The Rise of the Iron Chapter 62: The Last One To Laugh? (II)

Chapter 62: The Last One To Laugh? (II)

In the last fifteen minutes, Higo felt like he was Mototada Toori, one of the great commanders from the Tokugawa army who led 2000 soldiers to defend the Fushimi Castle against the siege of Mitsunari Ishida and his 40,000 troops in the warring state era.

Honestly, the history class always gave him a headache, what with how many things he had to rember simultaneously. Yet, sohow, in this situation, the first thing his brain caught was the mory of this lesson, and all the sleepiness followed along during that ti in the class.

Of course, the current situation wasn’t as exaggerated as 2000 vs 40,000, which was written in history. They were still playing 11 vs 11, a fair and equal ga for both sides. However, sohow, Higo felt like the opponent had at least 15 players on the pitch right now, what with how many of them flashing all around the place.

"Roshi, send it left!"

"Hold on, hold on! Don’t force to dribble! Send it back!"

"Switch side, quickly!"

"Hey, don’t cross! He will catch it easily! Wait for more reinforcent!"

"No, don’t shoot, you idiot!"

BAM!

Another shot was taken, but this ti, Higo wasn’t worried. He just protected his own area silently, watching the ball roll two ters away from the goal. It was a bad shot, lacking power and direction. However, it seed that so of the Ritsuikan players were desperate, starting to launch so many weak shots that only gave advantage to the ho team.

Still, at least, he could take a deep breath right now.

Honestly, the boy couldn’t rember the last ti the team possessed the ball for more than a minute, as all the attempts were killed instantly by Ritsuikan players. In defense, they played collectively, always surrounding all the Hakodate Nishi players who got the ball with at least two players, wanting to get the ball back as quickly as possible.

This was why Higo thought that their number was slightly off, since, even with them ganging on Hakodate Nishi players, no area was free to get exploited. The away team really defied common sense, always having everyone everywhere and ready to support each other.

Still, as ti ticked by, it was clear that they also got anxious. Coupled with the exhaustion that took a toll on them, their focus started to get blurry, and their movent was sluggish. Even with the three new additions on the pitch, that still didn’t really change a lot, since Hakodate Nishi’s defense was still rock solid.

"DAMN! How co you are proud of playing such ugly football like this?! Where is your fucking dignity?!" Iwai roared in frustration, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Higo and Makino in anger. If gaze could kill, those two would be under six feet tall already.

"Hey, why would we care about your opponent? Our dignity lies in our defense, you know?" Makino sneered mockingly. "After all, as long as we could hold you with zero goal, we would win with just scoring one goal. Rember this: defense wins you a championship!"

Iwai was stunned, and for a mont, his will wavered slightly. Not like he doubted the team’s philosophy, but the boy also had to admit that the opponent’s captain was right. In all the teams that won the national, they would have a great defense backing their star players up, which would be a massive support in the tournant later.

In the last ten minutes, Higo also started to get busy again. This ti, the opponent resorted to a strategy that he was quite familiar with.

The long shot.

This was not the first ti the boy saw the operation, as Engaru High also did the sa in his first-ever ga in this tournant. However, the threat coming from Ritsuikan players was far greater, and so of their players were also having a decent shot, which was enough to make Higo sweat.

BAM!

Another shot was taken, and this ti, it was from a difficult angle. This ti, Higo jumped with his hand extending upward, yet he still pulled it back in the last second after noticing that the ball would just fly above the crossbar.

It was another close call, and while Higo wasn’t really worried with his clairvoyance ability, those who didn’t have the spider sense had a heart attack, sohow thinking that the goal that Ritsuikan High had waited for had finally arrived.

"Co on, Te! Fucking wake up! This is the third ti you let your opponent slip, you know?!"

"Hey, Ishinori! Just stick with him! No need to push, you know he is good at falling, right?!"

"Don’t play around on the back! Just kick the ball as far away as possible! Focus on our defense!"

"Six minutes of additional ti?! Fuck! We are so screwed!"

"Don’t worry, we can fucking do this! Co on, Hakodate Nishi!"

Without anyone noticing, the ga had already entered stoppage ti. When all the players saw that they had six more minutes, they both gasped for a different reason. For Hakodate Nishi, they scowled in frustration for such a long additional ti, but for Ritsuikan, they gritted their teeth, knowing that their ti was numbered at this point.

Most of the players on both sides were also dead tired already. However, there were still so that were stubborn enough to fight, and they were led by the one and only Iwai from their own group.

The boy himself still didn’t stop running, driven by guilt and responsibility, as he was the sinner of the team for his mistake. He kept dribbling, moving, running, and even shooting by himself, trying to create a miracle.

Unfortunately, Ishinori made it a mission of his life to keep the boy’s life as hellish as possible. The left back kept gluing on Iwai’s side, and after learning from his experience, he didn’t do anything excessive, knowing full well that Iwai was good at making everything look like a foul against him.

"FUCK IT! GET AWAY FROM !" Iwai scowled, trying to use his body to push away Ishinori.

"Ha! Don’t think you can do the sa trick here!" Ishinori didn’t budge, clinging to Iwai even when the boy wanted to use speed to overwhelm him. "Let

show you... Here!"

BAM!

Another tackle was made, and he did it right in front of the referee so that the old man couldn’t mistake it anymore. Ishinori got the ball cleanly, with Iwai just stumbling as a side product.

No foul.

More contact was made, more collisions ford. All the Ritsuikan players were trying so desperately to get another chance, and yet, all the Hakodate Nishi players stayed disciplined. No matter how physical the ga was, the ho team didn’t give any chance for the away team to have an easy shot.

In the end, after six minutes, the additional ti was over...

Fweee!

The referee finally blew the last whistle, ending the long and exhausting ga in Hakodate Nishi High.

The ho team won, and they would be the ones who got advanced to the semifinal of the tournant.