A Game That Cannot Be Lost

Haruka was wearing kendo protective that reached her waist and sitting on her knees listening to the mobilization of the seniors. She put her little feet under her butt and tried not to look at the audience. Since kendo competitions require bare feet, the wooden floor in the field is of excellent quality, in addition that in summer the air conditioner is on full blast. She used the cool wooden floor to calm her mood. 

Today was the finals so there were a lot of spectators, especially most of the eliminated contestants were also in the audience. Even with a temper like her, she still felt a little sweaty and flustered under the gaze of nearly ten thousand people.

Kendo team competitions can generally be contested by three, five or multiple people, with five-person competitions being the most common. The players will be divided into five positions: forward, secondary forward, middle, deputy general, and general. Then the two teams will compete beginning from the same position. The side who get two points first will win. If there is a stalemate or no timeleft, then that gets one point can be regarded as the winner too. If still no one get one point, it will be considered a draw.

In this way, there are five big games in total, with two wins out of three. If the game ends in a tie, the number of getting points will be calculated and the side with more will win. As for getting the same amount, both sides will send one person to fight again to decide the winner.

Because of this rule, the order of appearance is very particular. However, the regional competition only allows one adjustment of the team order and it must be submitted one day in advance. The private Kinsei Academy and Hope's Peak Academy had used up the opportunity, so they couldn't compete in strategy now.

Most people may think that the general should be the strongest in the kendo team competition. That may be true in the Gyokuryuukou (玉竜旗) Kendo Competition, in which the general has two "lives". But the regional qualifiers use international standards. In the competition system, the general position is the most useless. If the forward, secondary forward, and middle all lose, it is 0:3 lost. Even if the deputy general and general's sword skills are incredible, they can only stare besides.

So there is a saying in kendo competitions, "Let those who can win win first, so that the team can go further."

If the players can be rearranged, facing a team whose overall strength is obviously better than their own, Kanae would put Haruka in the middle position, so that if they lost the first two games, she could try to reverse the defeat. But now it could no longer be changed. In the previous round of fighting against strong enemies, they had used the opportunity and narrowly won by one point.

Therefore, the current order was still Haruka Sakura appearing first, who was called "short-legged tiger" (because of the height of an elementary school student), "tigger" (because of jumping up to attack her opponents) and rolling tiger" (because of taking her personal advantage to crouch up and attack, as if rolling on the ground). A strong third-year senior was the second forward, Kanae was the middle and the deputy general and general were two relatively weak players in the team.

Kanae finished the mobilization and looked at the game on the field. She felt that it would be their turn soon, so she patted everyone's shoulder armor in turn. When it was the youngest Haruka's turn, she couldn't help but whisper softly: "Fight as possible as you can and don't feel pressure..."

She was a little worried that Haruka was a first-year student who was still young and her mental quality wasn't strong enough. This gymnasium had 13,000 seats, and it was at least 70 to 80% full now, whose atmosphere was completely different before. But the second half of the sentence "Even if you lose, it will still have me" couldn't be said.

It would be very bad if Haruka really lost.

Kanae practiced kendo hard for three years in junior high school and three years in senior high school. She just wanted to enter a national competition. Even if she couldn't enter, she also hoped that the kendo club she led could enter and get a reward at least to put on the wall of the dojo. 

This was her last chance. After this competition, she must retire and prepare for the university entrance exam. She was silent for a while, then changed her tone and said seriously: "Please, Sakura!"

Haruka looked at her and found that this third-year senior didn't seem to be much better than her. The temperature here was 16 degrees but she was still sweating. She nodded hard: "Don't worry, Captain. I will definitely win." of!"

If she could win this time and enter the national competition, no matter what her ranking was, the task of enriching the students' resumes would be completed. From then on, she could leave the kendo club aside, focus on her studies and taking care of your family.

What's more, as long as it was not Kazuya, she was not afraid of anyone!

Soon, the qualifying spots for the first group competition were decided, and it was the turn of Private Kinsei Academy VS Hope Peak Academy. Players from both sides saluted each other, and then returned to the sidelines and knelt down. Haruka tied up her headscarf, put on her face mask and walked into the field holding the bamboo sword No. 38.

Seeing her appear on the stage, the audience suddenly burst into applause, accompanied by vague shouts such as "Little tiger, try your best," and "Come on, short-legged tiger." She was now considered a "Dark Horse Star Player" and was very popular. At least half of people came specifically to see her today.

Having the opportunity to enter the national competition in the first grade made many students in the same grade feel a sense of achievement and admire her a little.

Haruka glanced at the audience through her mask. She didn't see any bastard who dared to say that her legs were short, but she soon noticed that a tall female swordsman whose face she had to look up to see also entered the field.

The other party squatted down like a hill, looking at her coldly through her mask. Haruka was not willing to be outdone and looked back.

I can't beat that gigolo, can't I beat you? So what if you are half a meter taller than me! I'll let you lie down and watch me later!

The referee saw that both players were in position, so he exited the center, waved his hand downwards and shouted: "Begin!"

Haruka Sakura, a first grader, is claimed to be 1.50 meters tallherself, but is actually 1.45 meters tall and weighs 38 kilograms...

Asako Kikuchi, a third grader, is 1.8 meter tall and weighs 76 kilograms. She looked more like a male swordsman than a female swordsman. What's more important was that she was left-handed...

Generally speaking, left-handers account for about 10% of the total population, but this proportion in sports circles is far higher than this number. For example, among baseball players, the proportion of left-handers can reach more than 30%.

According to scientific research, since the right brain, which is specialized in perceiving space, is responsible for commanding the left hand, left-handers can be faster and more accurate during exercise. From the perspective of nerve transmission paths, right-handers follow the route of "right hemisphere of the brain - left hemisphere of the brain - right hand" when performing actions, while left-handers follow the route of "right hemisphere of the brain - left hand", from where the brain issues commands to Left-handers can perform movements about fifteen thousandths of a second faster than right-handers.

At the same time, because most athletes are right-handed, they will be better at dealing with right-handed players. When encountering left-handed players, they will most likely make errors in judgment during tense confrontations due to some of their own long-term habits. It may seem like a small advantage, but in a truly evenly matched duel, this small advantage is a huge weight that tilts the scales of victory.

After the referee gave the order, both Kikuchi and Haruka were very cautious. Neither of them underestimated their opponent. People with that kind of mentality had already been sent out in the knockout rounds before. The two approached slowly with mid-level stance to prevente them from being stabbed by the opponent. The bamboo sword in Haruka's hand was swinging slightly. Her eyes fixed on the opponent's triangle area, anticipating the opponent's possible movements.

This was a game where victory or defeat is determined by seconds. Any distraction will make you taste the pain of failure.