Chapter 152: The Final Battle

Only then did viewers see Petermamon spinning its Rujeta Rake as though it were a mere staff, brandishing it before itself to construct a solid defense that successfully intercepted Paildramon's onslaught.

Down below, Monitamon watched this unfolding scene with a deeply solemn expression. He could readily perceive that Paildramon had not unleashed his full might moments ago; it was merely a tentative, probing strike. Yet, by the same token, Petermamon had blocked that attack with effortless ease. From this, it was abundantly clear that Petermamon's strength in all likelihood vastly surpassed Paildramon's.

"Strong Vibration Cannon Dance!"

As this realization flashed through Monitamon's mind, Petermamon shifted her footing, leveraging the immense propulsion provided by the Rujeta Rake to charge directly toward Paildramon.

Powered by Petermamon's terrifying, monstrous strength and the tremendous thrust of the Rujeta Rake, wave after wave of kinetic pressure erupted, carrying the destructive aura of shattering the heavens and cleaving the earth.

To put it simply, the ground had already been torn into deep ravines by Petermamon's blows. Admittedly, this was partly because this specific arena had already endured nine prior Digimon duels, several of which had reached the destructive scale of the Ultimate level. Regardless of the context, however, Petermamon's assault was fiercely ferocious.

Although Petermamon was still separated from Paildramon by a certain distance, the latter could already feel the crushing weight of her ferocious offensive. In that fleeting instant, Paildramon knew with absolute certainty that he was no match for Petermamon.

And it stood to reason. While one could no longer inspect individual attribute data—and striking a critical weak point meant instant annihilation regardless of remaining vitality—the inability to view stats was one thing, but whether those stats mattered was entirely another.

Before transitioning from the digital realm of the game *Digimon Source World* into this tangible, real Digital World, Paildramon's baseline combat power had hovered merely around five to six thousand. By contrast, the maximum threshold for a Perfect-level Digimon's comprehensive combat power was a full ten thousand.

In those preceding rounds, which rivaled battles between Ultimate-level Digimon, their combat power ratings had likely all surpassed the ten-thousand mark. Particularly in the clashes between Jesmon and Chirinmon, and between MetalGreymon and Arukadimon, the power outputs had probably soared far beyond a mere ten thousand.

As for the others, even if they had not crossed the ten-thousand threshold, they undoubtedly languished in the eight-to-nine-thousand tier. Viewed in this light, the immense chasm separating Paildramon from them became starkly apparent.

This was the fundamental disparity in base attribute values. Even if one could temporarily augment their baseline attributes through sheer technique, could the opponent not do the same? Impossible! If you could amplify your power, so could they. Therefore, a gap in baseline attribute values remained an insurmountable chasm.

Regardless, no matter how weak Petermamon might be relative to her peers, she had been handpicked by Arukadimon's faction as one of the ten strongest among countless Perfect-level Digimon. Even if she truly proved to be the weakest of that elite ten, that bottom line still commanded respect.

No matter how low that baseline sank, it could not possibly drop past a certain floor—estimated to be safely hovering somewhere above seven or eight thousand. Consequently, Paildramon was outmatched in raw combat capability from the very outset.

Had Petermamon been sent out at the very beginning of the matches, Paildramon might have stood a chance at victory, provided she wasn't consumed by such frenzied volatility. After all, stats were merely stats; no matter how formidable one's baseline attributes might be, failing to channel that potential into actual combat output rendered it practically meaningless.

To use an analogy, fifty million was undeniably inferior to one hundred million. However, eighty percent of fifty million would unquestionably overpower a mere thirty-nine point nine-nine-nine percent of one hundred million. Thus, the actual efficiency of combat translation remained the ultimate pivot.

Perhaps Arukadimon had also calculated that deploying Petermamon too early would prevent her from fully channeling her immense combat potential, which was why she was reserved for a later slot. Naturally, this strategic delay rendered her all the more formidable.

Realizing that victory was beyond his grasp, Paildramon instantly abandoned any thoughts of a head-on collision. Instead, the moment her offensive arrived, he beat his wings and soared high into the sky, evading Petermamon's strike entirely.

If I cannot defeat you in a direct clash, can I not simply avoid you?

Having ascended into midair, Paildramon successfully dodged the assault. Because Petermamon lacked the ability of flight, this remained Paildramon's sole remaining avenue to secure victory against her.

Looking up at Paildramon hovering in the sky, Petermamon flared with sudden, unadulterated fury. "You coward! Who plays like that? Hurry down here and fight me properly!"

Silence descended upon both sides of the arena. Even Arukadimon's expression flushed slightly, causing him to turn his head away, refusing to gaze upon the spectacle.

How mortifying! Truly, exquisitely mortifying!

Yet, possessing the ability to take flight was counted among a combatant's inherent advantages. Anyone with eyes could discern the glaring disparity in strength between Paildramon and Petermamon from the preceding exchanges. Demanding that Paildramon surrender his mobility advantage to descend and engage Petermamon in close quarters was tantamount to simply telling him to forfeit outright.

Standing beside Monitamon, Alina murmured softly, "It appears Paildramon shall claim victory in this match, provided he maintains his altitude and continues bombarding Petermamon from above."

"That is by no means certain," Monitamon replied, shaking his head as he watched the ongoing skirmish, his expression remaining grave.

Alina looked surprised. "Do you not believe in Paildramon's chances?"

Monitamon shook his head again. "While Paildramon currently holds a positional advantage, it is insufficient to guarantee absolute victory. Furthermore, although Petermamon cannot fly, it does not mean she is entirely helpless against an airborne opponent. The crux of the matter is the vast disparity in their combat power. The moment Paildramon makes even the slightest miscalculation, he runs a very high risk of being struck down by Petermamon."

Alina voiced her anxiety, "Then what is to be done? Could it be that Paildramon has no chance of winning?"

Monitamon mused, "In this world, barring absolute, overwhelming suppression, no one can ever guarantee victory. While Petermamon far outclasses Paildramon, she has not achieved absolute suppression over him. Therefore, Paildramon still retains a glimmer of a chance to triumph."

Even as the exchange between Monitamon and Alina concluded, the duel between Paildramon and Petermamon raged onward...