Bottom of the 6th inning.
The players of the Komadai Fujimaki High School baseball team, before taking the field to bat, initially thought that their Coach would explode in anger.
However, the reality was far from what they expected.
Coach Nitta seemed as if all the energy had been drained from him, turning into a lifeless, walking corpse.
The score on the field was 1:0, and there were still three or four innings to go.
Under normal circumstances, in such a situation, the Komadai Fujimaki High School baseball players had no reason to feel desperate.
As long as the opportunity was right, and if the heavens showed mercy, they still had hope to catch up with the score or even surpass it.
But from Coach Nitta's face, they didn't sense even the slightest bit of hope.
Although Coach Nitta mechanically told them to keep trying, the players of the Komadai Fujimaki High School baseball team were keenly aware.
The energy was gone.
Their Coach had given up. He had given up on this game, given up on their pursuit of victory.
'How can it be like this?'
The players of Komadai Fujimaki High School, one by one, felt like abandoned children, their anger and sorrow reaching their peak.
Now they were like an army of mournful warriors.
Such a group of people would either quickly abandon the fight, becoming like their Coach, lifeless corpses on the field.
Or they would explode in the face of this desperate situation, trying everything to make their last-ditch struggle.
Clearly, these boys raised in the ice-cold environment of Hokkaido possessed the unique, bold spirit of their region.
Although they, like their Coach, had realized that the game was hard to win, they had not given up. Instead, they had adopted a "do or die" attitude, preparing to fight to the end against the Seidou High School baseball team.
The first batter to take the box, the 8th hitter, seemed ready to press his body as close to the strike zone as possible.
The fans in the stands noticed something was off.
"Standing in that position, isn't it too dangerous?"
"Sawamura's ball speed is up to 148 km/h, nearly 150. Getting hit by that would be dangerous!"
"Don't these Komadai players feel scared?"
"They probably don't know fear anymore. At this point, they're like beasts without thought, probably only thinking about how to get on base."
"They must be desperate!"
"When a rabbit gets desperate, it bites. Let alone the passionate boys of Komadai Fujimaki!"
The fans were excited by the spectacle. After seeing the actions of the Komadai players, they were not worried at all. Instead, they were eagerly anticipating the changes the game would bring next.
Without making the fans wait too long, Seidou's pitcher, Sawamura Eijun, took a deep breath and decisively threw the ball.
For the first time, he threw it straight into the inside corner.
From the batter's perspective, the ball seemed to be coming straight for their body.
It's important to note that Sawamura is a left-handed pitcher.
When the batter saw him throw, the ball seemed to be flying from behind their head.
Especially when it was an inside pitch, from the batter's angle, it felt like the ball would definitely hit them.
The Komadai Fujimaki High School player, the 8th hitter, had clearly mentally prepared before stepping up to the plate.
When he saw the ball coming, he was extremely nervous and scared.
He even closed his eyes.
He was just waiting for the ball to hit him so he could be given a free pass to first base.
However, he waited two or three seconds and didn't feel the ball hit him.
Instead, he heard a "SNAP" sound.
When he opened his eyes, the baseball was already in the glove of Miyuki Kazuya.
"STRIKE!" the umpire's voice was excited, unable to control his emotions.
That pitch was incredible!
The ball had nearly grazed the batter's body, flying into the strike zone.
Then, it landed perfectly in Miyuki's glove.
Such a dangerous pitch would normally make both the catcher and the pitcher nervous.
But Sawamura and Miyuki looked as if they had just done something insignificant.
There was no emotion on their faces.
It was unclear whether they were secretly excited or simply indifferent.
Either way, it amazed the umpire.
The Demon King's reputation had been so loud, but this umpire had never had the chance to officiate a game with Sawamura Eijun.
In other words, he had never seen Sawamura's pitching in person.
That last pitch, if it wasn't a coincidence, meant that Sawamura and Miyuki had planned to throw the ball there from the start.
And they had absolute confidence that it wouldn't hit the batter.
This terrifying confidence and the extremely mature attitude left the umpire in awe.
In the past, he often heard colleagues who had officiated Sawamura's games say that the Demon King's pitching was a miracle!
At first, he thought they were exaggerating, but now, after seeing Sawamura's pitching with his own eyes, the umpire was certain his friends weren't joking.
Demon King Sawamura Eijun truly had that kind of strength and charisma.
His performance was truly stunning!
The umpire, mesmerized by the pitch, watched the Komadai Fujimaki High School 8th batter, who had no idea what had just happened.
After all, the batter had been so frightened that he had closed his eyes and hadn't seen anything.
At that moment, he naturally had no other emotions.
He looked at Sawamura on the mound in confusion, not knowing what had just happened.
His dazed expression somehow amused Sawamura.
It must be said that the players of Komadai Fujimaki High School were quite adorable.
Sawamura, who had been expressionless, flashed a wide smile, revealing his big white teeth.
The Komadai batter looked at him like he had seen a snake, shuddering in fear, almost peeing his pants.
When someone called the Demon King suddenly smiled like that, he didn't think the other side meant well.
There had to be a conspiracy!
The Komadai batter, cautious and thinking that someone was scheming to harm him, became extra cautious, playing the game as if every move could lead to danger.
On the mound, Sawamura felt completely misunderstood.
By heaven, he really didn't mean anything malicious!
But since the batter had already assumed that, wasn't it only polite for him to play along?
Sawamura sneered coldly and continued to target the inside corner without hesitation.
He seemed completely unafraid that the ball might hit someone.
On the other hand, despite the Komadai players' preparation before batting, they couldn't help but hesitate when facing the ball.
Their bodies instinctively moved to avoid the pitch.
It wasn't that their willpower was weak, but rather the body's natural reflex to evade danger.
Whether they wanted to or not, when Sawamura relentlessly attacked the inside corner, their bodies instinctively stepped back.
When their bodies retreated, Sawamura suddenly threw an outside pitch, ending the battle.
Although the Komadai Fujimaki High School team had adopted a "flopping" strategy, facing Sawamura's exceptional pitching skills, their tactics ultimately had no effect.
And thus, they were cleanly and efficiently dealt with.
…