Chapter 102 Football 102: Reinforcing My "Throne"...
"Then let's give it a try!"
Feng Le dribbled the ball at breakneck speed, then swiftly braced himself with his side hand, sending grass clippings flying. He came to a steady stop, his eyes gleaming as he looked up.
"I've always been looking forward to being one-on-one with you."
Before he finished speaking, he had already swept past Suoh Hyo-ki like a phantom, his golden eyes flashing for a moment, full of pulsating provocation.
"I thought you would be my opponent in the four-on-four match... but I didn't expect to be paired with Tenno Misaki. But it doesn't matter, as long as we're on opposite sides, we're opponents."
"...I'd rather be your teammate than an opponent..."
But before she could finish speaking, Feng Lehui suddenly fell silent.
A green current suddenly connected him with Suoh Koki, and the ball under his feet, as if predicted, was precisely intercepted by Suoh Koki in the next second.
Beehive was startled; it was "synchronization." All his movements had already been sensed by the other party.
"Give me the ball!" Suoh Hyo-ki shouted.
The two players exerted their strength almost simultaneously, their feet clashing fiercely, and the football was squeezed and suddenly leaped up in the entangled force.
In that instant, a blue figure appeared out of thin air and took control of the ball firmly at his feet.
"We meet again, King Su."
Ice-Weaving Sheep stopped the ball mid-air, raising its pale blue eyes, its calm demeanor revealing a sharp edge.
The echoes of BeeJoy came to an abrupt end, but new connections were quietly established.
This time, it's the Ice-woven Sheep.
"I've come to seize your 'throne'."
"You?"
Suoh Hyo-hee rarely displayed such sharp aggression, a provocative smile curving his lips.
"Then let's give it a try. Just how far can someone without a 'self' really improve?"
Ice-Weaving Sheep's eyes were as still as water, and she simply replied, "Then I'll go."
The football rolled rapidly across the grass, and the two players suddenly crossed paths like two bolts of lightning of different colors. Sparks almost flew during their confrontation, and Suoh Hyo-hee's toes had already touched the ball.
In that instant, the green energy connecting the two suddenly dissipated.
"Synchro"... has been forcibly broken!
"It seems the throne has chosen me."
Ice Orioyas took the lead, delivering a near-invisible soft pass that, as if guided, precisely reached the feet of Nagi Seishiro, who was making a diagonal run.
"Nice."
Seishiro Nagi easily stopped the pass from the air, turned around and rushed towards the U20 penalty area.
Suoh Hyo-ki suddenly turned around, wanting to chase after him, but a dark figure abruptly blocked his path.
“King, this road is blocked.”
The traveler from Uru raised the corners of his mouth, standing firm like a city wall. Suoh could only watch helplessly as Nagi Seishiro dribbled the ball away.
...Isn't that wrong?
What exactly is wrong?
You've already mastered the improvisation of Bee Music and cracked the rhythm... so why are you still unwilling to look at me?
Suoh Takayuki gazed at the distant Amanomichi, a fleeting look of resentment in his eyes.
Everything that followed was as if it had been accelerated.
Nagi and Kiyoshi weaved from left to right, dodging Ken and Kitsune's attacks, and forcefully tore through Blue Prison's defenses. Nagi Seishiro unleashed a furious shot.
The football whistled as it flew towards the bottom left corner of the goal.
In the final moments of the match, a sharp kick swept in. Sae Itoshi made a flying tackle to intercept, blocking the ball firmly off the goal line.
Her rosy eyes stared blankly ahead.
"Heh... It would be such a loss to end it like this!"
The crisis is not over yet.
Kira Ryosuke strode forward and kicked out of the way.
"Sae Itoshi!!"
An ambush had been set up there, and Itoshi Rin, like a leopard waiting for its prey, leaped into the air. He made a long pass without hesitation before Aisora Ofri and Otonori Ryuhei could form a pincer movement.
The football crossed the halfway line and came to Qing Luoren's feet. He received the ball, passed it directly to Shidao Longsheng, and then... began an unreasonable charge.
Shido Ryusei lowered his center of gravity and surged forward like a tank, forcibly overtaking everyone in his path, friend or foe alike. Everyone was dodging and chasing, creating utter chaos.
Amanominaka has appeared.
A calm yet ruthless sliding tackle dispossessed Shido Ryusei. The interception triggered a counter-attack; before even getting up, Tenno Minaka unleashed a low, ground-hugging shot towards the goal.
[Amano Minaka!! That interception and counter-attack was incredibly fast!!]
Blue Prison goalkeeper Gin Gatama reacted with lightning speed, diving to the side and firmly pressing the ball under his body!
【My Yawan! ! 】
He made a world-class save! Blue Prison is still alive!
The offensive and defensive positions shifted again. I, Yamaru, launched a fast attack by throwing the ball, and Mikage Reio got the ball, but he was instantly surrounded.
He managed to squeeze through the crowd and forced a shot, but it was blocked by Ren and Shin's bodies. Kiyoshi followed up with a shot, but goalkeeper Fukō Gen made a brilliant save. The ball rolled to the right, where the unmarked Hyōshi Yang shot straight into the empty net.
"You're too slow, Bingzhi."
A figure lunged forward recklessly. Suoh Hyoki positioned himself horizontally in mid-air, using his body to block the seemingly inevitable shot.
The football... came to a quiet stop outside the white line.
No goals were scored.
Bingzhi Yang looked down at Suoh Hyo-ki, his heart completely unmoved.
"I'll score next time."
Too close, too close.
The soccer ball was right in front of Suoh Hyoki's face, as if it could move with just a breath from him.
He subconsciously patted the soccer ball that was right in front of his eyes.
The entire room fell silent for a second.
Suoh Hyo-hee was suddenly stunned.
He forgot that he wasn't a goalkeeper, but a winger.
A piercing whistle rang out.
The referee ran over and gave Su Wang Hyo-hee a yellow card for the incident.
At that very moment, a golden thread suddenly appeared at the edge of Suoh Hyokki's vision. It was slender and bright, yet it seemed to connect heaven and earth.
"I've become a core member again..."
Suoh Koki, lost in thought, involuntarily looked in the direction of Amanomichi. And there he was, quietly watching him.
In those eyes, I saw a dazzling golden light, just like when they first met—pure, fervent, and radiant.
—It is light!
Through those golden eyes, he seemed to see himself from many years ago.
Suoh Hyo-hee suddenly realized what he had been missing all along.
reason?
instinct?
None of that matters.
He was willing to try anything to stay here.
He had been lost on this path for so long that he had almost forgotten that what he initially pursued was not the light itself, but becoming the light.
I should be the world's number one striker!
His ambitions burned ever brighter, like flames.
The whistle blew again, and the game continued.
The moment Itoshi Rin kicked off, Suoh Koki sprang into action like a python that had caught the scent of blood. He preemptively poked the ball away from Itoshi Rin's pass to Nagi Seishiro.
"Back up!"
But it was too late.
Suoh Hyo-hee received the ball and turned, facing the Blue Prison's formation as they transitioned from attack to defense. He quickly flicked the ball through the legs with the inside of his left foot, then smoothly dribbled with his right foot, accelerating past the advancing Jeong Se-il from the other side.
Break through the first one.
Reio Mikage attempted to intercept head-on, but Koki Suoh made a violent sway of his shoulder, preparing to break through to the right. In the instant Reio Mikage shifted his center of gravity, he used the outside of his left foot to flick the ball sharply to the left front.
The ball and the player passed each other.
Skip the second one.
The gasps from the audience surged into a wave.
He couldn't hear anything; his world consisted only of the goal in front of him and the path guided by golden light.
Fifty meters, twenty meters, ten meters... the restricted area is right in front of us.
Suoh Hyoki stepped forward with his left foot, seemingly about to break through to the left, shifting his entire weight in that direction. Hyoori's weight instinctively shifted slightly in response.
But this is a feint.
"There won't be another chance to score. You know that, Bingzhi? You're going to lose."
His left foot didn't touch the ball; instead, it was firmly planted on the ground as a fulcrum. He twisted his body to the extreme to generate power, aiming his right foot at the inside of the ball, intending to shoot into the far corner.
"The competition isn't over yet, isn't it a bit inappropriate to make such boastful remarks?"
"Your eyes and instincts tell me you can't beat me. Your reason recognizes that you're bound, yet you don't struggle."
"Rationality and [the other party] have not reached an agreement."
“A guy like you, who has no convictions, can’t stay here.”
Ice-Weaving Sheep's pupils contracted, and its body immediately reversed, leaping to block the attack.
However, this was still a feint.
The moment Suoh Hyo-ki touched the ball, he changed the shape of his right foot, switching from a push to a flick, gently flicking the ball towards the left side where he was originally going to break through. This was his initial feint, and it was also the direction that Hyo-ori Yoongi was heading.
"Therefore, they become my stepping stones, reinforcing my 'throne'."
A perfect double feint, with a time difference and spatial misalignment.
Ice-Weaving Sheep had been completely thrown off balance, his body unable to change direction in mid-air, and he fell to the ground. He watched as Suoh Hyoki passed by him.
The last barrier was breached.
Bang!
The voice was deep and powerful.
The football, like a white lightning bolt, struck the deepest part of the net without any spin, straight and violently. Goalkeeper Gin Gaara's desperate save became nothing more than a futile backdrop to the goal.
The whistle blew.
The match is over.
[Goal! A perfect shot into the corner! An impeccable solo run and goal!]
From tackles and breakthroughs to shots, it was Wang Xiaoxi who single-handedly tore apart the entire defense!
The entire stadium fell into a brief silence, which was then followed by a roar that seemed to tear the roof off.
Suoh Hyo-ki stood rooted to the spot, his chest heaving violently, sweat dripping down his jawline. He stared at the football rolling in the net, his gaze momentarily dazed, before being overwhelmed by a tremendous, burning emotion.
He turned around abruptly and looked at Bingzhiyang.
Ice-Weaving Sheep was getting up from the grass and looking at him.
The losers were not angry, and the winners did not boast.
In those indifferent blue eyes, Suoh Hyoki saw a ripple, and in its reflection was himself, breaking through everything.
It is light.
He chased the light.
In the end, he himself became that light.
He became the "protagonist".
The players stood there, panting, the intense match having almost exhausted everyone's strength.
“Not bad shot.” Tenno Minaka walked up to him, his golden eyes looking at the panting Suoh Koki. “I wonder how much they’ll pay us after this drama ends.”
"How much does it cost?"
"Guess. I think it's two hundred million."
“…Two hundred million,” Suoh Hyo-ki murmured, then asked, “What is that?”
A long silence followed.
Suoh Hyo-ki cautiously began, "We'll become number one in the world together... right?"
"Of course. After all, only I can become the world's number one striker."
"...I will not give up."
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Author's Note: Suoh's first real match was against Hyōori, so the match should also end with Hyōori ending it. [Applause]
That concludes the main text. Next up is the second phase of Suga's solo competition. I won't cover all the matches, just half of them: Manchester City, PXG, and Munich.
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