PEEEP!
The whistle rang out, prompting the Millwall strikers to kick off and restart the ga. The ho fans were baying for blood after the humiliation of the rabona goal.
"You’re dead, kid."
The Millwall captain, a rugged defender with a nose that looked like it had been broken five tis, spat out these words as he ran past Rio, a sadistic grin forming on his face.
Rio didn’t recognize the player’s na from the stats sheet—probably because he hadn’t bothered to look past the starting XI. This caused him to scoff in response.
THUD
At the sound of the next tackle, the intensity increased once again.
Archie Gray, who had just tried to dribble through the midfield, was flattened by a shoulder barge that would have been illegal in rugby. The referee waved play on.
The Millwall players smiled widely after seeing this. Instead of calming down after conceding, they turned up the dial on the violence.
As if expecting this, the Leeds players began to shrink away, creating so distance between themselves and the ball. Having been bullied in the Championship before, they weren’t surprised at all.
"Whatever you do, just don’t hide," Rio said aloud, turning his head briefly to check on Piroe and Archie.
After receiving a shaky nod from Archie, Rio increased his pressing speed, easily catching up to the Millwall midfielder in possession. This pace was still comfortable enough for him, especially since his Iron Lungs skill was active.
Two boots collided, and the ball squirted loose. Piroe, the striker, ran out to the side and was about to sprint onto it, however, now that he had lifted his head he could see that the Millwall center-backs had detached from their line and were closing him down like wolves.
"Huff huff. I can’t hold it up."
Piroe began to shield the ball, however, no matter how he tried, the defenders seed to be getting stronger. After almost 5 seconds of wrestling, he tripped and fell onto the mud, looking at the referee with pleading eyes.
Manager Farke could only watch on and shake his head; this was sothing that happened every ti they played a physical side. Since Piroe was a technical striker, it was understandable why they’d target him.
There wasn’t much Farke could do, however, seeing as how he had already used his substitution windows. He was about to scream instructions to drop deep, but he suddenly noticed that there were three Leeds players still pushing forward.
"Oho. Looks like we’ve got so fight left," He comnted, rubbing his chin in thought.
The other Leeds players had slowed to a crawl, their ntal endurance clearly exceeded by the hostile atmosphere.
"Stay compact! Don’t get countered!" Liam Cooper shouted from the back, waving his hands.
anwhile, Archie was sucking in large gulps of air as he tried his best to keep up with the play. Rio had told him to fight, so he was going to do his best.
THWACK.
Despite the ball being passed cleanly, there was a late tackle on Archie’s ankle.
"Archie! Get up!" Rio yelled.
"Huh??" Hearing his na, Archie almost jumped in fright. He turned to Rio only to see him motioning for him to make a run into the channel.
"A-Ah okay."
Since the ga speed was already so fast, even when Archie sprinted he didn’t make much ground against the fresh Millwall substitutes. However, he held on for as long as possible, eventually making it to the edge of the box.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t find the pass and eventually began to lose possession. It wasn’t long before he was muscled off the ball completely and collapsed onto the ground, trying to catch his breath.
The Millwall defender smiled, kicking the ball long before turning his attention back to Rio.
"Let’s see how you handle this."
[Chat Room Active]
Hand_Of_King: They are bullies. Bullies hate it when you smile. Rio, look at them and laugh. It will drive them crazy.
Total_Football_14: The defender, number 5. He is heavy. He plants his feet too early. Change direction, and he falls.
Zizou_5: And watch your back. The referee is looking the other way.
Rio suddenly felt a wind beside him as a Millwall midfielder accelerated at top speed, sliding in with his studs showing. Rio’s eyes widened, admiring the sheer aggression hidden in that tackle.
However, as the midfielder approached, his timing seed to falter briefly, missing the ball and catching Rio’s shin pad.
[Passive Skill: Elastic Limbs Active]
Rio rode the challenge, his ankle bending but not breaking. He stumbled but stayed on his feet.
Seeing this, the Millwall captain’s eyes narrowed briefly, but there was nothing he could do but watch on as Rio retained possession.
The midfielder tried once again to grab Rio’s shirt, however, he soon was left with no choice but to let go or risk a red card. Unlike Archie, Rio stayed on his feet and held his hands out to balance himself.
Throughout the whole process, the referee did not even blow his whistle, let alone reach for his pocket, as if he knew that the ho crowd would riot.
’He’s definitely lost control of the ga...’ Rio comnted inwardly after seeing the obvious bias.
Usually, when soone made a tackle like that, the ref would address it by giving a warning. This referee made a point of completely ignoring it, aning that he was intimidated by The Den.
However, Rio did not have ti to think further on this matter as he saw himself isolated on the wing after turning his head. He quickly assessed the situation.
It was the 82nd minute. 1-1.
He looked at the Millwall center-back, Jake Cooper. The giant was breathing heavily, his hands on his hips during the brief break in play.
’He’s tired.’
Did he have so sort of instinctual ability to tell how fatigued soone was? Kind of like Rio had his Identify function.
’Ah, I almost forgot.’ As his mind moved to these thoughts, he quickly activated his Identify ability in order to record Cooper’s stats.
TO USE IDENTIFY ON THIS TARGET WILL COST 50 MAJOR POINTS DUE TO THE DISPARITY IN ABILITIES. WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTINUE?
[YES/NO]
Rio’s eyebrow raised in response to the text that appeared in front of him. This had only happened when he tried to use Identify on star players. Did that an Jake Cooper was a monster in the air?
’Nothing ventured, nothing gained.’ Rio mused inwardly before accepting.
NA: Jake Cooper
AGE: 28
TALENT ASSESSNT: B
POTENTIAL: C (Maxed)
USER STATS:
Physical Fitness: A (C-)
Defending: B
Heading: S-
Ga Intelligence: B
ntal: B-
Note: Grades in brackets are current status modifiers.
Additional information: Currently suffering from ’Red Mist’ and ’Severe Fatigue’. The player is operating on anger alone. Decision-making is compromised by 40%. Susceptible to feints.
JAKE COOPER’S DATA HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE COMPENDIUM.
Rio sucked in a cold breath of air, his face turning into a grin as he read on. Out of habit, he wiped the mud from his brow, rubbing it gently as he often did when he was scheming.
What the hell was this?
Was this the reason why Millwall conceded so many late goals?
Usually, captains would calm their team down. Could it be that the anger was actually their weakness?
More importantly, why did the System know this information?
"Rio, what’s wrong? Is your leg okay?" Archie asked with a whisper, jogging past him.
From his vantage point, he saw Rio suddenly stop and stare at the defender, so he imdiately thought about the tackle.
"I-It’s nothing," Rio said, feeling his mind race in response to the new information.
What was he to do with such information? It’s not like he could just walk up to Piroe and say it directly; there’s no way he would be taken seriously in this noise.
Rio suddenly felt the imnse pressure of the match hanging over his head. If Cooper was running on anger, there was a large possibility that he would dive in.
"Hurry up! Throw the fucking ball!"
The Millwall fans’ voices rang out from the stands, snapping Rio out of his reverie. He quickly took the throw-in and headed down the line, now joined by Piroe who had dragged himself up from the mud.
"Alright, Joel. Listen to . Cooper is dead on his feet. He’s angry. One feint and he’s gone," Rio whispered as they jogged back into position.
Piroe looked at him, confused. "He just body-slamd , Rio. He doesn’t look dead."
"Trust . Next ti I get the ball, make a run across him. He will try to kill you. But he will miss."
Piroe didn’t have much of a reaction upon hearing the plan, however, his eyes showed a flicker of hope. He knew just how punishing the ga was and looked forward to any advantage.
Rio on the other hand had managed to switch gears fast. Perhaps it was because of his Captain’s Presence skill unlocking slowly, but when it ca ti to perform he was able to push the pain aside.
"Let’s go!" slier kicked the ball long, prompting the attackers to begin the chase.
The Millwall defense waved their line forward, trying to catch Leeds offside. Rio of course knew that by running from deep he would be onside, however, he was confident enough in his abilities to ti it.
Both Piroe and Sumrville took positions right near the defenders as the ball soared through the air.
Rio heard the sound of the ball hitting the turf and began to pick up the pace.
Just like that, Jake Cooper, who was at the back of the defense, ran aggressively out of position to win the header, leaving a massive gap behind him.
Another bounce sounded, resulting in Rio picking up the pace once again. While the others may be finding the mud difficult, Rio knew that Cooper would commit.
"He’s mine!" Cooper roared, ignoring the ball and aiming for Piroe.
Piroe flinched. But he rembered Rio’s words. He will miss.
Piroe dropped his shoulder. Cooper, blinded by the ’Red Mist’, bought the dummy completely. He flew past Piroe like a runaway train, clattering into his own teammate.
"What the fuck are you doing!?" The other defender scread.
The ball fell perfectly into the space Cooper had vacated.
"Rio!" Piroe shouted, flicking the ball into the path of the winger.
Rio burst into action, heading past the halfway line in only a few monts. He could feel the stares of the Millwall defenders as they labored to try and catch him.
However, Rio ignored them, solely focused on making it to the box. The remaining defender turned his head, noticing that Rio was gaining on the goal.
Without a word, the defender reached out and grabbed Rio’s shirt, pulling him back.
"Hey, is that allowed?" Archie complained outwardly from the midfield, not happy with what was happening.
"The ref never blew the whistle!" Rio shouted, fighting through the contact.
[Skill: Elastic Limbs Active]
Rio twisted his body, spinning out of the shirt pull. The jersey stretched to its limit but held.
Despite not being able to break free completely, he didn’t seem bumd at all. Not only that, he had already entered the penalty area unlike the other defenders who looked like tractors trying to catch a Ferrari.
Farke couldn’t help but let out a shout and grab his assistant.
"He’s not going down! Why isn’t he going down?!"
Rio was one-on-one. The keeper rushed out.
Rio raised his left foot. The keeper dived.
But Rio didn’t shoot. He chopped the ball back onto his right.
The keeper slid past, grasping at thin air. The goal was empty. The silence was deafening. Rio tapped the ball into the net.
1-2.
"FUCK YES!"
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