The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 50: A Quick Counterattack!

Kumiko rose from the bench, her eyes kept track of the ball as she bit her lips anxiously. Honestly, the first minute of the game was too dramatic for her own good, and she felt lucky that she was very young, or she would’ve suffered from a heart attack already.

It was fortunate that Higo managed to take control of the game, something that Kumiko herself found to be surprising here.

Honestly, this was a lapse of judgment on her part, something that she would need to apologize for later.

You see, the team’s main strategy was always a low-block defense, and in that scenario, the goalkeeper wouldn’t face a lot of one-on-one battles since it would be hard for the opponent to send a through ball to pass the team’s defensive line. This made the girl forget that she had to train Higo in that aspect as well, only putting more emphasis on the scenario that would probably happen on the pitch.

Fortunately, Higo went beyond her expectations, finding his own way to solve the situation.

Then, before her heart rate could slow down a little bit, Higo was in another action. This time, her childhood friend caught the fine cross from Takuro Iwai easily, and just in the next second, the boy initiated a quick counterattack by sending the ball directly to Hiroshi.

’Yes, that’s how you do it, Ryukkun!’ She clenched her fist silently.

The girl could still remember her friend’s first-ever game, where he would smile smugly after catching the cross in the air. It was a funny scene that infuriated Makino a lot, yet Kumiko always found that accident to be funny.

Now, just in a month, Higo had already changed, from a complete rookie who didn’t have any awareness to a goalkeeper who always thought about what he should do next, even before he had the ball in his hand.

The progress was so crazy quick that Kumiko sometimes wondered whether this was the real Higo whom she dragged to play house and doll when they were children, or if an impostor was replacing her best friend here.

However, that was a matter for the future, because right now...

"Yuji-kun, spread! Don’t overlap into Hiroshi-kun’s path!" Kumiko started shouting, her hand waving crazily as she instructed her players. "He can take it on! Just spread the defensive line thin!"

Her mind ran like a supercomputer, overseeing everything on the pitch to instruct her players on the best scenario within a second.

Hearing that, Yuji, who was about to run ahead in Hiroshi’s path to receive a through pass to the flank, turned around instinctively. This movement caught his defender off guard,

The situation was 2 vs 3 right now, with Hiroshi and Yuji taking the entire Ritsumeikan defense by storm. Two more players rushed quickly for the away team, but Hiroshi also got another support from Hori on the right flank. The reckless fullback sure knew how to insert himself into the craziness that this counterattack was.

Seeing that Hori already had a great momentum, Hiroshi didn’t hesitate, sending a through ball to that flank. He himself didn’t stop. At the sight of Yuji running on the other side of the pitch, he slowed down a little, trying to give Hori another option.

’If he sends a cross right now, no matter how good it is, the ball will only fly to the goalkeeper.’ The boy calculated. ’But if I can be on the edge of the penalty box, he can cut it back to me, and I can create a more threatening chance from that spot.’

It seemed Hori was on the same wavelength as him. After taking a quick glance at the opponent’s penalty box, the right back made a quick feint. His body language showed that he was about to take a cross, and when his defender bit the bait, he sped up one more time before sending a quick cut back to Hiroshi.

"SHIT! Sorry, cover him for me!"

"No, just cover his shooting route!"

"I get the number 11! Don’t worry!"

Hiroshi himself grinned, shouting, "NICE PASS, HORI!"

His eyes shifted slightly toward the goal, and when he saw that the far post was unguarded, the boy knew where he would aim the ball.

BAM!

However, right before he could swing his right foot back, someone rammed him from his left side, enough to throw him off the ground. It was fortunate that Hiroshi knew how to take a fall without getting himself injured, or he would’ve sent to the hospital already from that charge.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Hiroshi raised both hands, ready to complain. "Ref! Don’t you see I am about to take a shot?! That’s a professional foul! If he is not sneaking dirtily, I would be able to score the goal!" He stated his stance quickly, trying to influence the referee’s decision.

In fact, Hiroshi knew that the foul was too light, and his position was not that favorable for the referee to give a red card to Ritsumeikan’s number 6. However, he had to put pressure here, at least enough to give the team a free kick.

After all, football was not just a sport anymore, but it was also a form of psychological warfare. Those who managed to get under the opponent’s skin, maintain their composure, and get the referee on their side would be able to go far in the future.

Yuji also joined the complaint, and Ritsumeikan’s defender, coupled with their team’s captain, approached the referee quickly, trying to explain things and apologize. In the end, though, the referee seemed to think that it was still early, and giving a yellow card right now would be too harsh for Ritsumeikan.

"I will let you off the hook for now, but remember that I have your name! Don’t do anything stupid if you don’t want to get booked!" The referee warned.

"Yes, Sensei! Thank you for your tolerance!" Number 6 bowed politely before going back to Ritsumeikan’s area.

Hiroshi just clicked his tongue, finding the result to be disappointing. ’Our attack is stopped, and he doesn’t even get a yellow card? What a fucking joke!’ He cursed inwardly.

It seemed that some people noticed his mood, as right after that, Takaaki patted his shoulder firmly. "Don’t think too much about it. For now, you have something else to focus on."

Hiroshi blinked. "I have?"

"Yup." Takaaki nodded, then pointed at the goal that was only about 12 meters from his spot. "Just show them not foul you or anyone else in this area. You’ve got it." He patted the boy’s shoulder once again, this time as a show of trust.

A small smirk suddenly formed on Hiroshi’s face as he realized what was going on here. "Don’t worry, Takaaki-kun. This distance... This is going to be a piece of cake." He stated as a matter of fact. "After this, I will make sure they remember my name here."