Chapter 983: Battle for the High Tower (17)_1

In history, we can find the genesis of many of our current societal issues and their solutions.

Humans are a race fond of repetition yet are often reluctant to learn from past mistakes. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing. When a problem has been solved countless times, future generations can always find the most suitable solution among the existing ones.

Throughout human history, there have been many wars in which the weak triumphed over the strong, defying the odds. Among these wars, the one that stands out the most in terms of the greatest disparity, scale, duration, and miracle, Batman could only think of one.

Batman excels in small-scale tactics, and his preference is not for large-scale warfare. But that doesn't mean he hasn't studied it.

As a severe hypochondriac, he is always prepared for the possibility of an alien invasion of Earth, where he would have to lead the human defense.

Under this assumption, Batman imagines the extreme. For instance, that the aliens' physical prowess far exceeds that of humans, they have superior technology, better organization and discipline, all aspects far surpasses that of contemporary human society.

If we were to consider how to win such a war, Batman, who has never experienced war personally, would have to delve into human history.

But the only war that could meet such extreme conditions, is the one that Batman has heavily researched.

The more he investigates, the more he realizes that the larger the scale of the war, the less significant the external factors become. Ultimately it all boils down to three classic conditions: the right time, the right place, and unity among the people.

The reason why Batman believes he can prevail in such a situation is because his current conditions align with certain conditions of the historical war he studied. That is, in circumstances where the right time and unity among the people are not strongly in his favor, the strategic advantage of location could potentially ensure victory.

The so-called right time refers to the timing of the war. For the Central Mine, now is indeed not an ideal time. The elite troops of the Rotting Heart General are stationed at the edge of the Seven Mountains Mine, he is in good condition, and there are no management vacancies in the high ranks.

The timing of our attack was rushed, we weren't adequately prepared for the war, and the enemy's response was relatively swift, with no significant mistakes in decision-making.

Unity among the people is even less of a concern; the army of miner slaves can only be described as fragile. Even setting up defenses poses a challenge.

From an education standpoint, most demons cannot effectively communicate orders. A single order that passes through three demons ends up completely distorted.

Batman attempts to use the materials in the mine to create large traps and machines manually. But the problem is, these devices require operators. Almost none of the demons can accurately carry out the actions that Batman instructs.

Considering the above, both the right time and unity are severely lacking. Therefore, the only possible way forward, as in the war he referenced, is to exploit the advantage of location.

Considering the enemy and our own numbers, the entire Central Mine is already a sufficiently large strategic field where the strategy of trading space for time could be executed.

In addition, Batman believes that the strategic space he has, is even more extensive than the one in the war he studied. After all, the demons don't require as many survival supplies, so logistics are not a key issue during relocations.

Furthermore, the location is inside a mine, where there are not many strategically valuable positions. The more evenly the value is distributed, the less needs to be considered when planning tactics.

While a large-scale war might be akin to calculus, a war confined within the scope of the mine would be akin to double-digit addition and subtraction. The principles are similar but the level of difficulty is vastly different. Both are Hell Difficulty, but they distinguish between novices and veterans.

Meanwhile, all the miner slaves who are still in the mine, know every inch of the mine in which they work every day.

According to a day of statistics, the Central Mine has more than 60 large caves, more than 30 abandoned caves, along with many small and medium-sized hollows in the mountain formed naturally, totaling over a hundred. Almost all the caves are connected through narrow staircases or passages, making the terrain very complex.

The mine was first developed over a thousand years ago. The Rotting Heart General took over the mine only about 300 years ago. And according to the indigenous inhabitants of the mine, the elite troops of the Rotting Heart General have never set foot here. They despise the foul-smelling slaves and haven't even taken a look.

The complicated tunnels, are so labyrinthine that even the old miners sometimes get lost. Even when riding the mine carts, they don't always know where to turn. This has satisfied one of the most important requirements of Batman's strategic plan, the aspect of the unknown enemy.

Of course, the internal structure of the mine is a secondary issue. The first thing they have to do is defend against the first wave of attackers from outside the mine.

The Central Mine appears spindle-shaped, higher in the north and sloping towards the south. A large mountain peak marks the highest point in the north, which hosts two big doors and two smaller ones that have all been blocked up.

Between the northern and southern peaks, there is a channel through which the mine cart travels without being blocked.

Batman's main tactic is, since they are defending along the hills, to fully utilize the advantage of high ground. New caves have been dug above the main and small doors to attack charging troops, and the mine cart tunnel in the channel was intentionally left open. Once the frontal attack is thwarted, the enemy will certainly target the tunnel.

The tunnel was located between two mountains, with slopes on both sides. In other words, as soon as they dared to pass through the tunnel, they would inevitably be at the lowest point of the mountain peaks. At this point, there would be the advantage of striking from above at every spot on the slope.

Because the physique of the demon miners was generally weaker than that of the opposing demon soldiers, and their numbers were fewer, they couldn't afford attrition. Therefore, Batman, who was the lead, didn't plan to fight directly. The mine was abundant with heavy rocks and sharp ores, as many as could be thrown would be in the first wave of the attack.

The demons in the vanguard were strong, but not all were versed in defensive magic armor. Their heavy armor could withstand the thrust of a spear, or the swing of a broadsword, but not the huge rocks tumbling down from hundreds of meters above.

Experience proved that where there's gravity, stone-throwing is an unbeatable strategy. As long as the starting point is high enough, it can always deliver a stinging blow to the opponent. Under gravity, all are equal.

Batman stood at the top of the northern mountain peak, commanding the demons to throw one huge rock after another, which had been prepared beforehand, off the mountain top. The Central Mine was called so because the mountain was large and its peaks were high, hence the rocks had ample time to gather potential energy.

Countless boulders rolled down from the mountain top. Rows upon rows of powerful, heavily armored demon soldiers, brandishing their weapons, charged towards the gate. When they saw the falling boulders, it was too late.

Their physique and equipment's weight did not allow them to scatter and retreat quickly like light-armored soldiers. Most of the demons were struck down by the boulders. Although they didn't die, this wave of attack could be considered a failure.

During the second wave, they attempted to attack with a flanking maneuver, dividing into several squads to rush up the gate from the side slopes. But as long as there were enough rocks, some unfortunate ones would always get knocked down. And even if they reached the gateway, they still had to find a way to breach it while standing at the gate, they would still get hit by the boulders.

The enemy's commander was not a pushover either. After two failed attempts, he quickly came up with a countermeasure. Numerous flying insects took off from the military camp. Batman squinted his eyes and noticed that they were carrying bomb-like objects with their legs, apparently, they were the enemy's bombers.

Indeed, during an air raid, the minion miners couldn't dare to show their heads and push rocks. Batman also didn't have any air combat cards to play, but that didn't mean he couldn't use disruptive tactics.

Apart from an abundance of rocks, the mine also had plenty of wood. There was a lot of timber stored here, used for building supporting structures. Batman asked the demon miners to cut the logs and stack them in designated positions long ago.

As the insect bombers approached the mountain peak, they suddenly saw smoke rising from the opposite mountain peaks. Soon, the entire mountain was basking in smoke and appeared to be on fire, creating an almost surreal environment.

Batman hit the nail on the head. The insect bombers' weakness was smoke, which was why Astro's Flying Spike Army made him so triumphant. The Spike Demon was the only species in Hell that was not bothered by dust and smoke.

However, even if the insect bombers were not bothered by smoke, it was of no use. The prolonged stalemate meant that large-scale warfare in Hell was not very intense. Most of the wars, apart from magic, were generally at the level of medieval face-to-face combat.

Plus, the sturdy physique of the demons in Hell didn't require many enhancements. Hence, they didn't innovate weaponry and vehicles the way humans did out of their frailty.

The insect bombers' position was primarily dependent on their eyesight. They lacked heat-sensitive imaging, infrared sensing, radar scanning, headquarter positioning. Once in smoke, they couldn't see clearly anymore and had to rely on luck.

Some insect bombers found a workaround, which was to fly at as low an altitude as possible. As long as they were close enough, they could see clearly. However, once they were close enough to the ground, the weapons of the demon miners could reach them.

With their superior upper body strength, the giants were the best at throwing spears. The insect bombers couldn't wear heavy armor and were vulnerable to even the slightest of touches, causing them to crash. Their vision was already impaired and they couldn't predict the movements of the enemies in advance. In just over ten minutes, two-thirds of the insect bombers became tactically useless.

After that, it was like a turn-based battle. The enemy commander tried every method to break through the gate. Batman, using his tactical mind, devised various ways to counter the attacks, maximizing the resources available in the mine.

Realizing that the front door was difficult to break, they shifted their focus to the side doors. When they found that the side doors were also fortified, they targeted the mining car tunnels between the gullies.

As Batman had anticipated, the advantage of the terrain was leveraged to the fullest extent here. Not only the advantage of striking from above, but attacks could also be launched from both sides. Both the first half and the second half had ample fireside firepower. For the first time, they managed to cause actual casualties on the enemy's side.

The more it resembled ancient warfare, the more difficult it was to besiege cities and mountains. On one hand, without the aid of air forces, striking from below was a gargantuan task and attackers incurred heavier casualties than the defenders.

On the other hand, as long as the city was not running out of resources, it was common for ancient sieges to last for a year or two. The defenders weren't in a hurry, as long as the city was in their hands, they had the advantage. But the attackers were anxious, a prolonged siege could slow down the overall pace of their war.

Then, it came down to a matter of endurance. The elite forces of the Rotting Heart General attacked in waves, coming up and retreating, before the miners did the same. It was a test of who would run out of stamina first.

Batman understood that in this regard, the situation wasn't promising. The miners were in short supply, physically weak, and the back and forth of moving rocks, igniting logs, and throwing spears had almost depleted all the combat-ready manpower's energy.

And as expected, after approximately two days and one night of defensive combat, the mine's main gate was eventually breached.

But to Batman, the real fight was just getting started.