They had already been trying their hardest for a long time, yet they still could not take even a single point from the other side... The situation was unbearably awkward. To be honest, they had never seen anything like this before. By now, it was not just them anymore... even some of the people watching from the sidelines had probably started to realize there was a serious problem.
After all this time, Johzenji still had not scored a single point.
Faced with a situation like this, even optimists like them could no longer keep a straight face. Deep down, some of them even had the absurd urge to leave the court as fast as possible.
"How is this possible? How can the gap between us and them be this huge...? Are we really not even able to score one point!?"
"Their ace has already scored twelve straight points by himself, and we still haven't gotten a single point. We don't even have any way to fight back."
"Can somebody please tell us how we're supposed to break through this?"
Johzenji's libero was on the verge of breaking down. He had never imagined that, as the backbone of the team, he would be unable to receive the ball at all. As long as it was a spike from Hank, it was basically getting blasted straight off his arms.
This kind of performance was simply humiliating for his team... Everyone knew how important a libero was to a volleyball team, and now the entire core of their defense had already been completely shattered.
At this rate, they were definitely going to be crushed.
"Damn it!"
After watching Hank snatch yet another point right over his head, Yuji Terushima finally fell into complete despair. He had already accepted the fact that they were definitely going to lose to Aoba Johsai High. The match had only been going for about twenty minutes.
But the score had already reached 19–0.
They had not scored even a single point. This was a massacre. They did not have even the slightest chance to resist.
"Hiss!"
While Terushima was still frozen in a daze, the first half was already nearing its end. In the end, Johzenji's coach could not hold back any longer and called a time-out, hoping to interrupt Hank's rhythm. Even though a move like that would have very little effect,
he still did not want the scoreline to look quite this ugly... At the very least, he wanted to use this chance to feel a little more involved.
Meanwhile, on Aoba Johsai High's side, because of Hank's nonstop dominance in the first half, many of the players had not even touched the ball before the match was already practically decided... A scene like this was enough to show just how terrifying Hank's individual strength really was.
Just by relying on his own power, he was able to achieve this much. No matter what happened next... it was already enough to prove that Hank's future accomplishments would absolutely not stop at the high school level.
He was definitely going to reach the national stage.
"Hank, you really are bullying them a little. Come to think of it... they probably still had all kinds of dreams about volleyball, but you smashed those dreams to pieces."
Taking advantage of the other side's time-out, Toru Oikawa picked up his water bottle and started drinking. In truth, throughout the entire first half, the two people who had used up the most energy were just him and Hank. In only half a match, the two of them had already launched more than twenty attacks.
During that entire stretch, Oikawa had not even thought about setting to anyone else. He could tell that Hank was in excellent form today, and he also wanted to see where Hank's personal limit really was.
So he had simply played along with him for a while.
After all, Johzenji was not a powerhouse. Even if Aoba Johsai High did not shut them out, Johzenji still had no chance of reaching double digits.
That was only normal.
Still, if they really could shut them out, it would give the team a huge boost in momentum and provide plenty of help for the matches ahead.
"I just wanted to get off to a good start. After all, this is the Spring High preliminaries."
"We can't afford to be careless."
Naturally, Hank was not about to tell anyone that he had a system. He casually found an excuse to brush off Oikawa's words, then turned his attention back to the court. The outcome of the rest of the match was already perfectly clear.
As long as they kept playing at the same pace as before, Johzenji would soon be completely crushed. That much was beyond doubt.
But for Hank, what he really wanted to see was just how far he could suppress the score. That would determine whether or not he could get the system's reward afterward.
"Hiss!"
Along with the referee's whistle, Hank and the others returned to the court. Looking at the already exhausted Johzenji players in front of him, Hank showed no mercy at all and continued to keep the pressure on.
(End of Chapter)
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