Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Rexar Town settled into the mood as he received the ball from Long Xingchen. However, on one side of the defense, a gap opened up once again. Adams sent in his Team brothers, who were utterly powerless to resist. With no other choice, he had to step in himself, but even more frustratingly, he charged forward, colliding with the side players without budging an inch, as if he had slammed into a solid wall.
Adams was the control center of the defense; as the leader, he couldn't afford to show any signs of weakness. The gap that had just formed allowed two attackers to slip through. As they repositioned themselves, the hole was barely closed up. It was clearly impossible to forcefully tear open a path through these players. Adams exerted all his strength but couldn't move them even for a moment.
"Hold on for a bit longer!"
At that moment, a roaring sound echoed from behind as the Ball of Cultivation surged forward. With nowhere to go in front of him, Adams's mouth twitched slightly as he muttered, "Are they really going to knock us all down?" In this moment of distraction, he pushed off hard and lifted himself into the air, stepping lightly on the shoulders of two other players. When they turned around, they were completely unaware.
On one end of the attacking team, there was a rapid encirclement forming from both sides. Players surged forward one after another. The Ball of Cultivation swayed past them effortlessly; his movements mirrored those of the runners from Star Team. However, to others, he appeared like a wild beast, unstoppable in his speed. Despite the entire attacking team coming at him together, they couldn't suppress that powerful momentum. Unbeknownst to them, one center from the attacking team injured his foot while defending and fell to the ground.
According to the rules, substitutions could only occur during the offensive transition phase. Yet, Xiu single-handedly broke through the attacking team's defense line and saw only a few defenders ahead: Command Tower players and kickers.
At that moment, Guo Yu at Command Tower gestured to Feng Ling with a glance. "You go and block him."
Feng Ling suddenly burst out from the sideline with incredible speed, just as swift as at the beginning. A kicker also emerged from one side, and together they positioned themselves for a double-team. Xiu's speed clearly gave him an advantage over them; he abruptly changed gears. However, his eyes reflected an empty gaze as he ensnared the kicker with one hand and sent him flying outwards in an instant—this all happened so quickly that the referee didn't catch what transpired.
The slight physical contact during the ball struggle maintained a fine line; whether it crossed that line depended entirely on the referee's judgment. While everyone thought that previous actions had been rather lenient, the referee did not blow the whistle against the runner's roughness. Feng Ling was already charging towards Xiu's front for support.
The two became entangled together. Although there was a difference in speed visible to outsiders, Feng Ling displayed an imposing presence at such close range. At that moment, Xiu felt an immediate impact and suddenly accelerated forward with a stride. Feng Ling leaned forward slightly in response but seemed slow to react; it appeared he understood these movements were feints.
"Heh heh, nice try~" Xiu chuckled as his body and senses executed feints more frequently. This wasn't particularly difficult for him; however, for Feng Ling on defense who had to contend with so many feints while also focusing on defense, the pressure mounted within him.
Suddenly another figure appeared behind Xiu; two players closed in on him from both sides, narrowing his stride slightly. Yet this didn't faze Xiu as he used eye contact to deceive them about his next move while actually changing direction sharply through a gap on his left.
The series of actions unfolded within mere seconds; Feng Ling fell for the feint but exposed vulnerabilities in his defensive approach. The high-density defense caused him to lose focus momentarily—not because he wasn't skilled enough but because his body couldn't keep up with Xiu's speed.
After being constrained for so long, Xiu unleashed his long-buried speed with explosive force. He took a step forward combined with dazzling feints that made Guo Yu at Command Tower lean slightly in response while Xiu sprinted ahead rapidly. Behind him was Feng Ling hot on his heels; Xiu glanced back with a hint of wistfulness on his face and said calmly, "You almost got me there, but you're still far off. This time I'm scoring."
As he spoke, he entered the end zone and tossed the ball onto the sideline within it.
At that moment, a whistle sounded from within the end zone as Xiu turned towards the electronic Virtual Screen and replayed what had just happened—the exhilarating moment when he charged into enemy territory and scored seven points.
Seven points—this was the first time they had scored since the match began. After switching offense and defense earlier, it felt like time had stopped during this exchange; yet both teams displayed different styles of play. Trust permeated both sides as Ice Dust Team at least helped block any pursuing threats from behind, allowing Xiu to chase after his first seven points without worry.
"Well done." Long Xingchen approached and patted him on the shoulder.
"This guy is really hard to read. It seems my strategy won't work next time. I never expected there would be such a runner on the opposite side. Honestly, I feel a bit out of place, like I'm about to be replaced in this era of new and old." Xiu sighed as he returned to his original position.
"Don't be too hasty. At least I'm still on the court, and you still have next year. Now isn't the time to think about shedding your burdens; focus on helping the team go further," Long Xingchen whispered.
"Haha, yeah, I really wonder what next year's Ice Dust Team will be like," Xiu replied.
"There's nothing to worry about; they'll definitely become stronger," Long Xingchen added.
After a moment, the Star Team's offense pressed forward again. Just like before, Feng Ling, the superstar runner, charged out from the gap. Despite the pressure from defenders on both sides, he accelerated at the moment the ball was swiftly taken away, reaching a speed that made him nearly impossible to catch.
Watching that runner's back, even a few of Star Team's teammates showed expressions of helpless bitterness. As they saw the last line of defense being breached, it felt like entering a no-man's land. The sensation was akin to the ominous aura that precedes a general's arrival on the battlefield. In the next moment, from that corner where the killing intent surged, Feng Ling's figure shot straight towards the end zone.
"Hey buddy, don't rush. I won't let you break through my defense," Xiu shouted.
"Then let's see you try," Feng Ling replied.
"Hehe." Xiu chuckled.
Just like at the beginning, both runners charged towards each other. As before, Xiu kept applying pressure on Feng Ling while intuitively creating some distance between them. Every time Feng Ling made a quick move forward, Xiu would be right there waiting for him.
After merely shifting his defensive stance, Feng Ling grew frustrated from his inability to break through and shouted loudly before making a risky charge. A close-range sprint would put immense strain on his knees, so this move was detrimental to his career as an athlete. However, if he executed it successfully, that close-range explosive power would be unmatched—even by Xiu.
Xiu stumbled slightly as a phantom brushed past him. He turned to look back; the two defenders on the other side were also caught off guard by that phantom. The last line of defense held for only a moment before Long Xingchen fell as well, and in the next instant, cheers erupted from their own end zone.
The score was now tied at 7-7 after just one offensive exchange.
"Feng Ling, you're out."
The manager in the player area wore a serious expression, while Zhao Tingting had a stern look on her face. The players from Star Team were sweating profusely from Feng Ling's risky scoring attempt moments ago.
"Don't rush, I'll take a break next, but I will come back and crush your interior defense," Feng Ling said, stretching his hand as he turned to smile at Xiu while heading off the court.
Xiu stood there in a daze, expressionless, until Freyr walked by and slapped him on the chest, snapping him out of it. "Impressive! Did you all see that? That speed was incredible, even faster than mine! Did you notice?"
"Senior, we're here to compete. Please give it your all. Facing that kind of speed is a bit despairing. I can't imagine how terrifying it would be to have someone like that as an opponent. He's off the court now; it's your turn," Freyr smiled.
"Xiu, please step off the court."
The indifferent voice rang out like a thunderclap.
Just as Xiu was secretly relieved to have such an opponent, his expression shifted from surprise to panic. "W-why am I being substituted just because I missed a defense? I can still play! Their interior defense is wide open; I can score endlessly to break through their defense!"
"This is strategy. Only you can defend against him. You need to conserve your energy; leave the rest to us. Trust your teammates," Long Xingchen said as he approached.
Freyr then directed his gaze toward Feng Ling in the player area. "That's right, senior; conserving energy is also a tactic. Just hold on a bit longer, and you'll be back on the court soon."
"Long, it's really hard for me to accept this approach. This is a great opportunity to wreak havoc on their territory. If we can score big now, it'll be difficult for them to turn the game around when he comes back on. Sometimes even smart people don't think clearly," Xiu lamented as he walked off the sideline without looking back.
Long Xingchen: ""
Comment 0 Comment Count