(Author's Notes: The battle has begun! Enjoy. Let me know what you think.)
Chapter 22: Blood and Iron
"Commence bombardment… Hyper Mugen Cannon!"
Chaosdramon's deep, guttural voice thundered across the D-Brigade's lines. Streams of dark energy tore from the muzzles of his cannons and swept across the field towards the Saversburg-Order army, particularly the middle where the Royal Knights and most of the Saversburg soldiers were.
No later than two seconds after Chaosdramon began his attack, the rest of the D-Brigade bombardment troops fired in unison. There was a deafening crack of cannons, the shrill whistle of launching missiles, and the deep howl of beams being fired. They all opened fire at once, creating a thunderous symphony of mechanical destruction.
The allied army watched as the attacks began to pour out of the D-Brigade's lines. Hundreds of missiles soared through the air like rain. They prepared themselves with nervous anticipation and adrenaline.
Craniamon narrowed his eyes, staring across the field as one of Chaosdramon's two beams came barreling towards him. Even though the beams flew several meters above the ground, they were still powerful enough to burn up the grass and send shallow trenches ripping through the dirt.
"Here they come," Gankoomon spoke, narrowing his eyes and digging his heels in.
Omegamon eyed the two dark beams that surged towards them. He offhandedly noticed something ominous about them, but at the moment, he was more concerned about their immediate destructive capabilities. "Incoming!" he announced, his light, dual voice resounding.
"Behind me," Craniamon told them. He jumped into the path of one of the gigantic beams and raised the Avalon shield in front of him. He dug his boots into the ground and braced for the impact.
"I've got you, Craniamon!" Dynasmon shouted, flying up behind the violet Royal Knight and pressing his hands on Craniamon's back in order to help brace him for the impact.
"I'll get the other one," Omegamon stated, flying into the path of the other approaching beam. He angled the left side of his body forwards and got a good footing. The orange Brave Shield Omega on his left shoulder suddenly enlarged to cover half of Omegamon's body.
Like Dynasmon, Gankoomon ran over and got behind Omegamon, holding him firmly to help support him in blocking the attack. "Hold steady!" he shouted with fiery determination
"God Bless!" Craniamon shouted, right before the titanic beam was about to hit him and Dynasmon. He purposefully left it until the last moment in order to have more time. The shield released an omnidirectional barrier that surrounded himself and Dynasmon, also serving to protect the Digimon behind them. The blast slammed into the transparent screen and roared as it tried to get through. The barrier held steady against the attack, causing the beam to part around them. Dark tendrils of energy shot out around the barrier and tore into the ground and fizzled in the air.
After three seconds, the barrier faded, and the remnants of the beam slammed into the Avalon shield, forcing Craniamon to rely on his strength in order to block it. His and Dynasmon's feet dug deep into the ground under the intense pressure of the beam blast. Their arms and legs strained as they held against the stream of dark energy. The blast pushed them back a meter, tearing against the metal, digizoid face of the Avalon.
The result was the same with Omegamon and Gankoomon. Having weaker defences than Craniamon, they only barely managed to block the powerful beam and remain standing. Omegamon and Gankoomon were pushed back further, and it was through sheer force of effort that they held firm against the devastating beam.
Omegamon's bright, sky blue eyes narrowed with effort, but also with pensive thought, as he felt the pressure of the beam against him. "Why does this feel so familiar…?" he couldn't help but wonder at the back of his mind.
After several sustained seconds, the pressure of the beams weakened and they started to subside. The beams thinned as the tails of the dark plasma impacted the two Royal Knights' shields. The pressure faded, allowing the Royal Knights to finally slacken. Both the Avalon and the Brave Shield Omega were superheated from the powerful beams. Smoke drifted up from around them and the metal glowed, scorching to the touch.
"Damn, that packed a hell of a punch," Gankoomon observed, gritting his teeth. "Chaosdramon's a powerhouse."
Omegamon frowned and stood up straight. "Something didn't feel right…" he mused.
Gankoomon looked at Omegamon, arching an eyebrow behind his visor. "Huh? What do you mean, Omegamon?" he asked.
"Forget it right now!" Craniamon reminded them firmly. He pointed his spear towards the sky, from where missiles were descending. The explosive munitions fell like rain pellets from the grey clouds. Meanwhile, beams, blasts, and shells were streaking across the battlefield and plummeting on their ranks. "We've got more incoming!"
Omegamon glared and nodded. He soared up into the sky and swept his left arm out, causing the massive Grey Sword to eject from the orange Grey Arm's mouth. He looked over his shoulder at the allied Digimon army behind them. "Everyone, begin countermeasures. Leave the first volley to me," he spoke, his voice echoing and a flash shining in his blue eyes.
Omegamon flew through the air, towards the screeching missiles as they descended towards him. He narrowed his eyes and pivoted his body to the left to rear his Grey Arm back. The massive blade suddenly erupted with a swell of fire. "Grey Sword!" he shouted, his dual voice resounding as he spoke. He swept the Grey Sword outwards and unleashed a massive arc of flaming energy from the blade. The arcing fire blast carved into the air and slammed into the hundreds of missiles as they swooped down towards him and his comrades.
The flames ignited the missiles and crushed them upon impact. A chain of dozens of explosions began tearing through the sky. Multiple, blinding flashes erupted in the air like fireworks, sending fire, smoke, and molten shrapnel shooting out above the center of the battlefield.
However, not all of the missiles were destroyed, and many continued to shoot through the smoke. This prompted Omegamon to extend the Garuru Cannon from his right arm and begin aiming at the stray missiles. He tracked their movements carefully as he built up freezing energy in his giant cannon.
"Garuru Cannon!" Omegamon spoke, unleashing a powerful blast from the Garuru Cannon. The bluish-white blast pulsed from the muzzle and soared through the sky towards a cluster of descending missiles. The orb of energy consumed four missiles in one pass, freezing them and causing them to break and detonate. Omegamon then turned and fired another blast at two more falling missiles.
Dynasmon followed Omegamon's example and flew up to his side. "Dragon's Roar!" he shouted. He raised his claws and started shooting blasts of elemental energy from the gems on his palms. Blasts of fire, light, electricity, and ice burst from his claws and pierced through individual missiles, detonating them before they could meet their mark.
Below, ranged attacks began hitting in front of or inside the spread out ranks of the Order-Saversburg center. The Saversburg shield troops did well to protect the army behind them from the front, but several of the attacks got through or sailed in from overhead. Explosions erupted within the dispersed lines, causing a handful of Digimon to be deleted by the powerful blasts.
Tactimon scowled as the bombardment by the D-Brigade continued. He raised his hand, lifting his sheathed sword over his head. "Destroy, neutralize, or block those attacks!" he shouted to the Strike Forces and the Saversburg military. "Minimize the damage as much as possible!"
Blastmon unleashed a rolling yell and careened into the air, directly towards an oncoming missile. "RrururuRAAAGH! JUNJOU EMERALD CHOP!" he shouted animatedly. He unleashed a powerful swipe of his giant arm and sent his hand chopping right into the missile. The munition exploded at point blank range, but did no more than throw Blastmon back to the ground with hardly a scratch on his crystalline body.
Upon landing, he turned around and folded his arms at the thousands of soldiers spread behind him. "Just like Tac-chan says!" he announced, completely ignoring a second missile that flew down and impacted his broad back. The fiery blast singed his cape and caused his body to tremble, but he was otherwise unaffected. "Reduce these puny, little party poppers to data!"
"We'll take the big ones!" Gankoomon announced, dashing forward. He stopped firmly on the ground and slammed his foot down. "Chabudai Gaeshi!" he shouted, stomping his foot down into the ground hard enough to send a giant slab of rock shooting up from beneath the grass. Gankoomon then spun around and drove his foot into the thick stone block, sending it shooting into the air. The giant hunk of rock sailed into the sky, right in front of two colossal missiles launched by a MetalGreymon's Giga Destroyer attack. The stone crashed into the missiles, causing them to explode violently above the ground. The detonations tore a crater into the ground below and completely obliterated the stone strata, sending bits of rock shooting everywhere.
Although those two organic missiles were dealt with, a Mugendramon proceeded to launch a pair of beams from his Mugen Cannons. The giant, glowing lasers howled as they tore across the battlefield towards their forces.
"Gankoomon, heads up!" Craniamon called out, jumping in the path of one of the beams to block it with his sturdy Avalon shield.
Without missing a beat, Gankoomon turned towards the oncoming beam, preparing to face it head on. "You D-Brigade are too scared to fight with your fists, huh?!" he asked aloud. He gritted his teeth. "Well, bring it on! I'll show you how a man fights! Jishin! Kaminari! Kaji! Oyaji!"
Hinukamui expanded from Gankoomon's back, his yellow energy swelling as he rose up into the air. The majestic aura dragon released a roar as he spotted the oncoming beam.
"Let's do it! Hinukamui!" Gankoomon bellowed, dashing forwards stubbornly.
Hinukamui growled with agreement and flew above Gankoomon, shooting towards the rolling beam that threatened to consume many of the Digimon behind them. Just as the beam was about to slam into them, Hinukamui rushed forwards and placed his giant, aura claws in front of the beam, pushing against it. Hinukamui growled with effort as he strained to hold the beam in place, the positrons branching and splaying off around his claws.
Gankoomon scowled and dug his feet into the ground, pouring his reserves of energy into Hinukamui as he helped him hold the beam back with his flaming fists. "Damn it…! Don't give up, Hinukamui…!" he roared with effort, pushing hard against the Mugen Cannon's beam. "We're not… gonna take a single step backwards…!"
Hinukamui released a strained rumble as he tried to hold the beam back. They momentarily ceded ground before digging in deeper and pushing back against the immense blast. With a final roar, they pushed forwards against the beam, fracturing the energy and causing it to part around them. The beam burst into tendrils around them and ripped up the surrounding grass before fading.
Craniamon watched from behind his shield, holding off the other beam with his God Bless ability. He was inwardly impressed that Gankoomon was able to block the beam that way.
When the beam faded, Gankoomon and Hinukamui relaxed and sighed. The red-haired Royal Knight raised a hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Damn… That was close…" he muttered, taking a moment to breathe.
Craniamon lowered his shield and turned to Gankoomon. "Stopping a beam with your hands? That's stupid, even for you," he teased him.
"Shut it, Pigtails," Gankoomon responded with a smirk. "We can't all hide behind a shield like you."
"Tch," Craniamon scoffed. "Just focus on the battle. We'll see who does a better job."
Gankoomon grinned and cracked his knuckles. "Yeah, we will. Won't we, Hinu?" he asked, looking up at the yellow energy dragon above him. Hinukamui responded with an affirmative grunt.
The last of the missiles and shells landed with explosions in the grass as the salvo began to fade. The Saversburg army and the Strike Forces took some casualties from the first salvo of the D-Brigade's attack, but the bombardment was finally over for the moment.
Behind the four Royal Knights, Tactimon noticed the lull in the bombardment. He stepped out in front and turned around. "Duftmon, are the flanks in position?" he called to the tactician at the rear, speaking into the LRAC around his wrist. Using this, the two tacticians would be able to communicate easily.
"Yes, they are advancing nicely," Duftmon responded. He was flying in the air, at the rear of center so that he could oversee the battlefield.
"The first salvo of the bombardment has stopped. I want to begin the advance before they get a chance to launch another," Tactimon spoke.
Duftmon looked at the left flank, which was led by Sleipmon, Examon, Ouryumon. They and the Aerial Strike Forces were approaching the base of the hill where much of the D-Brigade artillery troops were stationed upon. The tactician then looked at the right flank. Alphamon, Dukemon, and RhodoKnightmon led the Defence Forces along the northern river, guarding Gaioumon and the Republic of Node's military as they advanced. They were about a quarter of the way across the open field and they were just beginning to face D-Brigade resistance.
"Very well. Commence the advance, Tactimon," Duftmon said to him. "The flanks are progressing nicely. Now would be the best time to move forward."
"Agreed," Tactimon answered. "Keep me updated."
"Affirmative. Out," Duftmon replied, lowering the LRAC around his wrist.
Tactimon turned around to face Blastmon, who was busy brushing dirt off of his crystal coating. "General Blastmon. Now. If you please," he calmly said to the hulking Digimon.
"About time, General Tac-chan!" Blastmon replied enthusiastically. He spun around to face the Strike Forces and the Saversburg military. "Okay, everyone! Advance! Move out and give the D-Brigade hell!" Blastmon shouted, his voice booming. "Artillery troops, cover us with a bombardment!"
Tactimon nodded and turned forwards towards the four Royal Knights. "Are all of you okay with this?" he asked them.
Omegamon nodded calmly. "We defer to your and Duftmon's tactical knowledge," he assured him.
Gankoomon grinned excitedly. "We're more than okay," he added.
Craniamon nodded quietly and turned forwards, leering at the distant D-Brigade excitedly. "I'll lead the way…" he spoke.
Dynasmon let out an adrenalized laugh. "Time for a little payback!" he shouted.
The four Royal Knights began flying and dashing across the field, heading straight for the rows of D-Brigade soldiers a kilometer away.
Tactimon raised the Jutetsufujin-maru and pointed after the Royal Knights. "Advance! Begin the bombardment!"
As the symphonic din of attacks erupted from the center of the battlefield, the Royal Knights' left flank continued soaring towards the southern hill as planned.
Sleipmon led the way courageously. He galloped across the grass towards the base of the hill. Flying above him were Examon and Ouryumon, who flew at the front of the right echelon formation of the Aerial Strike Forces. They glided through the air with their weapons in hand, not taking their eyes off of the D-Brigade-controlled hill in front of them. Some of the Aerial Guards flew at the front of the formation to protect the Aerial Strike Forces' advance, and several Shield Guards followed behind Sleipmon on the ground.
They were just about at the hill. As they approached, Examon narrowed his eyes and scanned their adversaries. From that distance, he could clearly see that the apex of the long hill was covered with heavy duty D-Brigade Digimon. He could see a Deckerdramon, a Mugendramon, the DigiXros version of a MetalGreymon, several Tankdramon and MetalTyrannomon, and a handful of other Digimon who had bombardment and defensive capabilities.
"It's heavily fortified," Examon said to Ouryumon.
"No kidding," Ouryumon responded, eyeing the Deckerdramon in particular. He looked down at Sleipmon, who continued running below them. "Sleipmon! That Deckerdramon is gonna chew us to pieces! Can you deal with him?!" he called out.
"Leave it to me!" Sleipmon responded, galloping forwards in front of the rest of the formation. He made it to the base of the grassy hill and began charging up the incline.
"Here they come," the Mugendramon spoke stoically. "Formation Type: Delta. Prepare to defend this point. Sub-Captain Deckerdramon, prepare to commence an extensive anti-air barrage. Group B, target Sleipmon. Fire."
A MetalGarurumon X-Antibody, a BlackRapidmon, two MetalTyrannomon, and an Assaultmon stepped out in front of the formation of D-Brigade Digimon. They looked down the slope of the hill and aimed at Sleipmon, who was charging up it towards the top.
Sleipmon narrowed his eyes as he saw the five Digimon target him with their weapons. He raised the Niflheimr shield and prepared himself, not slowing down his gallop in the slightest. He increased his charging speed, really tearing his way up the hill. He knew that Examon, Ouryumon and the others were counting on him to stop Deckerdramon. He didn't have time to deal with these soldiers.
The D-Brigade soldiers called out their attacks and began unleashing their devastating bombardment. The MetalGarurumon X-Antibody's and Assaultmon's Gatling gun arms began unleashing a storm of bullets that ripped up the ground around Sleipmon. The BlackRapidmon and two MetalTyrannomon all fired missiles from their hands, which rocketed through the air towards the Royal Knight.
Sleipmon blocked the hail of bullets with the Niflheimr. The red digizoid of the shield easily deflected the storm of bullets, but they kept Sleipmon suppressed. The equine Royal Knight was forced to slow his charge in response to the heavy fire directed at him, but he pressed on stubbornly despite the pressure against him. There was a constant battering sound of metal on metal, ricocheting bullets, and cascading sparks.
When Sleipmon heard the whistling of missiles closing in on him, he knew that it was time to make his move. The red digizoid armoured knight suddenly broke away, dashing off to the side at high speeds, gliding with his hooves just above the grass. The missiles landed where he had been standing, causing a giant explosion on the face of the hill.
As Sleipmon avoided the attacks, he began speeding up the hill diagonally, moving in a zigzag pattern to avoid the attacks directed at him. As he moved, he kept his shield up to block the bullets and missiles shooting towards him. He angled his Muspellsheimr crossbow around his shield and took careful aim.
"Bifröst!" Sleipmon spoke, firing a bolt of incandescent light from his crossbow. The bolt shot up the hill and pierced through the missile pod mounted on the MetalGarurumon X-Antibody's shoulder. The missiles inside the pod detonated, blowing the shoulder mount up and throwing the cyborg Digimon to the ground. The chrome digizoid plating protected the D-Brigade Ultimate Digimon from most of the damage, but he still hit the ground hard. Despite this, the MetalGarurumon X-Antibody angled the linear cannon on his opposite shoulder and fired a beam from it towards Sleipmon. The beam tore up the ground diagonally in front of Sleipmon, showering him with clumps of grass and dirt.
Seeing that Sleipmon was under fire, and aware of the essence of speed, Ouryumon looked over his shoulder. "Okay, Strikes! Fire a barrage at the top of that hill to cover Sleipmon! Don't fry him in the process!" the Strike Forces Captain ordered.
The layered echelon of Aerial Strike Forces began launching their attacks towards the apex of the hill. Examon flew up and watched as the multi-coloured attacks flooded through the air and impacted the hill's crest, straight into the D-Brigade's forces. Explosions erupted upon impact, blasting the D-Brigade Digimon and covering Sleipmon's advance.
Examon watched as the single chain of explosions bloomed and faded, leaving smoke and dust in their wake. Sleipmon continued racing up the hill. Examon could see that he was nearly at the top, but he noticed D-Brigade soldiers moving around through the clearing smoke.
The Assaultmon burst out of the veil of smoke and aimed all of his machine guns at Sleipmon. Examon quickly aimed the Ambrosius at the Assaultmon. He fired a shell from the lance's muzzle, which shot towards the attacker. The shell burst open in mid-air and released a net that fell onto the Assaultmon and stabbed into the ground with weighted, metal pegs, which pinned the soldier to the hillside.
Sleipmon glanced out of the corner of his eye at Examon appreciatively. He then bashed away an incoming missile with his shield, and continued dashing to the top of the hill, where the flashes of attacks and muzzle fire could be seen within the smoke. He made it to the crest of the hill and galloped into the smoke.
The Mugendramon commander grunted and swept his giant booster claw out, blowing the smoke away with the mighty swing. He quickly took stock of the situation, seeing where the Royal Knights' attack force was relative to their position. He turned his head to the Deckerdramon. "Hurry up. Fire," he ordered.
"Sir!" the Deckerdramon complied as he finished aiming the Deckerdra-launchers on his back. Dozens of missiles clicked in unison as they locked into place, and the metal covers of the missile ports opened up.
Sleipmon saw this and narrowed his eyes. He had to hurry. He dashed across the level crest of the hill, completely ignoring the D-Brigade Digimon around him, even the ones who turned to attack him.
Mugendramon turned and was surprised to see Sleipmon penetrating their ranks on his own. The rest of the Shield Guards were still climbing the hill. The colossal machine dragon gave a mechanical grunt and prepared to dispose of the Royal Knight. He aimed his giant, left claw at him. "Booster Claw."
The hulking, metal claw suddenly shot out of his arm with high speed, pneumatic force, connected by a sturdy wire. Sleipmon saw the giant claw propel towards him, intent on skewering him. He acted quickly, putting all of his might into his six legs. He then pushed off of the ground and performed an impressive jump. The claw, which was about as large as his body, stabbed into the ground beneath him, sending a wave of dirt shooting up from the heavy impact.
Sleipmon landed on the ground and continued his charge. He swiftly galloped around Mugendramon and made a direct course for the Deckerdramon, who was on the verge of firing. The Royal Knight narrowed his violet eyes with determination and raised the Niflheimr shield in front of him.
"Odin's Breath!" he shouted, unleashing a flurry of freezing blizzard from his shield. The icy cold air swept across the hill top and engulfed the titanic, metal crocodile in front of him. Ice began to form over the Deckerdramon's legs and back, quickly growing thicker with every second. A heavy layer of ice froze over the Deckerdramon's missile ports, sealing the insides of the missile tubes and freezing over their exterior as well.
The Deckerdramon's eyes widened with shock. There was no way that he could fire without detonating his own cannons. He tried swatting Sleipmon with his massive, steel tail, but the appendages metal joints also became caked with thick ice, stifling its range of movement. "S-S-Sir!" the cyborg reptile called out to the Mugendramon, his teeth chattering from the cold.
"What?" Mugendramon demanded, lumbering around to face Deckerdramon and Sleipmon.
With the Deckerdramon's missiles disabled, Sleipmon turned and waved his arm to Ouryumon and Examon. He wasted no more than a second before once again focusing on the battle around him. He spun around and fired a burning bolt from his crossbow straight into the loading cylinder of a RizeGreymon's Trident Revolver, damaging the weapon from the inside and causing it to jam.
Ouryumon saw Sleipmon's signal and held his sword up. "Now! Attack!" he called to his Aerial Strike Forces.
"Paildramon, take wings one through four and attack from the left! The rest of you, with the Captain and me!" Leftenant HippoGriffomon ordered.
"Sir!" Over sergeant Paildramon obeyed, shooting off to the left with dozens of winged Digimon. As she flew, she strafed the left part of the hill with her hip cannons, damaging and suppressing several D-Brigade soldiers at a time with beam bullets.
Examon watched as the Aerial Strike Forces and Aerial Guards began flooding towards the apex of the hill in formation. "I'll provide precision cover," Examon said, looking at Ouryumon.
"Don't be afraid to get your claws dirty if we get bogged down," Ouryumon replied, looking over his shoulder at Examon with a teasing smirk. "You know, like how a real Dramon fights."
Examon smiled a bit at his words. "If I need to…" he responded. "Good luck, Ouryumon. Don't get hurt."
Ouryumon looked forwards seriously. "…You too, Exadork," he said to him amiably. With those words, Ouryumon shot forwards, his long, serpentine body swaying as soared. He flew to the front of the formation and began diving towards the D-Brigade-controlled hill.
"Eiseiryuoujin!" Ouryumon swiped his swords down and unleashed, bright, burning blasts from his dual scimitars. The blasts tore into a black MetalGreymon and destroyed him in an explosive burst of energy. He then swooped down onto the hill and swept his swords forward as he flew. He cleaved through a HiAndromon on one side and a Tankmon on the other.
As the Order soldiers swarmed the hill and began unleashing their attacks, Examon flapped his wings and flew into the sky. "Pendragon's Glory," he spoke, firing a highly concentrated laser from his lance. The bright beam cut through the air and pierced into the missile launcher mounted on a BlackMetalGarurumon's shoulder. The metal melted and the missiles detonated in a flurry of sparks and shrapnel, sending the cyborg wolf skidding across the ground. The force of the blast was enough knock the Digimon unconscious.
Meanwhile, Mugendramon turned his attention towards the attacking Aerial Strike Forces. He angled the two Mugen Cannons on his back towards them. "Targets acquired… Mugen Cannon," he spoke. Energy poured into the shoulder-mounted cannons before flooding out in a pair of massive beams. The pillar of energy swooped towards the Order Digimon and annihilated three Order Digimon who weren't able to escape them.
Sleipmon winced and turned towards the Mugendramon. He knew that a Digimon who was that destructive had to be taken down quickly. Sleipmon raised his crossbow arm and aimed the Muspellsheimr at him while simultaneously blocking a flurry of bullets directed at him. "Bifröst!" he called out, unleashing a bolt of light from his crossbow.
The arrow cut through the large, metal tube that connected Mugendramon's cannon to his backpack, causing sparks and energy to come shooting out. Sleipmon was about to aim for the other one as well, but Mugendramon turned around and blocked his shot using his full metal body.
Mugendramon stared at Sleipmon. "You…" he growled, annoyed at having his cannon circuit cut. He charged Sleipmon and tried to grab Sleipmon with the large, metal vice that made up his right hand.
Sleipmon blocked the claw with his shield. The claw began to try to crush the shield, but it was unable to even bend the sturdy red digizoid. Mugendramon changed tactics, retracting his right arm and then stepping back so that he could aim his larger left claw at Sleipmon.
"Booster Claw!"
The claw shot out of Mugendramon's hand and slammed into Sleipmon's shield. The immense force of the attack nearly broke Sleipmon's guard, and he was sent skidding back across the grass, his hooves staggering to keep himself from falling. Sleipmon's arm ached and he was forced to lower his shield as he caught himself.
He looked up and saw Mugendramon aiming his right shoulder cannon down at him. Sleipmon's eyes widened – he was going to fire at this close of a range?
"Mugen Cann—"
A beam sliced through the air from above and seared through the wire connecting Mugendramon's other cannon to his backpack. The light inside the cannon faded before it could be launched at Sleipmon.
"What?" Mugendramon demanded angrily, turning his head and looking into the sky where the shot had come from.
Sleipmon blinked and looked up as well. To his surprise, he saw Examon in the air, his lance aimed at Mugendramon.
Examon fired another shot at the giant cyborg Digimon. A shell burst from the lance and sailed down. The metal cylinder flew into the space between Mugendramon's collar and his long, metal neck. There was a flash of light from inside Mugendramon, causing him to hiss with pain. He arched his back and writhed as electricity surged through his body.
Mugendramon threw his right arm out and fired a beam from his palm back at Examon. The dragon Royal Knight quickly furled his wings in front of himself in order to block the laser blast. The beam impacted Examon's chrome digizoid wings, which shielded him from the powerful blast. Meanwhile, Mugendramon launched his Booster Claw at Sleipmon once again.
Sleipmon narrowed his eyes when he saw the massive Booster Claw ejecting towards him. This time, instead of dodging it, Sleipmon stood in place. Right as the giant claw was about to connect with him, the Royal Knight moved a meter to the right. The Booster Claw whizzed by him. One of the sharp claws cut along the armour of his flank, before embedding itself in the ground. Sleipmon used the opportunity; he grabbed hold of the Booster Claw and dug his hooves into the ground, making sure that Mugendramon would have trouble retracting the claw. The Royal Knight raised the Niflheimr shield and began pouring freezing energy onto Mugendramon. "Odin's Breath!" he shouted.
The Booster Claw began to become coated with ice, which proceeded to crawl up the long metal cord connecting the claw to Mugendramon's arm. The thick ice covered the claw and began to creep up Mugendramon's whole arm.
"What?!" Mugendramon demanded, attempting to retract the Booster Claw. The ice caused the cord to become too stiff and too thick to fit into the aperture. Realizing that this wasn't working, Mugendramon attempted to wrench his arm away.
Sleipmon held firm and continued until the ice began to cover Mugendramon's chest and neck. He then released the frozen set of claws and aimed his crossbow. "Bifröst!" he spoke, shooting a bolt from the Muspellsheimr. The holy arrow cut through the frozen cord connecting the Booster Arm to Mugendramon. The bolt shattered the ice and broke the brittle metal, completely severing the cord.
Mugendramon recoiled and released a low, mechanical growl, angry at his arm being rendered useless. He briefly looked around the hilltop to take stock of the situation. His supercomputer mind worked quickly. The D-Brigade flank seemed to be holding their own against the Aerial Strike Forces, but they were losing ground. This fact was cemented when the encircling Order flank led by Paildramon swooped in and broke through their lines.
The D-Brigade officer briefly turned his head and glanced over the battlefield from the vantage point. The D-Brigade center was advancing to meet the charge of the Royal Knights' Strike Forces and the Saversburg army. Attacks from both sides were lighting up the battlefield as the forces grew closer. In the far distance, on the northern flank, the D-Brigade was starting to fight with the Royal Knights' Defence Forces and the Republic of Node's forces.
The D-Brigade officer released a grunt. "Fall back, soldiers. This point has been overrun. We need to consolidate and strengthen the center's flank so that they are not outmanoeuvred," Mugendramon ordered. "Execute an organized, firing retreat."
For emphasis, Mugendramon fired a shot from the one functioning cannon on his right hand. The beam tore through the sky and consumed a Pteranomon from the Aerial Strike Forces. After the smoke cleared from his palm, Mugendramon began to back down the hill, towards the right side of the D-Brigade's center.
Sleipmon narrowed his eyes and aimed his crossbow at the giant D-Brigade officer. "Bifröst!" he shouted as another incandescent arrow let loose from the Muspellsheimr. The blast slammed into the Mugendramon, tearing through his elbow, burning through metal and severing wires. The right arm hung limply at Mugendramon's side as he backed down the hill.
"Just wait until I receive field repairs, Royal Knight," the Mugendramon warned Sleipmon with what amounted to a glare in his black, empty eyes.
Sleipmon ignored the threat and dashed towards him, firing bolts from the Muspellsheimr off to his left as he charged. The arrows pierced through a Megadramon's wings, sending him crashing to the ground. Once Sleipmon was close enough, he jumped into the air towards Mugendramon. "Tactic Smear!" he shouted, driving his hooves into Mugendramon's face with enough force to make the full metal titan lose his balance.
Mugendramon fell backwards and crashed to the ground with a mighty, resounding tremor that sent shockwaves through the ground. He slid down the face of the hill towards the battlefield. When he reached the bottom, he had an extreme amount of trouble getting up again.
"Sir!" Deckerdramon spoke, before being interrupted by Examon. One of Examon's beams pierced into the missile launchers on his back, melting the metal and causing it to explode. The Deckerdramon winced and began rolling into reverse, driving down the hill after Mugendramon.
Sleipmon landed on the hillside and circled around, dashing back to the top of the hill. He could see that the D-Brigade forces that were holding the hill were beginning to retreat down to the base of the hill, closer to the rest of the D-Brigade. He didn't impede their withdrawal, as it was their objective to capture the hill.
As Sleipmon galloped to the top, he saw Examon fire a beam from the Ambrosius at a Tankdramon who was firing at the Order soldiers as he retreated down the hill. The laser burned through one of the Tankdramon's machine guns, disabling it. Examon then fired a shell at the Tankdramon, which exploded on contact with the hull of the tank. The capsule released data particles onto the Tankdramon's body, which soon began to have an effect on him. Suddenly, he slumped forwards and his weapons stopped firing. The Tankdramon just rolled down the hill passively, the rest of his body unable to move.
Sleipmon couldn't help but be surprised by this. It wasn't the first time that Examon had done that during this battle. "Examon!" Sleipmon called out while rushing over to protect a wounded Order soldier from a missile, blocking the explosion with the red digizoid Niflheimr.
Examon fired a Pendragon's Glory beam into the retreating Deckerdramon's other shoulder cannon, disabling that one as well. As the beam dissipated from the Ambrosius' muzzle, he lowered his lance and looked down at Sleipmon. Now that most of the D-Brigade flank had retreated to the base of the hill, they could momentarily relax. "Sleipmon?" he asked, flapping his wings and flying down towards him.
"One second," Sleipmon told him, turning and looking around the hilltop. He saw Ouryumon withdrawing his scimitars from a large cloud of data that used to be a RustTyrannomon. "Ouryumon!"
Ouryumon spun around to face Sleipmon, panting and wearing an adrenalized grin. "Yeah?!" he shouted back.
"We've captured the hill!" Sleipmon informed him. "We need to go on the defensive for now and take control of this position."
Ouryumon looked around the area swiftly. The hilltop was completely under their control and the last of the D-Brigade flank was retreating down to the base of the hill. "Yeah, okay," he agreed, flying down and landing on the ground.
"Can you get the attention of one of our scouts? We need to tell Duftmon the situation," Sleipmon asked him. "We also need stretchers for the wounded."
"Yeah, I'll get somebody on that," Ouryumon responded. He turned and started flying away. "Hey, Silphymon! I've got a job for you!"
As Ouryumon flew off and started giving orders, Examon landed nearby and walked over to Sleipmon. Examon smiled at him. "I see you've got your confidence back," he observed.
Sleipmon blushed and smiled sheepishly. "I'm just doing my job, Examon," he responded dismissively. "We need to be leaders in situations like this."
Examon nodded. "Yeah, you're right. We didn't take that leadership training for nothing," he added with a small grin.
The centaur knight smiled at Examon. "…Examon, I…" He paused and thought about if he wanted to continue. After a moment's deliberation, he decided that he did. "…I noticed that you haven't been deleting any D-Brigade Digimon. You've been going for incapacitating shots…"
Examon rested the Ambrosius on his shoulder and rubbed the back of his horned head. "Well… Yes, I have…" he admitted sheepishly. "Should I not be?"
Sleipmon shook his head. "I don't mind at all; I'm just… surprised," he explained. "You never hesitated to take a certain kill before."
Examon glanced away from Sleipmon. "…I didn't want to upset you… I know you have a problem with it, and since we're working together here…" He trailed off, feeling abashed.
Initially, Sleipmon was shocked. After all of their disagreements about the issue, Sleipmon never expected Examon to take this step. He was surprised he did so for his sake. After a few moments, Sleipmon smiled warmly at Examon. "Examon… Thank you…" he responded appreciatively. "But… you don't have to do this for me. I don't want to dictate what other Royal Knights should and shouldn't do. It's… my own personal choice not to kill, and it would be selfish for me to make others act differently," he explained.
Despite his words, Sleipmon had misgivings about he was saying. He would prefer it if others didn't kill Digimon, and he felt a bit hypocritical for saying otherwise. However, what happened with UlforceVeedramon made him realise that taking that extra step was sometimes necessary, especially in a heated battle like this one. They had already lost several soldiers, and the D-Brigade clearly wasn't holding back. He didn't want to put Examon or any of his other comrades in danger.
Examon frowned at Sleipmon's words. "Are you sure, Sleipmon? You've always been so against it before."
Sleipmon sighed and looked around the battlefield. The hilltop was smoking and strewn with craters. From the vantage point, Sleipmon could see the center, where the majority of the fighting as. Explosions and beams ripped through both the D-Brigade and the Saversburg-Order army.
"…This is a battle," Sleipmon said with a heavy heart. "Just… use your best judgment, Examon."
Examon nodded. "Understood…" he replied, although he had doubts about how much Sleipmon meant it.
Sleipmon turned back to Examon with a small smile. "Let's get the Shield Guards and Aerial Guards and start fortifying this hill. Then we can support the attack on the center."
Examon nodded again and smiled. "Affirmative, Sleipmon."
Meanwhile, at the north of the battlefield, the Royal Knights' right flank has been facing constant resistance. Alphamon, Dukemon, RhodoKnightmon were leading the Shield Guards and the Aerial Guards on a flanking run to try and encircle the D-Brigade's center. With them was Gaioumon, who was leading the Republic of Node's military group. Along the way, they had been constantly harassed by D-Brigade infiltrators, who used camouflage, attacked them when they weren't looking, and then tried to escape. These attackers were mostly Commandramon, Sealsdramon, Tuwarmon, Chamelemon, and a few Darkdramon.
"Death Behind!" a Sealsdramon shouted, suddenly appearing out of nowhere at the edge of the charging flank. He plunged his combat dagger into a Fladramon's back, causing the armor Digimon to disperse into data particles. The Sealsdramon then began speeding away, skidding across the grassy plain using the motorized wheels on the soles of his boots.
Alphamon glanced over his shoulder, flying at the front of the flank and leading the charge towards the D-Brigade's left flank. He saw the data of one of their allies separating, as well as the D-Brigade commando making his swift escape. "Damn it. Another?" he grunted. "Keep on your guard, everyone! The D-Brigade specializes in covert assassinations."
Above Alphamon, Dukemon flew on top of Zero ARMS: Grani. They both looked around the battlefield carefully, eyeing the D-Brigade forces a couple hundred meters in front of them. The Aerial Guards followed behind him and Grani. It was a matter of minutes before they would be engaging them head on. Below Alphamon, RhodoKnightmon dashed across the field. Behind him were Captain Knightmon and the Shield Guards.
To their right was the Republic of Node's military battalion. Acting as their vanguard was the Greymon Five, the anti-Dramon shock team.
WarGreymon of the Greymon Five dashed along the ground, glaring fierily at the Sealsdramon who had deleted one of their soldiers. "I'll get the bastard!" he exclaimed, brandishing his Dramon Killer claws.
"Don't, WarGreymon!" KaiserGreymon, the leader of the Greymon Five, told him. "He might be trying to draw us out into a trap!"
"Yeah, genius. Use your brain for a change," ShineGreymon teased him with a grin.
"We need to be careful… There could be more," VictoryGreymon added, looking around with a frown as he held his Dramon Breaker in his hands.
"Sergeant KaiserGreymon is right," Gaioumon stated as he ran along with the troops under his command. "Stay in formation. You know what our role is. Stick to the plan."
"Yes, sir," WarGreymon grumbled, slowing down his sprint so that he ran beside VictoryGreymon and BlackWarGreymon.
RhodoKnightmon glanced over at Gaioumon and the Republic of Node's battalion. "Be prepared. Even when we engage them, those covert teams may try to attack us from behind," he pointed out.
Gaioumon nodded. "I know. I've already told our rear guard," he responded.
Alphamon looked ahead at the D-Brigade troops in front of them. He spotted Commander Raijinmon standing at the front of their flank, as if awaiting their arrival. The Aloof Hermit glanced over his shoulder. "It's time!" he ordered. "Shield Guards, Aerial Guards, speed up and prepare to defend and counter! Gaioumon, you know what to do!"
Gaioumon nodded and raised one of his Kikurin swords as he ran. "Break off," he spoke, loud enough for his subordinates to hear. "Greymon Five, break through their lines from the right. Everyone else, follow them and attack. Do not move too far away from the Royal Knights' forces or else you will be exposed."
Alphamon narrowed his eyes as he looked ahead of him. "They're preparing to fire. Shield Guards, protect the Republic soldiers as they flank!"
Dukemon grinned a bit and looked at Alphamon. "This is it, Alphamon," he stated.
Alphamon nodded. "Good luck, Dukemon. You too, RhodoKnightmon, Grani," he responded.
"Don't hold back, now," RhodoKnightmon spoke, dashing across the ground.
A hundred meters away, Raijinmon watched as the Royal Knights closed in. He took a soft breath before readying himself. He pointed forwards at the charging enemy. "Fire!" he shouted. His own shoulder batteries sparked and glowed with electric energy. "Elekugel!"
Four beams surged from the metal cylinders resting on his shoulders and above his head. The pillars of electricity surged through the air towards Alphamon, Dukemon, and the Aerial Guards behind them.
The Royal Knights watched as the brilliant beams shot towards them. "Grani," Dukemon spoke, urging the Zero ARMS to fly forwards. Grani did so, and Dukemon raised the Aegis in front of him. Two of the beams slammed into Dukemon's shield, sending electricity dancing along the shield and parting around it violently. The pressure was immense, and it took all of Grani and Dukemon's combined strength to hold steady against it.
Meanwhile, Alphamon stopped in the air, spreading his wings and raising a hand in front of himself. A glowing, magical circle appeared in front of his palm. He reached into the circle and pulled out a glowing sword of light, which shone radiantly as he grasped the hilt in his hands and poised it back. As he gripped the sword, his gold eyes burned crimson.
Alphamon held firm as one of the remaining two beams soared towards him. He plunged the Seiken Gradalpha forwards, right into the tip of the beam. The blade pierced deep into the beam, parting it down the middle and causing the strands of electricity to part around the sword. Several of the tendrils of energy burned across Alphamon's black and gold armour, but he was able to hold against the beam. He couldn't help but notice that the attack wasn't as powerful as it was the last time he fought Raijinmon.
Meanwhile, the fourth beam slammed into the Aerial Guard's ranks. A red AtlurKabuterimon flew forwards and spun around so that the attack hit his thick, dome-like carapace. He managed to spare his comrades from getting hit, but the beam was still powerful enough to drain his energy and cause him to revert back to a Mochimon. A Gigadramon from the Aerial Guards caught him before he could fall to the ground.
As Raijinmon's initial salvo died down, several D-Brigade soldiers began bombarding their enemies as well. The most notable of these was a SaintGalgomon, who was one of Raijinmon's junior officers.
"Burst Shot!" the SaintGalgomon spoke, raising his arms and opening the missile ports on his shoulders. A ferocious barrage of missiles came pouring out of his body. The missiles began descending on and tearing through the Order's defence forces and the Republic's military. Explosions burst through the ranks, forcing many Digimon to raise their shields to protect themselves.
"Digitalize of Soul!" Alphamon shouted. He raised his left hand and began firing several strong, bright green lasers from his palm. The beams swept through four missiles and caused them to explode before they could cause further damage. Alphamon glanced over his shoulder. "Hold firm! Spread out but maintain a rigid formation!" he ordered the Shield Guards and Aerial Guards. "Shield Guards, block those attacks! Aerial Guards, return fire! Rhodo, Dukemon, follow me!"
With those commands, Alphamon swooped down and began skimming through the air towards Raijinmon. The barrage of Aerial Guards' attacks shot over his head and exploded into the D-Brigade's dispersed ranks.
Raijinmon locked eyes with Alphamon and raised his two Blitz Arms in front of him. "Blitz Arm!" he shouted, unleashing a barrage of electric bursts towards Alphamon.
The black Royal Knight flew deftly through the air to avoid many of the bursts, but several slammed into his armoured body. Pushed back by the powerful blasts but undeterred, Alphamon pushed forward and closed in on Raijinmon. He brought the Seiken Gradalpha over his head and then slashed it down powerfully.
Raijinmon caught the sword in the palm of his left Blitz Arm, using the energy it emitted as a buffer. He then drove his right Blitz Arm into Alphamon's face, throwing the Royal Knight back. Alphamon winced and retaliated by firing a Digitalize of Soul blast from his hand, but Raijinmon dodged the powerful laser, which proceeded to blast straight through the Mechanorimon behind him.
The Thunderclap Commander stifled a curse and lunged into the air, flying above Alphamon. He angled his body down so that the four batteries pointed at Alphamon. "Elekugel!" he shouted, pouring a salvo of beams down on Alphamon.
Alphamon saw the danger coming from above and immediately flew in reverse to avoid the blast. The four pillars of energy slammed into the ground in front of him and exploded in a massive detonation of power and lightning. Alphamon grunted as the force from the impact blasted into his body, knocking him back. Alphamon collected himself and shot vertically into the air, soaring upwards. He flew forwards again, shooting towards Raijinmon.
"Digitalize of Soul!"
"Blitz Arm!"
Both the black knight and the Thunderclap Commander unleashed concentrated energy from their hands towards each other. Alphamon's emerald beam slammed into the condensed blast of electrical energy that Raijinmon had fired. They collided with a might crack and sent a mixture of energy shooting out in every direction.
Alphamon continued shooting towards Raijinmon, and once in striking distance, he swiped the Seiken Gradalpha down on the D-Brigade commander.
Raijinmon crossed his arms over his head and grunted as he struggled to block the mighty blow. Despite his struggle, there was a pleased look in Raijinmon's eyes. "Alphamon… It is such an honour to fight with you in a battle of this scale. I couldn't have asked for a better scenario…" he explained to his opponent.
At this, Alphamon's gold eyes turned a passionate red and narrowed tightly. He pulled back from Raijinmon suddenly. "This isn't a game, Raijinmon…" he scolded him, slashing the Seiken Gradalpha down diagonally. "Lives are being lost in this battle!"
Raijinmon winced with pain as the tip of the beam sword sliced down his armoured body. A glowing, orange streak of molten metal appeared down his chest armour from the successful hit. Although he felt great pain, Raijinmon's professional demeanour didn't falter. The only change was that his look of subdued pleasure morphed into a deadly serious expression.
"…I know that, Alphamon. I know that better than anybody else at the moment…" he responded ominously.
Alphamon frowned at Raijinmon's heavily spoken words in spite of the slash he landed on Raijinmon's chest. "What?" he asked curiously.
Raijinmon locked eyes with Alphamon before raising his hand and firing at Alphamon repeatedly at point blank range. The explosions blasted between their bodies, throwing them both back several meters. Alphamon glowered and flew back through the air, his armoured chest dented and smoking from the impact. Likewise, Raijinmon flew back in the air. Lightning flashed in the thick, grey clouds above him. He continued staring at Alphamon, his gold body illuminated by the cloudburst.
"It isn't a game, and yet, I must continue to perform my part for awhile longer... In the meantime, blood and data will continue to be spilled. Your soldiers, and my soldiers. That is the nature of war. Our sides have to do our best to destroy the other for the time being. It is sad, but it is necessary…" Raijinmon explained with a heavy heart, raising a metal hand to the deep gash on his chest.
"What are you talking about, Raijinmon?" Alphamon demanded, glaring back at him. "If you have doubts, then stop this!"
Raijinmon shook his head. "It is still too soon," he responded. "…Besides, I relish the idea of fighting you one-on-one. What better way to prove my skills than by fighting against one of the greatest warriors of the Digital World?"
Raijinmon pulled his Blitz Arm away from his chest and aimed it towards Alphamon. "Allow me this one courtesy, Sir Alphamon, the Aloof Hermit," he politely beseeched him. "Whatever happens during this battle today, this will likely be the last chance that I will ever get to fight you. At the very least, I would like to enjoy this duel with you."
Alphamon narrowed his eyes at Raijinmon, trying to understand what he was thinking. After a moment, he gripped the Seiken Gradalpha tightly. "So be it," he answered, surging towards Raijinmon.
"Blitz Arm!"
"Digitalize of Soul!"
Chaosdramon stood near the back of the D-Brigade, overseeing the battle. His two, shoulder mounted cannon were pointed forwards, their muzzles smoking.
No Digimon stood near him, all of the D-Brigade soldiers were either on the front lines of the battle, or spaced apart at the back to lay down bombardment. He stood alone in the field - the grass around him was burnt and decayed. There were cracks throughout the ground around him, thin but deep fissures that made it look like the ground was fractured.
His crimson eyes scanned the battlefield, inspecting the situation from the southern hill to the northern flank. He took it upon himself to direct the tactics in Suijinmon's absence. He didn't trust anybody else.
"Your Majesty!" a HiAndromon spoke, running over and saluting Emperor Chaosdramon. "Our position on the hill has been overrun. Mugendramon's Formation I has been forced to retreat to Position Sigma."
"I can see that," Chaosdramon snarled irritably, casting an angry glare towards the officer.
"Of course, Emperor. What are your orders?" HiAndromon asked him.
Chaosdramon could see that the Royal Knights had captured the strategic hill. They now had the high ground from which they could launch attacks on their flank. In the center, the Royal Knights and the Saversburg army closed in on the D-Brigade, led by Fujinmon. Both sides were firing attacks and about to crash into each other. The aerial troops of both sides were trading fire and strafing the enemy ground troops. The D-Brigade's left flank was battling the force led by Alphamon and Gaioumon. Raijinmon had to hold strong against them to make sure that they weren't outmanoeuvred. In between the center and the flanks were empty lanes in the field in which the fast attack troops and the aerial troops were trying to wreak havoc on the centers.
His mind worked like a supercomputer, swiftly coming up with possible solutions to the problem. He looked at HiAndromon firmly. "Tell everybody to attack. We won't win by holding our positions; they will outflank us. We need to push forward and crush them underfoot," he explained. "Get on the transceiver and tell Raijinmon, Fujinmon, and Darkdramon what their new objectives are."
"Yes, Your Majesty," HiAndromon replied.
Chaosdramon turned his head and looked at the nearby Mugendramon. "Mugendramon! We will also begin a mass bombardment of the enemy. Obliterate the entire field."
Just as HiAndromon was turning around to relay the message, he suddenly stopped. "Heavy bombardment, Emperor?" he asked sceptically. "When they are so close to our own troops?"
Chaosdramon shot HiAndromon a glare. "Yes… Is that a problem?" he asked forebodingly.
"No, Your Majesty. I just worry about collateral damage," he meekly explained.
"The solution is simple: aim accurately. There should be no collateral damage. The bombardment troops are well trained by Suijinmon for precision strikes, I assume. They should be trained enough to be able to hit a pin point on this field," Chaosdramon spoke firmly.
"Yes, you're right, Emperor," HiAndromon spoke, swiftly saluting and walking off to relay Chaosdramon's orders.
Chaosdramon turned his head and looked over at the nearby Mugendramon. "Formation K, prepare for mass bombardment. Mugendramon, relay the coordinates. Cover the entire battlefield."
"Yes, Emperor," Mugendramon replied, scanning the battlefield and angling his own Mugen Cannons.
The crimson cyborg narrowed his blood red eyes and aimed his massive shoulder cannons precisely. Once he was sure of their angle, he began to gather energy inside of them. However the energy didn't just pour into his cannons from the giant, metal backpack. Dark energy began to rise up from the ground and go into the vents of Chaosdramon's storage backpack. The dark data seeped out of the cracks in the ground around Chaosdramon.
He released a calm breath as he built up dark power inside his cannons. The energy flowed into them from the tubes connecting the cannons to his back. The cannonry began to fill with raging, chaotic energy.
Chaosdramon continued drawing more of the black aura from the ground to fill his energy needs. The more dark energy that he siphoned from the ground, the larger and longer the cracks in the terrain around him got.
A hollow, mechanical grunt escaped his mouth as he stopped pouring energy into his cannons. He was ready to fire.
Chaosdramon turned his head and looked over at the Mugendramon. "Fire on my command," he ordered him.
"Affirmative," Mugendramon obeyed before relaying the command to the rest of Formation K.
The Emperor of the Metal Empire glared across the battlefield. He could see Omegamon tearing into the D-Brigade. He released a hiss of steam and readjusted his cannons by less than a millimeter. The tempestuous swell of blackish-violet energy could seen within the chrome digizoid barrels.
"Foolish Royal Knights… You will interfere for the last time. I will personally see to that," Chaosdramon thought to himself. He extended his right hand and closed his metal pincer-like claws.
"Hyper Mugen Cannon."
The dark beams pulsed from his high calibre shoulder cannons and tore through the sky. While steam spewed out of the cannons' vents, the cracks around Chaosdramon's feet grew larger and darker.
"Garuru Cannon!" Omegamon's double voice echoed through the air.
Omegamon rushed forwards and angled his right arm as he ran. A bright, azure blast fired from the Garuru Cannon and tore through the D-Brigade's ranks in front of him. Along with Dynasmon, Gankoomon, and Craniamon, he was at the vanguard of the attack. The rest of the ground Strike Forces were right behind them, along with the Saversburg army. They were now fighting with the D-Brigade head-on.
The D-Brigade was maintaining a rigid formation despite the severity of the Royal Knights' attacks. The holes were quickly sealed up and they maintained a constant base of fire.
Omegamon grunted as a Tankmon's shell exploded against the Brave Shield Omega on his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hinukamui slamming into the D-Brigade's ranks, deleting soldiers and sending others flying. On his opposite side, he saw Wyvern crash into the D-Brigade lines as well, having a similarly destructive effect.
However, the D-Brigade would not be taken lightly. They responded with a barrage of attacks, shells, and other explosives that tore into the advancing army. The well-aimed shots exploded on contact and deleted Saversburg and Order Digimon alike.
Omegamon narrowed his eyes and focused solely on the battle before him. Just as he was about to rush forward, his LRAC activated and momentarily drew his attention.
"Omegamon, do you read me?" Tactimon spoke from further back in the center's lines.
"Yes, but please make it quick," Omegamon urged him. "I don't have much time."
"Understood. Duftmon says that the D-Brigade's flanks are receding. He wants for you and the Strike Forces to advance into the D-Brigade's lines in a wedge formation. Split them down the middle if you can," Tactimon spoke. "We will support your attack. Blastmon is on his way now."
As if on cue, a boisterous yell resounded behind Omegamon. "KENRAN CRYSTAL VOLCAAAAAANO!" the deep voice bellowed.
Blastmon sailed straight past Omegamon - fast enough to cause the knight's cape to bluster - and slammed into the D-Brigade in a full body tackle. The sturdy crystals on his head crushed the Tankdramon that he impacted, and he continued through the data straight into a DarkVolumon. Upon landing, Blastmon proceeded to pick up a Mechanorimon, shake the Commandramon pilot out of the cockpit, and swing the robot Digimon into the nearby D-Brigade soldiers like a mace. He released the Mechanorimon and sent it flying into the Megadramon flying overhead.
Blastmon turned around and waved at Omegamon with a flashy smile. "Don't worry, Mega-Mega, I'm here to help!" he reassured the Royal Knight.
Omegamon blinked momentarily but brushed the odd nickname aside and focused. He glanced around the immediate area. He saw Craniamon locking blades with Fujinmon. He also saw Dynasmon and Gankoomon in the thick of the D-Brigade's lines, pummeling their way deeper and deeper. "Strike Forces, advance in a wedge formation! Break through their lines!" he ordered.
"Yes, Sir!" Leftenant Grademon complied, dashing forwards with his swords in hand. "Attack, Strike Forces!"
Omegamon rushed forwards towards the D-Brigade, ignoring the bullets deflecting off of his white armour. "Grey Sword!" he shouted, swiping the Grey Sword horizontally.
A fiery arc swept out from the blade and cut into the D-Brigade's lines, crushing Digimon under its blazing power. Missiles, shells, and beams fired back at him through the smoke, exploding against his armour and burning through parts of his cape. Omegamon grunted and tore into the smoke. He thrust his left arm forwards and embedded his Grey Sword into a MetalTyrannomon's chest.
When the cyborg dinosaur broke into data particles, Omegamon shot upwards into the sky. He slashed the Grey Sword straight through a Waspmon and then spun around to aim the Garuru Cannon down. He began unleashing three blasts of energy into the D-Brigade forces below.
"Omegamon!" a voice shouted out from the Royal Knight's side.
Omegamon turned and saw Fujinmon shooting through the sky towards him, having broken away from Craniamon. Omegamon raised the Grey Sword just in time to block the long, burning, energy blade of Fujinmon's Critical Arm.
"Cease fire at once!" Fujinmon demanded, narrowing his red eyes and staring into Omegamon's blue ones. "I need those soldiers!"
"What?" Omegamon asked, although he raised his Garuru Cannon and pointed it at Fujinmon's chest.
He fired at nearly point blank range, but Fujinmon evaded him through a mixture of agility and air manipulation. Fujinmon swerved and spun around and slashed his Critical Arms down on Omegamon, striking the white knight's armoured shoulders.
Omegamon winced at the intense blades burning against him. He raised his arms up the middle and used his Grey Sword and Garuru Cannon to bash Fujinmon's arms outwards. He then drove his foot into the Hurricane Commander's chest, pushing him away.
Fujinmon flinched with pain and recoiled through the air. In a seamless transition, the slender, green commander spun around and began whipping up concentrated pockets of wind around him. "Marut Cyclone!" he shouted, unleashing the blasts of wind towards Omegamon.
Omegamon tried to raise his arms to brace himself, but the highly condensed wind slammed into him, buffeting his armour hard enough to form a slim crack in the chrome digizoid. Omegamon released a sharp grunt as he was thrown back.
The Hurricane Commander watched as Omegamon caught himself. "Enough, Omegamon," he spoke. "You are not my true enemy."
As Omegamon collected himself, he frowned at Fujinmon's curious words. "What…? Then who is?" Omegamon asked, training his Garuru Cannon onto Fujinmon.
Fujinmon smiled lightly and held his Critical Arms out disarmingly. "I have a proposition for you…" he offered enigmatically.
However, before Omegamon could ask what this proposition was, a deep voice rumbled in the distance.
"Hyper Mugen Cannon," Chaosdramon spoke, his deep voice echoing across the D-Brigade's lines.
Omegamon's eyes widened when he saw Chaosdramon unleash a torrent of dark energy from his cannons, straight towards him and his allies. As soon as Chaosdramon fired, several other beams and missiles began launching from the rear of the D-Brigade's lines. "Tch," he grunted in a mixture of anger and worry. Omegamon looked over his shoulder. "Incoming!" he warned.
Fujinmon looked over his shoulder and watched incredulously as Chaosdramon fired. "What?!" he demanded, quickly flying out of the way.
As the beams swept towards them, Omegamon shot through the sky, getting in the path of one of the two beams. He angled the left side of his body forwards and elongated the Brave Shield Omega on his shoulder. He hoped that he could block this attack like he did before.
One of the beams slammed into the large, orange shield, while the other passed by him. The beam swept through an unsuspecting D-Brigade RizeGreymon before vaporizing several Saversburg aerial troops. The beam then descended and exploded into the ranks of the Saversburg army and the Strike Forces. A devastating explosion detonated in the field, sending a dark mushroom cloud blossoming into the air, and leaving a smoking crater in its wake.
Omegamon released a snarl of effort as he tried to hold against the second beam. Tendrils of dark power parted around the Brave Shield Omega, licking at his body. The black and violet void parted around his white body like a funnel. The sensation of unease and familiarity began to tie knots in Omegamon's stomach. He wondered why he felt this way while blocking this attack once again. He began to feel sick to his stomach, and a sense of fear and trepidation began to grow inside of him. He wasn't sure why that was; he never felt his courage weaken in a fight. The Royal Knight didn't know where this sense of foreboding came from.
The sheer power of the Hyper Mugen Cannon was immense, even for him. It took all of Omegamon's focus just to keep himself from getting swept up in the attack. Unfortunately, these deep feelings within him caused him to lose his concentration. Omegamon's stance buckled and the beam consumed him.
Omegamon unleashed a yell of pain as his body was consumed in the folds of the destructive energy. As he was tossed through the air, Omegamon's eyes shut tightly. Through the pain, nostalgia washed over him. Omegamon remembered a particular event…
He had been captured by DarkKnightmon, and DarkKnightmon was holding him over a dark rift. It was that feeling. The feeling of being consumed by darkness. The feeling of the Dark Area. It sent chills down his pain-wracked form.
The Royal Knight was thrown into the empty crater where the first beam had landed. A smaller explosion erupted within it, crushing Omegamon into the ground. The blast tore up the earth and grass, with a concussion hard enough to throw flying Digimon out of the air.
Omegamon winced with pain as the energy dissipated. He found himself lying on the ground, his body aching. Despite taking the devastating attack, Omegamon already began to move. He couldn't allow himself to stay down for long; the others needed him. His body smoked and there were cracks in his armour. Despite this, Omegamon began to push himself up on his elbows, refusing to submit.
He was about to sit up fully when something caught his eye to his left, in the depth of the crater. Omegamon turned his head and froze.
Two meters away from him was a long fissure in the ground at the bottom of the crater. A wispy, black, cloud of data drifted out of the deep crack.
It was a dark rift.
Omegamon's eyes widened and his chest tightened with fear. The memory of being engulfed by dark data and turning into Omegamon Zwart swept into his mind again. He sat up abruptly and shot up to his feet. He quickly backed away from the dark rift.
"This is… But… how? It can't be…" Omegamon whispered, staring down at the crack in the ground with wide eyes.
Acting quickly, Omegamon brought the LRAC on his forearm up to his face. "Duftmon!" he spoke urgently into it. "Do you read me?!"
"Omegamon? Yes, I read you. What is it?" Duftmon asked.
"It's… There is a dark rift in the middle of the battlefield," Omegamon explained, obviously flustered.
A weighty silence ensued. After several moments of quiet, Duftmon responded. "…What?" he demanded.
"A dark rift… At the bottom of this crater," Omegamon told him, frowning deeply. "I think it's…"
"Hyper Mugen Cannon!" Chaosdramon spoke unleashing another salvo. This time, the beams slammed into the southern hill, tearing the hillside to pieces and blasting Examon, Sleipmon, and the Aerial Strike Forces back from the mighty explosion.
The explosion rumbled through the battlefield. Omegamon watched with horror as the dark rift grew wider and thicker before him, causing more and more dark data to seep out.
Omegamon took a step away from it. "Duftmon… It's getting bigger…" His blue eyes hardened. "It's… Chaosdramon…" he explained.
"What? Chaosdramon?" Duftmon spoke, the irritation brought on by this unwelcome development clear in his voice. "What do you mean?"
"He's causing it… I'm sure of it…" Omegamon spoke, remembering the feeling of Chaosdramon's beams against him. "He's drawing power from the Dark Area for his attacks."
"It… cannot be," the tactician responded.
"There's no question about it, Duftmon…" Omegamon explained. He grimaced and flew up into the air. He turned and glared across the field at Chaosdramon, who turned the direction of his cannons back towards the center. "He must be stopped…"
Meanwhile, over on the northern flank, Alphamon, Dukemon, RhodoKnightmon, and their forces were in the thick of the fighting.
Alphamon was busy trading blows and beams with Raijinmon. RhodoKnightmon unleashed a might blast from his Pile Bunker, which pounded through the D-Brigade's lines in an explosion of dirt and torn metal. Gaioumon and the Greymon Five tore deep into the D-Brigade's ranks with the Republic of Node's military right behind them.
However, the D-Brigade was fighting back just as hard, unleashing well coordinated attacks and barrages into the Republic's troops as well as the Defence Forces. Explosions ripped through both sides.
Dukemon flew overhead, still standing atop Grani. He soared through the air at high speeds, bashing a Gigadramon away with his shield as he circled around. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see explosions erupting across the battlefield. He inwardly hoped that the others were alright.
His sight was set on a Darkdramon who he had been dueling against. Grani soared towards the Darkdramon, who was accelerating back towards him and Dukemon. The crimson Royal Knight levelled the Gram lance with the Darkdramon. The Darkdramon poised his Giga Stick Lance and aimed it with Dukemon.
They made a beeline for one another, fully intent on jousting with the other. As the two dragon men closed in, they thrust their lances towards the other. The Darkdramon's lance scraped across Dukemon's side and cut through the fabric between Dukemon's two belts. The Giga Stick Lance grazed his hip and drew a trickle of blood from his side. Meanwhile, Dukemon's Gram pierced through the Darkdramon's shoulder, cutting through wires and flesh. The Darkdramon howled with pain, and Dukemon quickly threw him off of his lance, allowing the wounded Digimon to fall to the ground.
Grani glanced up at Dukemon. "Are you alright, Dukemon?" the Zero ARMS asked his passenger.
"Just a scratch," Dukemon responded dismissively. "That was close though."
The Royal Knight looked around the northern flank. He set his eyes on RhodoKnightmon, who was flinging a Crossmon away with his flexible sashes. "Hey, Rhodo! How are you doing?!" Dukemon called out to him.
RhodoKnightmon glanced over his shoulder at Dukemon and performed a flexible back kick that sent an Andromon flying. "I am doing quite fine, Dukemon!" he chimed back. "Thank you for asking!"
Dukemon turned to Alphamon and watched him dodge torrent of electricity that Raijinmon fired at him from his batteries. Grani was about to fly forwards, but a green laser cut across his path, causing him to turn sharply. "Incoming!" Grani warned Dukemon, shooting downwards.
The Royal Knight rebalanced himself quickly to stay on Grani's back. He saw ten lasers shooting towards them, slicing through the air in an attempt to hit them. Grani narrowed his eyes and flew deftly, making sharp, erratic turns in order to fly around the burning beams. Although Dukemon was experienced at flying on Grani, these sudden, trick aerial manoeuvres made it hard for even him to remain balanced. Dukemon knelt down on Grani's back. He ducked just in time to avoid a beam that skimmed by his head and burned off a single strand of hair.
A bead of sweat dripped down his head and he turned to look at their attacker. It was the SaintGalgomon officer who had been bombarding them when they first started attacking. He was standing at the back of the flank in order to provide ranged support. He was firing the beams from his fingers, but finally, they began to die down and dissipate. Grani pulled up sharply and then circled around so that they could have a momentary reprieve.
"Dukemon," Grani spoke, glancing up at him.
"I'm fine. Nice flying, Grani," Dukemon responded with a breath. He looked over at the SaintGalgomon. "Looks like we've got the big guy!"
Grani nodded. "Let's go," he concurred, curving in the air and shooting towards the giant, cyborg, rabbit Digimon.
The SaintGalgomon raised his arms towards Dukemon and Grani. His various missile ports began to open as he aimed. "Burst Shot!" he shouted unleashing a flurry of small missiles from his wrists and shoulders.
Dukemon and Grani watched as the barrage of missiles streaked towards them. The Royal Knight readied himself as Grani flew up sharply. The missiles flew beneath them, some just barely missing hitting Grani's wings. A few of the missiles were homing, so they began to curve upwards and follow after Grani and Dukemon.
Dukemon looked over his shoulder and aimed the Gram lance behind him. Energy swirled around the shaft of the lance before gathering at the tip. "Royal Saber!" he shouted, firing a small beam into the air to detonate the missiles before they could hit them.
"Ready?" Grani asked, suddenly corkscrewing in the air to avoid five beams fired from the SaintGalgomon's finger cannons.
"Ready…" Dukemon answered, readying the Aegis shield. The markings on the shield began to light up as Grani closed in on the SaintGalgomon. After a few seconds, the Aegis brimmed with holy power. "…Final Elysion!"
A large, white beam pulsed from Dukemon's shield and slammed into the SaintGalgomon's armoured chest. The D-Brigade officer grunted with pain as the pillar of light parted around his chest and forced the giant Digimon off of his feet.
The SaintGalgomon crashed to the grassy ground with a massive quake.
Little did Dukemon know, he accidentally knocked him onto a dark rift that had recently opened up behind him.
Dukemon admired his handiwork as he stood on Grani, who circled around again. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall," Dukemon said with a grin.
Suddenly, the LRAC around Dukemon's wrist activated, and Duftmon's voice sounded out over the communicator.
"Royal Knights, do you read me?" Duftmon asked, linking in to everybody with an LRAC.
"Most of us are a little busy right now, Duftmon," Dukemon pointed out, speaking into the LRAC. "But if you talk, we should be able to hear you. What's up?"
"Omegamon has brought it to my attention that there are dark rifts appearing throughout the battlefield. Exercise extreme caution," the tactician explained. "If you spot any, tell a soldier to stand guard so that there are no accidental corruptions."
"What?!" Dukemon demanded, his eyes widening.
Alphamon slammed his fist into Raijinmon's face and sent him reeling backwards. Using the moment of reprieve, Alphamon flew into the air, away from Raijinmon, so that he could speak. "Dark rifts? But how?" he asked angrily.
"We hypothesize that Chaosdramon is the cause. He has tapped into the power of the Dark Area for his Hyper Mugen Cannon attacks," Duftmon explained.
"That idiot! Does he have any idea what he's doing?!" Dukemon shouted furiously. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see something, but he was too focused on Duftmon's words to give it any thought.
Grani, however, was not. The Zero ARMS' eyes widened as the SaintGalgomon began thrashing on the ground, trying and failing to get up. He seemed to be in pain. It was then that Grani could see tendrils of dark energy shooting up from beneath him, wrapping around his arms, legs, and waist. "…Dukemon…" Grani spoke gravely, stopping in the air.
"Hold on, Grani," Dukemon responded, turning to the LRAC. "How bad are the dark rifts? Is he doing this on purpose?!"
"We cannot confirm that at this point," Duftmon responded. "It is clear that he must be stopped."
Meanwhile, Grani watched as the dark tendrils began to consume more and more of the SaintGalgomon's giant, green body. Pretty soon, the dark data covered his entire form.
"Dukemon…!" Grani urged with more force in his otherwise calm voice.
"Not now, Grani, I'm trying to—"
"Dukemon!" Grani sharply said, grabbing the Royal Knight's attention.
"Wha-…" Dukemon turned his head and saw what Grani was referring to. He froze and watched as the dark data engulfed SaintGalgomon's body. "Oh… shit…"
A muffled howl escaped from the SaintGalgomon's covered mouth as he tried to resist the devouring, corrupting data.
However, he suddenly stopped resisting. The dark data faded around his large body. When it did, Dukemon was shocked to see that his armour was no longer green, but black. The BlackSaintGalgomon slowly stood to his feet with a new, baleful look in his eyes. All of his missile ports suddenly snapped open and the munitions locked into place.
Dukemon slowly raised the LRAC to his mouth, unable to pull his eyes away from the corrupted, walking arsenal. "Uh… Guys… I think we have a problem…"