Despite Batman's suspicion that this was another one of Shiller's schemes, he still had to rescue Shiller. After all, Shiller had been captured by the Rotting Heart General, whom Batman would eventually have to confront.
Moreover, Shiller's previous frailty had left a shadow of doubt in his heart. He didn't know what was going on with Shiller's mysterious later condition, nor did he know if this would affect his performance when facing a powerful demon general.
Merkel wanted to rush into the tunnel to confront the Rotting Heart General directly, but Batman stopped him. He spoke in a deep voice, "Now is not the best time to pursue. The Rotting Heart General surely didn't come alone. If we rush there now, we'll fall right into the enemy's encirclement."
"But...but..." Merkel anxiously stomped his foot. Grinding his teeth, he said, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't cut down that broccoli plant, Mr. Shiller's allergies wouldn't have gotten this bad!"
"Do you really think his current condition is entirely due to allergies?" Batman asked as he pulled Merkel back.
Merkel hesitated for a while, then reluctantly said, "I shouldn't disclose my employer's privacy... Okay, given the current situation, don't you think Mr. Shiller has become a bit more... hmm, how should I put it? More insane?"
Batman turned to him as Merkel continued, "When I first met Mr. Shiller, I found him to be somewhat staid and reserved, but very reliable. I've met many gentlemen like him in England."
"He's a detective literature enthusiast who likes to set up various puzzles and then solve them himself. Occasionally, I'd help out, but I always just forced my way through issues. I never thought he'd put up with me for so long."
"Though he seems quite serious, he's not odd-tempered and gets along well with everyone. However…" Merkel paused, hesitant to speak ill of his employer behind his back, but he went on, "Haven't you noticed? Mr. Shiller's mental condition is becoming increasingly unstable."
"The broccoli incident only ignited the fuse; there were many signs before this." Merkel shook his head.
As Batman carefully recalled their past encounters, he realized this was indeed the case. When he first started interacting with Shiller, Shiller had been a relatively responsible teacher, not much different from most college professors who come, teach and leave, barely interacting with any students.
Batman remembered purposely messing up his grades during his first semester, yet Shiller didn't seem to care. In his second semester, Batman intentionally completed all the credits for a course, giving an impression of cheating, reinforcing the playboy image around him, but Shiller didn't say anything.
However, that laid-back period only lasted for two years. For some unknown reason, starting from the third year, Shiller began to seriously crack down on grades, not just Bruce Wayne's grades, he also tormented the other students.
Normally, the first and second years are the key foundation-building periods. It doesn't make sense to allow students to slack during this time, only to care about their grades when courses are nearly over, and internships are upon them.
By senior year, things had spiraled out of control. Shiller developed a crazy obsession with the thesis. In the process of discussing the paper with Shiller, Batman found that he was somewhat paranoid, often insisting on hours-long revisions due to punctuation, paragraph structure, or phrasing issues.
At the time, Batman thought Shiller was trying to prevent him from becoming a street-level hero.
But he later found out that Shiller didn't only torture him, he spent almost all his leisure time torturing every student capable of writing a paper.
This was indeed mutual torture because not only Batman knew, Shiller and the students themselves knew that they were not cut out for this rigorous academic path. They lacked the talent and the willingness to strive for it. There was no point torturing them with absurdly high academic standards.
Although Batman couldn't ascertain if he was sick, he was sure Shiller was.
Currently, his symptoms more closely resembled those of a person on the autism spectrum, but occasionally he would exhibit signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder related to anxiety.
Had Shiller's mental illness worsened? As Batman retreated, he pondered. Ostensibly, a physician can't treat themself, but there seemed to be no incident that could contribute to the deterioration of Shiller's mental state.
However, he did agree with one point Merkel made: Shiller's extreme vulnerability following the broccoli incident wasn't an accident.
It was highly plausible that cumulative mental pressure over time had unleashed all at once at a certain point, causing Shiller to have a severe stress response, which led to such severe outward manifestations.
With that in mind, Batman quickened his pace. He and Merkel returned to the cave where their troops were stationed and filled Alfred in on the situation they had just observed.
Alfred nodded and said, "Indeed, we must deal with the Rotting Heart General as soon as possible. As long as he is in the mine for one day, we cannot peacefully expand our influence."
"Now, the overall situation in Hell is changing rapidly. Beelzebub isn't employing the strategy of drawing alliances that we imagined, but instead, he declares war on several neighboring countries simultaneously. Not all the generals agree with this decision, and the internal tensions are mounting."
"Only in chaos can one become king. We must seize this opportunity." Alfred turned his gaze towards Batman. "This may be the only time where you can personally participate in regular large-scale group warfare. For anyone engaged in the study of military theory, this is an opportunity that is easy to imagine but hard to come by."
Batman nodded, clearly aware of the importance of this war. The three people present did understand that the affairs of the demons did not concern the human race. Even with the greatest of benevolent intentions, they aimed to liberate all of mankind, not the entirety of Hell or Heaven.
However, the reason they wanted to participate in this war was, on one hand, to practice their ideals. Since certain things are impracticable in the real world, by changing the approach and validating the accuracy of their theories, they could further research these theories and have an excellent opportunity to refine their thoughts.
On the other hand, it was to offer Batman a chance to hone his skills. Although Batman's previous assumptions seemed a bit paranoid, after learning about the broader universe and the existence of mysterious magic, Batman had a premonition that someday he would need to step into the wider world and experience the grandeur of epic war.
If he waits till then to practice, it could be too late. Once such a catastrophe falls upon the human race, every moment is critical for survival. He needs the ability to strike decisively.
If Batman is resolved, almost no one can stop him. He takes charge of strategic planning and tactical arrangement, serving as the commander of the mine troops. In contrast, Merkel is responsible for ideological guidance and training, equivalent to the political commissar of the mine troops.
Batman initially wanted Alfred to handle ideological guidance, but Alfred shook his head, leaving this opportunity to Merkel. He justified it as follows, "No matter what, I have been a spy for a long time, and my thinking leans more towards intelligence warfare."
"It's not that I can't change my thinking direction, but I worry that there is still unfinished business in the real world that requires my effort. If my way of thinking alters and impacts the judgment of a critical decision, it could lead to catastrophic consequences."
"On the contrary, Merkel hasn't achieved any outstanding success in intelligence. He prefers individual combat, which has turned him into a blank slate. If he can unite people in large-scale operations, it won't affect his current work and lay a solid foundation for the future."
Batman nodded, expressing his understanding. The old butler had his glorious days and was able to compete with Philby. His espionage skills must have been perfected by now. After doing this for half a lifetime, some established ways of thinking definitely exist, but that's not entirely bad.
Being engaged in intelligence work for a long time can train a keen intuition and conditioned response. Sometimes, these inadvertent intuitions can be life-saving.
However, if one forcibly changes their thinking pattern under extremely urgent situations, it is possible to lose this precious intuition. If it is needed in the future, that would be troublesome.
Although Batman certainly does not want Alfred to engage in such dangerous work, he also knows that he can't stop such a man.
Whether it is Merkel or Alfred, after learning about their ideals, Batman knew that he had no chance of persuading them.
Therefore, Alfred was in charge of logistics. Although demons don't need to eat or drink, equipment manufacturing, trap making, and intelligence reconnaissance are crucial. Alfred was quite proficient in these aspects.
After determining the basic division of labor, the three of them started working in an orderly fashion. Among the three, Batman, although he did not have much practical experience in strategy and tactics, his theories and wisdom were top-notch. Alfred was in charge of logistics; there was no one better than Batman's butler for logistics.
The only slight shortcoming was Merkel, who had no practical experience in ideological guidance and was not proficient in training. However, fortunately, he learned very quickly.
Moreover, his good physical skills and professional knowledge he had learned before allowed him to train a sharp squad. Whether used for reconnaissance or combat, the effect was quite good.
The Central Mine had completely collapsed, but now the second, third, and fifth mountains are all connected. The fifth mountain is the second-largest mine with a considerable cave that can be used to station troops and train.
When the three mountains are united, it offers larger defensive depth. After more extensive cooperation and practice, Batman's tunnel-warfare tactics produced a greater effect. It did not take long for the fourth mountain, which housed a small number of demon soldiers, to be captured.
However, the sixth and seventh mountains, because they are closer to Rotten Heart General's camping site, were directly occupied by the large army after the incident at the centrally located mine. There is a buffer zone around the sixth mountain, but the seventh mountain is a hard nut to crack.
That is where Rotten Heart General's castle is and where the big eyeball resides. After Shiller was taken away by the Rotten Heart General, the tunnel they had previously dug was entirely destroyed. The Rotten Heart General also set up a magic array underground to defend against tunnel warfare and sent strong troops to guard. They also set up a large defensive camp nearby.
If they attack the mountain from the ground, they will encounter a similar situation to the previous Central Mine. With Batman standing in front of the sand table, focusing on the location of the seventh mountain and considering all the tactics in his mind, he realizes that there are no shortcuts to taking the seventh mountain.
Therefore, a tough battle is forthcoming.