Digimon: I really didn't want to be the Digimon Emperor!

Guan Yan looked at the powerful armored body before her, her cheeks slightly flushed, but the situation was urgent, and she couldn't care less about her embarrassment. Gritting her teeth, she carefully climbed onto the Dark Beast's broad, sturdy metal back, wrapping her arms tightly around its neck. Meanwhile, the Cute Beast was put into her Digivice.

The Dark Beast sensed the weight on its back but made no move. Its two sharp demonic blades sprang out, embedding themselves deeply into the hard rock wall with a loud "clang!" Then, the sharp blades under its armored feet easily cut into the rock.

He began to climb the desolate vertical cliff like a black lightning bolt, with astonishing speed and stability! Gravel tumbled down beneath his claws, plunging into the bottomless dark abyss below.

Guan Yan closed her eyes tightly, burying her face in the cold shoulder armor of the Dark Beast, with the howling wind and the screeching sound of metal rubbing against rock all around her.

After an unknown amount of time, the climbing finally stopped.

Guan Yan cautiously opened her eyes and found herself standing on solid ground.

The Dark Beast ceased its evolution, and Cheng Yuan returned to his original state, though his breathing became slightly rapid.

The scene before them suddenly opened up, yet remained oppressive. Beneath their feet lay barren black rocks, and behind them stretched a massive, unfathomable abyss, like a scar on the earth.

Not far ahead, a towering, pitch-black mountain range rose abruptly from the ground—their target—a dead volcano! However, a massive, irregularly shaped fissure, hundreds of meters wide at its narrowest point and hundreds of meters at its widest, stood like an insurmountable barrier between them and the foot of the volcano!

Looking out, on both sides stretched endless, barren deserts covered with black gravel, where the wind whipped up sand and dust, forming a gray-yellow curtain between heaven and earth. Only this menacing crack kept the target a mere stone's throw away.

"We can't fly directly across," Cheng Yuan said in a deep voice. He bent down, picked up a fist-sized rock, and threw it with all his might toward the other side of the crack!

The stone whooshed through the air in an arc. Just as it leaped into the air above the center of the crack—

call--!

A strange, extremely violent wind, without warning, like an invisible giant hand, slammed down from the narrow opening above with terrifying downward pressure! The rock had no chance to struggle; it was instantly swept up by this strange wind, as if gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand, and smashed vertically downwards into the bottomless dark abyss below at an even faster speed!

Guan Yan's face turned pale, still shaken: "This wind... it's too eerie!"

"We can only find our way along the edge of the crack." Cheng Yuan's gaze drifted into the distance where the crack stretched out, a place shrouded in wind and sand, yellow and barren.

There was no other choice. The two, carrying their Digimon, braved the increasingly fierce sandstorm, trudging along the edge of this terrifying fissure in one direction. Time seemed to lose its meaning; only the monotonous black sand beneath their feet and the endless abyss beside them kept them company. After walking for an unknown amount of time, just as Guan Yan felt her legs become as heavy as if they were filled with lead, Cheng Yuan suddenly stopped and pointed ahead where the sandstorm had subsided slightly.

"Look there!"

A bridge!

An extremely narrow and towering stone bridge, like a dying stone dragon, spans a relatively narrow section (about a hundred meters) of the crack! It is built of huge, roughly cut black stones, its style ancient and almost primitive, covered with deep dents left by wind and sand erosion and the vicissitudes of time. The bridge is only wide enough for two people to barely pass side by side, with no guardrails on either side. The bridge hangs alone above the abyss, as if it might be blown apart by the howling wind at any moment.

Braving the wind and sand, they approached the lonely bridge step by step. When they were a hundred feet away, something strange happened.

On the dilapidated stone bridge, numerous blurry humanoid figures appeared, arranged in a long, seemingly endless line, moving silently towards the other end. At the bridgehead stood several taller, distorted, and clearly inhuman humanoid figures, seemingly managing order. One of these inhuman figures appeared to be holding a bowl-like object; each person who stepped onto the bridge would pause briefly before this figure, as if forced to drink from the bowl, before continuing their numb journey.

The scene was eerie and oppressive, like the legendary bridge across the River Styx.

"A mirage?" Guan Yan's voice carried a hint of surprise and uncertainty.

However, just as they took a few more steps closer, trying to see more clearly, the dense array of light and shadow, the inhuman manager at the bridgehead, the bowl being handed out... everything vanished without a trace, like smoke blown away by the wind! Only the weathered black stone bridge remained, lonely and real, lying across the abyss, as if everything just now was merely an illusion created by the wind and sand blinding their eyes.

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the fear in each other's eyes. This bridge was definitely not a safe place.

"Be careful, stay close to me," Cheng Yuan whispered, stepping onto the narrow bridge first. Guan Yan followed closely behind, and Dilumon nervously stayed at Cheng Yuan's feet.

The bridge surface was rough and uncomfortable to walk on. With each step, the bottomless dark abyss below brought a strong sense of weightlessness and psychological pressure.

A howling, eerie wind surged up from the depths of the crevice, violently tearing at their clothes and hair, as if countless icy hands were trying to drag them down. Guan Yan didn't even dare to look down, her eyes glued to Cheng Yuan's back, her heart pounding in her chest. An invisible fear, like cold vines, coiled around them, making them unconsciously quicken their pace, wanting only to escape this suspended wasteland as quickly as possible.

The short bridge stretch of just over a hundred meters felt like an eternity. When their feet finally touched the solid ground on the other side of the crack, both of them involuntarily let out a long sigh of relief, their backs soaked with cold sweat.

At the end of the bridge, an ancient stone path, also paved with black rocks, meandered into the depths of the massive shadow of the extinct volcano. They hadn't walked far along the path when, in the shadow of a relatively flat, sheltered, huge rock ahead, a massive figure lay prostrate, fast asleep.

It was a Digimon in the form of a humanoid lion, enormous in size, far exceeding that of a typical adult Digimon. It had thick, flame-like black mane and a purplish-red hide. Its strong, twisted limbs were covered in black armor, and its sharp claws gleamed coldly even in its slumber. Most striking were the exposed ribs on its chest and the scapular spikes on its shoulders, as well as the blood and gore on its body, revealing its extremely dark and corrupted zombie identity. A fierce, violent, and seemingly uncontrollable aura emanated from it even in its slumber.

“This is…” Guan Yan immediately picked up the Draconis scanner to scan it.

Digivice: "???" This kind of zombie Digimon is not included in Digivice.

Source code scan using system scan:

[Wealth Value -100]

【Crazy Lion Beast (Complete Degenerate Form)】

[Virus Type - Immortal Type]

[Maturity Stage]

[Status: Data disorder, deep dormancy (suspected of having suffered severe psychological trauma/contamination)]

[Solution: The digital core has been irreversibly corrupted by darkness and cannot be recovered.]

"A degenerate form?!" Cheng Yuan's pupils contracted, and all the muscles in his body tensed instantly. Gatomon arched its back, letting out a threatening growl from its throat, and holy light flickered all over its body. Momon was so frightened that it hid behind Guan Yan.

Cheng Yuan and Guan Yan's hearts leaped into their throats. At this final, perilous pass leading to the deadly volcano, a sleeping, abnormally slumbering Digimon, once a fully evolved being, hung like a sword over their heads.

Chapter 144 Death Volcano

The mad lion beast's enormous body lay prostrate like a boulder in the shadow of a massive rock, each long, heavy breath stirring up a faint current of air mixed with the stench of blood and fragments of decaying data.

Its thick black mane rose and fell slightly with its breath, like a dim black flame, and the menacing metal horns and shoulder spikes reflected a cold luster in the dim light.

Even in their deep sleep, the violent and destructive pressure emanating from their past as Perfect-level Digimon still weighed heavily on Cheng Yuan and Guan Yan's hearts like a solid lead block.

“It’s in a deep hibernation.” Cheng Yuan’s voice was so low that it was almost swallowed up by the wind through the cracks in the rocks. “As long as you don’t provoke it, it won’t wake up easily.”

"Back then, Commander Feng led Master Giganotosaurus and fought this thing here?" He recalled the rumors about the Rocky Gathering Grounds, where Commander Feng paid the price of his partner's degeneration and mutation to defeat the ferocious beast under the Death Volcano.

"To be able to make MasterDramon mutate and degenerate... that must have been a pretty brutal fight." A chill ran down his spine.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze passing over the sleeping lion beast and landing on the terrifying mountain range further away, which resembled a giant pillar supporting the heavens and the earth—the Death Volcano.

It stands at the desolate edge of the Yellow Springs region, its massive mountain composed of pure, cold, lifeless black rock, devoid of any vegetation, its deathly stillness chilling.

Looking upwards, one can barely see half of the mountainside; further up, the massive mountain is completely submerged in the churning, thick, ink-like "black fog of death data."

The black fog was not still, but slowly undulating and churning like a living thing. Occasionally, huge blue arcs of electricity would tear and explode within it, and the muffled thunder sounded like the roar of a giant beast, making one's eardrums tingle.

Starting from an altitude of about a kilometer, one can see swirling, cutting, and twisting dark gray air currents—a destructive storm formed by highly condensed death data and violent energy.

Ordinary people, let alone climb it, will be instantly torn apart and dried by these invisible blades as soon as they step into its area, turning into "cured meat" hanging on the black rocks.

Such a rich and pure environment of death data is an unparalleled paradise and source of power for undead and ghost-type Digimon.

According to warnings from the community and scavengers along the way, there are at least four terrifying, fully-level undead Digimon near this dead volcano: Zombiemon, SkullRhinocerosmon, Mistmon, and the rare Mudmon.

The sleeping Mad Lionmon in front of us was knocked down from its growth stage by MasterGreymon, making it the weakest of the four.

邭夂茫龅搅俗钊醯囊浑b？

The ancient stone path before us, now occupied by a mad lion, is likely the fastest route up the mountain. Finding other entrances would take forever, and taking a detour would mean facing the complete creature in a more dangerous and unfamiliar area.

“Let’s break through from here,” Cheng Yuan said.

He recalled the information he had gathered from the settlement and looked at Guan Yan: "But these undead Digimon don't act alone, so there will probably be trouble. Therefore, you need to strengthen your abilities."

Guan Yan understood what he meant, and her gaze fell on the adorable beast in her arms, revealing a wry smile.

The little guy seemed to sense the terrifying aura ahead, and his round body trembled slightly.

Guan Yan: I understand what you're saying, but I can't do it... The cute beast only has one growth period, where am I supposed to get its strength out?

With a pained expression, Cheng Yuan pulled out something—an armored egg radiating intense heat and flame-like patterns—the Courage Digital Spirit!

“Guan Yan,” Cheng Yuan’s voice was unusually serious, “this might be useful for Mengmeng Beast.”

Guan Yan carefully took the armored egg that radiated intense heat. The eggshell was warm and smooth, as if it contained an indomitable will.

It was the spirit of courage that Cheng Yuan finally obtained from the dragon priest in the Time-Space Mystery that made the Courage Armor Egg.

Cheng Yuan solemnly explained, "This Courage Armor Egg might help your Momomon instantly gain Champion-level combat power, but since you don't have the Arc Machine as a medium, Momomon can only directly contact the Armor Egg and rely on its own resonance with the Spirit of Courage to undergo armor evolution. Moreover..."

He paused, his tone growing heavier: "This kind of direct-contact armor evolution is irreversible. Once it evolves into an armored body, it can no longer follow the evolutionary path you originally designed, and it loses the potential to evolve into other conventional mature or complete forms. Its future will be fixed on the path of the Courage Armored Body. You... need to think this through."

The air seemed to freeze, with only the mournful wind and faint thunder coming from the direction of the dead volcano.

He gave Guan Yan time to consider, while Cheng Yuan took a deep breath, as if gathering the courage to face the pain.

The ever-growing dark flower in his left hand and the dark warrior armor in his right hand overlapped once more, suddenly emitting a deep, eerie light!

"Ugh—!"

A suppressed groan escaped from his throat, and it seemed as if countless streams of black data were surging, tearing, and reassembling wildly beneath his skin! The black fog instantly enveloped him, and the intense pain from the data distortion caused his body to spasm slightly.

A few seconds later, the black fog dissipated, and the humanoid Digimon—Darkmon—reappeared, clad in ferocious black armor with blood-red energy patterns shimmering on its joints.

Beneath the cold, metallic mask, those scarlet eyes increasingly resembled the seven blood-red pupils on the armor.

He looked at Guan Yan.

Guan Yan looked down at the fiery flame-patterned armored egg in her palm, then at the adorable beast in her arms, trembling but still looking at her with its big, wet eyes.

Irreversible evolution... This means she will forever lose this pink, adorable little guy, and in return gain an unknown, combat-oriented partner.

Her mentor's belongings, the threat of death, the uncertainty of the future... countless images flashed through her mind.

Sadness, fear, hesitation... ultimately, transformed into a resolute flame that ignited in her eyes.

She needs power! To protect herself, help Cheng Yuan, fulfill her mentor's last wish, and uncover the truth of this world! The adorable beast also needs power to survive in this hellish world!

She suddenly raised her head, her eyes as firm as a rock: "Let's choose evolution! Momomon, we need power!"

"Puli!" The cute beast seemed to sense Guan Yan's determination, and vigorously tapped its round head, its fear replaced by a kind of innocent courage.

Guan Yan no longer hesitated, and solemnly handed the Courage Armor Egg to Mengmeng Beast, holding it in both hands.

The adorable beast stretched out its tiny paws and gently touched the red eggshell.

Om-!

In an instant, blinding and scorching flames erupted from the armored egg! Like a small sun rising in the dim, ghostly realm!

The flames instantly enveloped the cute beast completely, forming a giant fiery cocoon.

Inside the fire cocoon, the tiny figure of the adorable beast rapidly elongated and deformed in the golden light, with the faint crackling sound of its bones growing faintly audible. A surge of fiery, unwavering, and indomitable courageous energy spread out like a tide, even temporarily dispelling some of the surrounding chilly atmosphere.

The light lasted for a few seconds, then suddenly contracted inward!

What appeared in the same spot was no longer the cute Momon, but another Digimon with a fierce appearance!

Chapter 145 Cute Beast Armor Evolution

It is of medium size, about the height of a person, and resembles a standing Digimon wearing a priest's robe and a ferocious lion mask.

The head is covered by a ferocious red folk lion mask, and a diamond-shaped gemstone that emits a soft white light is set in the center of the helmet, like an all-seeing eye.

【Baron Beast】

[Free Seed - Demon Type]

Armored Vehicle (Maturity Stage)

[Skills: Meteor Dance (summons meteor shower), Crimson Hair, Fire Control, White Spell, Guardian Barrier]

[Introduction: An armored Majin-type Digimon evolved from the power of the "Digital Spirit of Courage," and also the guardian of a forgotten temple ruin (database) in a forgotten forest. It possesses several lost technologies that current Digimon lack. Its third eye on its forehead is also one of these abilities; it is said that this eye can see the future, which allowed Baronmon to survive the collapse of the ancient Digital World.]

“Baron Beast…” Guan Yan looked at her partner, who had a completely different temperament and exuded the wisdom of a scholar and the determination of a guardian, and a complex emotion welled up in her heart.

She excels at archaeology and history research, and Baronmon is precisely the scholar-type Digimon in the Digital World legends who guards history, observes relics, and can even glimpse a trace of the future!

This irreversible evolution, guided by courage, unexpectedly aligned with her path, a truly serendipitous coincidence.

"Guardian Baronmon, I serve you, Guan Yan." Baronmon's voice was deep and gentle, carrying a sense of wisdom that had endured many hardships. It nodded slightly, and the ancient book in its claws shimmered with light.

It instinctively took a step forward, subtly shielding Guan Yan behind it. The gem in the center of its helmet scanned the sleeping giant beast in front of it and the deathly aura that permeated the distance, its gaze sharp and full of vigilance.

"Good!" Cheng Yuan glanced at the Digimon encyclopedia and gave a thumbs up. Momomon had successfully evolved, adding another Champion-level fighter, which eased the pressure in his heart a little.

His bloodshot eyes turned to the only stone path leading to the volcano. "Go! Stay alert, and try not to alert that big guy!"

One person and three beasts (Guan Yan, Darkmon, Dilomon, and Baronmon) held their breath and, with the lightest steps, carefully circled around the edge of the huge rock to the entrance of the mountain path behind the sleeping Mad Lionmon.

Every step they took felt like walking on a knife's edge, their hearts pounding in their chests. Darkmon's fists were clenched tightly, Gatomon's entire body radiated holy light, and Baronmon's third eye gleamed silver, as if making some kind of prediction.

Only a hundred meters from the entrance to the stone path! The mad lion beast was still fast asleep, its enormous snores like muffled thunder.

However, just as they were about to step onto the stone path—

rustling sounds... creaking sounds... hoho...

A chilling sound suddenly erupted from all directions! It was as if the gates of hell had been opened!

Behind the jagged black rocks on both sides of the stone path, in the deep caves formed by weathering, and even in the cracks in the ground beneath our feet, countless decaying skeletons and twisted black rubber figures surged forth like a tide!

These decaying bones and rubber were pieced together to form huge skeletal soldiers several meters tall, with eerie green flames flickering in their empty eye sockets, and holding rusty bone knives or giant axes.