Tharor locked swords with the OwRyumon and the two struggled for dominance. Tharor and the dragon hurled themselves through the sky in a flurry of sword strikes and bodily blows. Within moments, the two spiraled back to the ground together with a crash. They remained swordlocked.
Then with a roar, the OwRyumon swiped his twin swords and forced Tharor back. He then fired a mighty golden beam from his armor, forcing Tharor to call up the Victory Shield to defend himself. The OwRyumon attacked again, slashing his swords in rapid succession so that Tharor had no choice but to remain on the defensive.
"Victory Charge!" Tharor shouted. He suddenly rebounded the OwRyumon's attack, throwing the bladed dragon off balance. Then Tharor sprang forward with the Dramon Breaker at the ready. He swung his sword hard, crashing it against the OwRyumon's swords. The blow was so strong, that the OwRyumon was knocked back several dozen meters.
The bladed dragon recovered quickly, however, and turned to face Tharor once more. But he turned to find himself staring down the metaphorical "barrel of a loaded gun"
Tharor held the Dramon Breaker sword in front of himself with his two hands. The sword pointed out towards the OwRyumon, and a great ball of power was forming before it. At the Dramon Breaker's point, a mighty force was gathering; a sphere of orange and red grew quickly and pulsated with power.
"Trident Gaia!" he roared, releasing the attack. The sphere of energy moved with frightening speed and crashed into the OwRyumon with terrific force. The bladed dragon was swallowed by the attack and crushed into the ground.
Across the sky, Jager and the Dorugoramon waged their own private war. Jager had been quick to miniaturize the Z'd Cannon and stow it in his body, giving himself more maneuverability and agility. He rocketed through the sky at tremendous speeds thanks to the many jets placed throughout his body, and while he was indeed faster in his MetalGarurumon form, he was still more than fast enough to out-fly the bulky Dorugoramon.
"Brave Metal!" the beast dragon roared. A massive spiked metal ball exploded from his mouth and flew across the sky, but Jager dodged the attack and let loose with an icy jettison of breath.
Jager's Blow Back Breath quickly closed in on the Dorugoramon, but the dragon simply flapped his wings once and avoided the attack with ease. The beast dragon was quick to attempt to force Jager into close combat by calling upon his Dorudiin sword, but Jager fired his jets and moved out of range.
"Blade Storm!" the Dorugoramon shouted. He unleased a hail of energy blades from his flapping wings, and Jager was hard pressed to avoid them. Jager raced along the ground as the blades dropped from the sky, and as soon as the attack stopped, he spun around and launched a massive blast of power from the Z'd Cannon. However, the Dorugoramon dodged the cannon blast and dropped low to fly across the ground.
Jager soon found himself on the receiving end of a slash from the Dorudiin sword before the Dorugoramon launched a Brave Metal attack right into his chest. Jager was carried across the ground by the metal ball before being thrown into the ground.
The Dorugoramon, confident in his victory, slowly made his way towards his downed opponent.
But Jager was far from defeated, and with the smoke and dust kicked up from his impact on the ground, he had all the time in the world to prepare.
Several deafening explosions alerted the Dorugoramon to the fact that his opponent was not as defeated as he had once thought. The beast dragon looked up to see a storm of missiles streaking down towards him. But he was so focused on the incoming missiles that he failed to notice that Jager had quickly closed the distance between them.
"Blow Back Breath!" A gout of icy energy burst from Jager's mouth and struck the Dorugoramon's legs, freezing him in place. Jager then continued his run past him and fired the Z'd Cannon just as the missiles rained down from the sky and collided with the Dorugoramon.
The great beast dragon tried to rise to his feet, but he was suddenly struck by the falling OwRyumon, knocked back to the ground. Above them, Tharor once again collected the energy needed for his Trident Gaia attack. When the energy reached critical mass, Tharor released it, and the great ball of fire dropped from the sky like a meteor and collided with the two Dragon Knights...
=====
Tala Rune fell back under Ruatemn the UlforceVeedramon's assault. As fast as she was, she still couldn't land a decent hit on the blue-armored knight. Her powerful Laser Javelin attack simply took too long to charge and fire, and her Lightning Arrow, while indeed faster, wasn't strong enough to overcome Ruatemn's shield and armor. That left only her Feral Sword attack, which was much to slow to even bother with.
Ruatemn came at Tala like a meteor, only a thousand times more deadly. He flew past her three times in under a second, each time he slashed her with his sword. Tala knew she couldn't keep up with his speed, she couldn't outmaneuver him; he was simply far too powerful.
But she hoped that she was smarter.
Ruatemn paused in his attack, hovering just above the ground to savor his apparent victory. Tala noted that this was the third time he had done that; he liked to play mind games; to let her know that he could kill her at any time. This was Tala's only time to act; in the instant before he began his attack again.
Tala grabbed the golden shield on her left arm as Ruatemn zipped forward, and hurled it out in front of her.
"Punishing Storm!" she called out. The shield created a massive tornado where it fell, and the force of the tornado sucked Ruatemn out of the air and pulled him into it. The mighty blue knight was now at the mercy of the winds. The tornado suddenly surged and tossed Ruatemn from its core and into the ground with a crash.
This gave Tala all the time she needed to draw her crossbow and prepare her attack. She took careful aim and charged her bow to full power. The dazed UlforceVeedramon didn't even realize she was preparing to attack him.
"Laser Javelin!" Tala cried out as the massive bolt of power ripped from her crossbow. The bolt streaked through the sky and ripped right into Ruatemn's side. The resulting explosion threw him across the ground and he skidded to a stop several meters away.
Tala wasted no time; she closed the distance between them in an instant and drew back her sword for a killing blow, but her blade was suddenly stopped when Ruatemn sprang up and grabbed her sword arm.
"Not so fast," he taunted. "Ray of Victory!" Ruatemn's chest armor began to glow as he held tight to Tala's arms. Power suddenly ripped from his core and crashed point-blank into Tala's frame. She was catapulted through the air, and Ruatemn intercepted her as she flew to deliver a crushing kick that sent Tala crashing into the ground...
=====
Daehak surged against Beta's attack and finally, with a mighty roar, he broke its hold. He then spun around and slashed the claws of his trident arm through its mass, dissipating the attack. He then turned his cannons on Strom and the unconscious Beta, and power began to build within them.
But just as he prepared to fire, Braon returned. He exploded from within the Dramon Army and crashed his enlarged fist into Daehak's face. The force of the blow threw off Daehak's aim and his attack flew harmlessly over Strom and Beta's heads. But Daehak wasn't done. His launched an attack with his booster claw, grabbing Braon and crushing him into the ground.
Braon, however, was more prepared this time. He slammed his enlarged fist into the ground, opening up several large fissures that were too weak to support Daehak's weight. The mighty red dragon toppled over, and Braon managed to pry himself from Daehak's grasp.
But Daehak was far from finished, and he swung the trident arm with terrific force. He caught Braon square in the chest and knocked him to the ground. The mighty Chaosdramon stood over Braon with dark satisfaction as he prepared to annihilate him completely.
"Sol Blaster!"
Suddenly a tremendous ball of fire streaked from the mountaintop and crashed into Daehak. Even with his thick armor, the flames caused significant damage to the mighty Dramon General, and he stumbled back in pain.
"Crescent Haken!" A bright white streak flashed down from the mountain, zooming over the fighting armies towards Daehak himself. He was suddenly struck by a mighty weapon and sent crashing to the ground.
Above him, Apollo the Apollomon and Artemis the Dianamon waited for him to rise. When he did, the twin Digimon unleashed a barrage of fire and ice arrows that tore into Daehak and forced him back.
Faced with such overwhelming odds, Daehak had no choice; he couldn't fight against the two Olympians on his own; only the Three Great Dramon themselves had that kind of power. That left Daehak with only one option.
"Retreat!" he ordered with a roar. "Fall back!"
Many of the Rebels moved to chase after the Dramon Army, but Apollo raised his hand, stopping them, and they understood; they had lost much that day, and their time was better spent relocating their base to a more suitable locale. If they did decide to chase down the Dramon Army, they would only find themselves at a disadvantage; the Dramon could always call in more troops; the rebellion could not.
=====
Arahon drove his fist hard into Imego's stomach and the Imperialdramon doubled over. Imego formed his Splendor Blade from his arm claw and slashed at Arahon, but the Alphamon blocked the strike with his Grade Alpha sword. Sparks of power flew from between the two weapons, but Arahon surged his power into his sword and pushed Imego away.
Imego raised his right arm and started charging his positron cannon. "Positron Laser!" he called out. But Arahon was too quick. He moved in close, inside the weapon's range and then grabbed the cannon by its middle. Arahon then pushed Imego's arm, causing the positron cannon to blast off into the distance and annihilate an unlucky Cyberdramon. Imego pushed against Arahon and tried to fire again, but Arahon used the same tactic; he maneuvered the cannon to his other side and used Imego's own weapon to attack the Dramon Army.
With an angry snarl, Imego stabbed at Arahon with the claws on his free left arm (since Arahon still had a firm grasp on his right), but Arahon wedged his sword between the claws and blocked the strike.
"Giga Crusher!" Imego roared. The dragon head on his chest opened, and a positron cannon extended from his chest; power began to gather in the weapon, causing it to glow a fierce white. Arahon could feel the heat radiating from the charging attack, and had no doubt that at point-blank range, the attack would do serious damage.
But he wasn't about to let that happen. Arahon smashed his fist into the positron cannon and drove it back into Imego's chest before slamming the dragon-head armor closed. Imego cried out in shock and surprise as he was kicked away and his attack went off in his own chest. The explosion, while far smaller than hoped for, was powerful enough to send Imego spiraling through the air and crashing to the ground.
Imego struggled to his feet and painfully raised the positron cannon on his arm to the sky. Beaten and broken as he was, it took far longer to charge the weapon than he had anticipated.
"Holy Sword Grade Alpha!" Arahon called out as he hurled his sword through the air. The blade struck with pinpoint accuracy, lodging itself in Imego's positron cannon and causing the charged energy to detonate prematurely. The explosion knocked Imego off his feet and threw him through the air.
With his armor cracked and broken, Imego was truly a pitiful sight, and yet true to his oath to destroy the enemies of the Dramon Empire, he refused to give up. He stood up and roared loudly, a roar that shook the very battlefield. Imego spread his wings wide and took to the sky, fully intent on driving himself into Arahon.
But the black-armored knight would have none of that. He placed his hand out in front of him as a green sphere formed before him. "Digitalize of Soul!" Multiple beams of green energy burst from Arahon's hands and tore into Imego, chipping away armor and pummeling him with unrestrained force.
Imego fell back under Arahon's assault; completely overwhelmed by the black knight's superior power. His greatest attacks had been rendered completely useless, and he was clearly no match for Arahon's superior fighting skills. Off in the distance, he saw that Daehak was on the receiving end of Artemis and Apollo's beating, and watched as Daehak called for retreat.
"Retreat!" Imego called out, solidifying the cry. He began to glow as he changed forms; his body shifted from humanoid to purely draconic, and he took off into the sky without so much as a glance back to the battlefield. He had failed.
=====
Ajax continued to hack his way through the hordes of Dramon. His original goal of reaching Daehak was impossible now; the dragon armies were just too thick; he'd never reach the great red monster now.
But it looked like Tala could use his help. He sprinted over to where Ruatemn had her at his mercy, and Ajax struck. He fired his Rage of Wyvern with pinpoint accuracy. Normally, he'd have no problem hitting a Dramon with that attack. But Ruatemn was no normal Dramon. He was a knight.
Ruatemn turned just in time and let loose with his Ray of Victory. The two attacks collided and a massive explosion was the result. But while Ruatemn scanned the ground and prepared for Ajax's attack to come from the ground, he was unprepared for Ajax's next move.
Ajax leaped high into the air and fired his Final Crest. The bolt of power streaked down and slammed into Ruatemn with tremendous force, knocking the dragon knight through the air. But he recovered quickly and settled himself down to face his two opponents. Ajax cursed silently; that was his special dragon-slayer combo; it never failed him before.
"Not bad," Ruatemn grimaced. "On anyone else that would have been fatal, but you're not fast enough to take me out." A cry for retreat went up throughout the Dramon ranks as both Daehak and Imego fell back, and Ruatemn sighed in frustration as he spread his wings of blue and violet.
"You got lucky today, rebels," he said with a smirk. "I look forward to our next meeting," he said with a sneer towards Tala...
=====
A cheer went up through the ranks of the Rebels as the remaining Dramon took off and retreated. Tharor and Jager allowed their two beast dragon opponents to leave; they had to live with the knowledge of their defeat. That was better than killing them.
"We didn't expect either of you to join the fight," Arahon said to Apollo and Artemis. "I ordered Goliath to evacuate you from the area."
"We knew you would need our assistance, Arahon," said Artemis. "And we couldn't allow you all to fight and die for us."
"But if you two were injured or worse, then we'd be done for."
"Yes, but if you were all destroyed, then we'd be done for as well," Artemis said coolly. "As it is, we achieved the best outcome possible."
"Indeed," said Apollo, finally speaking. "Arahon, you and Braon take to reorganizing our forces. We need to move away from this place to where the Dramon haven't yet found us. When you're done come meet with Artemis and myself. We have a new assignment for you, Braon, and Goliath..."