Chapter 98
“Ha! It’s not even time for the second half but they’ve already lost one player. Oh, look! two more players have left. That’s three. Wow! Two more have left. Hahaha! Heaven’s on our side. You guys should just surrender already. ” Tyrion laughed.
The 4 players who had joined Kelvin in leaving the team were Fabian Norrill, Quinn Adamson, Benson Vanderwood and Ralf Dartnell.
Stephen stopped going after the players who left and returned to sit on the bench with a sigh. Now their team had 11 left with no substitutes. The other team had all members intact. He sighed again.
Phoenix soon returned and Stephen told him the situation of things.
“Captain… Should we just surrender as Tyrion said?” Stephen asked.
“Nope. Even if we’ll lose, we’ll do so with pride. Those 5 who left have nothing to do with Team Cobra. Cheer up!” he patted the anxious youth’s back. “Alright, folks. Let’s have a little discussion.” Phoenix clapped his hands twice and the other team members came to him. They didn’t have much hope for this match but they wanted to do things to the finish. They were not willing to surrender.
Tyrion seeing them all gathered, forming a circle, shook his head. “I wonder what’s there to discuss in hushed tones. If I were you…”
“Shut it!” Phoenix warned and went back to discussing with his team.
Soon, the break was over. It was now time for the second half of this final match. The referee blew his whistle and the game started. Surprisingly, within the first 2 minutes, a goal had already been scored by Team Cobra. Stephen was the one who scored it. However, there was nothing to be elated about coz they were still behind by 28 goals.
In the fourth minute, Tyrion scored a goal and showed a middle finger at Phoenix who simply scoffed. In the 7th minute, Phoenix kicked the ball into the net at an impossible angle once again.
“Hmph! That was your luck.” Tyrion said while Phoenix chuckled.
“It’s too early to judge, shortie.” the latter replied as the goalkeeper kicked the ball towards them.
*****
It was the 30th minute. The audience was stunned. Phoenix had helped Team Cobra be in the lead by scoring 30 goals. Those who tried to trip him several times failed miserably and even got wounded in the process but it wasn’t serious that they would need a substitute hence they continued. From the fifth minute till the 31st minute, Team Vine had been unable to score any other goal as Phoenix always got possession of the ball at the last point.
Tyrion had been tripped 15 times by Phoenix and 5 times by Dane Yawner, another Cobra player.
He wished to rip Phoenix apart so badly. He was barely able to run around now.
In the 35th minute, he was about to score a goal only for Phoenix to kick the ball towards his teammates! Tyrion couldn’t help but curse out loud. Phoenix gave him a thumbs down.
“Either surrender or allow me to discipline and cast the arrogance out of you,” Phoenix said before leaving him.
“Bastard!” Tyrion cussed through gritted teeth. He was unable to accept the reality before him!
How come this pushover who was a total disgrace of a captain was now the one thrashing them on the field? He was the scoring machine. He was the best at this game. How can he be beaten repeatedly like this? No, he has to win this and teach that annoying guy the lesson of his life!
However, in the 40th minute, his team hadn’t been able to score a single goal. They were now behind the very team that they laughed at.
“I have to take out that Phoenix.” Tyrion thought.
Sadly, as much as he tried, he couldn’t do a thing to Phoenix. Instead, he got tricked by another Cobra player 3 good times!
In the 44th minute, a member of Team Vine had a great chance of scoring a goal but Phoenix suddenly jumped in mid-air and kicked the ball into the goal post erupting in cheers from the crowd. Two Alphas (9th ranked Alpha king Hain Mawrey and 19th ranked Alpha king Camfield Willerton) rose and awarded Team Cobra 5 points each! They were truly impressed by their skill on the field especially that of their captain whom everyone once looked down on. Now Team Cobra emerged as the winner of the game with an unexpected 15 points! Those packs whose selected warriors formed Cobra were jubilating. They got 15 points instead of the 5 points that they hoped for. They just needed 35 more to go!
Tyrion knelt on the field pounding the ground in fury. He just couldn’t believe this. He’d lost to the pathetic Phoenix! So hateful!
Phoenix walked over to Tyrion after the referee had blown the whistle signifying the end of the match. The final scores were 31-57!
“You… Are you here to mock me?” Tyrion asked after standing, wearing a sullen countenance.
“No. I want to speak to you when we’re done changing. Meet me under the oak tree close to the enrollment hall.” the latter replied.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.
“And what if I don’t?”
“You don’t have that option, shortie.” Phoenix went to join his teammates who raised him up in ecstasy.
Kelvin and co. who had left the team in a fit of rage now wore faces of regret. Their pack members criticised them for leaving. 15 points could have been theirs freely as long as they sat on the bench. But no, they left because they felt the captain was a piece of trash. Now he beat the so-called scoring machine and his team!
The 5 men ran towards the joyful 11 members of Cobra who had left the field amidst the cheers from the crowd. Those who lost weren’t all that sad. They felt this was a great eye-opener and knew the meaning of never judging a book by its cover.
“Hey, guys.” Kelvin waved with a nervous smile as the 11 men were on their way to the costume center.
“Who are you?” Stephen asked in an irked tone.
“Come on man. How can you say you don’t recognize us.” Fabian said with a nervous laugh.
“You want me to accept you guys back so your packs can get free 15 points, right?” Phoenix asked after the other members put him down.
“This…” Fabian and the other 4 didn’t know what to say.
“Don’t worry. I can let you back in so you’ll get the points but on one condition.” Phoenix said.
“Captain…” Stephen called out in a distressed tone. Phoenix was really gonna let these losers get points that they didn’t work for? They even ditched the team. This Kelvin was the one who provoked the others to quit.
“Don’t worry, Stephen. Sometimes, you gotta be lenient. We are all weak occasionally and may not do the right thing since none of us is perfect. I also believe that they will do anything to make up for their mistakes. Am I right?” Phoenix asked, facing the five edgy men.
“Yeah, right,” they replied in unison, nodding their heads.
“So you want to know that one requirement?” he asked again.
“Please state it,” urged Kelvin.
“What’s my middle name?” Phoenix questioned. “Whoever can guess it right will be let back into the team. But if you can’t, just scram. By the count of 5. 1… 2… 3… 4 and 5. Time’s up. Let’s go change, brothers. These losers aren’t worthy to come close to us.” Phoenix said before walking onward into the building. The others made comical faces at the 5 men as they walked in.
Four of them blamed Kelvin bitterly.
“You are adults. I left. Did I compel you to follow me?” Kelvin barked and raised Fabin by the throat but he got punched in the jaw by Quinn. Soon they all got into an intense fight, alerting two officials who quickly came to separate them.
“You have broken the rules and caused serious injury outside of the game. No partiality will be applied here. Your packs will receive minus 10 points. You must pay it back before any other points can be counted for your packs. But if you feel it’s too unjust, you are free to leave this venue.” said the stern-looking female official who was short and dressed in a blue suit.
“This… Can’t we pay a fine?” Fabian asked in a pleading tone.
“Of course. You are to pay 15 million each at the penalty hall.” said the male official who looked younger than the female.
“15 million?” Quinn cried out in astonishment.
How much did their packs receive each month from the werewolf association? So they only had the first option. Get 10 points and return to square one as the penalty?
“Phoenix, I swear to rip you to shreds when I get the chance,” Kelvin swore in his heart, his hands tightly curled into fists.