The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 80: Yuwell Carlson Takes an Action!
The shot came out of nowhere.
At first, everyone was still busy pushing Sappotani’s attackers out of the box. The pressure from Fujinaga and Usami was enough to make Kenji Harada lose control of the ball, and while the boy still managed to poke the ball with his toe, the recipient, Yuwell Carlson, was not in a good position to continue the attack.
The Swedish striker had his body back against the goal, and he himself couldn’t see Higo’s position or anything behind. The most logical choice here was to pass the ball back, letting the defenders restart the attack while he repositioned himself.
However, Yuwell Carlson was not a logical attacker here.
Even though the goal was completely on his blind side, the boy still tried to push his luck. He rotated his body so quickly, like a tornado, and before Makino could even comprehend it, a powerful shot was launched, moving like a bullet straight to the top left of the goal.
BAM!
The shot was straight up a rocket, which was crazy considering how bad Yuwell Carlson’s position was. He didn’t have a room to run and generate momentum, and hell, he took it with his body imbalance, which would only make his strength lose in the process. Yet, it was still strong enough, and the direction was quite tricky here.
It also didn’t help Higo that his vision was blocked by a sea of people in front of him. The boy didn’t know how the shot was launched, as the only idea his clairvoyance ability was how it would go here.
This was not enough for him to react quickly, and even though he still made a big jump with his hand extending far to reach the ball, he still missed it by a huge margin. However, luck seemed to be on his side this time, as the ball was also a few inches higher, only meeting the crossbar and creating a loud sound that could give everyone a heart attack.
CLANK!
"Oh, no!" Yuwell Carlso threw both hands onto his head, his face twisting in frustration. "Just a few centimeters lower!"
While the boy showed his annoyance, all the Hakodate Nishi let out a long breath almost at the same time. Makino, particularly, had a cold sweat on his forehead, fright creeping on his back.
’I have done everything perfectly, and yet, he could still create a room for himself out of nowhere? What kind of monster is this?!’ He screamed inwardly, wanting to complain to anyone here.
While he was busy dwelling on his misfortune, though, Higo suddenly grabbed his shoulder, gaining his attention.
"Oi, Teme, ask either Kuroki or Yuji to push back a little. No need to go further, but at least don’t let them enter our territory so easily. The last time is dangerous because I couldn’t see how that bastard took a shot, and we wouldn’t always be lucky for the rest of the game."
Makino was stunned, then nodded his head quickly. At this point, even though he was the captain, the boy still accepted any command from Higo. The goalie had already proven himself to be a good commander on the back, able to see everything and direct them clearly for any action to stop the opponent’s attack.
There was no reason to contradict Higo at all.
After the short instruction, Yuji also gave a nod, starting to put more pressure on the back.
The method was simple and crude, with the boy using himself as a lapdog to chase the ball all over the place. Still, it was effective enough to make Sappotani’s defenders, those who acted as a support in front of the center line, move back a little, trying to create more room to avoid the mad dog in front of them.
Makino also worked harder, trying to anticipate all of Yuwell Carlson’s moves and prevent any surprise attack like before from happening. It worked for a little bit, with him being able to block the Swedish striker from the goal. However, the cost was so high here, with him looking half dead already before the first half was over.
"Damn..." He panted so heavily with hands on his knees, letting sweat fall to the grass. "This is crazy..."
"You okay, Cap?" Ishinori couldn’t help but ask, giving a bottle of water from the sideline when the ball was out of the pitch.
"No... Fuck, just kill me now..." He groaned, relieving himself with a big gulp. "Ah~! Thanks a lot, Nori! This gives me another life!" He poured it all into his head, trying to force himself to concentrate further in this situation. "Don’t worry, I am okay. I will stop him even if it kills me."
Well, this only made Ishinori worry further, because the boy was sure his captain would do something reckless later. Still, Makino seemed to fulfil his promise here, as he still continued pestering Yuwell Carlson all the time.
He could be proud here, when being guarded by him, that Swedish striker could only have one chance, and that was by catching him off guard with a ridiculous method.
Makino basically had an upper hand in the first half of the game, and while the boy didn’t know whether he could maintain his performance for the rest of it or not, now, he was grinning widely, knowing that the job was half successful.
"Just a little bit more..." He thought to himself, trying to force his legs to move. His eyes glanced at the sideline, and the fourth referee had already prepared the electronic board to show the additional time. "Just a little bit more, and I can have a little rest later... God, please, don’t throw away all of our effort in this moment...’ He sent a silent prayer.
Unfortunately, God seemed not to listen to him this time.
In the next attack, Rin Mito somehow managed to get closer to the box, and from a position slightly to the left, he sent a low crossing toward Yuwell Carlson. Still under the adrenaline effect, Jun managed to win another duel, but the rebound fell straight into a good position for Sappotani’s player with the jersey number 2, who snuck into the box to launch a shot.
"SHIT!" Without hesitation, Makino abandoned Yuwell Carlson, sliding immediately to block the shot. Then...
BAM!
The ball hit his knee, and the captain’s eyes went wide as he saw it fly straight to his own goal.
’OH, NO!’
