The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 71: A Relaxing Moment

Unlike the time they went to Sapporo when they had to take a train and had to be polite to the other passengers, this time, there was no constraint among them, since they were the only ones on the bus.

The atmosphere was festive, with chatters, laughter, and snacks flying all around the place. Higo couldn’t help but marvel at the situation, somehow getting reminded of the time he was on a study tour during his middle school years.

Oh, don’t get him wrong, he was still an NPC at that time. However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the craziness around him. The same could be said right now, especially when a microphone was thrown to the back, turning the entire bus into a giant karaoke pool.

We are...

We are... On the cruise!

WE ARE!

Makino just sang to the top of his lungs, giving everyone the rock rendition of the One Piece opening. Right after the music died, everyone applauded, but the laughter followed as they saw their captain’s face turn green.

"Damn, Senpai! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"He is out of breath! Someone, give him an artificial one!"

"Higo-senpai, you are his lover, right? Come on, show us your love!"

Higo could feel his face turning green, wanting to vomit on the spot when someone accused him of having a forbidden relationship with the captain. He didn’t have to take a look to figure out Makino’s reaction. However, as if fate wanted to mock them, those two teenagers shouted at the same time.

"WHO THE HELL WANTS TO BE HIS LOVER?!"

Silence followed as everyone stared at them in disbelief, but in the next second, another round of laughter broke out immediately.

"DAMN! As expected of the old married couple!"

"Come on, don’t be shy like that!"

"Who is the top and who is the bottom?!"

Kumiko, who sat next to the driver, couldn’t help but shake her head in exasperation. After the heated debate between Higo and Makino on who should be the one sitting next to her, the conflict was finally settled with the girl sitting next to the old driver on the front side, so that no one could really have her.

Kumiko herself didn’t mind that. She was friends with those two boys and didn’t mind sitting alongside them, but once they lost their minds for her, that was when she took a step back and ran. It also helped that this gave her a peaceful time, letting the girl concentrate on her own preparation for the team’s next game.

’Sappotani has a crushing record against us, so with their upgraded team, there is a huge chance that they will look down on us.’ She pondered, tapping her chin thoughtfully. ’We have to win the coin toss and be the first one to start the kickoff. Their guard will be lowered for a moment, and we have to take advantage of that window of time to shock them with a goal.’

Of course, saying this was one thing, but how to do that was another.

She really had a headache thinking of how to handle the blitzkrieg attack against Sappotani.

’The ordinary one would definitely not work.’ She shook her head, crossing out the possibility of getting Takaaki to send a long ball to Kuroki. ’They have Yuma Igari and Rin Mito, the duo defenders who come from the Consadole Sapporo youth team. Those two have excellent body control and strong aerial duel, there is no way Kuroki can get a point against those two.’

Then, her eyes landed on Hiroshi, and somehow, the girl hesitated, wondering whether she should cross the name or not. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

’In theory, he should be the one who has a chance to create a breakthrough. His combination with Yuji-kun should be able to catch them off guard.’ Her mind simulated the possible scenario on the pitch. ’Still, if he meets Hiroyuki, that freshman DM, too early, things could go south if something goes wrong. Having our best player stopped at the beginning of the game will be too discouraging for some of them.’

Even though she didn’t dare to say it out loud, Kumiko was afraid that Hiroshi couldn’t get away from Hiroyuki’s defense. She acknowledged Hiroshi’s talent, but Hiroyuki, the newcomer whose marking ability was top-notch, was definitely superior, especially since Sappotani was willing to turn the game into a 10v10 just to sneak him in.

Her brain kept tinkering with every possible combination that she could pull off, just for her to cross them all out immediately.

Honestly, it wasn’t like the team’s offense was bad. Even as a defensive-minded team, their conversion rate was always high, having at least one goal in every two shots on goal. It was a ridiculous number, showing how good they were at conversing every chance they earned, no matter how scarce it was.

The problem, though, was that it might not work against Sappotani, the best team in the country.

Then, a radical, yet somehow logical thought, somehow suddenly crossed her mind. ’Then... What about dragging the game to a penalty shootout? With Ryukkun’s ability... We might have a chance, right?’ She asked herself with lingering hope and doubt mixing together.

This was indeed one scenario that had the strongest possibility for the team to succeed. After all, as a defensive-minded team, Hakodate Nishi always held onto one principle here: as long as the team could seal the opponent’s offense, everything would be alright.

This had been proven in the three games they played in the tournament so far.

Still, the problem was that Kumiko wasn’t confident that the team could hold back Sappotani’s offense later. As much as she loved her best friend, Kumiko didn’t think Higo could survive the entire game without conceding a single goal.

Hell, Sappotani was able to destroy their defense with seven goals last winter, and since then, that team has improved further in their offense with the addition of Yuwell Carlson, the Swedish striker who had been his opponent’s worst nightmare.

With that in mind, playing the park-the-bus strategy was necessary, but she also had to find a way for the team to score a goal when necessary.

’This is so troublesome...’ She sighed, rubbing her temple to ease her headache. ’We have too few attacking methods in our arsenal, and now it bites us in the ass. Damn...’

-Author’s note-

Double update today! A special thank as well to Krackalon for the 8 Golden Tickets to support this story! I really appreciate it. For the others, just enjoy the story, and if you want to support, send the Power Stone and more Golden Ticket if you could! Thanks!

Federixo_01