Crisis in the Village of Beginnings

The Digimon that appeared before them had a human upper body. Along with snow-white hair, there were three horns on his head: curved goat horns on either side and a horn like Unimon's in the middle, though much shorter. A red scarf hung around his neck, and strange red runes marked his face and body. He wore a ragged little vest and a pair of pure white gloves. Of course, that was only his upper half.

Aegiochusmon's lower half was entirely that of a goat, covered in gray fleece, with black hooves that reflected an eerie gleam. White leggings and red ties wrapped his legs.

Tai and Joe Kido stared, dumbstruck. Koromon could hardly wait to leap out of Tai's arms and bounce around Aegiochusmon in circles. "Aegiochusmon! Aegiochusmon!" Although Koromon and the others hadn't been born in the Village of Beginnings, their affection and gratitude toward Elecmon, a caretaker of young Digimon, were instinctive. Seeing Elecmon evolve into Aegiochusmon made them happy from the bottom of their hearts.

"Aegiochusmon, are you confident?" Zheng Fan asked. Although Aegiochusmon was having a wonderful time playing with Koromon, his attention remained on the herd of Triceramon charging toward them nearby. That confidence and eagerness to try his strength hadn't escaped Zheng Fan.

"Yes, I think I can give it a try," Aegiochusmon answered. Greymon's earlier Super Flame had left a very deep impression on him.

Unlike Zheng Fan, who could only obtain information from cards, Aegiochusmon had witnessed Flymon fight several times back when he was still Elecmon. Though Flymon was an agility-type Digimon, its defenses were certainly no weak point after the Metal Empire's modifications and evolution. Moreover, as a Digimon specializing in air-to-ground combat, Flymon's energy defenses could be said to reach the very peak of what a Champion Digimon could achieve. Elecmon had also heard a few legends: during the battles between the Metal Empire and the Hundred Fox Nest, Flymon had withstood a direct hit from Brahma Quill.

Although it wasn't the same Flymon, the fact remained that Greymon had killed one with a single Super Flame. How could Aegiochusmon, newly evolved to Champion, stay calm?

"Watch what I can do! Sheep Charge!" Aegiochusmon shouted. He opened his mouth and sucked in a huge breath. The three horns on his head grew a full tenfold, turning from ornaments into deadly weapons.

So far, Aegiochusmon's special move was nothing much to look at: he enlarged his horns, bent over, then charged. It lacked the overwhelming spectacle of Greymon's Super Flame, let alone the flair of Zheng Fan's sword techniques. But in this clash of heavyweights, he swept all before him. Every Triceramon in his path either fell over or was sent flying. Aegiochusmon smashed their charge into disarray, greatly reducing the threat they posed. Still, the Triceramon were thick-skinned and tough, and none were killed or injured.

For all his apparent ferocity, Aegiochusmon was relying on the little strength left over from his recent evolution. He had caught the Triceramon off guard at the start, but now he could only gasp for breath and barely stay on his feet. His huge horns shrank as well. Meeting force with force was the simplest approach, but also the most exhausting.

By the time the Triceramon recovered, they had surrounded Aegiochusmon. Even these gentle Digimon now had bloodshot eyes, showing just how much humiliation he had inflicted on them.

"Koromon, get ready to evolve," Tai said quickly when he saw things going wrong.

"Wait a moment," Zheng Fan said. Deity-type Digimon were born with the ability to wield powerful energy, yet he had seen no sign of Aegiochusmon's skill at controlling it. He was hardly living up to that classification.

"Damn it, why is this happening? I know I can use much stronger attacks. Why can't I make them work?" As a Digimon, Aegiochusmon knew more than Zheng Fan. After all, the Digimon World had given him all his information when he evolved. Knowing what abilities he ought to possess only made him more anxious in battle.

"Roar!" One Triceramon charged straight at Aegiochusmon, rammed him in the stomach, and sent him flying. The remaining Triceramon actually assembled in formation, still aiming their charge toward the Village of Beginnings.

"Damn it! How dare you treat me like this? Now I'm angry!" Aegiochusmon said, clutching his stomach. He wasn't angry because the Triceramon had attacked him, but because he felt they had ignored him.

"Tai, get ready to fight." Seeing that Aegiochusmon had failed to stop the Triceramon, Zheng Fan's brow twitched. He couldn't tell whether Aegiochusmon was too weak or the herd was too strong. Still, they were all Champions. He shouldn't be too demanding.

Zheng Fan noticed that the Triceramon had restored their formation. Knowing he had no chance of winning alone, he had no choice but to bring Tai and Greymon into the fight.

Zheng Fan wasn't idle either. Both hands darted out repeatedly, carving sword traces into the air. This time, they weren't the inferior versions whose edges he had deliberately dulled to catch Greymon earlier. "Damn it, I can't hold out." His arms trembled as he carved another sword trace, completing only a third of what he had envisioned.

Merely setting up a few defensive lines had left Zheng Fan gasping for breath. The main reason was that he had spent too much strength catching Greymon earlier.

"Tai, I'll have to leave this to you. I need to rest." With that, Zheng Fan sank his consciousness into his soul, leaving himself utterly defenseless against the outside world.

Zheng Fan had now effectively entrusted everything to Greymon and Aegiochusmon. The Soul-Breathing Method restored strength as quickly as possible, but it required a pure mind that let go of everything. If a pure mind was difficult to understand, there was another way to put it: absolute trust. This also showed that Zheng Fan truly was a young man with little experience of the world.

"Koromon, digivolve to... Agumon! Agumon, digivolve to... Greymon!"

Greymon stood before the Triceramon, inwardly lamenting his predicament. Of course he was a Digimon who loved to charge, but he cast a resentful glance at Zheng Fan, who was regulating his breathing. The danger ahead had left a vivid impression on Greymon, and he didn't dare advance.

Greymon knew the power of the sword traces; the Triceramon did not. The one in the lead let out a wretched scream. Its left leg had been severed before it even realized what was happening. The severed leg instantly disintegrated into data energy, and the Triceramon lost its balance and fell to the ground.

Zheng Fan did, after all, have some connection with the origin of the Digimon World. Carving sword traces specifically aimed at Digimon was simply a matter of expending more effort. He could casually unleash a few attacks that merely injured the Triceramon, but minor injuries would do little to help with a task like protecting the Village of Beginnings.

Ultimately, though, Zheng Fan hadn't finished his planned defenses. After one Triceramon was lost and two were crippled, the sword traces dissipated completely.

"Super Flame! Super Flame! Super Flame!" Although Greymon wanted to charge, Tai talked him out of it. With two crippled Triceramon among them, the remaining five had their charge blocked. Greymon stayed back as a gun emplacement, spitting out one Super Flame after another.

"Golden Ray!" Aegiochusmon, now behind the Triceramon, launched an attack. A golden beam shot from the horn in the center of his head. It didn't seem to possess any destructive power, but under his control, it bound the legs of three Triceramon together.

"Ha! Ha!" Aegiochusmon cried, wrenching his head backward. The golden ray abruptly tightened, and the Triceramon fell to the ground.

Seeing the Triceramon fall, Greymon immediately charged forward. He wrapped his arms around one, flexed his muscles, and hurled it away. Judging by its condition, it might not recover even by the time Zheng Fan did.

"Greymon, wait!" Seeing Greymon open his jaws wide, ready to attack another Triceramon, Aegiochusmon hurriedly stopped him. "Greymon, let me do it. I want revenge." Hearing this, Greymon tossed the Triceramon to Aegiochusmon.

Aegiochusmon stood a little taller than Tai, with handsome features, a remarkable bone structure, and hardly any flesh on his body. Yet his raw hand-to-hand fighting ability was inversely proportional to his muscle mass. He flung the Triceramon back and forth while Tai and Joe Kido watched, dumbstruck.

"Tai, who do you think is stronger, Aegiochusmon or Big Brother Zheng Fan?" Joe Kido asked. What about Greymon? He wasn't what Joe Kido aspired to be. Joe Kido wanted great strength as well, and Zheng Fan and Aegiochusmon were his benchmarks.

"Probably Aegiochusmon. Big Brother Zheng Fan is only human." Tai felt a little dispirited by his own answer. After thinking for a moment, he added, "Aegiochusmon is better-looking."

To be fair, Zheng Fan was somewhat handsome. It was just that Buzhou's upbringing taught everyone not to place importance on looks, and Zheng Fan had also needed to deliberately restrain himself while on Earth, so he had grown increasingly ordinary-looking. His earlier explosion of muscles had certainly looked imposing, but the muscles throughout his body naturally included those on his face. Through the binoculars, Tai had seen Zheng Fan's hideously contorted face when his muscles bulged. It had given him quite a fright. Though he said nothing, the sight had left a lingering unease.

While everyone was enjoying themselves, a Triceramon that had been knocked unconscious nearby stirred. Come to think of it, did Digimon made of data energy have things like muscles? At any rate, Zheng Fan had muscles. The Triceramon seemed to have them too. After its two companions lost consciousness completely, the Triceramon actually pulled its legs free of the golden ray. In the end, Aegiochusmon wasn't skilled enough.

"Aegiochusmon, help!" Amid the rumbling, cries for help came from the direction of the Village of Beginnings. Everyone turned, only then noticing a Triceramon rampaging through the village.

Several Poyomon carried Digimon that couldn't move yet up into trees and onto walls, while the ground below was utter chaos. Besides the ruins left by the Triceramon's trampling, In-Training Digimon such as Stegomon, Tsunomon, and Missimon were all attacking it, trying to divert its attention.

"Roar! Volcanic Cannon!" the Triceramon bellowed.

Only when he heard the Triceramon's roar did Aegiochusmon remember that, gentle as they were, Triceramon did possess powerful special moves. It was just that everyone had forgotten those moves over the long passage of time.