Meanwhile...
The soccer ball had not gone out of bounds but was rolling towards the edge of the penalty area.
The four opposing Chosen Ones, along with their summoned beasts, charged forward. At that very moment...
"Gou Snake!" Jin Sha shouted, "Enlarge!"
The Gou Snake, initially only two to three meters long and about as thick as two fists together, began to swell madly like a balloon at Jin Sha's command. Its body became as thick as a barrel and then stretched to over ten meters in length.
In the next instant, the Gou Snake coiled its body, directly shielding the ball.
The four opposing Chosen Ones were stunned. How were they supposed to get the ball now?
They couldn't just hit the Gou Snake, as that would be a foul and result in a card.
Fortunately, one of the four understood the rules quite well and immediately shouted, "Don't use melee attacks, use ranged attacks! That won't be a foul!"
Melee attacks were a guaranteed foul, but with ranged attacks, it was impossible to tell if they were targeting the ball or the Gou Snake, thus not considered a foul.
"Sawarang, Earthquake!"
"Arcanine, Flamethrower!"
The four immediately commanded their summoned beasts to attack the Gou Snake.
In the next moment, Sawarang leaped high and stomped its foot on the ground. A thunderous roar followed as the ground cracked open, and large rocks surged upward, heading towards the Gou Snake.
Arcanine, meanwhile, ran swiftly, its mane billowing in the air. It then opened its mouth wide towards the Gou Snake.
Flames spewed from Arcanine's mouth, forming a pillar of fire that shot towards the Gou Snake.
Rumble, rumble!
As the attacks hit the Gou Snake, its massive body shuddered. However, it did not fall but held its ground.
Compared to its offense, the Gou Snake's defense was more prominent. Its heavy shell allowed it to withstand most attacks.
Meanwhile...
Bai Ye finally extricated himself from the pain of heading the ball clear and shouted, "Kick it long, straight into their penalty area."
Jin Sha nodded and relayed the order to the Gou Snake. Immediately, the Gou Snake released its coiled body and swept its tail, kicking the soccer ball into the air.
"Teleport!"
Bai Ye instantly teleported across the entire soccer field, arriving inside the opponent's penalty area.
The four opposing Chosen Ones instantly felt a sense of dread.
This ability was too unfair. Teleporting directly from one's own penalty area to the opponent's... how could they possibly defend against that?
On the other side, Bai Ye watched the ball descend from the air. Lucario, who was guarding the goal, leaped high, intending to catch the ball before Bai Ye could. But...
"Ghost form!"
Bai Ye leaped into the air and then entered a ghostly state, floating in the sky.
Lucario was utterly bewildered. How could it fly?
This was cheating to an absurd degree!
In the next instant, Bai Ye exited his ghost form in mid-air, as even though his ghostly form could fly, it couldn't touch the soccer ball.
The moment he exited his ghost form, Bai Ye activated his Phoenix ability again and kicked at the soccer ball.
Bang!
Flames erupted, and the ball, now ablaze, shot downwards.
Looking at the ball's trajectory, Bai Ye rejoiced.
Aiming for the corner flag was indeed the right strategy. This time, the ball was heading towards the goal.
Just as it seemed like a goal was imminent...
"Lucario!" one of the Chosen Ones shouted, "Psychic!"
Lucario focused on the ball, red light flashing in its eyes. Immediately, an invisible force appeared.
With a bang!
The flames surrounding the soccer ball suddenly dissipated, and the ball then hung suspended about half a meter in front of the goal line.
"Psychic powers?" Bai Ye cursed, "This is cheating! How is this supposed to be a goal?"
The four opposing Chosen Ones looked on with disdain. You could teleport, you could fly, you were practically a cheater yourself, and you had the nerve to call others out?
On the other side, Lucario's face showed a smug smile as it walked towards the ball, intending to embrace it.
But just then...
Suddenly, in front of the soccer ball, the air rippled, and a blurry figure unexpectedly appeared there.
Then...
Lucario was greatly alarmed!
Bai Ye was overjoyed!
It was Gengar!
Gengar used its invisibility to suddenly appear before the goal. Before Lucario could lunge, Gengar twisted its body and nudged the ball into the goal with its rear.
"Goal..."
The giant screen immediately displayed the word "Goal," and the score changed to 1-0!
Bai Ye immediately rushed over to hug Gengar, then hoisted it over his head and began sprinting towards his own half of the field.
Jin Sha smiled and raised her right hand, high-fiving Bai Ye. Then Bai Ye was tackled by Goodra, falling onto the ground.
The four opposing Chosen Ones had grim expressions as they placed the ball at the center circle.
One of them impatiently said to Bai Ye, "Are we done yet? It's just one goal, hurry up!"
Bai Ye got up from the ground, choosing to ignore the opponent. This was the impotent rage of a team that had conceded a goal. He was magnanimous and wouldn't stoop to verbal sparring.
Resettling in position and waiting for the kickoff, Bai Ye cautiously covered his lower body.
Those scoundrels were playing dirty, aiming kicks at places they shouldn't.
However, after the restart, the opposing team did not immediately launch a quick attack. Instead, they began passing the ball back and forth.
Jin Sha walked over to Bai Ye and said, "They're probably waiting for the second half."
Bai Ye glanced at the screen. There were 47 seconds left in the first half, with at most a minute and a half of stoppage time. The opponents probably weren't planning to attack anymore but were instead regrouping to strategize for the second half.
But at that moment...
"Sawarang, Megaton Kick!"
One of the Chosen Ones suddenly shouted. Immediately, Sawarang, having received the ball, kicked it with all its might towards the sky.
Bai Ye and Jin Sha couldn't help but look up...
What was going on?
The kick was incredibly powerful and directly aimed at the goal.
However, at such a long distance, even with the boost of a summoned beast's skill, it was almost impossible to score. Firstly, accuracy was extremely difficult to control, and secondly, the Metagross at the goal wasn't just for show. It would surely be able to save the ball from this distance.
But, at this moment...
Another Chosen One yelled, "Arcanine, Dust Devil!"
Instantly, Arcanine near the center circle began to run. As Arcanine ran, a large amount of sand and dust was kicked up from the surroundings, creating a hazy fog that obscured a large area.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Bai Ye and Jin Sha coughed incessantly.
"Intercept from the air!" Jin Sha decisively commanded, "Aerodactyl, Scyther, bring the ball down!"
It wasn't just Bai Ye who could fly; Jin Sha also had two summoned beasts capable of flight. Sneak attacks from high up were not going to work.
But...