Knights of the Digital World

So... now we need to find a way to break this deadlock.

Barbamon began to think. As the foremost strategist among the Seven Great Demon Lords, he was confident he could find a solution.

While Barbamon was deep in thought, Shakamon and Lotusmon didn't dare to let their guard down. The difference in strength prevented them from launching an attack, but being able to hold back a top-tier Ultimate-level monster was already quite an achievement.

Barbamon didn't spend much time thinking before waving and calling out:

"Dark Dragon Beast, come here!"

The Darkdramon, whose head was spinning from Emu's dazzling display, received the summon and, ignoring the phantom before him, flew toward Barbamon.

Yongmeng caught his breath and came to Shakyamon's side. Intercepting Dark Dragon Beast had greatly depleted his physical strength, energy, and stamina.

The lotus beasts quickly added a white halo to Yongmeng to help him recover rapidly.

Shakyamon, on the other hand, was watching Barbamon's movements, wondering what kind of schemes he had up his sleeve.

Barbamon flashed its signature fake smile, patted Darkdramon's head, pointed at Shakamon, and said:

"Go, kill her."

Although Darkdramon is a bit silly, once Barbamon sets a clear goal for him, he will resolutely carry it out and never give up until he achieves it.

At that moment, the Dark Dragon Beast roared and thrust the Giga Destruction Spear at the Shakya Beast.

"Hey! I'm your opponent!"

Yongmeng quickly jumped onto the Somersault Cloud, intending to stop the Dark Dragon Beast.

"No, you are my opponent!"

But before Emu could step forward, Barbamon appeared in front of him with a snarling laugh.

Shakyamon frowned, about to help Emu. But at that moment, Darkdramon had already rushed in front of her, roaring as it thrust its Giga Destruction Spear at her.

Left with no other choice, Shakamon had to focus its attention on the battle against Darkdramon.

In terms of strength, she is slightly stronger than Darkdramon. However, Darkdramon, being a bit of a simpleton, only thinks about carrying out Barbamon's orders and fights recklessly.

His modified, hardened body also possessed astonishing defensive capabilities. This offensive-only fighting style fully unleashed his incredible attack power, and even the Shakya Beast could not defeat him in a short time.

When Emu saw Barbamon appear before him with a grotesque laugh, he suddenly realized what was happening and blurted out:

"Tian Ji's horse racing strategy?!"

Barbamon's plan was simple: Darkdramon was a step above Emu, and he was a step above Shakamon, but this advantage was not enough to help them defeat their opponents.

However, if we switch targets, Shakamon is a notch stronger than Darkdramon, but Barbamon is three or four notches stronger than Emu!

The situation has now become that Shakamon cannot defeat Darkdramon, while Barbamon can quickly defeat Emu!

This is similar to the story of Tian Ji's horse racing strategy: by using one's own strengths to compete against the enemy's weaknesses, one is bound to gain the upper hand.

This strategy may seem simple, but based on that alone, Barbamon truly deserves his reputation as a strategist.

Just like Tian Ji, before he came up with his idea, so many games had been played and no one had come up with the same strategy.

Even the simplest strategy is a good strategy if it works!

The entire battlefield is interconnected. A fragile balance had been established due to various unforeseen circumstances. However, if Emu is defeated, this balance will be shattered!

Victory will be completely handed over to the Barba army!

Chapter 53, Questioning the Heart

"What is Tian Ji? Forget it, kid, prepare for your death! The Dark Prison Palace is destroyed!"

Barbamon had no sense of being a villain, didn't say a word, and just unleashed a fatal attack on Emu.

In an instant, scorching flames engulfed Yongmeng.

Emu felt the threat of death was closer than ever before.

The power gap between a top-tier Ultimate level and a weak Ultimate level is so large that it is even greater than the gap between an Ultimate level and a Growth level.

In the TV series, Gallantmon killed four Ultimate-level monsters from the main characters' group with a single shot, which shows the difference between these top-tier Ultimate-level monsters and ordinary Ultimate-level monsters!

That was still a four-on-one situation, which resulted in the attacks of Gallantmon being dispersed.

Now, Emu is facing an attack from a top-tier Ultimate level all by himself!

Emu felt her heart pounding so hard it was about to leap out of her throat.

His mind was completely blank, countless thoughts came and went, and finally only one simple idea remained:

I don't want to die!

Driven by this thought, Emu's Digital Soul became stronger than ever before.

With a roar, Emu raised his Ruyi Jingu Bang, frantically channeling his Digital Soul into it, unleashing his most powerful attack:

"Supercharged Lightning Cannon!"

A surge of energy erupted, colliding with the high-temperature flames and causing a secondary explosion. Yongmeng was engulfed by the scattered flames and energy.

"Emiya!!!"

Parad, who was fighting the tank dragon below, let out a heart-wrenching scream and flew towards the explosion, completely ignoring his opponent.

Fortunately, Angewomon was nearby and managed to stop Parad's opponent in time.

However, Angewomon is not good at fighting. She could barely hold her own in a one-on-one fight, but now that she has Parad as an opponent, she is struggling.

"Little sister, are you alright?"

Fortunately, LadyDevimon quickly resolved her objective and arrived to support Angewomon.

"Sister, you've come!"

With LadyDevimon's support, Angewomon breathed a sigh of relief, but then said with some worry:

"I wonder how Emu is doing. That attack looked pretty powerful."

LadyBeast focused her senses for a moment and said:

"Emu is not dead. I can still sense his Digital Soul. I just don't know the extent of his injuries."

"It's good that you're not dead. You have the Lotus Beast sisters."

Ladymon nodded. Indeed, with Lotusmon around, there was no need to worry too much about the injuries.

"Since Emu is alright, let's focus on dealing with the enemy first!"

The Ladymon sisters rejoined the battle.

…………

On Emu's side, thanks to the power of his DigiSoul that erupted at the moment of life and death, he successfully blocked Barbamon's attack.

However, the aftershocks of the explosion rendered Emu powerless, causing his transformation to be canceled and him to fall from the sky.

Thanks to Parad arriving in time and catching Emu, otherwise Emu might have fallen to her death.

Barbamon also discovered that Emu was still alive. However, since Emu had lost his fighting ability, the effect was the same for Barbamon.

Therefore, Barbamon didn't bother to finish him off. He muttered "lucky kid" under his breath and then ignored him.

The balance of power on the battlefield has been broken. It's time to unleash the power of Barbamon once more!

"Death...temptation!"

Barbamon flashed into the sky above the battlefield, opened its arms, and unleashed its alluring dark energy to entice the Digimon of the Bean Gate Alliance.

This time, no one could interrupt him!

…………

"Emu, Emu! How are you, Emu?"

Palad held Eternal Dream in his arms and cried out.

"Cough cough... I'm fine. Parad, take me to Lotus Beast Sister's place."

Emu coughed twice, but remained relatively conscious.

Parad, who had lost his composure due to Emu's serious injury, suddenly realized what was happening and quickly brought Emu to Lotusmon's side.

Without wasting any words, the Lotus Beast activated its white aura and began healing Eternal Dream.

Perhaps due to the influence of Barbamon's energy, Emu's recovery from her injuries was much slower. However, thanks to Lotusmon's efforts, she was still steadily improving.

At this moment, Barbamon used Death Temptation once again. However, the Bean Gate Alliance did not have a second Sanzomon.

"Oh no! Everyone's been affected by Barbamon again!"

As an Ultimate-level monster, Lotusmon was immune to Barbamon's wide-range attacks. However, seeing his comrades from the Bean Gate Alliance being affected and distracted by Barbamon's power, he was so angry that he stomped his feet.

"I'll go help!"

Perhaps due to the power of Emu's Digital Soul, Parad was unaffected. Seeing the battle in the Bean Gate Alliance descend into chaos, he instinctively wanted to join the fight.

"Wait a minute, Parad."

Emu called out to Palad:

"Your participation in the battle now is just a drop in the ocean and cannot stop the collapse of the battle. We must find a way to deal with the Barba Beast."

"What can we do now? Emu, do you already have an idea?"

Parad asked doubtfully.

"I did gain some insights during my brush with death. Come on, Parad, let's try again—Ultimate Evolution!"

Emu chuckled softly.

When he faced life and death, his mind went blank, but after surviving, he thought about many things.

Emu originally thought that, having experienced life and death in Part 4, he had developed a strong enough will and a calm attitude towards life and death.

However, Bancho-chan's training made him realize that his will was not as strong as he had thought.

Now, the Barba Beast's attack has shown him that he is still afraid of death and that he is not as magnanimous as he thought.

At that moment, Emu realized that he was still just an ordinary person.

He was not an ascetic like Sanzang Shou, unable to transcend the boundaries of life and death, achieve profound enlightenment, and realize a leap in life.

But the life-or-death crisis also made him reflect on his past.