Chapter Text
Oryxmon spotted Foresight through the viewing mirror, with Hekkeran flashing their invitation.
"Lord Hippogriffomon, Naofumi's friends from E-Rantel have arrived. Along with several unwanted intruders."
"Make sure Hekkeran and his friends are treated well." Hippogriffomon said, "They are Naofumi's allies. As for our other guests..."
He smirked.
"Extend them every courtesy."
Oryxmon nodded.
"As you wish, my lord. We'll be sure to give them a big Beast Digimon welcome."
Hekkeran, Imina, Roberdyck, and Arche soon arrived at the castle's living chambers thanks to the invite presented to them, taking them far away from the killing fields. Naofumi and Raphtalia soon joined them.
"It's been quite some time." he said.
"Pretty much," Hekkeran replied, "So, what have you been doing over the past few weeks?"
"We were busy hunting down the Seven Heroes, and so far, we've only took down five of them," Raphtalia explained, "The reason we didn't go after Jewel the Thief is because of the goblins."
"That explains much." Hekkeran said, "By the way, I suspect Count Femel, the one who hired the three worker groups, might be working for the faction the Human Digimon are opposing. And I think the emperor suspects him as well."
"Indeed," Hippogriffomon remarked, "Emperor Jircniv pays close attention to those around him. He notices the rats scurrying about. Which reminds me, my tribe has been training themselves as of late, especially Turuiemon and Wendigomon since I wanted to test their skills using one of the other worker teams, and I already know which one."
Foresight looked at each other and chuckled.
"So, who's the poor shmuck that gets beaten up by a kung-fu rabbit and his monster friend?" Roberdyck asked.
"Only the worst of the bunch," Hippogriffomon said cryptically, "But I think you'll find it entertaining when it happens. It's probably the only punishment that's amusing—well, from an outside perspective, anyway."
The viewing mirror then showed Green Leaf being confronted by Leomon, Garudamon, Cerberusmon and Renamon.
"Hey, I think that's the lion beastman that fought Brain Unglaus." Roberdyck said when he spotted Leomon.
"And that red lion with flames from his armor look like the one that took down Melvin Underbelly." Hekkeran noted.
Hippogriffomon looked at the image.
"Our warriors could easily handle Green Leaf on their own, but I have another trick up my proverbial sleeve, so these unfortunate souls will serve as the test subjects."
The group watched as new digimon appeared to confront Green Leaf. First was AeroVeedramon, an ultimate-level Holy Dragon-type Digimon which is similar to Veedramon but with wings, granting it the ability to fly.
Then there was Ginryumon, a champion-level Dragon-type Digimon whose entire body is clad in sturdy Japanese armor.
Next was Wingdramon, an ultimate-level Sky Dragon-type Digimon that has possesses greatly developed wings which allow it to fly freely through the air. Because the scales on its wings are capable of blocking gravity, it is able to fly without flapping its wings.
And lastly there was Groundramon, an ultimate-level Earth Dragon-type Digimon that has giant arms on its back that are said to have mutated from wings, allowing it to more efficiently dig through the ground.
"These are no ordinary dragons." Roberdyck realized.
"That's because they're Dragon-type Digimon," Naofumi noted, "They're the direct descendants of AncientGreymon, one of the Ten Legendary Warriors who fought against Lucemon during the ancient times in the Digital world. Parpatra and his team are Mythril class, so if my calculations are correct, they should prove a good gauge of the Digimon's skills."
However, he soon became embarrassed at how easily the Dragon-types were decimating Green Leaf.
"I... Think they're overmatched," Hekkeran pointed out.
Naofumi sighed.
"Yeah, I guess I overestimated Parpatra's team and didn't realize just how much his age has started to show."
He switched the view, which shows Heavy Masher running away from a pack of Fangmon before finally running into a small room.
"And the trap shifts from a spider's web to an antlion's pit," Phoenixmon remarked grimly.
As expected, just when the team thought they were out of danger, a portal in the room flared to life.
"Where did they go?" Arche questioned.
"Nowhere good," Naofumi responded, "Give me a moment, and I'll see if I can locate them."
He scanned through the viewing feed.
"Looks like Gringham and one of his teammates ended up in Arukenimon's nest."
"Who's that?" Imina asked.
"She's a Dark Animal-type Digimon resembling Arachne, the queen of spiders in Greek folklore," Naofumi said, "She and her brood of Dokugumon are very hungry, so they will most certainly strip the poor sods clean since they've grown weary of cannibalism to sustain themselves. One of the others wound up at the not-so-tender mercy of Pajiramon and used as target practice."
"And what of the fourth member?" Roberdyck asked, almost dreading the answer.
"He got lucky," Naofumi assured him, "All it took was a quick, painless death by Kumbhiramon and he was done like dinner."
He shifted the view again.
"Ah, now this should prove interesting. Erya is approaching the training ground where Turuiemon and Wendigomon are. They've been practicing combat under Mihiramon and Majiramon as of late and they proved themselves to be quite powerful. I even have Gargomon train alongside them and he improved his fire power."
"So, I wonder which one will fight Erya first?" Hekkeran wondered.
In spite of his boasts of being greater than Gazef, Erya proved no match against the combined might of Turuiemon's Gauntlet Claws, Wendigomon's Cable Crusher and Gargomon's Gargo Pellets. The battle ended when Erya tried to pick a fight with Gaogamon, only for him to unleash his attack Dash Double Claw to chop his arms off before Wendigmon crushes his head. The three elven slaves were escorted to their new home in Tempest under the care of King Erasmus Greenthumb, which they happily accepted.
Meanwhile at the Baharuth Empire, Femel was shocked at what happened.
'Now what...? Without that wealth I can't protect myself... I used up all I had to hire those workers, the adventurers, and the sleipnir.'
At that moment, guards burst into the room and surprised him.
"Well, well, Femel," Jircniv said as he stepped inside, "Looks like you've stirred up quite the hornet's nest."
"Whatever do you mean?" Femel asked innocently.
Jircniv sighed.
"The residents of Siltvelt clearly didn’t appreciate the intrusion into their territory. A tiger and a dragon appeared alongside a massive phoenix, and they wasted no time making their intentions clear. With a single move, they shattered the ground beneath the square, causing it to swallow the soldiers surrounding them."
He smirked as Femel looked frightened.
"But we've come to some arrangements in negotiating a truce, and among them... Is the head of the one who hired the workers."