The war began

Although day and night made little difference to most Digimon, and those who had evolved to Champion were hardly weaklings who would fall apart after a single sleepless day, everyone still decided to wait until dawn before setting out.

The sky over the Digimon World had barely begun to brighten when everyone was ready to go. The two human children, Izzy Izumi and T.K. Takaishi, wanted to sleep in, but was that even possible? Fighting Dragonmon could cause an earthquake, Flamemon could roast them, or Ryeonmon could set off bombs. If Izzy and T.K. could sleep soundly under those conditions, they surely had the potential to evolve to Mega.

The Ancient Factory was actually on another Fragment Island. That was why only Black Gears attacked each time, with no fallen Digimon in sight. Apart from Cardmaster Twister and Oraclemon, who could fly for short periods, none of the other Digimon could get across. To take the army there this time, Cardmaster Twister would have to teleport everyone over. That was the real reason he could not join the fighting.

"Everyone, time to get to work!" Cardmaster Twister raised his hand, and six playing cards flew out. Since their backs faced him, Izzy Izumi could not make out their suits. He watched the six cards arrange themselves into a hexagon in midair. Only when beams of light shot from each card and connected did a Hexagram take shape, floating in the air.

Cardmaster Twister tossed his head, flinging off his cowboy hat and exposing two pointed ears. The hat drifted gently onto the Hexagram, pressing it down to the ground. An image of the Seven of Diamonds appeared and turned into a small doorway. The cowboy hat instantly melted, flowing along the lines of the Hexagram and into the doorway formed by the Seven of Diamonds, turning the purple Hexagram gold.

"Everyone, we can set off now. I see Lady Luck smiling." Cardmaster Twister kept smiling, his pointed ears swaying in the breeze.

The Digimon walked into the Hexagram one by one, disappearing in flashes of light. T.K. Takaishi and Izzy Izumi entered last.

Only after the intense dizziness faded did Izzy Izumi lift his head and see the Hexagram drawn around a Seven of Diamonds.

Not far away, Fighting Dragonmon and Claypotmon were attacking a gray, rocklike Digimon-Rockmon-while Flamemon and the others watched from the sidelines.

"Ryeonmon, why aren't you helping? It's already two against one, so a few more shouldn't matter, right?" Izzy Izumi asked.

Ryeonmon held a finger to the mouth with a quiet shush and whispered, "Look over there. Oraclemon is maintaining a Barrier. No matter how much noise they make inside, no one outside can hear it. But the Barrier can only contain three Champion Digimon, so we have to wait out here."

Sure enough, apart from everyone's voices, Izzy Izumi could hear nothing.

Inside the Barrier, Fighting Dragonmon suddenly lunged forward and clawed at Rockmon's chest. The instant Rockmon turned to chase Fighting Dragonmon, the clay pot on Claypotmon's head expanded, swallowing Rockmon whole. Once Claypotmon's head returned to its original size, a wisp of smoke drifted out. Naturally, Rockmon would never emerge again.

Oraclemon dispelled the Barrier and repeated solemnly, "Cardmaster Twister isn't here. Everyone must follow my orders now. If I tell you not to move, you must not move. Understood?"

In the vast Digimon World, pitifully few Digimon were born with the ability to command a battle. Most were humanoid Digimon, though that did not mean beast-type Digimon were inherently incapable of command. Crusadermon, a humanoid Mega Digimon, had once said that TyrantKabuterimon was the better wartime commander. TyrantKabuterimon was a beast-type Mega Digimon.

Command skills could, of course, be learned. But File Island had been isolated for too long, leaving no one any opportunity to learn. Even Digimon who had studied command had nowhere to put it into practice.

Of the Digimon present, only Oraclemon had an innate talent for commanding a war. Naturally, none of the others would compete for the role.

"Although we've already assigned opponents, we still need to weaken their forces as much as possible before they discover us."

Although Oraclemon knew how to direct a battle, a lack of actual combat experience meant that ability was only barely adequate. They only managed to concentrate their attacks and take down two Fallen Scarecrowmon, three Fallen Tarantulamon, and two fallen Kuwagamon. During the fights against the tarantulas, it was only Butterflymon's quick reaction that kept them from being exposed in the second battle.

Although Oraclemon's command skills clearly improved afterward, the disappearance of seven Champion Digimon was no small matter. During their eighth ambush, three Fallen Etemon sprang out from behind their target. They managed to eliminate them, but their presence was exposed.

Watching the Digimon stream out of the buildings, Oraclemon frowned. "Including the twelve Champion Digimon we killed, there are at least a hundred and fifty of them. How did they evolve so quickly?"

Although the fallen Digimon numbered as many as a hundred and fifty, they belonged to only a dozen or so species, which greatly limited their tactical options. On the other hand, their formations were much more orderly. That effectively canceled out the disadvantage of having no commander.

The town had been one of File Island's more prosperous areas, but even counting Master Lu-mon and the others who had only evolved over the past few days, it had fewer than a hundred Champion Digimon. However, Digimon such as Butterflymon and Claypotmon, who could break free of Black Gears, were far stronger than fallen Champions whose evolution had been forced through infusions of power. Although Ryeonmon was younger than Elderlymon, with a full century between them by human reckoning, they were practically from the same era by Digimon standards.

For everyone, the confidence inspired by an Ultimate like Cardmaster Twister could not compare with that inspired by a veteran Digimon like Ryeonmon. That was the tragedy of File Island's younger generation of Digimon: they had never had a chance to witness an Ultimate fighting at full strength. Although the hierarchy of the Digimon World made them willing to accept Cardmaster Twister's advice, things could go wrong if they fought together. If nothing else, a single Digimon suddenly deciding to compete with Cardmaster Twister would inevitably affect the battle.

That was different from their willingness to accept Oraclemon's command. Although Digimon differed from humans, both were intelligent beings, and the urge to compete was unavoidable. The difference was that Digimon innately understood themselves. Knowing they lacked the ability to command a battle well, they naturally had no desire to challenge Oraclemon for authority. But as Digimon skilled in combat, they would inevitably compare their fighting strength in battle. Conversely, if more than one of them could command, they would surely compete for that authority too.

"Oraclemon, let me join the battle too," Tentomon said.

"Tentomon, they may outnumber us, but numbers alone don't win wars." Oraclemon spoke to Tentomon while keeping watch on the fallen Digimon's formation. "Besides, even if we can't beat them, we cannot make Rookie Digimon like you take on the fighting."

T.K. Takaishi said, "Oraclemon, everyone can evolve to Champion and fight." Izzy Izumi added, "With the help of the Digivices."

"Really?" Oraclemon hurriedly asked, "Can Patamon evolve to Champion now? Why is my vision shrouded in mist? Are the Digivices blocking it?"

At Oraclemon's words, T.K. Takaishi lowered his head dejectedly. "Patamon still... can't evolve." Patamon's wings flapped limply as well.

"I see." Whatever future Oraclemon had glimpsed, it prompted a smile. "T.K. Takaishi, don't be sad. You and Patamon will be the best partners in the future." Then Oraclemon's expression turned stern. "Izzy Izumi, Tentomon, if you intend to join the battle, you will be soldiers. Tentomon, you must follow my orders. Even if Izzy Izumi is in danger, you cannot fall back. Are you sure?"

Hearing that condition, Tentomon began to waver. Izzy Izumi offered encouragement. "Tentomon, it's all right. We still have Mr. Trist's cards protecting us."

Even Izzy Izumi could already see their side losing ground. There were too many enemy Champion Digimon. Worried as he was, fresh strength like Kabuterimon mattered more than his concerns.

"Oraclemon, I'll have Tentomon evolve now," Izzy Izumi said.

Oraclemon hurriedly replied, "Wait, Izzy Izumi. Have Tentomon evolve when I give the order."

For humans-or rather, for the weak-one-on-one fights were unlikely to endanger their lives, because unless a wound was fatal, one weak fighter had difficulty killing another. In large-scale warfare, however, lives were as worthless as grass. For the strong, the reverse was true. Fighting one-on-one meant enduring an opponent's attacks alone, and a serious wound could easily lead to death. In group combat, teammates could help defend, leaving each individual to withstand only hundreds or thousands of minor injuries. Although someone might be reduced to ashes in an instant, such losses were almost negligible in the broader battle.

Champion Digimon were far from qualifying as strong, and a little over two hundred of them hardly constituted a large-scale war. Still, only ten Digimon had died in the fighting so far, six of them fallen Digimon. Yet everyone was beginning to buckle, and more and more Digimon were being wounded. Saorimon's healing had slowed considerably too. Defeat was almost upon them.

"Now!" Oraclemon shouted, hurling the staff at a Numemon.

Izzy Izumi froze when he saw a Tarantulamon tear away a quarter of Butterflymon's wings. Oraclemon's shout snapped him out of it, and only then did he have Tentomon evolve into Kabuterimon.