Knights of the Digital World

"Children, the Digital World is now at a critical juncture. Whether we can completely defeat the darkness and bring true peace to the Digital World depends on the outcome of the battle against the Master Four! The Four Holy Beasts need your help, and the Digital World needs your help! Go for it, Chosen Children!"

After Koushiro finished reading, a map of the Digital World popped up on the computer. There was a bright spot flashing in each of the four positions on the map, with the names of the corresponding Four Holy Beasts marked next to it.

After the shock of the last incident, Hyun-nae has become much more attentive to the children. Their developmental trajectory is completely different from what they predicted, and if they don't keep a close eye on them, who knows what kind of "surprises" the children will give them next.

Therefore, after discovering that the children had returned to the Digital World, Gennai also used some methods to secretly observe them.

He was, after all, an "agent," and aside from being less powerful than those ultimate beings, he was still full of tricks and schemes.

Upon observation, Gennai was surprised to discover that, in addition to the Divine Plan, the children possessed a new device capable of evolution. Taichi and Yamato's ultimate evolution, which differed from their planned evolution, was accomplished using this unknown device.

Moreover, Taichi and Yamato weren't the only children they planned to have mastered Ultimate Evolution. Koushiro and Sora also mastered Ultimate Evolution, meaning the children's strength had exceeded Gennai and the others' initial estimates.

This gave Gennai a new idea. Originally, the children were intended as a backup plan after the Four Holy Beasts were defeated. This was partly to provide an extra layer of insurance, and partly because, given the children's strength, it would be difficult for them to participate in battles between top-tier Ultimate-level beings.

However, the children's strength is now enough to be a decisive force. After all, the Digimon partners of the Chosen Children are empowered by the children's power, and each of their levels far surpasses ordinary Digimon of the same level.

MetalGreymon, for example, took down Etemon, who had dominated a large area of ​​the server continent, as soon as it evolved. Other Ultimate-level monsters were also able to defeat some veteran Ultimate-level monsters immediately after evolving.

Even at the Ultimate level, the children's power boost is not to be underestimated. In the original story, WarGreymon was able to defeat MetalSeadramon in one battle not only because MetalSeadramon was heavily exhausted in its battle against the Four Holy Beasts and because of the "Dragonmon Killer" which increased damage against Dragonmon-type Digimon, but also because of Taichi's mental strength.

Now, more than half of the children have mastered the power of Ultimate level, and with the support of their power, they are approaching the level of the Four Holy Beasts and the Four Elite Four who have been fighting for many years.

Since that's the case, there's no need to stick to the original plan and wait until the Four Holy Beasts are defeated before letting the children take over. That would be too rigid.

Why not have the children join forces with the Four Holy Beasts, who still have the power to resist, to suppress the Four Heavenly Kings first? Wouldn't that be easier than having the children fight the Four Heavenly Kings alone?

Even if the Four Heavenly Kings suffer losses in the battle with the Four Holy Beasts, it may not be able to offset the advantage of the Four Holy Beasts' assistance.

Furthermore, Gennai also noticed Emu and Ruki, who were among the chosen children, as well as their three partners.

Gennai was quite certain that these two humans were not the Chosen Children. However, they also had their own Digimon partners, using a device called the "Arc Machine" to evolve their Digimon. Furthermore, the children's conversations suggested that Emu and Ruki had also mastered Ultimate Evolution.

In Xuan Nei's view, aren't these just two excellent tools? Why not arrange them quickly? What if they run away? Wouldn't that be a loss?

It is based on these ideas that the children received this email.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The First Target - Puppet Beast

The children, of course, had no idea how much thought the elderly Gennai had put into this email. They simply discussed it based on its contents:

"The Dark Four Heavenly Kings, they sound really powerful."

"And then there are the Four Holy Beasts, which are Digimon that sound really strong."

"I wonder what they look like? Are they good-looking? Koushiro, do you have a Pokédex?"

"So there are so many Ultimate-level Digimon in the Digital World? I've never seen them before. And if there are so many Ultimate-level Digimon, how come Perfect-level Digimon like Myotismon and Etemon are allowed to dominate the server continent?"

"They must be holding each other back, so neither of them has the energy to deal with them. Besides, Myotismon and Etemon are not weak either, so this situation is normal."

"Speaking of which, Taiichi once said that there might still be Ultimate-level enemies lurking in the shadows. Taiichi, did you already foresee the current situation back then? Was everything part of your plan?!"

"No! I didn't! Don't talk nonsense!"

Taiyi immediately silenced the children's commotion with a three-part denial, saying:

"Alright, everyone, stop arguing. Let's first decide on our next move. First, the general direction is to support the Four Holy Beasts in defeating the Four Heavenly Kings. Does everyone agree on that?"

"No."

The children shook their heads. They had become accustomed to fighting against the forces of darkness, and had even accepted it as their responsibility.

Just like in the original story, after defeating Myotismon, the children resolutely returned to the Digital World despite their parents' attempts to persuade them to stay, choosing to face unknown enemies.

Now, they have also chosen to fight the Four Heavenly Kings without hesitation.

This is perhaps also the kind of growth children experience through adventure.

“Alright. So the next question is, who is our first target? Judging from the map sent by Elder Xuannei, our current location is roughly the same as the locations of these four battlegrounds. In that case, choosing a target is very important.”

Taiichi gestured with his hand across Koushiro's computer screen, but didn't actually touch it. He knew how much Koushiro cherished his laptop.

However, such a simple gesture was enough; the children had already understood Taiichi's meaning. Taiichi withdrew his hand and continued:

"Our power is limited after all. We only have four Ultimate forms, and they haven't evolved for very long. Yamato and I might be a little more skilled, but compared to beings like the Elite Four or the Four Holy Beasts, there's definitely still a gap. It's like the gap between us and Myotismon when we first achieved Perfect evolution."

Therefore, we must choose our targets carefully. Our first target should be a weaker enemy, defeated as quickly as possible to free up the strength of one of the Four Holy Beasts. We need to snowball the conflict to make defeating the Elite Four easier.

The children nodded, agreeing with Taiyi's analysis. They were all aware of their own strength, neither underestimating nor becoming arrogant. Having been beaten so many times before, they had all learned their lesson.

"However, Taiyi, there's a problem now. How do we know which enemy is weaker? If we choose the wrong one, it will take a lot more effort and time."

Ahe asked.

"I don't think we need to worry too much about this. After all, the Four Divine Beasts and the Four Heavenly Kings have been fighting for so long, they should know who is stronger and who is weaker. Koushiro, send an email to Gennai and ask him if you can get the illustrations of the Four Heavenly Kings. If you don't have detailed information, at least give us a ranking of their strength so we can choose our targets."

Taiyi, on the other hand, was very optimistic and said with a smile.

Koushiro nodded, quickly typed a few words on the computer, and sent the email. A short while later, Gennai's reply arrived.

Koushiro quickly glanced at it, his expression somewhat grave, and said:

"The Elder Xuannei said that the Four Sacred Beasts and the Four Heavenly Kings are too powerful. The aftershocks of their battle are of an intensity that ordinary fully-formed beings cannot withstand. With this level of power, it's hard for them to say who is stronger or weaker."

The only useful information is that Piedmon is likely the strongest of the Four Heavenly Kings. This is because he plans and directs many of their actions. In the dark forces, strength reigns supreme, and Piedmon's ability to do so indicates he possesses overwhelming power. Otherwise, the other Four Heavenly Kings wouldn't obey his commands.

However, this information should only be used as a reference. After all, it's just an inference, not confirmed information.

"How can this be? It's like saying nothing at all! How are we supposed to choose?"

Meimei cried out in dissatisfaction.

The other children didn't say anything, but their expressions also turned sour.

Koushiro turned the computer screen back to everyone, displaying four images:

"Old Man Gennai doesn't have the illustrations of the Four Heavenly Kings in the Pokédex, but he has their images for everyone to look at. In order, they are Piedmon, Mugendramon, MetalSeadramon, and Puppetmon."

The children all gathered around, memorizing the appearances of the Four Heavenly Kings. Meimei, a member of the "looks-matter" club, muttered to herself:

"They're so ugly, they're not good-looking at all. No wonder they're bad guys."

"Taiichi, what should we choose now? Even if we eliminate Piedmon, it will be difficult to choose the weakest one among the three."

A-Zhu adjusted his glasses and asked.

Taiyi frowned, lost in thought. He didn't want to settle for just any opponent. They were still a hidden force, and the Four Heavenly Kings were completely unprepared, so their first attack would be most effective.

If you can't establish a sufficient advantage the first time, it will be difficult to defeat the Four Heavenly Kings later.

After all, the Four Heavenly Kings were able to entangle with the Four Divine Beasts for many years, and even gradually turn the tide and gain the upper hand, so their resilience should not be underestimated.

Whether it's to defeat the opponent or for the safety of his companions, Taichi must be cautious.

"Hmm, it seems you're quite troubled. Do you need some advice?"

Emu, who was standing to the side, didn't watch the children continue to struggle with their thoughts and took the initiative to speak up.

"Yes, yes! Of course we need it! Emu, tell us quickly!"

Upon hearing this, Taiichi immediately responded. In order to avoid becoming dependent on Emu, he had tried his best not to ask her about the future, and for a moment he had forgotten that Emu and the others possessed quite detailed information!

Emu didn't keep them in suspense any longer and said:

"Your adventures in other worlds are presented in the form of animation. Generally speaking, we believe that the ranking of the Four Heavenly Kings in terms of strength is Piedmon, Mugendramon, MetalSeadramon, and Puppetmon. However, because MetalSeadramon's performance in the animation is not outstanding, some people think that he is weaker than Puppetmon. If you want to snowball, these two are good choices."

"I see. MetalSeadramon controls the power of the ocean, right? Among us, only Gomamon is good at naval warfare, and it hasn't even reached its ultimate evolution yet. It probably won't be easy for Puppetmon to fight MetalSeadramon! Emu, can you tell us some information about Puppetmon?"

Taiyi said after thinking for a moment.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Falling into a Disadvantage

"Puppetmon, Ultimate level, Virus type, Puppet type. Its special moves are Exploding Hammer, which attacks enemies with an exploding hammer, and Wooden Cross Dart, which throws the X-shaped wooden boomerang on its back to strike enemies."

"Hehehe, Xuanwu Beast, just admit defeat! You're no match for me. If you're willing to be my friend and play games with me, I wouldn't mind letting you off the hook."

The puppet beast brandished an iron hammer almost as big as itself, attacking the enormous creature in front of it while laughing loudly.

The Xuanwu Beast remained silent, trying its best to capture the figure in front of it, which was too small for it, while dodging the attacks of the Puppet Beast.

Xuanwumon wields the power of water, but its opponent, Puppetmon, is a pinnacle of plant-type Digimon and is highly resistant to Xuanwumon's attacks.

Moreover, the significant size difference between the two makes it difficult for the Xuanwu Beast's attacks to hit the Puppet Beast.

In the initial battle, Xuanwu Beast was able to suppress Puppet Beast with its experienced power and surging strength. However, as time went on, Xuanwu Beast's energy and stamina began to deplete from maintaining such a high-intensity battle.

But the Puppet Beast seemed to have a cheat code activated; its energy didn't diminish at all, and it was full of energy, suppressing the Xuanwu Beast in turn.

No, it wasn't just Puppetmon; the Elite Four seemed to have activated cheat codes, maintaining abundant energy even under intense combat. This was the key to their turning the tide of battle.

Based on its experience, Xuanwu Beast naturally realized that there was a terrifying being behind Puppet Beast. However, that being might be subject to some kind of restriction, unable to act personally, and thus lent its power to the Four Heavenly Kings.

Perhaps the Four Heavenly Kings were all cultivated by that unknown and terrifying being.

But now it's too late.

The Four Heavenly Kings have turned the tide of the battle, and the Four Divine Beasts can only barely hold on. But how long can they last? At most ten years, their power will be exhausted.

How ironic! Initially, the plan was to deplete the Four Heavenly Kings' energy and defeat them with minimal cost. Now, are they going to be defeated in this very way?

"You're daydreaming, Xuanwu Beast! Hehehe, I knew you couldn't handle it. Just do as I said, surrender, become my friend and play games with me, and I won't mind sparing your life!"

The Puppet Beast slammed its hammer down hard on the Xuanwu Beast's serpent head. The hammer, loaded with ammunition, exploded on the Xuanwu Beast's head, white smoke enveloping its serpent head. The intense pain also brought the Xuanwu Beast back to its senses.

The Xuanwu Beast roared, its giant tortoise head opened its mouth, and a stream of water shot towards the puppet beast.

The puppet beast used the iron hammer to block the water flow, but was propelled backward by the current, its face still bearing a wanton and arrogant smile:

"Hahahaha, Xuanwu Beast, you're useless! Is that all the energy you have left? Not even enough to give me a bath!"

The Xuanwu Beast ignored it, and the giant snake head in the white smoke shook and emerged, then spewed out a jet of water to suppress the puppet beast.

This is bad; I actually spaced out during the battle. This is the first time this has ever happened. Have I really become this weak? It seems like I wouldn't even be able to last another year, let alone ten years. Perhaps I should fight Puppetmon to the death while I still have the strength? Even if I fail, I can at least weaken Puppetmon's power. Damn it! I spaced out again!

The Xuanwu Beast suddenly came to its senses. The wooden puppet beast, which had been suppressed by its water column, had somehow escaped and was now silently inside its two heads, its wooden face bearing a strange smile.

"Surprise!"

The puppet beast suddenly spun around, and the giant iron hammer struck the black tortoise beast's snake head and tortoise head in succession, sending the black tortoise beast flying backward.

Without a single encounter with the puppet, it's hard to believe the immense power hidden within its slender and petite body.

The Xuanwu Beast, hovering in the air, quickly adjusted its posture. Sure enough, the Puppet Beast tossed down its massive iron hammer, retrieved an X-shaped wooden boomerang from its back, and hurled it at the Xuanwu Beast.

"Wooden Cross Darts!"

A layer of water curtain appeared around the Xuanwu beast, and the power belonging to the Xuanwu beast flowed on it.