Chapter 147: Astamon

Stepping onto the battlefield next was none other than Astamon himself. Compared to麒麟兽 (Kirinmon), Astamon was perhaps even stronger. This was because Astamon was the apparent leader of this faction of Digimon, whereas Kirinmon could only stand as his equal.

This dynamic was much like the relationship between an ancient emperor and a peerless prince who shared the throne. Though the peerless prince stood on equal footing with the emperor, his status and authority ultimately remained a notch below.

"Since it's Astamon, my Digimon shall take the field," said the commander who had been issuing orders all along, directly dispatching his own partner. It was none other than MetalGreymon.

"As expected, it's MetalGreymon..." Astamon gazed at MetalGreymon, not a trace of surprise flashing across his face.

Astamon, a Wizard Digimon of the Virus attribute and a Perfect level, possessed the signature move [Hell Fire]. Though only a Perfect level, his power surpassed that of many Ultimate level Digimon. He was the dark-area prince who commanded the army of demon Digimon. Cruel and merciless toward his enemies yet deeply affectionate toward his own kind, he possessed extraordinary charismatic leadership.

MetalGreymon, a Cyborg Digimon of the Vaccine attribute and a Perfect level, wielded the signature move [Giga Blaster].

Over half of his body was mechanized. Having evolved from Greymon, if the remaining flesh could not withstand the strain, he would manifest as a blue MetalGreymon. Conversely, if the biological tissue endured the burden, he would become an orange MetalGreymon. Thus, the orange MetalGreymon possessed greater power than his blue counterpart.

His offensive capability was rivaled only by a nuclear warhead; any Digimon of lesser strength would be instantly annihilated in his presence. It was worth noting that this particular MetalGreymon was orange.

Among all the Digimon on Yi Shou's side, this MetalGreymon radiated the most formidable aura. Even SaviorHuckmon, prior to unlocking his Burst Mode, fell slightly short of this MetalGreymon.

However, since SaviorHuckmon had now unlocked Burst Mode, it remained an open question whether this MetalGreymon surpassed him in strength.

The moment battle was joined, MetalGreymon's chest panels immediately flew open, launching two missiles that streaked toward Astamon.

"Interesting. Refreshing." Seeing this, Astamon let out a hearty laugh. He then drew his [Golden Salmon] submachine gun and opened direct fire upon the incoming missiles.

Before MetalGreymon's twin missiles could reach their target, Astamon detonated them mid-air. The remaining barrage of Astamon's gunfire pierced straight through the smoke generated by the explosion, hurtling directly toward MetalGreymon.

Facing the incoming onslaught, MetalGreymon swung his heavily modified metallic arm forward, swatting down Astamon's barrage of bullets.

[Trident Arm] The next instant, sensing a slight slackening in Astamon's ballistic assault, MetalGreymon launched his arm—reinforced entirely with Chrome Digizoid—propelling it straight at Astamon with explosive force.

[Maverick] Seeing the incoming attack, Astamon countered with a swift, powerful kick just as MetalGreymon's arm arrived. The impact sent MetalGreymon's mechanical arm recoiling sideways and crashing into the ground. Yet, Astamon did not escape unscathed.

Although MetalGreymon was not naturally born as an upper-tier Perfect Digimon, the fact that he outmatched even the upper-tier Perfect SaviorHuckmon meant he undoubtedly stood within the upper echelon of the Perfect level. In other words, his power was not far behind Astamon, who occupied the same tier.

Consequently, while Astamon managed to deflect MetalGreymon's mechanical arm, the sheer force of the impact forced Astamon to slide backward a considerable distance.

"Proof enough that your strength isn't as formidable as you claim," MetalGreymon taunted, flapping the large wings on his back to lift himself into the air as he closed in on Astamon. His retracted mechanical arm smoothly snapped back into place during his flight.

"My true strength far exceeds anything you can possibly imagine," Astamon chuckled.

As his voice faded, MetalGreymon arrived before him, his Chrome Digizoid-enhanced arm descending in a ferocious swipe toward Astamon.

Compared to Astamon, MetalGreymon undoubtedly possessed superior raw physical strength, whereas Astamon excelled in agility and reflexes. Yet, rather than dodging the blow, Astamon raised his [Golden Salmon] submachine gun to parry the assault.

"You're stronger than me?" MetalGreymon mocked with disdain. "Yet right now, you are weaker."

With those words, MetalGreymon pressed down with a crushing downward sweep of his claw, driving Astamon's footing two centimeters deeper into the earth beneath him.

"Then allow me to show you my true power." The moment Astamon finished speaking, wisps of dark aura began to emanate from his body. Beneath his feet, an evolutionary matrix materialized, and the brilliant light of digivolution enveloped him.

The scene looked intensely familiar. After all, SaviorHuckmon had just gone through the exact same process moments before.

Spotting this, MetalGreymon instantly recognized what Astamon was doing and whipped his mechanical arm in a sweeping arc. But right at that moment, a hand reached out from within the blinding light of evolution, tightly gripping one of the fingers on MetalGreymon's mechanical hand. With a single fluid motion, the hand hurled MetalGreymon flying far into the distance.

"I told you, I am far superior to you." Following these words, the light of evolution dissipated from Astamon's body, and an even more overwhelming aura erupted outward. Everyone fell silent as they gazed upon Astamon's new form.

For Astamon was simply too powerful! Even if Yi Shou himself were to face this Astamon head-on right now, his only viable option would be to raise the white flag and yell "GG" to save his own life.