Digimon: I really didn't want to be the Digimon Emperor!

The bean-like beasts observed it from a distance across a mine pit, occasionally sending a few to deliver cartloads of mineral crystals in exchange for peace. The gluttonous beasts knew they were seeking peace and hoped it would eat its fill and move to another location.

The gluttonous beast didn't bother to argue; the main problem was that the bean-like beast wasn't tasty, being made entirely of metal and mechanical parts that were hard to chew.

The gluttonous beast chewed on the mineral crystals while calculating.

Once I've consumed enough data and regained some strength, I can consider capturing an Ultimate-level being to eat.

Ultimate level is relatively full.

The fully grown ones can last a while, but those in their mature and growth stages are barely enough to fill a gap in your teeth.

It looked up and gazed through the gray sky at the silhouettes of several black, tower-like buildings in the distance.

The Ocean Heart Tower, Bean Tower, and Poison Swamp Tower stand like three nails driven into the ground under the dim, yellowish light of the digital world.

Those are all its future food.

It's not the right time to eat them now. Once it has devoured all the mineral vein data in the vicinity, it should be able to stabilize and return to its ultimate form.

Then, by devouring a few Ultimate-level beings, it might regain access to the Four Fiends. Once its access is restored, it can go find its eldest, second, and third brothers.

With three big brothers protecting it, is there any place on the entire continent that it can't eat?

The gluttonous beast stuffed the last piece of mineral crystal into its mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it. Suddenly, it remembered something, narrowed its eyes, and showed a hint of nostalgia.

That human, and that cat.

The food they found for themselves, especially those fully grown ones, particularly the one called Murasame-mon, was truly delicious.

At that time, it had been sealed away for many years without eating. When it ate the Rain Beast, it felt like it had eaten the best thing it had ever eaten in its life.

It can find food and speaks sweetly; it's simply a great toy.

Once we find the eldest, second, and third brothers, we can consider assigning it the title of Demon General. Hmm, let it be the leader of the Twelve Demon Generals!

Leading the ferocious beast army, he walked at the very front.

……

"Achoo—"

Cheng Yuan rubbed his nose.

The air in the Poisonous Ridge of Ten Thousand Insects is acidic and astringent. Although the sea angels regularly purify the toxins in their bodies and cover their bodies with a thin layer of heart-shaped bubbles to prevent the invasion of poisonous miasma, the smell in their noses is still unbearable.

They had already crossed several mountains in the Poisonous Ridge of Ten Thousand Insects.

The path underfoot became increasingly difficult to walk on, and the fungal carpet grew thicker and thicker, sinking halfway down to the calf with each step.

The surrounding trees were becoming increasingly bizarre in shape; some were covered with pustules-like growths, and some vines would actively shoot poisonous thorns at people.

The released birds and beasts were poisoned and killed in large numbers, which truly pained Cheng Yuan.

At that moment, the sound-bird beast issued a warning.

In the images transmitted back by the soundbird beast, dead tree stumps lay askew in the middle, the ground was covered with a layer of dark green moss, and a figure appeared in the jungle.

It was a young girl running for her life.

She was dressed in a red palace gown, with wide sleeves and a long skirt, the fabric embroidered with subtle gold patterns. As she ran, the hem of her skirt trailed on the ground, getting covered in mud and fallen leaves.

Her face was small, with delicate features, and she looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old. Her hair was messy, her lips were pale, and she was panting heavily.

Suddenly, she tripped over a dead tree root lying on the ground and almost hit her face on the ground.

She knelt there, her knees trembling, her eyes red but she didn't cry out. She bit her lip, got up, and stumbled on her way back to running.

Cheng Yuan squinted from behind the tree's shadow. "Human? Beast tamer? Who would come to a place like this dressed in ancient costume cosplay?"

The girl had no partner with her and did not seem to have a Digivice.

Running around dressed like this in a den of venomous insects seven or eight hundred kilometers deep into the corrupted digital world is either a sign of being suicidal or something serious has happened.

Behind the clearing in the woods where the girl had run, came a series of heavy, disordered footsteps that thudded on the fungal carpet.

The pursuers emerged from the shadows of the trees.

Cheng Yuan's pupils constricted slightly.

These pursuers had human body outlines, but also distinct Digimon characteristics: some had compound eyes, some had two insect-wing-like protrusions on their backs, and some had finger joints deformed into claw shapes.

They wore tattered strips of cloth and metal armor, and moved swiftly but without any order, as if driven by something.

What caught Cheng Yuan's attention the most was their right wrist.

On the right wrist of every Homo sapiens, there is a huge silver bulge, which is a silver beetle the size of a fist, with six thin legs tightly embedded in the flesh of the Homo sapiens' wrist.

The beetle's head faces forward, and it spits out a long, knife-like blade from its mouth, gleaming coldly, serving as a weapon for Homo sapiens.

Cheng Yuan recognized the insect.

【Blademon】!

His classmate Zhang Ming's partner was a BladeGugula, which that guy used as a screwdriver in the engineering college. And let me tell you, it was even more efficient than a mechanical arm.

But these Blade-Guga Beasts in front of us are clearly parasitic on the wrists of Homo sapiens, and are in turn controlling the Homo sapiens' bodies.

“They are Homo sapiens!” Cheng Yuan recognized them at a glance. These were native species of the Digital World that possessed human bodies, combined with the power of Digimon, and lived around Digimon.

The fiery tail of the Fire Princess Beast twitched. "What do we do?"

Cheng Yuan stared at the back of the girl in red. She had just run to the edge of the open space when she tripped over a stone and staggered to the side, grabbing onto a dead tree for support.

The seven Homo sapiens behind them drew ever closer, and the Blade-Guga beasts on their wrists all raised their heads, their insect eyes gleaming with a terrifying light.

If you don't see it, fine, but you can't just sit idly by and watch a human animal trainer in distress in a place like this.

But he also took precautions.

Ever since witnessing the beast tamer being ambushed and killed by a Homo sapiens disguised as a human during the great battle in the west of the city, Cheng Yuan has been extra cautious of any lone humanoid creature in the wild.

He remained in his Dark Beast form, his entire body covered in black armor, his aura suppressed to the level of maturity. This was the best protection for himself; regardless of whether the girl was a trap or not, at least he wouldn't reveal all his trump cards immediately.

The girl's knee hit a rock, tearing a hole in her skirt, and blood seeped out from under the ripped fabric.

She tried to push herself up by supporting herself on the ground with her hands, but her legs were shaking so badly that she collapsed halfway up.

Seven Homo sapiens gathered around.

One of the Homo sapiens with compound eyes squatted down, facing the girl, opened its mouth, and made a stiff, hoarse voice like a machine malfunctioning: "Come with me..."

Several other Homo sapiens gathered around, repeating similar statements all at once.

"You...can't escape."

“Come back with us…”

The girl curled up in a ball, her back against the withered tree trunk, her arms blocking her face.

Her lips were trembling, and tears finally rolled down her cheeks, but she gritted her teeth and didn't cry out.

Cheng Yuan had seen enough.

The figure in black armor suddenly disappeared into the shadows of the trees.

In the next instant, he appeared in the center of the circle formed by the Homo sapiens, the cold light of the Blade Guga Beast's longsword less than three inches from the girl's neck.

【Demon Shift】.

A one-second teleportation is enough for him to cut into position.

The Blood Evolution Demon Blade sprang out from the Beast Head Bracers. The two closest Homo sapiens had no time to react before the blade pierced through their waists and abdomens, spilling thick digital blood all over the ground. The Demon Blade had its fill.

The two Homo sapiens fell down, and the Blade Guga beast on their wrists struggled to spring up from their severed arms. The silver beetle flapped its wings, trying to fly away, but after losing its host, Cheng Yuan's Evil Eye shot out a blood arrow, which hit the Blade Guga beast on the ground, and the latter immediately began to disintegrate.

However, the remaining five Homo sapiens reacted extremely quickly. BladeGuggamon is an extremely rare mechanical insect Digimon in its adult stage, whose entire body is covered with Chrono Digizoid. After being parasitized, these Homo sapiens moved much faster than their kind.

They bounced backward, and the Blade Guga beasts on their wrists simultaneously sprang up, their beetle heads raised high, and their long, dagger-like blades were instantly enveloped in a dazzling silver light.

【Flash Blade】!

Five silver-white light blades slashed towards Cheng Yuan from different angles.

The sound of wind cutting filled the air, and the light from the blade made Cheng Yuan's black armor appear silver-gray.

Cheng Yuan didn't try to tough it out with his body.

【Blood Blade Assault】!

Two dark red blood blades slashed out from the blade on the left and right, respectively colliding with two flashing blades.

Red and silver collided in mid-air, bursting into a blinding burst of data sparks. The remaining three flashing blades were already upon him. Cheng Yuan raised his left hand, and shadow energy surged from his palm, instantly unfurling a semi-transparent black circular shield.

Shadow Shield.

The final flash of light struck the shield, causing it to shake violently and crack with a spiderweb-like pattern.

Cheng Yuan reached his left hand under the girl's armpit and scooped her up like a sack of rice. "Excuse me," he said in a low voice.

【Demon Shift】.

The figure in black armor disappeared with the girl in red.

Five Homo sapiens brandished their flashing blades, but missed. The blades struck the dead tree trunk, severing the tree, which was as thick as a bowl, in half.

Cheng Yuan teleported to behind another dead tree two hundred meters away.

He laid the girl down against the tree trunk. Her face was as white as paper, her lips were purple, and her breathing was shallow and rapid. The wound on her knee was still bleeding, but it wasn't fatal.

The main problem was exhaustion combined with shock; the person was too tense and lost all energy as soon as they were rescued.

The Fire God Princess Beast leaped out from the shadows behind, glanced at the unconscious girl, and then looked at Cheng Yuan. "What should we do with this woman? Keeping her around like this all the time isn't a solution."

Bastimon moved through the forest with the agility of a wildcat, leaping a few times before landing on a tree branch next to Cheng Yuan. Its golden cat-like eyes swept over the girl. "She's even lost her Digivice; she has no way to protect herself. Should we wait for Wukongmon and the others to come over and then throw her into the Somersault Cloud? Those Homo sapiens are still chasing after us."

Cheng Yuan listened intently. There were still footsteps deep in the woods, but they were more dispersed than before, probably indicating a search.

He glanced back at the girl leaning against him and frowned.

Why is this girl here? Why is she dressed in palace attire and running into the Poisonous Ridge of Ten Thousand Insects? Did her Digimon sacrifice itself to protect her? She's unconscious now, and I can't get any information out of her.

“This can’t go on.” Cheng Yuan stood up and hoisted the girl back onto his shoulder. “Let’s walk for a while and wait for her to wake up before we talk about it.”

“Those tail bugs are really annoying,” Vulcan Beast said in a fiery voice, “I’m going to kill them all.”

Seeing that he couldn't stop the Fire God Beast, Cheng Yuan said to her back, "Hey, leave one alive, I want to ask her some questions."

The Fire God Princess Beast grinned, and the entire beast shot off like a meteor in the direction it had come from.

Less than ten minutes later, it returned, clutching a silver beetle in one hand—a BladeGuggamon, its six thin legs still tightly holding a severed arm.

"Ugh—that's disgusting." Bastimon's tail snapped open for a moment.

The Fire God Princess Beast then looked down at what she was holding and sighed, "I forgot to clean it up."

A flame ignited in her other palm, which she then tossed onto the severed arm.

The severed arm sizzled and burned, causing BladeGugamon to hiss and screech from the heat. Finally, it released the severed arm and curled up into a ball.

Cheng Yuan helped the girl sit firmly against the tree root, then stood up and walked to the BladeGugamon.

The mature Alloy Beetle was held in the hand of the Fire God Princess Beast, its six legs dangling limply, and wisps of insect fluid seeping from the gaps in its shell, clearly indicating that it had been badly beaten.

The seven blood-red eyes of the Dark Beast Armor opened and looked at the BladeGuga Beast.

[Dark Twilight].

The compound eyes of the BladeGugamon suddenly became unfocused, and its six legs went completely limp. This insect was not very intelligent and was instantly controlled.

Cheng Yuan asked, "Who are you, and where do you come from?"

The voice of the Bladebugmon was broken: "We come from the Mechanical Insect Tribe. We do not use poison, but we use mechanical weapons. We need to combine with Homo sapiens to maximize our combat power, so we live among Homo sapiens. Our habitat is on the edge of the Spider Tower's territory, far from the main tower and close to the Bean Tower's territory. It is a metal junkyard, located on the edge of the two forces."

Cheng Yuan frowned. Bean Tower? That's connected to the Spider Tower by a boundary. Why are these mechanical insects coming all the way to Ten Thousand Insect Poison Ridge to capture people?

"Your habitat is so far away," Cheng Yuan continued, "Why did you come all this way?"

The compound eyes of the BladeGugumamon blinked twice, and it answered mechanically, "I was ordered to kidnap the little princess, who has just completed her molt and is much weaker."

Cheng Yuan: "..."

He looked at the girl in red palace attire lying at the foot of the tree.

The little princess? Which of the seven princesses of the Spider Tower?

Chapter 640 Why don't you believe it?