Chapter 1054: Leave it on the Pitch

I'd intended to score on every offence, but the damn ball is too soft. When I flex my legs and get ready to dash, my mandibles tense up and I crush the stupid thing in an instant! Isn't this supposed to be solid rock? Is there cheating involved? Has someone given me a hollow ball?!

Whatever. It's not like they beat me when I'm playing defence. My mind-constructs have picked out the ten ants on the field from the Vestibule, and I can read their streams of Will in real time.

Gweheheh.

A fake ball? Don't make me laugh! Make a million of the things, it won't matter!

~~~

"Well, the Eldest did promise us a game unlike any we've had before," Leonidant remarked dryly.

"Even I didn't expect they would throw away two straight turns of offence," Solant mused. "I'd predicted the Eldest would attempt to crush us, trying to score every time they had the chance, and shutting us out, for the most dominant victory possible. In some ways, this is even more intimidating. If the Eldest throws every offence they have, except the last, and shuts us out to win 1-0 at the last moment, it'll be an entirely different statement."

"We won't let that happen, though."

"Of course not. One play and we've already confirmed a few things. First, the Eldest is taking us lightly, and that gives us a chance. Second, they really can detect our thoughts and intentions. The decoy ball was completely ignored."

"So that means…"

"Indeed. Even our thoughts need to be layered in deception…."

~~~

[It's time for the Endless to start their second turn on offence. Very short rounds in this match so far. I do hope we get to see some extended play, but right now, it doesn't seem likely.]

"If the Great One can smash any play as quickly as they did the first time, then I expect we may be in for an extremely short round. If any team was going to devise a counter measure, then it's this team in front of us right now, the Endless."

[I absolutely agree. As expected, they've adopted a completely different formation as they break out of the huddle. There's never been a team to change up their approach as much as this one, it'd almost be stranger if we saw them go with the spear once again.]

"I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a different look from this team in every one of the ten rounds. Solant is positioned close to the front in centre, mages tight in behind with soldiers anchoring the formation and scouts out wide. This is almost a traditional look from the Endless, not something we're used to seeing. Perhaps they intend to play wide, as you suggested they should?"

[It appears they might. The Eldest is sitting a little higher up the pitch this time and… here we go!

A rapid charge from the Eldest as they rush down the pitch, it's insanely fast, but at least we can see them this time! Mages brace, defensive wall is going up. The Soldiers lower their heads and OHHHHHHHH!]

ROAAAAAARRRRR!

"The Eldest has smashed through as if they weren't even there. The stone flies and the crowd is shielded from the debris! What a hit. WHAT a hit. Absolutely chitin-crunching!"

[The soldiers appear down for the count as the Eldest barrels through. Solant looks like an aphid in front of the gigantic ant as she clutches the ball… OR DOES SHE? The pass, WHEN DID SHE PASS?]

"Who has the ball? I can't even… LEONIDANT! She's free! She's running free down the left side of the pitch, totally unmarked… well of course she is, there's only one opponent!"

[The Eldest turns, one clack of the mandibles… have they given up, are they unable to catch up? Leonidant is streaking to the touch line!]

RUMBLE!

"No you don't, young one! The Eldest has conjured a wall of stone in front of the touch line. Even from that position in the middle of the pitch, it's no problem at all! The Endless mages can't contest at all!"

[Leonidant is trying to scale the wall, you aren't allowed to completely obstruct the touch line, but… it's no use! The Eldest is extending the wall further into the pitch, Leonidant is running straight towards them!]

CRUNCH!

"And just like that, it's over! The Eldest has dashed in and seized the ball, crushing it to pieces! What a play, what a round!"

[It is high drama here at the Stadium and the crowd is absolutely loving it, Peter. At first, the Eldest was on the attack, crushing the enemy line like it wasn't even there, but somehow, they lost track of the ball!]

"A brilliant play, yet again, from the Endless, Solant executing a pass under pressure, as their own defensive wall was being destroyed, absolutely flawlessly. A fantastic run from Leonidant, perfect balance, perfect speed, but it simply didn't matter. Not only the largest, not only the strongest, the Eldest dominates the mana game as well, raising a defensive wall of their own in seconds. Without support to break through, Leonidant had nowhere to go and fell straight into the waiting mandibles of the Eldest."

[Absolutely stunning scenes here and we are only getting started. The Eldest will be back on offence in a few short moments, taking hold of the ball as we speak and situating themself in the centre of their own zone.]

"So far, the Eldest has destroyed their own ball two out of two rounds of offence. They only get ten. Do you think they'll break it for nine rounds straight and then attempt to score on the last?"

[I wouldn't think so. The Eldest is known to send a strong message, but has a spirit of fair play. I think we'll see proper attacking play from them in this round.]

"An exciting prospect. I still have chills from that last crunching charge. With a frontline of only two soldiers, it really seems like the Endless are going to struggle to prevent the Eldest from running straight through them."

[I see your point, but it really wouldn't matter if they fielded ten soldiers. If they're going to stop this offence, then they need to produce something special.]

"Here we go. Ohhhhh, interesting! The Great One is taking steps to reinforce the ball, clearly anticipating a magic based attack and interference on the ball itself! They must have doubled, no tripled the size and density of that ball!"

[Modifying the ball to that extent is illegal, as I'm sure you know. The Eldest hasn't changed the ball itself, but created a hollow protective shell around it. A few flexes of the mandibles to check their work and we are off!]