Chapter 44: Battling the Young Demon Beast

Zhao Zhe was expounding confidently at the commentator’s desk, and in his narration, the Little Demon Beast was already the predetermined winner. In his words, he could not find any reason to doubt the Little Demon Beast’s strength.

“Looks like Mr. Zhao is determined to stick to his guns.”

“Waiting to see him eat his words.”

“Is someone like him even qualified to commentate?”

Online, insults flooded in. This was not what Zhao Zhe wanted, but it was exactly what the tournament organizers desired. They simply wanted to boost the influence of the Sha City Newcomers Cup.

After all, it wasn’t them being scolded, and the hype was only increasing. Why not?

After a fifteen-minute intermission, the second match of the quarterfinals began: Little Demon Beast from Group B, led by Hu Lin, versus Agumon from Group F, commanded by Zhao Jie.

“If I were you, I’d choose to surrender,” Hu Lin’s voice reached Zhao Jie’s ears as soon as he stepped into his command position.

Zhao Jie turned to look at the boy before him, dressed head to toe in black, wrapped tightly.

“Aren’t you hot, wearing so much?” Sha City in September was scorching. To see someone dressed so heavily in this heat piqued his curiosity.

Hu Lin: …

Is this guy an idiot? I’m provoking you here, can’t you at least respond? Whether I’m hot or not isn’t the point!

Taking a deep breath, Hu Lin continued, “Your Agumon isn’t bad, but compared to my Little Demon Beast, there’s a huge gap. I advise you to surrender.”

Zhao Jie ignored him. Surrender? What a joke. He’d worked so hard to get this far—if he surrendered now, he might as well have not entered the tournament at all.

“Where did you buy your clothes? Are they heat-resistant? The temperature’s pretty high today, won’t you get heatstroke?”

Hu Lin took another deep breath and gave up talking to this fool. He realized they weren’t on the same wavelength at all.

Any more words would be wasted.

“The match begins!”

The sharp whistle signaled the official start.

This time, Agumon didn’t rush forward as usual but stood its ground. Little Demon Beast made the same decision. The two Digimon stared each other down, and awkwardness hung in the air.

Agumon: Why aren’t you coming over?

Little Demon Beast: Why aren’t you coming over?

Agumon: I’m waiting for you.

Little Demon Beast: I’m waiting for you too.

Agumon: Why are you copying me?

Little Demon Beast: Huh? I thought you were copying me!

Their conversation continued, but both only shuffled their feet slowly, looking more like two old men out for a stroll.

“The match has started, Little Demon Beast is entering the arena.”

Uh…

The moment Zhao Zhe finished speaking, he saw neither Agumon nor Little Demon Beast charging at their opponent—a rather awkward scene.

“Little Demon Beast is steady; facing its enemy, it never lets its guard down. This attitude is worth learning from.”

Strangely enough, just as he finished smoothing over his previous statement, Little Demon Beast suddenly charged toward Agumon.

Old man? What are you doing!

Zhao Zhe screamed inside, but outwardly began making excuses for his earlier comment.

On the arena, three blue flames appeared around Little Demon Beast’s body; they were summoned by its own skill.

Whoosh!

Under Little Demon Beast’s control, the three flames formed a triangular blockade, cutting off Agumon’s escape routes, and it charged directly at Agumon.

Charged-up miniature fireball.

Bang!

The flames collided. The summoned blue fire was still weaker than Agumon’s charged miniature fireball; sparks scattered around.

“Come.”

Agumon lunged forward, its hands turned into weapons—close combat was Agumon’s major strength.

The moment Agumon attacked, blue flames again appeared around Little Demon Beast, enveloping it. Its spellcasting speed was seamless.

This was another Digimon that had mastered mobile spellcasting.

Pfft.

With no other option, Agumon had to use its special move again.

Miniature fireball!

A double burst.

Two consecutive miniature fireballs forced Little Demon Beast to retreat, abandoning its attack.

Bang!

The fireballs hit the ground and continued to burn.

“Whoosh…”

Summon!

Landing, Little Demon Beast’s eyes glowed with a cold light; beneath Agumon’s feet, flames erupted again.

“So hot!”

Agumon leaped back, but strangely, the flames followed wherever it moved, as if locked onto it.

“Attack its main body!”

Zhao Jie spoke up at the right moment. When the strange flames burned, he noticed Little Demon Beast standing still, possibly a limitation of its spell.

“Miniature fireball!”

With Zhao Jie’s prompt, Agumon jumped to dodge the flames and released another miniature fireball.

Pfft.

It was hard to hit Little Demon Beast, but Zhao Jie and Agumon weren’t aiming for a direct hit—they just wanted it to move.

Sure enough, as Little Demon Beast moved, the flames beneath its feet vanished.

“Interesting.”

Hu Lin’s expression didn’t change, but he had to admit Agumon’s double burst posed a real threat to Little Demon Beast.

If it came down to close combat, Little Demon Beast could be instantly defeated.

But Hu Lin and Little Demon Beast would never fight Agumon head-on. They had plenty of ways to win—such as stalling. Hu Lin didn’t believe Agumon had more Digimon energy than Little Demon Beast.

Agumon: Are you just going to keep running? If you’re a man, fight me head-on.

Little Demon Beast: Pah, brute! Grandpa again. If you have the guts, catch me!

Agumon: So you’re a girl!

Little Demon Beast: You’re the girl, your whole family’s girls!

Agumon: So you’re a man?

Little Demon Beast: Of course I’m a man!

Agumon: Then fight me head-on!

Little Demon Beast: I…

“……”

Agumon continued trash-talking, pushing Little Demon Beast’s patience to the limit.

“You dare insult me!”

“I didn’t insult you, I just asked if you’re a man. How is that insulting? If you’re not, just say so—why get so angry?”

“Argh, I can’t take it anymore!”

Hu Lin had considered many possibilities, but never expected that Little Demon Beast would lose its cool on its own accord.

Over the question of manhood, Little Demon Beast finally snapped.

Summoning skill pushed to its limit, three blue flames circled around it and launched at Agumon!

“No!”

Seeing this, Hu Lin’s expression finally changed. A head-on clash was absolutely disadvantageous for Little Demon Beast.

But it was already too late.

As Little Demon Beast charged, Agumon met it halfway.

Flames burned; Agumon didn’t defend against Little Demon Beast’s attack, opting instead to trade blow for blow—it was used to being battered by that wild Goblin Beast.

Miniature fireball.

Double burst.

Bang!

The flames struck; Little Demon Beast let out a shriek and was sent flying from the fire.

Agumon was also hit by the three blue flames, forced backward as they burned on its body, but its gaze remained bright.

“Not trained enough, kid.”

That was the last thing Little Demon Beast heard before falling unconscious—perhaps it was even knocked out by that remark.

A new week begins. Please, I beg you for recommendation votes.