Chapter 154: The Unyielding Sea Turtle Beast (Fourth Update)

"Let's go."

Angewomon cast one last reluctant glance at the abandoned Digimon settlement, then took to the air once more, carrying Zhao Jie across to the opposite bank of the river.

"How did it go?"

Upon landing, SkullGreymon, who had been waiting anxiously on the sidelines, immediately pressed for answers.

"No clues to be found. That Digimon settlement has been abandoned for ages."

Zhao Jie shook his head with a touch of regret.

Although he hadn't found any leads regarding the Solarite, he had unexpectedly acquired a Blue Card. He wondered if the SkullGreymon standing before him could use the Blue Card to Digivolve further.

The thought merely flashed through his mind before he dismissed it entirely. If SkullGreymon were to Digivolve again, the souls of Agumon and BlackAgumon would likely be truly and permanently obliterated.

"Let's search further up along the river."

Glancing around, Zhao Jie had no better plans for the moment and could only leave it to fate and try his luck.

Thus, they traveled for three consecutive days.

At present, a massive iron-forged bridge spanned the wide river, connecting both banks. Countless Digimon were crossing back and forth over this long bridge.

Standing atop a mountain peak, Zhao Jie gazed into the distance toward the bridge.

At both ends of the bridge stood Centarumon maintaining order, while right in the middle, a large banner fluttered in the wind, emblazoned with the insignia of a Machinedramon.

"What on earth is going on here?"

Looking at the fluttering banner, Zhao Jie was left somewhat dumbfounded.

Had he somehow ended up in Machinedramon's territory?

"Hey, look over there. Isn't that the Solarite we've been looking for?"

Angewomon's voice rang in Zhao Jie's ear.

In truth, even if Angewomon hadn't spoken up, Zhao Jie would have noticed, as it was simply too conspicuous.

Several Tortamon were hauling massive loads of ore in this direction. Not only were there the pieces of Solarite they needed, but also a vast quantity of other attribute ores.

"Follow them!"

Making a move near the bridge would create too much of a commotion, and worse, it might expose him—a human—to these Digimon who were clearly under the command of Machinedramon.

After cautiously tailing them for half a day, Zhao Jie finally decided to make his move.

Swish!

Angewomon charged!

"Woo... woo..."

Angewomon's sudden assault caused the expressions of the Tortamon to change drastically, and they let out a series of low wails to warn her.

"Humph!"

A few casual shots of her Holy Arrow scattered the Tortamon's formation.

In a flash, her figure materialized right in front of the Tortamon that were carrying the Solarite.

"What do you think you're doing? These are offerings meant for Lord Megadramon!"

One of the older-looking Tortamon shouted at Angewomon.

"Scram!"

Angewomon cared nothing for any Megadramon. Drawing her Celestial Arrow, she condensed a bolt of holy energy as her chilling voice echoed before the group of Tortamon.

"Understood! Hurry up and get rolling, everyone!"

As soon as Angewomon's words fell, the Tortamon nodded in agreement, pulled their limbs and heads back into their heavy shells, and the first one started rolling away.

Angewomon: ? ? ? ?

I told you to scram, and you're actually literally rolling away?!

Whoosh!

An arrow imbued with holy power landed right in front of the old Tortamon, frightening it so much that it poked its head back out and asked Angewomon with a fawning expression,

"My lord, didn't you tell us to roll? Is there anything else you require?"

"Well..."

Hearing the Tortamon's reply, Angewomon found herself torn between laughter and tears. These Tortamon were quite something.

She was conducting a robbery here! A robbery, do they understand?

Yet this Tortamon, aside from initially bringing out its backer, completely disregarded everything else.

Right now, it was even politely asking if she had any further instructions.

All in all, the robbery experience was abysmal.

"Leave the stones you're carrying behind, and then get lost as far away from me as possible."

"Got it! Little ones, did you hear that? Quickly unload the stones! Then, roll with me!"

Clatter, clatter!

The stones were quickly shaken off by the Tortamon onto the ground, and under Angewomon's watchful gaze, they began rolling away at high speed.

"Are these guys out of their minds?"

Angewomon stared speechlessly at the scene, swiftly gathering up the pieces of Solarite.

Flapping her wings, she quickly vanished from the sight of the Tortamon.

Once Angewomon had departed, the Tortamon recovered from the disruption, divided up the remaining energy ores they had just dropped, hoisted them back onto their shells, and leisurely set off on their journey once again.

Everything was as natural as if Angewomon had never even appeared.

"Did you see that? Did you see that! That is what you call an old hand in the Jianghu! All of you need to learn from me in the future, and never throw your lives away out of sheer recklessness."

"Those cargo stones weren't ours, so the moment any Digimon dares to rob us, we must dare to hand them over!"

"What? Too spineless? Little Si, I remember you were the one running the fastest just a second ago! Now you're talking to me about spine?"

"Let me reiterate our ancestral motto: Spinal fortitude is precious indeed, integrity carries an even higher price, but when compared to your own life, you can readily cast both aside!"

"You only live once, everyone must cherish it!"

The veteran Tortamon patiently instructed the younger ones who were encountering such a situation for the very first time.

On the other side, Angewomon had already returned to the hiding place of Zhao Jie and SkullGreymon, bringing a large stash of Solarite with her.

"Should this be enough?"

Looking at the pile of Solarite stacked before it, the black-and-white flames flickering within SkullGreymon's eye sockets danced continuously.

"Let's try it!"

Zhao Jie looked at SkullGreymon. To be honest, his heart was filled with anxiety over whether Solarite would still have a suppressing effect on the data corruption.

Step.

Under the control of Agumon and BlackAgumon, SkullGreymon slowly approached the pile of Solarite.

Its pale bone claws reached directly into the stack of stones.

"Hum..."

The energy contained within the Solarite was rapidly extracted, transforming into a misty vapor that enveloped SkullGreymon's body.

"Roar!"

A deep growl echoed from deep within SkullGreymon's throat.

At that moment, the corrupted data and the energy stored within the Solarite began a fierce clash within its body.

Thud!

The intense agony caused SkullGreymon to involuntarily curl its body up.

"Agumon, BlackAgumon, you have to hold on!"

At this point, no one else could help them; the only ones who could save them were themselves.

"Roar!"

Howls echoed through the mountain forest one after another.

Over two hours later, SkullGreymon's massive form gradually shrunk down, and soon, a yellow-skinned Agumon appeared before Zhao Jie and Angewomon.

It worked!!

Seeing this, Zhao Jie let out a long sigh of relief as the heavy stone finally dropped from his chest.