Chapter 985: The Battle for Gao Ta (20)

Just as the exhausted miner-slaves slumped wearily against the tunnel walls, preparing to rest, a deep rumbling suddenly rose from beneath the ground, causing every demon to scramble to their feet, eyes darting wildly in panic.

Batman, lost in thought, was jolted awake—but instantly recognized the source. He lowered his gaze, his eyes piercing through layers of rock to the molten sea far below the mine.

“Someone is stirring the magma! Someone is stirring the magma!” cried the Elder of the Viper Demons. “This is an ancient fire magic—it can summon tidal waves of lava or trigger volcanic eruptions! Move! Move out of here now!”

Upon hearing the words “magma eruption,” Batman’s mind flashed to one concept: “mountain structure.”

The mine’s geological structure differed from other mountains—it contained too many hollows, nested and interwoven into a complex web. Such terrain was ideal for tunnel warfare.

But it had one fatal flaw: if the main structure collapsed, total ruin would follow. As always, under gravity, all things were equal—a mountain’s weight crushing down meant no one would survive.

Batman had anticipated he would one day face the challenge of magic—but he never expected it to come so soon. He hadn’t foreseen how swiftly General Corruptheart would react. The magma beneath the earth was indeed a brilliant strategic target.

What surprised Batman was that General Corruptheart had truly cut off his own tail. Even under the immense production pressure from Beelzebub, he dared create such chaos—abandoning the entire Central Mine just to eliminate them.

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

Fortunately, he had already dispatched scouts to map escape routes. Watching the panicked demons in the tunnels, Batman leapt to a higher vantage and shouted: “Everyone, follow me! We’re getting out now!”

His established leadership structure took effect. All demons instinctively followed him, surging toward the passages.

Fortunately, the number of miner-slaves was never large, and they weren’t all clustered together. The pre-drilled evacuation routes proved effective. Though slightly disoriented, the slaves moved in orderly fashion, guided by older miners who remembered the paths.

The tremors grew fiercer. Even Batman, normally steady, struggled to maintain his balance. Demons with already deformed bodies could barely move forward.

They collapsed in the middle of the path. No other demons looked back. They simply kept running. Yet Batman felt a surge of bitter fury.

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He wasn’t angry that no demons helped their comrades. He never expected demons to possess kindness.

But those fallen demons seemed to accept their fate. They didn’t cry for help. They didn’t even try to rise. They simply lay there, curled up, enduring the pain of rocks crashing onto their bodies from above.

Batman grabbed a small demon crushed underfoot and hurled him to the front of the line. Then he lifted five or six more small demons and placed them onto upper passages, shielding them from being trampled.

A towering ogre, thrown off balance by the violent shaking, became wedged in a rock fissure. Demons rushed past without a glance. But Batman charged against the tide, seized the ogre’s ankle, and yanked with all his strength.

At that moment, Batman saw no demons—only himself as one of them. He saw these demons as his kin, his comrades—like the impoverished souls in the slums he had once wanted to save but never knew how.

He knew a disaster like this was unfolding in Gotham right now. Insane citizens attacked each other. Giant broccoli filled the streets. Transportation had halted. The shadowy mastermind plotted behind the scenes. Under this cascade of natural and man-made calamities, the lower classes’ plight would only grow worse.

Batman didn’t let his thoughts slow his actions. He lifted the ogre with all his strength, gesturing for him to run. The ogre glanced back at him, then limped away.

As Batman prepared to leave the tunnel, he spotted a shadow creature’s tendril pinned beneath fallen rocks. He ran over—and realized it wasn’t Hex. He exhaled in relief, then moved to help the shadow creature free its limb.

But the damage from the boulder had already exceeded the shadow creature’s outer black mist defenses. It shrieked in agony. Yet Batman remained calm. “Cut off this tendril,” he said. “Or you won’t escape.”

“No!! My foot!! My foot… my foot hurts so much!!” The voice, identical to Hex’s, made Batman pause—but the next second, without hesitation, he sliced the tendril clean with the edge of his gauntlet, then dragged the shadow creature forward by its remaining limbs.

In the following evacuation, Batman moved like a firefighter overwhelmed by flames—now lifting small demons and tossing them ahead, now helping fallen ogres to their feet, now freeing tangled shadow creature limbs, now gathering broken debris for mud demons, now preventing sparks from spreading on lava demons, now guiding injured red demons through the tunnels…

Batman’s saintly heart was meant for humans alone—but he knew now: saving demons was saving himself. If, after this evacuation, he had no one left, defeat was inevitable. He had to salvage as many lives as possible to fight another day.

After just a few minutes of evacuation, most demons had reached the designated rendezvous point and gathered around the mine. Batman scanned the crowd—some scattered demons remained trapped inside.

Before the stunned eyes of countless demons, Batman charged back into the mine’s entrance. The moment his figure vanished, Hex was the first to scream.

“What is he doing?! Is he insane?! Get out!! Batman, get out now!!”

“My god!! This human must be mad!! Why is he going back?!… Wait—he’s out! Who’s that? Isn’t that Dabo from the lower levels? He didn’t escape earlier?!”

“Oh, he dropped him off! Hurry, hurry—those demons over there, pull him back! Don’t let him go crazy!!”

Hex moved faster. The moment Batman reappeared, one of his tendrils lashed around Batman’s waist, another anchored to a nearby tree, and he yanked Batman backward with all his might.

“Batman! What are you doing?! Are you insane?! The mine’s about to collapse! Don’t go back!! Stop!! No! Don’t pull me!!”

The moment the tendril gripped him, Batman paused. He sighed, then spun around, seized Hex’s tendril, and pulled with all his force.

As expected, the pain-averse Hex immediately released his grip—but one of his feet remained clutched in Batman’s hand. Batman seized the opportunity, dragged Hex into the mine, grabbed one of his tendrils, swung him hard, and flung him against the tunnel wall. Batman growled:

“Grab those few small demons over there! Hurry! If the mine collapses, none of us will make it!”

Hex screamed—but instinctively extended several tendrils, wrapping every small demon he could see and dragging them back. Batman swung again, hurling Hex and the small demons he carried clear of the mine.

As Batman prepared to flee the mine, he heard another cry. In his blind spot, a smaller, younger small demon had been left behind—now crushed under falling rocks, blood streaming from its head.

Batman didn’t hesitate. He sprinted toward it, bent low, and scooped up the young demon.

At that moment, a violent eruption roared behind him. Flames surged upward. The entire mine collapsed in a thunderous roar.

Hex, thrown to the ground, propped himself up with his tendrils and let out a piercing scream. Then, instinctively, he charged toward the rubble.

Collapse was an ongoing process. Dust hadn’t yet settled. The aftershocks made all demons stagger. But then the Viper Demon Elder shouted: “Hurry! Clear the rubble! You ogres, lava demons—come quickly!!”

The strongest demons had already retreated far from the mine. Those still near the site were mostly flawed—meaning many of them had been helped by Batman, and only because of that had they escaped.

Everyone was panicked—but at the Elder’s shout, they rushed forward, frantically digging through rocks.

These miner-slaves had no combat skills—but excavating rock was their trade. Even amid violent aftershocks, lava demons swung their fists, rock demons lifted debris—and soon, they unearthed Batman.

Batman was no reckless fool. As he charged in, he anticipated the collapse. He rolled sideways with the young small demon, landing beneath two thick logs that crossed to form a sturdy shelter, protecting both him and the child.

Batman crawled out, covered in dust and dirt. Hex screamed again: “Your leg! It’s bleeding!! And your back—my god, your old wounds have split open again!!”

Batman glanced back. Blood everywhere. He’d expected it. He sighed. Then a small demon staggered over, staring at him with wide eyes.

Batman handed the young demon to him, then sat down, breathing heavily, regaining strength.

He’d known he’d be injured—but he’d also noticed that in Hell, perhaps due to his heightened soul vitality, his recovery was stronger than in the real world.

The whip lash he’d taken from the miner—if this were the real world, the wound would’ve been infected by now. But after three or four days, the surface had already healed. Had he not been struck again, the deep gash would’ve closed completely in another two days.

So Batman wasn’t worried about his wounds. But then the Viper Demon Elder swiftly slithered over and looked at him.

He curled his serpent tail, pressed his body flat to the ground, and bowed before Batman.

As Batman turned to look, he saw the Elder’s mysterious tattoos begin to glow faintly.

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

The surrounding Viper Demons suddenly wailed. Before Batman could comprehend what was happening, the light shifted—transferring to him.

His soul warmed. His wounds healed at astonishing speed. His soul, dimmed by exhaustion and blood loss, blazed anew with radiance.

Within this light, Batman heard the Elder’s distant, mournful voice:

“In the Viper Demon legacy, I have seen the history of this desolate land for ten thousand years—from the Great Being sowing the seed of life here, to the rise of warlords and the chaos of smoke and fire…”

“The Viper Demons have never known a true master. If what you seek goes far beyond this… if what you can achieve is greater than theirs…”

“Then teach them. Teach every one of our descendants what true fairness, justice, and… freedom truly are.”