Knights of the Digital World

The giant whale beast was also very happy and said, "That's good! We must become stronger and stronger and defeat Barbamon as soon as possible! Alright, enough talk, you all go into my belly first. I need to get back to the deep sea quickly. It wouldn't be good if we attracted the attention of the Barbamon army."

As it spoke, the giant whale opened its mouth, waiting for the group to enter.

Igamon nodded and, leading Emu and Lionmon, headed towards Whalemon's mouth. As they walked, he explained:

"This is Lord Whalemon! He's a powerful and gentle Ultimate-level Digimon. He's enormous, and his belly can house many Digimon. Everyone in Beangate Town is hiding inside Lord Whalemon's belly."

Lord Whalemon and Lord BanchoLeomon are old friends. This time, thanks to his great help, we were able to evade the Barbamon army's search.

Emu nodded repeatedly. In the first Digimon series, Tai and the others had also stayed inside Whalemon. No wonder Barbamon's army couldn't find Bancho and Mamemon. They really were hiding underwater!

"Thank you, giant whale. If it weren't for you, I might never have seen my master and the others again."

Emu expressed his sincere gratitude.

He knew that Whalemon could hear him. In fact, Whalemon was somewhat similar to Trainmon; both could carry people and communicate with the people inside their bodies. It was just that one had the appearance of a living being, while the other had the appearance of a vehicle, and their areas of operation were different, so they were not easily associated.

"No need to thank me. I just did what I could. My long-standing friendship with BanchoLeomon is enough to make me do this. Not to mention, you are the vital force against Barbamon, so I have to help you even more!"

The whale-like beast's voice echoed. Though loud, it was gentle. Only when Barbamon was mentioned did it show a slight fluctuation.

Igamon noticed Emu and Lionmon's confusion, tugged at them, and whispered:

"Master Whalemon was once the guardian of a coastal fishing village. Most of the villagers were amphibious Digimon, such as Gomamon, Turtlemon, and Tadpolemon. They weren't very strong, but they had a good relationship with Master Whalemon."

However, the fishing village was later wiped out by the Barbamon army. Less than one in ten villagers survived. Because it was difficult for Whalemon to go ashore, its ranged attacks posed no threat to the Ultimate-level monsters like Tankdramon, and it could only watch helplessly as the villagers were slaughtered. Therefore, it harbored a deep hatred for the Barbamon army and constantly plotted revenge to defeat Barbamon.

Emu and Lionmon remained silent. They could imagine the agony of watching one's loved ones being slaughtered while being powerless to stop it. No wonder Igamon spoke in a low voice, not wanting Whalemon to hear. He probably didn't want Whalemon to relive the pain of the past.

Emu and Lionmon kept this matter to themselves and did not continue to discuss it. They also did not want to hurt Whalemon.

Igamon, carrying Emu and Lionmon, hadn't walked far when they saw two Beanmon sparring. Clearly, they had arrived at their destination.

The two Bean Beasts who were sparring also noticed the arrival of Yongmeng and the others. They turned their heads to look at them, immediately recognized Yongmeng, and happily came over, saying:

"Isn't this Emu? You're back! Where's Palad? Isn't she with you?"

Yongmeng looked at the two bean-like beasts and recognized them.

Although Digimon all look the same, their Digicores differ, allowing them to identify each other. Perhaps due to the power of Ex-Aid, Emu could also identify Digimon in this way.

The two Bean Beasts in front of her are members guarding the entrance to Bean Gate Town. Yongmeng encounters them every time she enters or leaves Bean Gate Town, and they have a fairly good relationship. Otherwise, they wouldn't have come so readily.

"Hello, Beanmon. It's been a long time! I got back first, Parad will be here a little later. Oh, by the way, this is my other partner, Lionmon. You must remember him."

Emu met some familiar faces, and his previously depressed mood due to Whalemon's past improved considerably. He happily chatted with them and even introduced Lionmon.

The Beanmon curiously sized up the calm-looking Lionmon standing beside Emu, nodded, and said, "Alright, we'll remember him. Emu, come with us. We'll take you to see the leader, Beanmon-sama."

Chapter 10, The Royal Knight Who Was Found

The Beanmon were eager to lead the way for Emu. Since they were currently inside the Whalemon's belly, they didn't need to patrol or engage in high-intensity training—otherwise, the Whalemon wouldn't be able to handle it—and usually passed the time with simple sparring. To be honest, they were quite idle.

Igamon readily bid farewell to Emu. He himself needed to report on the mission to their intelligence chief. Since someone could guide Emu in his place, he naturally had no complaints.

Emu and the other Beanmon were old acquaintances, so they were quite familiar with each other. After saying goodbye to Igamon, they chatted as they walked towards Bancho Beanmon's location.

They hadn't walked far when they saw BanchoMamemon with its back to them. It was sitting on the ground, with a Lotusmon in front of it. BanchoLeomon stood beside it, a small twig clenched in its mouth, its school uniform held in its hand, and several bandages clearly wrapped around its chest. Another Lotusmon was also examining it.

"Master Beanmon, your injuries are almost fully healed. However, your Digicore seems to have been overused. There's nothing I can do about it. I can only wait for you to recover on your own. I estimate it will take about another month to fully recover."

Lotusmon carefully examined Bancho-chan's body and gently stated its conclusion.

"Hahahaha! Little Bean, you're no good. Your recovery ability has decreased."

Before BanchoMamemon could speak, BanchoLeomon threw his head back and burst into laughter, mocking BanchoMamemon.

Lotusmon, who was examining BanchoLeomon, rolled its eyes, slapped BanchoLeomon on the shoulder rudely, and scolded:

"Lord Leomon, please be quiet! I'm checking you! You were slashed in the chest by a Slashmon, don't act recklessly. It would be troublesome if you reopened the wound!"

As the medical staff member, even BanchoLeomon didn't dare to argue with Lotusmon. He obediently shut his mouth and stood still, waiting for Lotusmon to finish the examination.

This prompted the leader of the Beanmon clan, who had already finished his inspection, to turn around and mock him mercilessly: "Hahahaha! Old lion, you're the one who's done for. Go ahead and laugh again if you dare!"

BanchoLeomon pursed its lips, causing the small branch to tremble slightly. In the end, it didn't say anything, but glared fiercely at BanchoPeamon with eyes full of provocation.

"...Am I seeing things? This thing is BanchoLeomon?!"

Seeing this, Emu's lips twitched, a sense of disillusionment washing over him. This childish guy was the composed BanchoLeomon of his memories? It couldn't be real, could it?!

Thinking back, it seems the BanchoLeomon I saw last time was the one whose soul had been taken over by Daimon Hideaki. In other words, the BanchoLeomon in my memory was actually Daimon Hideaki.

That's fine.

Just as Emu was internally ranting and raving, the two gang leaders had already noticed Emu and his group approaching. They turned around, and the gang leader, Totomon, laughed and called out loudly:

"Emu! You've come to our world again? Come here, let me see you!"

"Master!"

Emu called out and quickly came to Bancho Mamemon, looking down at it and asking:

Are you alright?

Bancho-chan stood up from the ground, patted Emu's arm, and said with a smile:

"What's wrong with me? Oh, so you ran into Igamon who was out gathering intelligence, right? What did you hear from them? Hey, don't believe them. I'm Bancho-Mamemon. That ChaosDragon is no match for me. If I hadn't been helping this old lion, I wouldn't have gotten hurt!"

The leader, Beanmon, was anything but modest, boasting wildly about himself in front of his disciples.

BanchoLeomon had been standing silently to the side, giving BanchoMamemon and his disciple space to talk. But hearing this guy subtly badmouthing him, he couldn't take it anymore. He snapped a branch and spat out:

"Don't brag. You're clearly the weakling; you almost got crushed by the Chaos Dragon Beast. If I hadn't been helping you, would I have gotten slashed by the Slaying Beast?"

Then the two started arguing again.

Emu watched this scene with a hint of exasperation. It seemed this was the usual interaction between BanchoMamemon and BanchoLeomon. Last time, it was only because Daimon Hideaki kept things in check that this situation didn't happen again.

Fortunately, both of them knew that this was somewhat undignified in front of the younger generation. Lotusmon, who was examining BanchoLeomon, glared at him intently, almost breathing fire. So, after a brief exchange, BanchoLeomon shifted his focus first, smiling sweetly at Emu and saying:

"Emu, hello. You've already seen me before. Or rather, you've seen Hide. So, let me introduce myself again. I am BanchoLeomon, one of the five bosses!"

"Hello, BanchoLeomon."

Emu responded. Although BanchoLeomon was completely different from what he remembered, appearing somewhat childish, it seemed quite easy to get along with.

Bancho-mon, too lazy to pay attention to his old friend, asked Emu:

"By the way, where's Parad? Didn't she come with you? And who's this little guy with you? What happened after you went back to your own world? How did you end up in our world again? Tell us all about it."

Emu bent down and picked up Lionmon, saying, "Paladin will be back a little later. And this is my new partner, Lionmon. As for what happens after I get back..."

Emu briefly recounted his past experiences. Even though he tried to be concise, it still took a considerable amount of time. Lotusmon finished its examination and left with Beanmon. Only BanchoBeanmon and BanchoLeomon remained, listening silently.

"...Then, I came here with Igamon."

Emu had been talking non-stop until now, and only then did he stop.

"Emu, you've been through a lot. You've really grown!"

The leader, DouDoumon, praised him, expressing his great joy for his disciple.

"Hehe, thank you for the compliment, Master. But, Master, do you know anything about the Barba Beast? Do you think my guess is reliable?"

Yongmeng asked.

"Barbamon merging with World Tree? To be honest, I think it's unlikely. The Royal Knights would make sure he never even sees World Tree again."

Bancho Lionmon interjected.

Having seen the World Tree before, BanchoLeomon knows how difficult this is.

The Royal Knights are not a group of easy-going guys.

The leader of the Beanmon faction also said, "Your guess is a bit far-fetched. However, I can't explain why Barbamon suddenly became so much stronger... It's one possibility, I suppose. If a Royal Knight were here, perhaps they could find out the truth."

"Chief Beanmon, you really have a good idea. Those guys aren't so easy to spot. They usually don't come out. Do you think we can pick one up and ask for information?"

BanchoLeomon shook his head and made a joke.

However, not long after BanchoLeomon finished speaking, a Mamemon arrived with Igamon, its round face showing confusion:

"Master Bancho-Mamemon, Igamon found an unconscious Digimon on its way back. It looks like Magnamon from the Royal Knights... Should we bring it in?"

After hearing Beanmon's report, Emu, Lionmon, and BanchoBeanmon all turned their attention to BanchoLeomon, who was clearly bewildered.

Has your mouth been blessed?!

The Royal Knights have actually been rescued!

Chapter Eleven, Golden Armored Dragon Beast

BanchoLeomon himself hadn't expected that his casual remark would actually bring him a Royal Knight. He was momentarily stunned and speechless.

BanchoPeamon gave its old friend a strange look, wondering when he had awakened his prophetic abilities. However, BanchoPeamon knew it could consider this later; who knew it might just be something BanchoLeomon had casually mentioned that happened to coincide with.

The more important thing now is to revive the Golden Armored Dragon Beast and extract information from him.

The leader, Beanmon, instructed, "Beanmon8, go and bring Armored Dragonmon here, and then send someone to fetch Lotusmon. Is the one behind you Igamon who discovered Armored Dragonmon? Let him stay here; I have some questions for him."

Bean Beast nodded and quickly left.

Igamon, who had been following behind Beanmon, bowed to BanchoBeanmon and asked somewhat nervously, "BanchoBeanmon-sama, is there a problem?"

"Don't be nervous." Bancho DouDoumon patted him on the shoulder with a smile. "You might have done a great job this time, so relax! Tell me about how you found the Golden Armor Dragon Beast."

Most of the Digimon in Beangate Town held Bancho Beanmon in high esteem, and Igamon was no exception. When Bancho Beanmon patted him, he became excited and quickly replied loudly:

"That's right, Master Mamemon. Three days ago, one of us Igamon who was sent to patrol the former Mamemon Town found Master Emu. Therefore, we decided to end our mission and return to our respective locations."

"I returned alone. But I encountered an accident on the way. A seal dragon beast with exceptionally keen senses seemed to have discovered my trail. I wasn't sure, but to prevent any accidents, I chose to detour towards the mainland. That way, even if they were discovered, I could mislead them and prevent them from thinking we were hiding in the sea."

"The process went smoothly. I shook off the Sealdramon that seemed to have spotted me. After that, I carefully avoided the Barbamon Legion's squads and was not detected again."

"Just as I was preparing to return and deliberately chose to submerge in the water, I unexpectedly saw a Digimon that was glowing with golden light lying unconscious at the bottom of the water. I recognized it as Magnamon from the Royal Knights. Since it wasn't far from the place where I could summon Whalemon, I brought it back with me."

"Unconscious and submerged in the water? The Golden Armored Dragon's defense is among the strongest of the Royal Knights. Even if I used my full strength, I might not be able to break through its defenses. Who has the ability to knock it unconscious? And it hasn't even woken up while submerged in water. That's a very serious injury!"

After hearing Igamon's description, BanchoLeomon was the first to frown and speak. BanchoPeamon, Emu, and Leomon also became serious.

Unlike other members of the Royal Knights who are all top-tier Ultimate level Digimon, Magnamon is an Armored Paladin evolved from the power of the "Miracle DigiSpirit," making its level difficult to determine. It has been continuously revised in the official games, initially being a Champion level, but later adjusted to Ultimate.

Compared to the other knights of the Royal Knights, Magnamon's attack power is quite average, comparable only to a typical Ultimate-level monster. According to Ex-Aid's level classification, it's roughly equivalent to level 40-50.

However, Magnamon's defense is exceptionally powerful. The Chrono Digizoid on its body grants it formidable defensive capabilities. Even a monster like BanchoLeomon, which can break through Magnamon's defenses, is no match for it.

It was precisely because of its exceptional defense and the "miraculous power" that it could turn danger into safety no matter how dire the situation, that the Golden Armored Dragon Beast secured a place in the Royal Knights, a group full of monsters.