Knights of the Digital World

"Lord Knightmon, can't you handle that guy?"

The Monarch Beast had regained some strength and, seeing that its old friend had also given up the fight, asked with a smile.

If everyone makes a fool of themselves, then it's the same as not making a fool of themselves at all.

"He's smart; he learned my tactics. I must admit, my tactics are a bit nasty... If we continued fighting, I could win. But it would be too time-consuming and exhausting for me."

Our goal is data; whether the successors of the Ten Warriors are eliminated or not is irrelevant. Once Lord Lucemon appears, none of them will be able to escape.

In that case, there's no need to continue fighting... Monarch Beast, don't forget our objective.

Lord Knightmon didn't care and calmly said.

The Monarch Beast nodded knowingly and said, "That makes sense. All we need are those human children; we can use them to force DouDou to hand over the key."

"Good that you remember. Let's ask them. If they're willing to hand over the person, that would be best. If not... let's leave and try another method. Or we can just forcibly absorb them. There's no need to continue fighting; it's not worth it at all."

Lord Knight Beast made a decision.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Emu and his two companions were also exchanging ideas:

"The Royal Knights are indeed very strong! This Dragon Collider is too exaggerated. I really thought I was going to die just now."

"I feel the same way... Actually, Monarch Beast must have been in bad shape after using that move. If our injuries were a little lighter, it would have been a good opportunity! Alas, it's a pity we can't gamble... Kouji, how are things on your end?"

"Lord Knight Beast's tactics are very effective. Right now, neither of us can really hit the other, so we'll just have to fight a war of attrition. However, this is my first time fighting like this, so I'm a bit nervous and don't have as much experience as him. I'm also expending more energy than him. If this drags on, I'm very likely to lose."

"That's a huge improvement! Last time, we were no match for the Royal Knights, but now we're evenly matched. Next time, we'll definitely defeat them!"

At this moment, Lord Knight Beast flew forward a short distance and calmly said:

"Successors of the Ten Warriors, we acknowledge your strength. Our battle is meaningless. Our only objective this time is four ordinary human children. Hand them over to us, and we will withdraw immediately."

"Don't even think about it!" KaiserGreymon shouted. "You collect data for Lucemon, destroy the Digital World, and we fight to stop your evil deeds! You even dare to try to harm innocent children, and we will never allow that!"

“Indeed! Royal Knights, you have failed the name of knights!” Yongmeng echoed.

"We will never yield to evil! Never!" Magnagarurumon's body flashed with light.

LordKnightmon sensed their decision from their resolute tone and glanced at LordMon. The two Royal Knights, without further hesitation, turned and left, following their pre-arranged decision.

"Ha, so-called evil is merely evil in your eyes. We have our own justice to uphold. Farewell, successors of the Ten Warriors. Next time, we won't be so careless!"

Chapter 58, Data That Is Hard to Protect

The children were somewhat surprised by the Royal Knights' abrupt departure.

The three exchanged puzzled glances. If a fight were to continue, the Royal Knights would actually have a higher probability of winning. Why did they leave?

The three lingered in the sky for a while longer, and only after confirming that the Royal Knights had truly left did they return to the ground and transform back into humans.

The other children, protected by Angewomon and Parad, were also aware of the battle's progress. They were already waiting for them outside after the Royal Knights left.

The children's faces were all beaming with joy as they said:

"Emu, Takuya, Kouji, you guys are amazing! You really drove back the Royal Knights! We knew you could do it! If you can defeat them this time, you can beat them next time!"

However, Emu and his two companions were not as excited as the children.

Emu was the first to shake his head, saying, "We didn't drive them away. They retreated on their own."

"We're still not as strong as them. At least this time, we'll be the ones who lose in the end," Takuya said in a muffled voice.

Kouji sighed and said, "I don't know why they left... They're probably planning something again. I have a bad feeling about this."

Seeing the serious expressions on the three people's faces, the children's smiles gradually disappeared, and they also became worried, starting to wonder what kind of conspiracy the Royal Knights might be plotting.

Angewomon pursed her lips and reminded them, "You seem to have forgotten that the Royal Knights' goals are different from Cherubimon's. Cherubimon wants to defeat you and collect the Warrior Souls of the Ten Warriors to rule the Digital World. The Royal Knights' goal is to collect the Digital World's data and revive Lucemon!"

Angewomon's words jolted the children awake; indeed, they had overlooked the Royal Knights' purpose!

Judging solely from the Royal Knights' objectives, they had absolutely no reason to fight to the death with the children. Gathering data was all they needed!

Emu then realized that the Royal Knights had come here to capture the Katsuharu quartet in order to use them to threaten the Beanmon of Bean Tree Village into handing over the key.

Their target has never been the children!

Just then, the Bean Tree, which could also be seen from the Steel Zone, was transformed into data and taken away.

The Royal Knights' objective has finally been achieved!

"The Royal Knights seem to have changed their tactics, avoiding direct combat and focusing instead on seizing the data. If that's the case, things could get complicated..."

Emu said somewhat heavily, and the children's mood gradually sank along with Emu's words.

…………

Then, just as Emu had predicted, the Royal Knights changed their strategy, prioritizing data over engaging in a life-or-death struggle with the children.

Like the first stop for the children after they immediately entered the Steel Zone, the Founding Village. The Royal Knights had already arrived here and, using Digi-Eggs and Baby Digimon as threats, forced the guardian of the Founding Village, Swan, to hand over the key and scan the data of the Founding Village.

When the children arrived, Swanmon was exhausted, single-handedly caring for a large number of Digi-Eggs and Baby Digimon. Meanwhile, the Trainmon responsible for transporting them had hidden away out of fear, and Swanmon was unable to find and persuade them. This only intensified Swanmon's despair.

Finally, with the children's help, the Trainmon returned and transported away the Digi-Egg and the Baby Digimon. It was a reasonably good ending.

However, the actions of the Royal Knights in this incident only made the children more uneasy.

Sure enough, the Royal Knights subsequently avoided fighting with the children.

In Flame Village, the home of Bokomon and Quizmon, the Royal Knights did not appear. Instead, they sent out ZombieSatanmon to locate the data.

After the children worked hard to defeat the zombie Satanmon, LordKnightmon suddenly appeared and stole the data.

At the forest's final stop, the children encountered an ambush by Knightmon, a subordinate of LordKnightmon, and were engaged in a fierce battle. Later, summoned by the remnant soul of Ice Wizardmon, they successfully found the data for that area.

But just then, two Royal Knights suddenly appeared, withstood the attacks of KaiserGreymon, MagnaGarurumon, and Ex-Aid, forcibly seized the data, and left.

Then, at Akihabara Market, a large number of powerful Digimon united to try and stop the two Royal Knights. However, the Royal Knights also had their own subordinates, and Knightmon became their vanguard. With the help of the Royal Knights' overwhelming strength, they easily defeated the united Digimon.

LordKnightmon, with its extraordinary speed and the help of its Knightmon minions, successfully held off Emu and his companions. LordMon seized the opportunity to absorb the data. The two Royal Knights immediately retreated.

…………

"Lord Luminosaurus, this is the latest data we've collected."

Monarchmon and LordKnightmon, both wounded, knelt before the abyss, casting the data they had painstakingly obtained into the Dark Zone.

In the dark area, Lucemon let out a satisfied sigh and said:

"Monarchmon, LordKnightmon, I am very satisfied with you. The seals on my body are almost gone, and I can even let my power seep out. Heh heh, it won't be able to hold me for long!"

"The last, only one area of ​​data left. If I get it, I can completely break the seal! Go, Royal Knights, retrieve that area of ​​data for me!"

"Then, I will fulfill our promise and realize your long-cherished wish!"

"Yes, Lord Light Beast!"

Monarchmon and LordKnightmon responded loudly, their voices filled with determination.

…………

"This is the last area."

The children stood in Angewomon's palace, their morale somewhat low.

In the previous battles, they had given their all, and the three of them, including Emu, could feel their own improvement. Now, they were confident they could defeat the Royal Knights!

However, the Royal Knights were consistently unwilling to fight them, and their fighting style—even at the cost of injury—made them powerless to use their strength.

Regardless, the Royal Knights are top-tier Ultimate-level beings, the cream of the crop. Seizing their data takes only a fleeting moment. In such a short time, the children simply cannot completely defeat them.

Even if we manage to injure them and lose the data, the kids still lose.

Now, only the data from this one region remains untouched.

If this place falls, the strongest Rookie-level Digimon in Digital World history—Lucemon—will break free.

That would be an enemy even more terrifying than the Royal Knights!

The children felt immense pressure at the thought that their powerlessness would prevent them from protecting the data in the Digital World, and even allow such a terrifying enemy to appear.

Chapter Fifty-Nine, Revitalizing Morale

"Everyone, please cheer up!"

Angewomon sensed the children's low morale and encouraged them.

"You've done your best, and everyone in the Digital World knows how hard you've worked. Even the Royal Knights were no match for you. You shouldn't be so discouraged; you should be proud!"

"But we still couldn't stop the Royal Knights from taking the data... The Digital World has become what it is now, and Lucemon is about to be resurrected. It's all because we didn't do a good enough job."

Takuya said with some pain. The other children also lowered their heads, feeling wronged and upset.

In the original story, their data was usually taken away after they had fought the Royal Knights to the best of their ability and lost. Although it was still very painful, they had no regrets because they had given it their all, and they just wanted to try again next time.

However, this time, the Royal Knights sensed the children's strength beforehand and, in order to successfully obtain the data, essentially avoided direct confrontation with them. Aside from Seraphimon's castle and the Autumn Leaf Market, the children didn't even have a chance to fight the Royal Knights.

Even in those two battles, the Royal Knights focused on data collection rather than combat. Once they obtained the data, they immediately withdrew, leaving the children feeling like they were punching cotton, which was very frustrating.

As the saying goes, "One should strike while the iron is hot, but one's strength will wane after a second attempt, and decline after a third." The children repeatedly mustered their strength and prepared to fight the royal knights for three hundred rounds, but the knights avoided battle time and time again.

That's not all; the real problem is that the other side stole the data! The children had no way to use their strength and no way to vent their anger. This cycle repeated itself several times, and naturally, their morale plummeted.

"No, you've done enough!" Seraphimon, having regained its energy and returned to its Ultimate form, said, standing next to Angewomon.

"This was originally a crisis for our Digital World. It was our three angels who were not powerful enough, which led to this situation. We even dragged you unrelated children into it. To be honest, I feel very guilty."

“I have seen your hard work all along. You have faced so many difficulties and dangers, and encountered so many crises, but you have never thought of giving up. You have done enough! There is nothing to blame yourself for. If anyone has not done enough, it is us, not you.”

The three archangels may not be strong in combat, but their words are persuasive and easily convince people.

Especially now that Seraphimon is speaking from the heart, with his own emotions, the effect is amplified, making the children much more confident and no longer as depressed and lost as before.

Emu patted his face and cheered himself up.

Aside from having over twenty years of past life memories and the knightly power that other children possess, he is also an ordinary person with his own joys and sorrows.

He participated in the entire battle against the Royal Knights and experienced the frustration of wanting to fight but being unable to. While the children around him were all depressed, he was unknowingly influenced as well.

But now that I think about it, what's the big deal if Lucemon is resurrected? Wasn't Lucemon defeated in the original story? There's no reason why we shouldn't be able to defeat him now that he's here!

Emu thought this way, and he said it this way: "Everyone, I don't think we need to worry! The worst-case scenario is that Lucemon will be resurrected. But think about it, in ancient times, the Ten Warriors were able to defeat and seal Lucemon. Now, if we continue their power, we can defeat and seal him a second time!"

"So, everyone, don't feel pressured. Even if we don't hold onto the final score and Lucemon revives, we can still defeat him once again!"

"Besides, we might not even be able to hold out! The Royal Knights are no match for us anymore. Last time, if they hadn't used a trick, they wouldn't have been able to defeat us at all! This time, they're even less likely to succeed!"

"If they dare to come, we'll beat them to tears!"