The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 35: Final Whistle!

For a moment, time seemed to freeze, as all the eyes were locked in the air, watching the ball fly high after hitting the crossbar. The moment it hit the ground, though, the battle royale for the rebound began, and chaos succumbed immediately on Hakodate Nishi’s penalty box.

"FUJI! CLEAR THE FUCKING BALL AWAY!" Makino roared.

Fujinaga, the closest one to the ball and also the one who protected the far post, reacted quickly. However, the moment he swung his leg, one of Engaru High’s players extended his foot, enough to block the ball and let it bounce in the air again.

BAM!

’Fuck! Fuck! I need to get up quickly!’

Higo gritted his teeth, trying to stand up immediately when he saw that the goal was still under an immense threat. The adrenaline really got into him, as the boy didn’t even feel the pain from his last dive. No, right now, all he had in mind was the ball, as he tried his best to keep his eyes on it.

’Shit! Where will it go? My clairvoyance ability, please, guide me one more time!’

Fortunately, the higher being seemed to love him more today. In a scrimmage situation where everyone tried to get the ball, his clairvoyance flared once again, and without hesitation, Higo followed the guidance, jumping like a fatty protecting the last bite of the food on the table.

’A low ball!’

Then, in the next second, the prediction came true, as somehow, the wild ball suddenly fell onto the number 10 again, and Engaru High’s captain showed one more time why he was a dangerous player by sending a low shot only one cm above the ground, passing through all the players there to get into the opponent’s goal.

BAM!

’Come on! This is it!’ That number 10 was ready to jump and celebrate.

However, the scene he was waiting for didn’t come to reality, as in the next second, that bastard goalkeeper suddenly arrived. The goalkeeper used his body to stop the ball, and with a quick reaction, he used both hands to engulf it tightly, not allowing the ball to bounce wildly one more time.

"Oh, Motherfucker!"

Not just the number 10, almost everyone with red jerseys cursed simultaneously, while all the Hakodate Nishi players let out a relieved breath. The last sequence of attack from the opponent really gave them all a heart attack, and they didn’t want to imagine what to do if Higo wasn’t there.

Speaking of the goalkeeper, though... 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Higo, you okay?!" Makino approached the boy in a faux panic.

Higo blinked for a moment, confused about why the captain acted dramatically. Hell, Makino even called him by his real name, not a mocking nickname, which rang an alarm inside Higo’s head. Fortunately, as he was closer, Makino whispered something quickly to explain things for him.

’Just lie low and pretend to be in pain! Waste more time for us!’

Right after that, things clicked inside his head, and an Oscar-worthy performance suddenly descended on the pitch. Higo, who for a moment looked alright, suddenly rolled on the ground, holding his wrist in pain.

"Fuck! It hurts!" He screamed. If Makino didn’t know better, he would believe the boy’s acting in a breath.

"Hey, hey! Calm down! Kumiko-chan, medic!" He shouted, waving at the bench to signal the manager to come. Seeing this, the referee had no choice but to pause the game, as the game couldn’t be continued if one of the goalkeepers on the pitch was injured.

"Oh, no!" Minami Higo, the goalkeeper’s mother, gasped in horror as she saw her son in pain. Tears even formed on the corners of her eyes as the worst-case scenario flashed in her head.

Before she could do something stupid, though, Miyashi, the team’s former goalkeeper, let out a low chuckle that attracted her attention. "Don’t worry, Obaa-san. It is just an act."

"Eh? An act?"

"Yeah, the team is about to win, and they want to waste as much time as possible. So, this is the best way to do that." Miyashi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "In fact, I have done something similar so many times last year, and it is quite effective to kill the opponent’s momentum as well."

Seeing the other two boys nod in confirmation, Minami felt the corner of her lips twitching. Her gaze turned to Higo on the pitch, and she stared at her son with a complicated gaze. ’Since when was my son so good at acting that it even fools me?’

Of course, Engaru High’s players were not fooled by this mere act. No, the moment Kumiko came to the pitch, all of them surrounded the referee again to complain.

"Ref! This is just a waste of time! I swear to God he is alright!"

"Yeah! How could he get injured so easily?! This is a fucking fake!"

"Just give him the Oscar already!"

Unfortunately, no matter how much they complained, the referee didn’t budge. Even if he could guess that Higo was pretending, the cause of his becoming like this was valid; two acrobatic saves by slamming his body to the ground. This was enough to warrant a quick checkup to make sure that everything was okay.

That number 10 boy just shook his head in regret. His gaze turned at Higo one last time, inwardly cursing, ’Twice! I have two golden chances in one minute, and neither of them results in a goal! How could such a goalie suddenly appear in Hokkaido? This is so fucking unfair!’

Yeah, he realized it immediately. The crux of this matter came from Higo, the amazing goalkeeper who protected his goal so fiercely, keeping the clean sheet for himself. If it wasn’t against him, that number 10 boy would’ve applauded the goalkeeper already for his amazing performance.

After a while, the game restarted, and Higo was back to normal like nothing happened. This made the referee twitch the corner of his mouth speechlessly, yet nothing could be done about it.

Still, this incident was enough to kill the opponent’s momentum. Right after this, their attack once again met the great wall of Hakodate Nishi, with each one of them getting deflected or even kicked away before stepping into their territory.

That number 10 boy also still received his rough treatment. This time, though, no one was stupid enough to foul him at a good angle to give him a chance to shoot. No, everyone witnessed how dangerous that curled shot was, and for the sake of their health, they didn’t want to see that getting pulled against them again.

Ever.

After that, they still tried some attacking combinations. Unfortunately, Hakodate Nishi’s defense was too strong, and before anyone knew it, five minutes had passed already. The moment the referee blew the whistle, the home team went into frenzy, as everyone started to cry in victory.

"DAMN! WE WIN! WE WIN THE FUCKING GAME! HAHAHA!"