"That shot just now was terrifying..." Yō sat on the bench, his heart filled with awe.
He had never seen such a terrifying shot before!
Moreover, he was well aware that although they were only down by one point, Bastard München was now in a very dangerous position.
For a team of Ubers' caliber, even a one-goal advantage was enormously significant!
Their defense was impenetrable, making it incredibly difficult to score again. The entire team was like a shark — first smelling a hint of blood, then attacking as a group, completely devouring their prey.
As time passed, this one-goal difference would become increasingly deadly! Bastard München was standing at the edge of a cliff!
How would Ryōsuke break through this situation?
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
At this moment, Bastard München launched another attack, with Ryōsuke quickly dribbling the ball in midfield, looking for opportunities to organize an offensive.
But he had barely advanced a few steps when Ubers' defensive line immediately surrounded him!
They knew that ordinary double-teaming couldn't restrict him — but even so, they were determined to try their utmost to block him.
Ubers was a multi-core team, while Bastard München had only one core: Ryōsuke. Without him, there was still a considerable gap in average strength between the two sides.
Oliver and the others had a very clear goal: to restrict Ryōsuke at any cost! Even if they couldn't completely stop him, they would exhaust his stamina!
As long as they depleted his energy, Bastard München would have no chance of winning!
"I'm sticking to you like a lovesick schoolgirl now, Kira ❥(^_-)~" Oliver said with a smile.
"Don't say things like that with your middle-aged face."
Ryōsuke replied with a smile, immediately accelerating and using his excellent dribbling skills to break through their encirclement!
This was absolute individual ability — even when faced with multiple defenders, he could still take whatever he wanted!
However, just as he escaped the zone defense, others continued to fill the gaps! Most players focused their attention on Ryōsuke — while leaving the rest for Ken to handle!
Ubers could be described as an incredibly united collective. They knew their goalkeeper's abilities; as long as it wasn't Ryōsuke, others basically had no chance of scoring!
At any cost, they just needed to restrict this monster!
"I won't let you through!" Kojiro shouted as he charged toward Ryōsuke!
❖ Tiger Charge! ❖
This fierce charge had previously knocked Jingo off balance. But facing such a fierce attack, Ryōsuke remained calm and composed!
❖ Sixth Form ➠ Rumble and Flash! ❖
Ryōsuke raised his hand, and as Kojiro came in to pressure him, he extended his hand to pull the opponent aside and then used Kojiro's own momentum to turn!
"Beautiful move!" Yō cheered from the sideline.
Although Ryōsuke had the physical ability to go head-to-head with his opponent, he still chose the most rational option!
"What?!" Kojiro was surprised, having never imagined that Ryōsuke could perform at this level.
And he was just one link in Ubers' defensive line; Oliver and others who had lost position earlier rushed in to double-team again!
"Go!"
There was no point in wasting time with prolonged battles.
Ryōsuke immediately spotted a teammate in a good position and used Thunder Swarm to curve the ball between Oliver's legs, precisely delivering it to Ranze on the other side.
"Counterattack! Counterattack!"
Ranze shouted, knowing that everyone else was focusing on Ryōsuke, which meant other players faced less defensive pressure and could shoot more easily!
However... In Ubers' defensive line, there was still a terrifying character!
Lorenzo!
"Where do you think you're going, Mr. 17 Million?" He rushed in from the side, charging straight at Ranze, "In offense, you could say two kings are competing — but in defense, I'm the true leader, okay?"
The offense was led by Shōei and Kojiro, while Lorenzo focused on defense!
The combination of the strongest spear and the strongest shield was what made Ubers so terrifying! They had no weaknesses to speak of!
"Tough opponent!" Ranze had good speed and dribbling technique, but he knew very well that he couldn't get past this guy relying solely on himself.
Without a moment's hesitation, he kicked the ball, passing it to Kenyū!
But the moment he passed, Lorenzo immediately changed direction and charged at full speed toward Kenyū!
His speed was incredibly fast, and his eerie form made him look like a zombie fixated on its prey, ready to devour the opponent alive!
"Damn it!" Kenyū could clearly hear the footsteps behind him, but he also knew that he absolutely couldn't look back at this moment.
If he looked back, he would definitely be caught by Lorenzo!
He kept reminding himself of this while desperately quickening his pace, sprinting toward the goal!
At this moment, he could only throw himself completely into the attack. With Ryōsuke being restricted by everyone, it was up to them to break the deadlock!
Kenyū could almost feel Lorenzo's breath behind him. Due to his intense running, his vision was becoming increasingly narrow.
"Damn it, not now! I must hold on a little longer! Just a little longer!" He gritted his teeth, rapidly burning his energy.
He wasn't just being chased by Lorenzo; he was also chasing himself!
"Aaaah! Now! Haa!"
Kenyū let out a shout, as if releasing all the pressure on his shoulders! At the same time, he extended his leg and forcefully shot toward the goal!
Because his vision had become blurry, he could basically only see the goal; he couldn't make out anything on either side...
But that was enough!
Shot!
"No way, forcing it like this?" Lorenzo was surprised; he hadn't expected Kenyū to attempt a shot in this situation!
But he had to admit that Kenyū's timing was excellent — at Lorenzo's speed, he would have been able to interfere with the shot in the next second!
The ball bounced high in the air, and Ken immediately jumped up, preparing to intercept it.
But at that moment, Ken realized something was wrong! The trajectory of the ball suddenly changed!
A knuckleball!
At its highest point, the ball suddenly dropped like a meteorite, passing through his blind spot!
Ken was surprised; he hadn't expected the opponent to create such a high-quality shot despite being under intense pressure from Lorenzo! If it had been any other goalkeeper, Kenyū would have surely scored!
But Ken was no ordinary goalkeeper!
He twisted his body in mid-air, scorpion-like, and kicked the ball away just as it was about to cross the goal line! The powerful impact sent the ball flying out of bounds!
At the same time, Ken lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Ignoring the pain, he inwardly felt a sense of dread about Kenyū's shot just now. If his reaction had been half a second slower, Kenyū would have scored.
Ken looked at his opponent with extreme caution; Kenyū was now kneeling on the ground, struggling to catch his breath.
"So close!" Kenyū pounded the ground in frustration. The opportunity had been right there, but ultimately slipped away.
He wasn't willing to accept it!
Moreover, the fatigue in his eyes was intensifying — his vision becoming increasingly blurry to the point where he was even having difficulty focusing.
"Yuki." At this moment, Ryōsuke came to his side and gently patted his shoulder.
"Sorry, Kira... I missed the chance."
"Don't apologize, Yuki. You did really well." Ryōsuke comforted him, "Although you didn't score, we still created a throw-in opportunity, and you've really worn down their energy."
He wasn't wrong; although Kenyū hadn't managed to score, he had just posed a serious threat to Ubers.
"Also... your eyes aren't doing well, are they?"
"Kira, how did you know?" Kenyū was surprised; he had never told anyone about his eye condition.
"Before the second stage began, Mr. Ego had me review everyone's profiles. I know about all of this."
"I see, so Mr. Ego knows too?" Kenyū lowered his head slightly, but quickly raised it again, "But, but I can still keep going!"
"No, Yuki, you shouldn't push yourself too hard. If you continue with high-intensity exercise, it will be very dangerous and could even threaten your professional career." Ryōsuke said very seriously.
For Kenyū, it wasn't just a vision problem; later, due to his blurred vision, other unexpected situations could occur, with a very high risk of injury. He didn't want his teammate to bear this risk.
Kenyū could no longer stay on the field and needed to rest on the sidelines as soon as possible.
"But..."
"Don't worry, Yuki. I'll secure this victory for you." Ryōsuke's gaze was extremely serious.
"I..." Although Kenyū was reluctant, seeing Ryōsuke's intense expression, he nodded.
He was well aware that his condition wouldn't allow him to continue playing the entire match.
"I understand... you have to win, Kira!"
Whether in offense or defense, Kenyū had been pushing himself to the limit, especially against a super team like Ubers, with energy consumption far exceeding previous levels!
It wasn't just his eyes — his calves were also on the verge of cramping.
"Yes, definitely."
Ryōsuke nodded, then signaled to the camera and referee's bench for a substitution before helping Kenyū off the field to the bench.
"You performed excellently, Yuki!"
"That was so close just now, just a little bit more!"
"You were already amazing!"
On the substitute bench, the foreign players who had once looked down on Blue Lock were now praising him, immediately offering him drinks and towels.
Kenyū had earned everyone's recognition through his skill and determination. Though unable to play the entire match, he had successfully changed the flow of the game during his time on the field.
From the coaching bench, Noel stood up, his gaze fixed on Ryōsuke, "Kira, who do you want to bring on?"
He valued this young man highly, giving him significant authority to decide on substitutions.
"We've lost Yuki's breakthrough ability and speed, and no one can replace that — but we can compensate in other ways."
At this moment, Ryōsuke turned his head, his gaze falling on someone on the substitute bench.
"Our team's overall dribbling ability isn't particularly strong, so we struggle against Ubers' collective defense..."
On the current Bastard München team, apart from Ryōsuke, the ball control level of the others, while not poor, wasn't outstanding either.
Especially for Ashito and Yoichi, dribbling was a weakness, which made it difficult for others to break through Ubers' defenses when faced with their defensive pressure, allowing Ubers to focus most of their energy on him.
Just now, Ryōsuke had been positioned in midfield, serving as the team's brain to create opportunities for others, but besides Kenyū, the others weren't particularly good at handling difficult situations either.
However, there was one person who could change this situation.
He possessed excellent dribbling technique and a perspective no less impressive than Yoichi's, making him very suitable to be the team's brain.
If he could take the field, Bastard München would have another point of ball-holding attack, allowing Ryōsuke to shift back to the forward position to break the deadlock.
"So who is your choice?"
Noel narrowed his eyes slightly, but he had actually already guessed who Ryōsuke had in mind.
"Hiori, get ready to enter the game."
The person Ryōsuke's gaze fell upon was Yō Hiori.
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