible to secure the future.

After just a few minutes of retreat, most of the demons had already reached the designated location and gathered around the mine. Batman scanned the area and noticed some scattered demons trapped inside, unable to escape.

So, amidst the shocked gazes of countless demons, Batman once again rushed into the mine's entrance. After his figure disappeared, Hexagon was the first to scream out.

"What is he doing?! Has he gone mad?! Come out!! Batman, come out!!!"

"My goodness!! Is this human insane?! Why would he rush back?... Wait! He's coming out! Who is that? Isn't that Dabo from the lower levels? Why didn't he run out just now??"

"Oh, he put him down. Hurry, hurry! Those demons over there, quickly go and pull him back, don't let him go mad!!!"

Hexagon acted faster. As soon as Batman returned, he extended a tentacle, directly entwining Batman's waist. Another tentacle was fixed to a nearby tree, and then Hexagon forcefully pulled Batman back.

"Batman! What are you doing?! Have you gone mad? The mine is about to collapse. You can't run back anymore. Stop!! No! Don't pull me!!"

In the moment Batman was caught by the tentacle, he paused, sighed, then immediately turned around, seizing Hexagon's tentacle and pulling back hard.

As expected, Hexagon, afraid of pain, immediately released his tentacle, but one of his feet was still caught in Batman's grasp. Batman simply dragged Hexagon into the mine and seized one of his tentacles, swinging it forcefully, throwing Hexagon against the side wall. Batman spoke to him sternly:

"Bring over those imps from over there! Hurry, otherwise, when the mine collapses, no one will be able to escape!!"

Hexagon let out a scream, but instinctively extended several tentacles to grab all the imps he could see and pulled them back. Batman swung again, and Hexagon, along with the imps entwined on his tentacles, were all thrown out of the mine.

Just as Batman was about to rush out of the mine, he suddenly heard a cry. He saw, in the blind spot of his vision, a smaller-sized imp cub not being thrown out, its head bleeding from being struck by falling rocks.

Without hesitation, Batman rushed over, bent down, and lifted the imp cub.

But at that moment, a violent eruption sound echoed, and flames soared from behind Batman. The entire mine collapsed.

Hexagon, thrown to the ground, used his tentacles to support himself and let out a piercing scream, then instinctively rushed towards the ruins.

The collapse was a continuous process, and the dust didn't immediately settle. The ground's aftershocks made all the demons somewhat unstable. However, at this moment, Elder Triton shouted, "Hurry!! Clear the debris!! Those trolls and Lava Demons, come over here!!"

The stronger demons had already run ahead, so they were far from the mine. Among the demons close to the mine, many had defects. In other words, many of them had been helped by Batman before, which allowed them to escape.

Everyone was in a panic, but as soon as Elder Triton shouted, they hurriedly rushed over and began to clear the rocks.

These groups of slave miners didn't have much fighting ability, but mining and digging were their specialties. Despite facing intense aftershocks, the Lava Demons used their fists to lift rock fragments. In no time, they dug Batman out.

Batman wasn't acting rashly. When he rushed over, he anticipated that the mine would collapse. So, while holding the imp cub, he rolled to the side and came to two thick logs. These two logs overlapped to form a sturdy corner, protecting him and the imp cub.

Batman crawled out, covered in dust and dirt. Hexagon screamed again, "Your leg! Your leg is bleeding!! And your back, my goodness, your previous wounds have reopened!!!"

Batman glanced back, seeing only blood. He had anticipated this and just sighed. At this moment, an imp stumbled over, staring at Batman with big eyes.

Batman handed the imp cub to him and sat down on the spot to catch his breath and recover his strength.

He knew he would get hurt, but he had also discovered that, perhaps because of his high soul activity in hell, he had stronger recovery abilities than in the real world.

The whip he endured as a laborer before, if it were in the normal world, would have already infected and become inflamed. However, after three or four days, the surface of the wound had already healed. If not for this recent blow, in another two days, this deep wound would have healed completely.

So, Batman wasn't worried about his injuries. However, at this moment, Elder Triton quickly swam over, glanced at Batman, and then curled up his tail, prostrating himself on the ground before Batman.

Just as Batman was about to turn his head, he saw the mysterious tattoo patterns on Elder Triton's body begin to emit a faint light.

The light grew brighter and brighter until it enveloped his entire body.

The surrounding Tritons suddenly emitted mournful cries. Before Batman could understand what was happening, the light transferred to him.

Warmth emanated from his soul, and his wounds healed at an incredibly fast speed. His soul, which had gradually dimmed due to fatigue and bleeding, became bright again.

In this light, Batman heard the distant and melancholic voice of Elder Triton:

"In the legacy of the Serpent Demon, I saw the history of this barren land for thousands of years, from the seeds of life sown by that great being, to the rise of heroes, and the chaos of gunpowder smoke..."

"The Serpent Demon clan has not yet met a true master. If, what you want to do is far more than this, if, what you can achieve is greater than them..."

"Then go and teach them, teach every one of our descendants, what truly is fairness, justice, and... freedom."

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

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 987 Battle for the High Tower (21)