The Rise of the Iron Wall!

Chapter 150: Half Break: Ready to Attack?!

"Okay, first of all, congratulations, everyone! You are able to hold back, probably one of the best high schools in Japan right now!"

The moment Kumiko announced it, cheers erupted, with some of them even starting to dance silly at the center of the locker room. It was a half break, and while it was unwise to celebrate early, his players just wanted to have fun, and since it was called a break, she figured out, why not?

However, she still turned somber in the next second, explaining things to them all.

"Okay, first of all, I want you guys to know that we are still far from winning, so underestimating your opponent will be a fatal mistake here. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ma’am!"

"Good!" Kumiko nodded satisfactorily. "Here is a little survey for you. Out of 20 games that Shimizu Higashi High played in the last year, they were forced into a desperate situation where they failed to score in the first half about eleven times, and each one of them always resulted in one absolute solution for them."

"Which is..." Everyone had a bad premonition, realizing something was wrong here.

"Which means they are more likely to go all out in the second half, right?" It wasn’t Kumiko who answered that, but Higo, who had been quiet on the corner for a long time. "What? Kumiko-chan is so strict with my study, okay?" He shrugged nonchalantly.

"A good point, Ryukkun." The girl nodded in approval as well. "Even in the national tournament, they always had the reputation of having a slow start, only exerting more of their muscles in the second half. Hell, even in this tournament, only 30 percent of their goal came from the first half, so what you face so far is still nothing."

This, honestly, didn’t do anything but make them more depressed. Most of them had been fighting for their lives in the first half, and yet, now Kumiko told them that the opponent was still not going all out?

"So, what should we do now? It is not like we can just defend all the time while hoping that they have the worst luck in the world, right?" Jun moaned; the psychological burden from the new knowledge he learned from Kumiko added more to his exhaustion.

"Well, yes, but we also need to do something to fight back." Kumiko nodded all along, before her eyes fell to the particular boy who had been quiet since the beginning of the game. "Hiroshi-kun, I am sure you have already had enough of not doing anything. Ready to show them that we are not just a paper tiger?"

Somehow, the smile on Hiroshi’s face spread so wide that it made the polite boy look creepy. He just nodded solemnly, saying in a low whisper, "Don’t worry, Senpai. It is time for me to wake up from my laziness."

Seeing this, of course, the most excited one was Kenji. The playboy perked up immediately, waving at Kumiko like a child wanting to get his mom’s attention.

"Kumiko-senpai, Kumiko-senpai! If we are going for an offensive battle, shall I prepare myself as well? You know that this is my expertise, right?"

Both strikers, Yuji and Kuroki, were alarmed when they heard this. They glanced at their kouhai warily, knowing that in offense, the boy’s value really exceeded them both combined.

However, Kumiko shook her head decisively. "No, while we also need offense, I cannot abandon the team’s defense like that. If only you could be more valuable in defense, maybe I would be willing to risk it all. Unfortunately, since you are just a liability, having you on the pitch would only mean having one less defensive player for the team, and I cannot afford that."

Some snickered when they heard that, while the others glanced mockingly at Kenji. Well, the boy himself didn’t care about the reaction surrounding him. No, he was just pouting hard here, sulking silently since he had to wait further to go to the pitch.

Kumiko smiled slightly when she saw this. She might be blunt, but the girl knew that Kenji preferred her not sugarcoating facts in front of him. It also helped that the boy was aware of his terrible defensive effort, so he had no room to complain.

"So, Kenji-kun has to wait here, but Denki-kun, you need to get ready." She called one of the twins.

"What? Me?!" The boy mentioned was taken aback, even pointing out to himself in surprise.

"Yes, you." Kumiko nodded. "We need to go for an offensive mode, so we need a wing back who can help with that, but also disciplined enough to track back in time when the team needs it. You are the perfect one to do so right now."

On the other side of the room, Hori clenched his fist so hard it turned his hand white. He was so angry with himself right now, knowing that he blew his chance away by not giving his best performance on the pitch.

Kumiko, who noticed the rage bubbling inside the boy’s heart, nodded in satisfaction. This was the reaction she wanted to see. If Hori wasn’t even annoyed at the slightest, she would have to give up on him, knowing that he didn’t want to improve himself in the future.

’Let’s just hope that this stimulant is not so far that it would destroy him later.’ She murmured under her breath.

"Anyway, we are going to try to push back in the second half. However, don’t forget that our core strategy is defense! Stay disciplined! Discipline! Discipline! Don’t wander around aimlessly and keep communicating with your teammates! You have done a good job in the last fifteen minutes of the first half. I need you to keep that as a standard, do you understand?!"

"Yes, Ma’am!"

"Good! Now, get ready, because the second half is going to be way more difficult than before!" Kumiko nodded.

As the players started to get up, though, her eyes caught on two boys simultaneously. She sent a quick signal, and those two nodded all along, waiting until the others were out there. After a while, only three people were still left in the locker room, complete with the awkward silence among them all.

In the end, it was Kumiko who finally opened the conversation here.

"So, care to tell me your problem with Makino-kun, Ryukkun?"