Knights of the Digital World

As the Black Tortoise Beast spoke, the Puppet Beast had already burst out from the center of the explosion. Seeing its charred and mangled appearance, the Black Tortoise Beast felt a surge of satisfaction. The giant snake raised its head high and sneered:

"Puppet Beast, now that's a real surprise!"

Upon hearing this, Puppetmon's red eyes flashed red, and its anger surged once more.

He was already considering retreating. He had been completely overwhelmed by the children's combo attacks and was caught off guard, frozen to the ground, which gave the Xuanwu Beast an opportunity.

Against an enemy of equal strength, even a small mistake can affect the course of the battle. Previously, Xuanwu Beast was slightly distracted twice, and Puppet Beast seized the opportunity to unleash a barrage of attacks. Now, Puppet Beast is frozen to the ground—isn't that just a sitting duck?

As expected, Xuanwu Beast didn't let this opportunity pass, and Dynamax Beast and the others joined in the fun. The combined attack of the five Ultimate-level monsters severely injured Puppetmon. Even if it managed to hold on with its inexhaustible energy, continuing the fight might still result in its demise.

So Puppetmon was planning to run away. They weren't in a hurry; they could just wait it out. They had plenty of time; they could come back and continue fighting once their injuries healed.

However, before Puppetmon could even start running, Black Tortoise began to mock him. Puppetmon couldn't stand this. The anger he had been suppressing towards the children surged up again, causing Puppetmon to completely lose his temper.

"Who do you think you're facing?! I am one of the Dark Masters, Puppetmon!!!"

Puppetmon roared and swung its revolver-shaped iron hammer, the hammerhead spinning non-stop, bullets flying out continuously. The overwhelming firepower forced the five Ultimate-level beings to constantly dodge.

"This can't go on. The Four Heavenly Kings have limitless energy; we can't outlast them. Even Koushiro can't do anything about it?"

"Ikemon asked in a low voice," Elsword's voice soon rang in their ears.

"Don't worry, the data I've observed shows that Puppetmon's condition is deteriorating. It'll reach a critical point and lose its fighting ability in three minutes at most. Your job now is to stall it. Also, make sure Puppetmon doesn't escape!"

Izzy has been quite busy these past few days. After discovering the amplification program for Ultimate Evolution, he developed numerous small programs based on the Digivice. The previous call was one such program.

Koushiro has actually mastered the method for Arc Engine's ultimate evolution. However, he has always preferred to use the Divine Plan because it allows him to provide support using his superior computer skills.

With Koushiro's confirmation, the children breathed a sigh of relief and safely dodged Puppetmon's attacks.

However, Genbumon, who hadn't received Koushiro's mini-program, was unaware of this situation. He thought Puppetmon was truly so powerful that he could still engage in such a high-intensity battle despite being so badly injured, and his expression turned somewhat grave.

The turtle head, which had been silent all along, finally spoke:

"I will burn all eight remaining Digicores in a moment to try and kill Puppetmon. Even if I fail, I will seal him away. This is the last thing I can do as one of the Four Holy Beasts."

Unfortunately, my strength is insufficient to continue protecting the Digital World. However, with you all here, I can rest assured.

Although I don't yet know your identities, I can sense the light in your hearts. Now, while I burn my Digicore, let's hurry and leave. The Digital World is yours from now on!

Upon hearing Xuanwu Beast's words, Dynamaxmon and the others turned green with shock, nearly getting hit by Puppetmon's bullets.

All they wanted to do now was rush up, hug the Xuanwu beast's legs, and shout:

Dude, hold on! Don't feed kills!

Chapter Thirty-One: The Four Heavenly Kings - 1

Xuanwu Beast wasn't blind. Although he was prepared to sacrifice himself, he noticed that Valkyrie Beast's expression had become somewhat strange. Dynamax Beast and the others couldn't really discern any expression on their faces, but he guessed they were the same.

Was there anything wrong with what I said before?

The Xuanwu beast's serpent head touched the giant tortoise's head, then it raised its head and asked:

"Why are you all looking at me like that? Do you think this turtle-head's voice is unpleasant? His voice has never been as magnetic as mine. Should I say it again?"

The two heads of the Xuanwu beast each possess their own independent personality and thoughts, yet their minds are interconnected. Relatively speaking, the turtle head is more taciturn and composed, while the snake head is much more unconventional and prone to rambling.

The turtle's head rolled its eyes, and a deep voice sounded:

"Let's get down to business."

"Hey, you'll only deepen your relationships by interacting with others more, okay? Seriously though. Have you guys noticed something? For example, Puppetmon's current state isn't as good as he seems?"

The snake-headed man was glared at fiercely by the turtle-headed man, and without further ado, he got straight to the point and asked the question.

"Yes. We have a partner observing the situation from a distance. According to the information he gave us, Puppetmon can only hold on for a maximum of three more minutes."

DynaGreymon also spoke frankly. They were also afraid of Genbumon's tendency to burn its Digicores at the slightest provocation.

While achieving the initial goal and snowballing the momentum seems difficult now, preserving as much fighting strength as possible is always beneficial. This is especially true for experienced Ultimate-level Divine Beasts like the Four Holy Beasts. Even without their full power, they will be of great help.

"Three minutes? Then I shouldn't need to burn a new Digicore. Now I should be worried about whether Puppetmon will run away halfway. We're already being suppressed by his firepower quite far away."

"Turtle Head reminded me."

There was something strange about Xuanwu Beast before; even at its peak, it was severely injured after taking that whole set of skills. Although, as it told UltraKabuterimon, it could still retain the strength for another battle, it certainly wouldn't be in the berserk state that Puppetmon is in now.

However, since the Four Heavenly Kings had already shown many strange abilities in the previous battles, Xuanwu Beast didn't think much of it and only wanted to protect Taiyi and the others who came to provide support.

But after learning the exact details of Puppetmon, Xuanwumon immediately realized Puppetmon's plan.

Puppetmon was actually planning to run away. Perhaps he was blinded by rage when he initially launched his attack. However, Puppetmon was, after all, one of the Elite Four, and he had fought his way up through countless battles. Rage could control him for a while, but it couldn't last.

However, even under the control of his rage, Puppetmon subconsciously left himself an escape route. His attacks were merely suppressive firepower powered by his infinite energy, with no intention of close combat.

On the one hand, his physical condition didn't allow it, and on the other hand, it was to create distance between him and Dynamaxmon and the others, making it easier to escape.

Puppetmon concealed its intentions very well. Without Koushiro's information, even Genbumon would have misunderstood Puppetmon's situation and even prepared to burn its Digicore to buy the children a chance to escape.

If Xuanwumon were to actually ignite its Digicore, Puppetmon would likely retreat immediately. The distance between them would also prevent Xuanwumon from stopping it. After all, speed has never been Xuanwumon's strong suit.

"Black Tortoise Beast, do you have any good ideas?"

The ThunderGreymon approached and asked.

The reason for spreading out earlier was to distribute firepower, since we didn't know the limits of Puppetmon back then, and no one would be foolish enough to try to outlast a guy with unlimited energy.

But now that we know Puppetmon is only a three-minute wonder, it would be better for everyone to stick together and defend, making things easier for each other.

"I have an idea. I still have some energy left from the Digicores I burned earlier. Combined with what I recovered, I'll try my best to withstand Puppetmon's attacks for 35 seconds. You guys can use that opportunity to get close and finish him off. Don't worry, if I run out of energy, I'll burn a few more Digicores. I definitely won't let you down!"

The snake head raised itself and spoke with great pride, while the turtle head nodded silently.

"No, no, don't ignite the digital core. Three seconds is enough, just leave it to us."

The other Digimon, including Dynamaxmon, quickly tried to dissuade him, exasperated by Genbumon's constant urge to burn his Digicores. After all, these are the cores of a Digimon; even if you have a lot of Digicores, you shouldn't waste them like this!

The Xuanwu Beast didn't seem to care. Burning one was the same as burning ten. As long as they weren't all burned, it could recover; it was just a matter of the severity of its injuries and the length of its recovery time. Compared to that, defeating the Four Heavenly Kings was the top priority.

However, seeing how agitated the ThunderGreymon and the others were, the Black Tortoise didn't insist. It bobbed its snake head up and down and said:

"Don't be nervous, I'm not the kind of person who just randomly burns digital cores. I'll assess the situation. Just keep that in mind. Oh, ready, Turtle's ready!"

Don't call me that!

The turtle-headed creature muttered a dissatisfied grumble, too preoccupied to argue with the snake-headed creature, its eyes completely filled with green light, and shouted loudly:

"let's go!"

"Leave it to me, Lightning Thruster!"

BlitzGreymon charged forward, unleashing the full speed of its Thunder Boosters to prevent Blackbeardmon from burning its Digicore. The rotating lightning propelled BlitzGreymon rapidly towards Puppetmon, leaving a conspicuous arc of electricity in its wake.

Behind him, CrescentGarurumon and Valkyriemon also rushed out, while UltraKabuterimon stayed by Genbumon's side, fearing that Puppetmon might have some unknown tricks up its sleeve.

The two heads of the Xuanwu Beast were now silent, focusing all their efforts on manipulating the water vapor in the air, turning it into small water shields to block the bullets from the Puppet Beast and protect the ThunderGreymon and the others.

Puppetmon immediately sensed something was wrong. He had already felt his body was reaching its limit and was preparing to escape. Dynamaxmon's sudden outburst made him realize that his opponent might have already detected his true strength.

He didn't bother with any more suspense. He swung the big iron hammer in the direction the Electric Tyrannosaurus Beast was coming from, then turned and ran.

With the boost of unlimited energy, his speed is still guaranteed. Moreover, escaping doesn't put as much strain on the body as fighting, so he can hold out for longer.

"Stay here!"

The plasma pillars on BlitzGreymon's arms spun rapidly, crackling with lightning, directly knocking away the giant hammer. A continuous stream of plasma condensed into powerful lightning bolts, striking towards Puppetmon.

The puppet beast's red eyes finally revealed its fear of death. It never expected that losing the initiative would lead to it being forced into this situation step by step.

He wanted to resist, but his body wouldn't allow it.

"boom!!!"

After a loud bang, the Four Heavenly Kings 1.

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Gift of the Xuanwu Beast

"I see, so you are the chosen children. The agents and their group seem to have discussed this plan with us. Later, there was apparently an accident due to Piedmon's surprise attack."

After that, we fought the Four Heavenly Kings, and I hadn't heard any news about it since, so I thought we had lost. I didn't expect you guys to have grown so fast!

Those were the ones from before: BlitzGreymon, CrescentGarurumon, Valkyriemon, and UltraKabuterimon, right? They were pretty strong!

"Speaking of which, isn't DynaGreymon a Virus type? According to the agent's plan, you should all be Digimon carrying holy power, generally Vaccine types, or at the very least Data types. What's with this Virus type?"

The Xuanwu beast lay on the ground, its turtle head resting with its eyes closed. The snake head, however, was in high spirits, its neck held high, watching the children who had disembarked from the Dark Ship and approached it, chattering incessantly.

Taiichi scratched his head somewhat awkwardly. In their minds, Virus-type monsters were all bad guys. At first, Taiichi and Agumon didn't know that DynaGreymon was a Virus-type, and they were puzzled and confused for a while after finding out.

However, Taichi and Agumon ultimately felt that DynaGreymon's attributes did not affect their behavior. On the contrary, because it was a Virus type, it was stronger in combat, so it didn't matter.

But now that the Xuanwu Beast has asked this question, it's quite awkward.

"Ahem, that's not the point. Xuanwu Beast, how are you feeling right now? We need your help to support the next Four Divine Beasts and defeat the Four Heavenly Kings."

This operation went relatively smoothly, but it was largely due to the Puppet Beast's carelessness and loss of the initiative. We can't guarantee that it will always be this successful.

Taiyi coughed, changed the subject, and asked with a serious expression.

"Of course, no problem. I can fight the Four Heavenly Kings for another three hundred rounds."

"I'm not in a very good condition."

The snake-headed creature wanted to boast about its power, but the turtle-headed creature opened its eyes, interrupted it, and glared at it with a warning look.

Everyone's time is precious these days, so don't waste it by talking nonsense!

The snake-headed creature understood the turtle-headed creature's meaning, and sheepishly lowered its head, remaining silent.

But the turtle-headed creature said seriously:

"I burned four digital cores in this battle, which is a great loss to my strength. Although it's much better than the sacrifice I initially envisioned, I still won't be able to exert enough combat power in the short term."

Moreover, the long years of fighting have taken a toll on me. Even without the burning of the digital core, I still need rest.

In fact, the other four Holy Beasts are probably in a similar situation to me. Azure Dragonmon is the strongest, so perhaps his condition will be better. However, his opponent is the strongest, Piedmon, so you shouldn't count on him.

Upon hearing this, the children's faces showed disappointment. Xuanwu's words had practically sealed the fate of their snowballing plan. After all, if the Four Divine Beasts couldn't continue fighting after defeating their opponents, it wouldn't benefit the children's side at all.

However, despite the disappointment, everyone could understand the situation described by the Xuanwu Beast.

Taiyi scratched his head, slightly annoyed, suppressing his frustration, and said to the Xuanwu Beast:

"In that case, Xuanwu Beast, you should rest well. We're going to support the next of the Four Sacred Beasts now."

"Don't worry, although I can't go to provide support, I can still offer you some help."