The Rise of the Iron Wall!

"COME ON, SCHALKE!"

"45 MINUTES LEFT! DON’T LET THOSE BASTARDS GET YOU!"

"KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM!"

The moment the referee blew the whistle, all the people in the stands roared. When they were winning so beautifully like this, even the 15-minute break earlier seemed to be so long, so the moment the referee started the game, the enthusiasm that they had been holding back during that break finally burst like a bubble.

Little did they remember, though, that besides the two goals that Schalke II created in the first half, they played super passively, waiting on the back until the opponent made a mistake. This time, they didn’t intend to change their approach, just letting Dortmund take over the tempo.

Of course, the opponent was more than happy to do so. They needed a goal so desperately right now, and having most of the possession would make everything easier for their side.

Soon enough, the first collision of the second half finally appeared.

From the flank. Dortmund’s fullback passed the ball to the pocket area where Tiggess stood. Of course, having already received the instruction from the captain, Schopf would never let that boy go easily. He pushed the opponent’s striker with a little bit of force, even adding more exaggerated movement just for the intimidation element.

However...

BRUGH!

FWEEE!

"AAARGH!"

In the next second, both players suddenly fell and roared in pain at the same time, followed by the referee’s whistle. For a moment, no one knew what was going on here, until the referee pointed at Schalke’s goal, indicating that it was a free kick for Dortmund, and even giving a yellow card to Schopf.

"Wait, what?!" Brackelmann was the first one to complain. "Ref, are you blind or what?! Can you see my teammate is in pain?!"

Timo Becker, the other center back, also followed with another aggressive one. "Don’t get fooled by that bastard’s acting! He should’ve been in a fucking Oscar, for God’s sake!"

Of course, the rest of the Dortmund players were unhappy with this. They also rushed forward, trying to put pressure on the referee. Their demand was simple. Since Tigges was still rolling on the ground in pain, the incident should be far worse than what it looked like, so they demanded that the referee send Schopf off the pitch immediately.

The referee got a headache straight away. It had only been three minutes since the second half started, and yet another incident that could get him killed happened again. This time, though, he didn’t hesitate, shaking his head to Brackelmann and the rest of the Schalke players near him.

"I know that your number 6, Alexander Schopf, doesn’t look good right now, but the initial foul happened in front of me. It was him who made a move to elbow Tigges’s ribs, and honestly, if he put more force, he would’ve broken Tigges’s ribs already. Meanwhile, the only thing that caused Schopf to fall was Tigges’s reaction after the fall, getting his foot stepped on Schopf’s left foot, which he couldn’t control when he was in pain. That’s why the foul is for Dortmund."

The man took his time to explain this matter, because he needed to clear things up with the home team. After all, even if he wanted to give the so-called ’home advantage’ due to the supporters’ pressure, he couldn’t do it so blatantly, right?

In the end, both players who were involved in the incident got up with the help of their teammates, and while neither of them was satisfied with the decision, they had to accept it and move on.

Now, Schalke had to face a dangerous free kick, two meters away from the penalty box with a good angle to aim at the top left of Higo’s goal. Two players faced the ball: the captain Chris Fuhrich and the midfielder Tylan Duman. They whispered something secretly while also glancing at Higo several times, probably intending to play a mind game here.

Meanwhile, Higo couldn’t care less about it. Right now, he was shouting to the point his voice became so hoarse, instructing his teammates to form a solid wall in front of him.

"Come on, Schopf! Get closer to Randy! Don’t leave any gap!"

"Fuck it, Mercan! Why are you there?! You are so short, you will not do anything against the wall! Let Idrizi take your position!"

"Captain, make sure you count it right! I’m relying on you!"

He was sweating a lot as well, trying to fight against the sun that was hanging above him. Even though they were already at the end of August, the temperature was still close to 30 degrees Celcius, definitely not something an ordinary Hakodate native could survive easily.

Still, Higo narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to get a better look at the takers. ’Either two of them, huh? This angle favors the right-footed like Fuhrich, but Tylan Duman’s leftie could also be a big problem here. I need to be careful.’

FWEEE!

The moment the referee blew the whistle, those two takers moved at the same time, with Duman rolling the ball lightly to create a better angle for the captain to take a shot. Higo widened his eyes immediately, and the moment the vision came to his mind, he reacted.

BAM!

A powerful rocket was launched straight in his direction, and the only thing that saved him was the judgement he made after having that vision come to his head. The boy raised both hands to cover his face while simultaneously deflecting the ball away from the goal. It knocked him on the spot, but at least the threat was deflected.

Or... So that was what he thought.

"Shit! Rebound!"

"Clear it away! Clear it away!"

"Don’t push around! Don’t make a foul, idiot!"

Somehow, the ball didn’t bounce far from the penalty box, just flying so high above Higo’s spot. There, two of Dortmund’s players had already occupied a strategic spot, and while they were surrounded by the other Schalke players, at least, they had an advantage here.

Higo couldn’t help but fall into anxiety, trying to get up as quickly as possible. However, before he could do that...

BRUGH!

Someone suddenly fell in front of him, followed by the sound of the whistle that echoed throughout the entire stadium.

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