Chapter 74: The Strongest Opponents!

[Competitiveness Points: 260] → [Competitiveness Points: 10] 

[Total Concentration Breathing LV3] → [Total Concentration Breathing LV4]

[Thunder Swarm LV2] → [Thunder Swarm LV3]

Kira quickly completed the upgrade for these two skills. The Thunder Swarmallows Kira to create more intricate curved passes or shots, while reaching LV4 in Total Concentration Breathing enables him to enter the state of Total concentration more frequently and maintain it for a longer time.

At LV3, Kira could already maintain the state of Total concentration for nearly half of the time. With LV4, he would definitely be able to further extend that duration.

At this rate of progression, if he were to upgrade it to LV5, Kira should be able to achieve a constant state of Total Concentration Breathing.

Maintaining the state of Total concentration at all times, even while asleep, would lead to a qualitative leap in his physical abilities.

However, the difficulty of upgrading from LV3 to LV4 was already very high. It was thanks to the points gained from the daily training that Kira could maintain an acceptable speed of progress.

To upgrade from LV4 to LV5 would undoubtedly require even more time.

But Kira was willing to accept the challenge.

"I still have 10 points left, not much, but let's continue practicing in the practice Space."

A smile appeared on Kira's face as he entered the practice Space.

...

The next day, Kira and his teammates stepped into the corridor leading to the competition venue.

Meguru's body was trembling slightly, not just out of nervousness, but more so out of excitement.

Being able to compete against world-class players was an opportunity that countless people dreamed of.

Rensuke and Ikki had serious expressions on their faces, and even Nagi, who usually had a lazy demeanor, wore an unusually serious expression.

However, just as they were nearing the gate, Kira suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong, Kira?"

All eyes turned to Kira.

"Ego selected five world-class players to compete against us. Their goal is probably just to show us the gap in strength between us and the world's top players and assess our own abilities. They have no intention of letting us win."

As Kira spoke, he slowly raised his head.

At the same time, a smile appeared on his face.

"But it's precisely because of that, that we have to hit them hard. If we can defeat them, it will definitely shock the world. So let's go all out and show those guys how amazing we are."

"Yeah!"

Meguru nodded vigorously.

"We must win fair and square!"

"We will definitely win."

"I don't want to experience the feeling of losing again."

The other three also nodded in unison.

A fire of determination ignited in their hearts.

"Well then, let's go."

Kira nodded and resumed walking.

Finally, they arrived at the competition venue.

The world-class players team stood on the other side of the field, observing them with a gaze reminiscent of visiting animals in a zoo.

"Indeed, just as I said, their muscles aren't developed at all. You owe me $10,000."

"That guy, Ego, said that some of them might pose a threat to us. Don't make me laugh."

"Although it's earlier than expected, did that little brother of Itoshi Sae not come? I thought he would be the first. But it doesn't matter. Let's finish the match quickly and go back to the hotel to rest. It's comfortable earning some extra money."

Except for Loki, the other players communicated in English, completely disregarding the Blue lock team.

They believed that the Opponents couldn't understand English, so they freely taunted.

"They're speaking English, right? I don't understand..."

Meguru furrowed his brow and spoke.

"Kira."

Nagi turned his head to Kira. Although he always appeared indifferent, he was actually a top student at school and naturally understood what these people were saying.

"I know."

Kira narrowed his eyes slightly and locked his gaze on them. He knew exactly what these people were saying.

"Hello, everyone."

Julian Loki quickly approached Kira and the others, greeted them, but not in English. He was much more polite than the other four.

"Pleased to meet you."

Kira shook hands with Loki and carefully observed him.

Although he wasn't particularly tall, the outline of his muscles was clearly visible even through his clothes.

Julian Loki, The God Sprinter.

Not only him, but the others also possessed formidable strength.

The intensity of this match far surpassed anything they had faced before.

In the original work, they didn't take it seriously and easily overwhelmed the team Rin and Yoichi.

However, in the eyes of Kira, the outcome of this match was not easy to determine.

The team quickly returned to their own half, and as the whistle sounded, the match officially began!

Blue lock Team had the first possession!

Kira kicked off and passed the ball to Meguru, who immediately sprinted towards the opponent's half at top speed.

"Oh, has it already started?"

Standing in front of Meguru was Pablo Cavasoz, also known as the Freckled Baby. He had the smallest build among the five, but his strength should not be underestimated.

However, at this moment, Cavasoz seemed very lazy and not at all serious.

Meguru used a swift bicycle kick turn to successfully get past Cavasoz, then immediately crossed the ball Nagi was already in position!

It was a high-arching pass, but it wasn't difficult for Nagi to receive it.

He hooked the ball in the air, executed an incredible ball control, and simultaneously rotated his body.

In an instant, he transformed into a shooting posture!

A powerful shot!

1-0, they took the lead!

"We did it!"

Rensuke couldn't help but cheer. They scored in such a short amount of time at the beginning of the game, and it was against world-class players. This undoubtedly boosted their morale, and everything was going smoother than they had imagined.

"The real match hasn't even begun yet."

Kira said slowly.

Because he knew that the opponents weren't taking it seriously, leaving themselves undefended, as if no matter how many goals they scored, they could still turn the tables and win.

That was absolute arrogance.

"Not bad, but why don't you play a little more seriously?"

Blake said slowly.

"Yeah, in the contract, if we lose, we won't get paid."

"Anyway, let's just not lose!"

"There's a bonus for scoring goals too!"

The other players showed slightly more serious expressions, but in their eyes, this match was still no different from a game.

"Okay."

Loki nodded and cast a calm gaze towards the opponent's goal.

The possession changed, and the World Team took the kick-off.

Loki calmly brought the ball past the halfway line, and Ikki immediately stepped forward to mark him tightly.

"May I ask, is that okay?"

Loki looked at Ikki and asked in a relaxed tone.

"What?"

Ikki frowned, and at the same time, he used his ability to diligently observe his surroundings, trying to see what passing options the opponent might have.

"There are loopholes all over my attacking route."

And at that moment, Loki said slowly.

"!?"

Before Ikki could react, a gust of wind slammed into his face like a wall.

In the next breath, Loki was already behind him!

"What?! What kind of explosive speed is this!?"

Ikki didn't even have time to react. Loki simply blew past him with pure speed, without any change of direction or fancy dribbling. It was as if a jet flew directly past him!

When Ikki turned his head, Loki was already far away, heading straight for the goal!

"Stop him!"

Rensuke and Nagi immediately stepped forward to intercept, but before they could make any defensive moves, Loki broke through with an even more terrifying speed!

In front of him, there was no one left.

1-1!

"What... What kind of speed is that?!"

Rensuke's voice trembled as he looked at Loki with an incredulous gaze.

Within the Blue lock, there was simply no one who could compare to him. Neither Tsurugi Zantetsu nor Chigiri Hyoma, in terms of speed, could even come close to him.

This guy was a true monster...

"Pass the ball next time, you bastard!"

The other teammates in the team laughed and said to Loki, as if they were already used to his incredible speed.

And Loki had a relaxed smile on his face.

"Alright, I've had enough fun. Let's quickly finish the match and go take a shower."

Although Loki's gestures and manners were more polite than the others, he was the most arrogant one.

For him, this was just a game, and there was no need to exert any more effort.

The gap in strength was absolute.

As the game resumed, Meguru dribbled the ball forward again, but just as he was about to get past Cavasoz once more, the opponent suddenly moved forward.

With just one move, he cleanly stole the ball from Meguru's feet!

Meguru's eyes widened, unable to believe that the opponent could easily take the ball away like that.

"Your rhythm is threatening, but your moves are too predictable."

That was the only comment Cavasoz had for Meguru, who possessed top-notch dribbling skills within the Blue lock.

After completing the steal, Cavasoz immediately made a long pass to the front, where England's goal-scoring king, Blake, had been waiting.

"There's no way I'll let you receive the ball!"

Rensuke shouted loudly, wanting to contest the ball with Blake.

But in the moment their bodies made contact, Rensuke felt as if he had collided with a solid wall.

The physical qualities and control of balance were incomparable.

Blake stood firm!

"What... What kind of monster are you?!"

Rensuke exerted all his strength, but he couldn't make the opponent budge even a centimeter.

"I'm not interested in men's bodies."

Blake remained relaxed, then turned around and used his broad shoulders to forcefully pin the strong-bodied Rensuke behind him, while delivering a powerful kick.

His target was none other than the heavy tank, Dada Silva, who had already positioned himself in front of the goal.

The burly Silva stood like a towering mountain in front of the goal. No matter how hard Nagi tried, he couldn't block the opponent's position either.

His physical qualities were even more terrifying than Blake's!

"You're too weak, too weak! Are you guys really eating well?! You're like bean sprouts, so fragile!"

Silva laughed madly. The advantage he had in terms of physique allowed him to easily receive the pass from Blake. While fending off Nagi with his hand, he turned around. Even though Nagi had decent physical qualities, he posed no threat in Silva's eyes, like dust floating in the air that would dissipate with a single blow.

"We're taking the lead!"

A triumphant expression appeared on Silva's face as he prepared to take a shot.

And at that moment, a figure suddenly appeared beside Silva.

"Is that so?"

Kira had come over for defensive support!

In the instant Silva turned around, Kira had already closed in, not intending to give the opponent any space to turn.

"Arrogant brat!"

Silva didn't even consider Kira a threat, planning to rely on his physical qualities to forcefully knock Kira away.

But in the moment their bodies made contact, Silva's expression changed.

Bang!

In that moment, he felt as if he had collided with a massive boulder.

"What?!"

A surprised expression appeared on Silva's face for the first time.

He didn't expect to not gain the advantage in the physical contact, and due to underestimating the impact of the collision, his balance was also disrupted, causing him to fall to the ground.

Kira seized the moment when Silva's center of gravity shifted and successfully completed the steal!

"What?!"

Both Blake and Cavasoz exclaimed. They couldn't believe that Silva had been stolen from by Kira.

Even if they weren't in a completely serious state, this shouldn't have happened.

"Damn, the ground is so slippery!"

Silva complained, finding an excuse. He couldn't believe that he was at a disadvantage in the physical collision.

It must be because the ground was too slippery.

"Why are you still looking for excuses? Little bean sprout."

And at that moment, Kira looked down at the fallen Silva, his gaze sharp and icy, like a blade. He spoke slowly, in English.