Chapter 747: Schalke in Danger?!

Meanwhile, back in Higo’s flat in Gelsenkirchen, both Kumiko and Sakura also watched the game live on the television there. At first, neither of them noticed something wrong here, thinking that Haaland’s first chance was because Higo was not ready yet.

However, in this second attack, when Raphael Guerreiro managed to completely fool Higo into thinking that a cutback pass was coming, they couldn’t help but find something strange happening here.

"It is not normal for Higo to react that poorly, right? Is there something wrong here?" Sakura couldn’t help but ask.

"I... Don’t know?" Kumiko’s tone was full of uncertainty as well. "The only time when he got frozen up like this was when we were playing in Nii—" Words seemed to be stuck in her throat instantly as everything suddenly clicked in her head. "Wait, no way?!" The girl gasped secretly, finding that her theory was more likely to be true.

"What? What is going on?!" Sakura asked once again, leaning toward her friend with eyes full of curiosity.

"I... Am still not sure here." Kumiko’s tone became hesitant once again, inwardly cursing herself for slipping in front of Sakura like this. "I have a guess here, but if it is true, then Ryukkun is truly in trouble right now." In the end, that was the explanation that she could offer right now.

Still, her eyes didn’t move even for a single second from the television. Her mind also wandered fast to the time when they played in Niigata, when Higo explained his supernatural ability for the first time to her.

’Is this another case where his clairvoyant ability failed him again? Oh, God... Why would it happen in this situation?’ She moaned secretly.

Of course, Higo himself didn’t know that he wasn’t the only one who figured out that he was in trouble right now. Not that the boy cared, as he couldn’t take his eyes away from the game in front of him.

It was another attack from Dortmund, and once again, they tried to surround Weston McKennie in the midfield. Hell, they didn’t even care if the American midfield would gain support from the other players. If anything, they would take that happily, using the space left by that support to kill Schalke decisively.

Weston himself was in shambles right now. After getting bullied left and right, the afro-haired man was panting heavily, losing half of his tank already. It wasn’t just physical; his mental state was so drained by the pressure on his shoulders.

So far, after getting a yellow card at the beginning of the game, he had committed three smaller fouls, but the referee had already warned him to be careful next time, which was enough to frighten the man to the core.

’If I dare to get a red card in this game, the boss sure will kill me after that. No, I cannot afford that mistake.’ He shook his head quickly, not wanting to let that scenario happen in reality.

That was why his defense became a little bit more lackluster. His fear started taking over, and it was easy for the opponent to take full advantage of it.

Just like in the 17th minute of the game, when Achraf Hakimi sent the ball to the middle where Mahmoud Dahoud, their holding midfielder, received the ball straight in front of Weston.

Usually, the American midfielder would be so bold as to challenge his opponent directly, but this time, after one charge with his shoulder that couldn’t shake the opponent’s balance, he gave up quickly, just letting Mahmoud Dahoud launch a rocket from his spot.

BAM!

’Weston, you fucker!’ Higo gritted his teeth once again, flying in the air. Fortunately, this time, he forced himself to follow the image flashing in his head, so his reaction speed was faster than ever, blocking the shot itself with just a punch. "COME ON! What the fuck are you lazy bums doing there, midfielders?! You think you are on holiday or what?!" He screamed at all of his teammates immediately after getting up from the ground.

Weston himself looked at Higo with eyes full of grievance. Still, the man didn’t complain here, knowing full well that if a goal happened, it would be him who was to blame.

As for Higo himself, while he was annoyed by his teammates’ lack of effort in defense, inwardly, the boy was also relieved. Fortunately, his clairvoyant ability still worked well, so after this, there was no need to hesitate anymore.

’It seems that Haaland is the anomaly here. I have to treat him with extra caution.’ He glanced at the Norwegian striker slightly, raising the man’s danger level to the very top inside his head.

After this, Dortmund’s attack was still as fierce as ever, with the players becoming more curious about breaking Schalke’s defense. In their memory, the first meeting against their rival this season wasn’t this difficult, what with them destroying Schalke with the final score of 5-0. The opponent’s squad was still basically the same, so how could they not be able to break through?

Well, if there was one thing that made a big difference, of course, it was Higo’s presence at the back.

The boy didn’t just act as the team’s guardian angel, blocking all the threats coming at the team, but also as a cold-blooded commander who set up the team’s defensive line so that it could become an unbreakable fortress. Even though it was still far from perfect, at least they didn’t give any Dortmund players an easy chance anymore.

Then, as the saying went, once the team’s defense got better, it should be time to attack.

This time, it all came from Dortmund’s midfielder, Mahmoud Dahoud, who was trying to send a diagonal pass to the penalty box where Haaland had already beaten his defender in a positional battle, just having to wait for the ball to fall to his head before he could direct it to the goal.

Thud!

Higo moved faster, though. He rushed forward, jumping in the air to pick up the ball, catching everyone off guard. Then, his eyes caught one movement on the right side of the pitch, and without hesitation, the boy threw the ball as hard as possible.

"NASSIM! GO!"