When the ground shook beneath, Batman looked at rkel, who covered his mouth, but the next second, he turned to the demons and shouted, "Retreat! I said Retreat!"
At this command, all the demons dropped their tasks at hand and ca together, like a switch had been flipped. Moving towards the mine with swift precision, their response surprised even Batman.
rkel also bolted to the depths of the mine, Batman following close behind. The reaction was so swift that the magma had no chance to erupt before all the demons had retreated into the underground escape route.
The escape route was above the magma, but they moved so fast. As the demons cleared the path, the magma began to spew, destroying the space within the Third Mountain.
Just as they had retreated to the mine in the Second Mountain and were catching their breaths, a shuttle snake demon peeked out from the tunnel, addressing rkel. "Comrade rkel, comrade Alfred sent to assist you. Your remarkable victory in Third Mountain has greatly inspired the comrades in Second Mountain..."
Upon hearing the shuttle snake demon's Soviet jargon, Batman covered his own eyes. He glanced back at the demons trailing behind, still disoriented and terrified, and felt sowhat apprehensive.
Batman really didn't want to bring the group of demons to Alfred, the sa way he didn't want to bring his school transcript to him.
But he didn't have a choice; rkel had already moved forward. Batman had no option but to follow suit. When he t Alfred, he was directing a group of magma demons to lift a massive log to the top of the mine as a support to reinforce its structure.
Alfred was glad to see Batman, and with a smile he said, "I saw the Central Mine collapse. You're fine, and being able to hold up there for so long is indeed a miracle."
Batman was taken aback; he didn't expect Alfred to complint him so directly. He hesitated for a mont, then said, "In fact, I was drawing from..."
"No matter what you borrowed from, the fact you managed to hold back the elite demon soldiers for so long under the circumstances, shows your excellent level of strategic planning and tactics," interrupted Alfred.
Even though he was complinted, Batman didn't look too happy, as he was filled with questions. Alfred sensed his state, gave a signal to the shuttle snake demon, who took rkel and his army, along with Batman's army, further into the mine.
In the heart of the mine, only Batman and Alfred remained. Alfred led Batman to a log pile next to a bonfire. Uniquely, there was a rock slab set up for cooking, with a perfectly grilled steak on it.
"Have a bite. I took this from the cafeteria supervisor. It tastes really good," Alfred cut a piece of at with a sharp stone and handed it to Batman.
Batman hesitated but didn't eat. Alfred shook his head, "You have always been this way since you were a child. If you're upset, you won't eat; this could seriously hurt your digestion."
In front of Alfred, Batman seed more fragile and childish. In a huff, he moved further away from the rock slab. Alfred chuckled, "I guess you're puzzled by rkel's achievents, feeling that although you're smarter than him, you can't lead these demons effectively."
Batman opened his mouth but closed it again. Nevertheless, he managed to say, "All right, that's one of the questions, but it's not really about that."
"So, what's it about?" Alfred asked, cutting the steak with a dagger and eating a piece off a wooden fork.
"So you've always... what I an is, you've always adhered to your beliefs, you've always wanted to do this, haven't you?" Batman asked, looking at Alfred.
Alfred lowered his head, then after a while nodded saying, "A person can never truly abandon his ideals. If he says he has, it may just be that he has buried them deep in his heart, unwilling to share them with others."
"But that's not because of disillusionnt or embarrassnt, but the realization that yelling out loud and repeatedly about it when the ti is not right is of no use."
"Why didn't you..." Batman paused abruptly as his tone had beco rather forceful, sounding almost accusative. He softened his tone and asked, "Why haven't I heard you talk about these things before?"
Alfred looked into Batman's eyes, silent for a very long ti. His silence made Batman sowhat uneasy, until Alfred let out a sigh, "When Thomas and Martha were alive, I wouldn't conceal it from them. It's wrong to instill so ideologies into a child who understands nothing."
"And after their deaths..." Alfred fell silent for a while. Batman kept his eyes on him, then heard Alfred say, "Your ntal state is not suitable for pondering any deeper philosophical thoughts."
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