Chapter 31: Too Violent!

Sawamura only threw one pitch, and the atmosphere at the scene was instantly ignited.

In an instant, everyone in the audience became Sawamura's fan, while Senku High School, who was competing against Seidou High School, became the villain.

"These guys are too inconsiderate!"

A player in the Senku High School dugout angrily looked at the spectators who had turned against them in the stands and felt a surge of betrayal and anger in his heart.

You have to understand, that this is not Seidou High School's home base in Tokyo. This is Gunma Prefecture, the home base of Senku High School.

In their own home base, the fans from Gunma were not supporting them but supporting their opponents.

The players from Senku High School now felt like they had been abandoned by the entire world.

Instead of giving up in frustration, they were fueled by their anger and became even fiercer.

A trapped beast still fights!

The more desperate a person is, the easier it is for their ferocity to be unleashed.

Most of Senku High School's players were like this.

With their eyes bloodshot, they raised their fists and angrily cheered for their teammates on the field!

"Hit it!"

"Hit it out!"

"Let them see the fighting spirit of our Senku!"

"Don't think just because you're from Tokyo you're amazing!"

Clearly, the players from Senku High School had lost their minds and were now firing off insults.

Fortunately, the noise from the surrounding audience was so loud that their shouts were drowned out, and there wasn't even a ripple.

Otherwise, if reporters had heard it, it could have easily caused unnecessary trouble.

The first batter from Senku High School on the field was tense and stiff.

Though he didn't clearly hear his teammates' cheers, seeing their angry faces, he could roughly guess what they were saying.

It was nothing more than urging him to show some fight and hit the ball.

It sounded easy, but if the opponent's pitch were that easy to hit, wouldn't it be better to just swing and hit the ball directly, instead of standing here in a deadlock?

He cast a fearful glance at Sawamura on the pitcher's mound, and the first batter of Senku High School felt like his emotions were all over the place.

In the dugout, Superintendent Oda rubbed his bald head and cautiously observed the batter.

He knew very well the limits of his students.

When it came to the batter, being able to hit Sawamura's pitch seemed unbelievable.

'But he was that far off in timing!'

When the batter swung just now, it was clearly much too late.

By the time the ball passed through the strike zone, his swing hadn't even completed halfway.

"How could it be this different?"

Sawamura's pitch speed was just over 145 km/h, maxing out at 148 km/h.

In high school, though considered a fastball, it shouldn't be enough to suppress his student into such a miserable state.

After all, they weren't some weak team, but the runner-up in Gunma Prefecture.

Though they might have a little bit of luck as runners-up, their strength was undeniable.

Without strength, how could they make it this far?

Like their first batter, he definitely wasn't the type to be easily bullied.

Whrroosh!

Before Superintendent Oda could figure out what had happened, Sawamura threw his second pitch.

This time, the first batter of Senku High School was clearly mentally prepared. He swung his bat early.

Clearly, he had silently calculated the timing of his swing in his mind.

But unfortunately, he still failed to make contact.

He could only watch as Sawamura's pitch passed through the strike zone.

Superintendent Oda in the dugout suddenly widened his eyes.

He looked at the ball in Miyuki Kazuya's Mitt in disbelief, then turned to look at Sawamura on the pitcher's mound.

'The batter's swing was actually still too late?'

'Even though Sai (the batter) had preemptively adjusted his timing, he still couldn't hit Sawamura's pitch?'

Superintendent Oda felt as though he were watching an incredible magic show.

He couldn't understand the key to it, and he felt that Sawamura's pitching was truly amazing.

If Superintendent Oda, who was watching from the sidelines, could tell it was abnormal, not to mention the batter on the field.

To the batter, Sawamura's pitching was like magic.

'It was incredible.'

He couldn't even see the release point of the pitch, and suddenly the ball flew toward him.

By the time he reacted, it was already too late to swing.

The first time, he could vaguely see where the ball was released, but the second time, he couldn't see it at all…

If you can't see the release point of the ball, it feels like Sawamura's pitch speed increased by about 10 km/h.

'To hit this kind of pitch, it's already too late to wait and see the ball, then step by step swing the bat.

'You must be ready in advance!'

'About 0.2 seconds in advance!!!'

Senku High School's first batter suddenly felt like Sherlock Holmes.

His brain was working so well that he could instantly understand the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent's pitching.

The next task was to figure out how to hit Sawamura's pitch.

As long as he could hit the Maou's pitch, it would drastically change the current unfavorable situation on the field.

'Bring it!!!'

At first, he was terrified, thinking he had no hope. Now, he suddenly saw a glimmer of hope for hitting the ball, and his motivation was completely fired up.

Then he saw Sawamura wind up and throw the ball.

During the pitching process, because of Sawamura's Mitt and chest covering, he couldn't see the release point.

This meant he had to swing earlier.

Originally, his rhythm was 1-2-3, but now he silently counted 1-2 in his mind and had to swing the bat immediately.

'Here it comes!'

Seeing the ball released, he silently counted "one, two," and then swung his bat.

During the swing, the batter felt in excellent form.

It felt as though he was in control of everything.

In his mind, he even imagined what would happen after he made contact with the ball.

But when he finished his swing, he didn't hear the sound of the bat hitting the ball.

'Where's the ball?'

Time passed, a long time.

Behind him, a crisp sound of the ball being caught in a Mitt echoed.

Snap!

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

Even if the batter was confused, he knew by now that he had been tricked.

The ball wasn't any ordinary pitch.

'It was a Change-up!'

Miyuki, who was behind the plate, smiled coldly.

He was like a puppeteer pulling the strings from behind the scenes, perfectly controlling the batter's every move.

'It felt great.'

Sawamura, on the pitcher's mound, gave Miyuki a thumbs-up.

In fact, the batter's ability wasn't bad, but compared to Miyuki, it was on a completely different level.

For Seidou High School, their defense was easy and enjoyable.

But for the players of Senku High School, the Seidou High School team was just too cruel.

They felt like they had been deceived, but they had no idea where they had been tricked.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

On the pitcher's mound, Sawamura seemed to have flipped the Demon King's mode on. The pitch in his hands became sharper and sharper, making the batters crumble.

He quickly struck out the remaining two batters, causing Senku High School to go down in order.

Three strikeouts in a row!

The crazed performance of the Demon King also ignited the fans' enthusiasm.

They stood up excitedly, clapping their hands and waving anything they could wave.

The atmosphere reached a climax.

Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.

The players returned to the dugout.

Coach Kataoka took the initiative to ask them about the strength of their opponents.

This would serve as an important reference for his next attack.

Though the players felt the opponent was not as strong as they had originally thought, based on the quality the players showed earlier, they were not bad.

At this moment, they naturally did not dare to speak too freely.

"We've already studied their data; we'll play steadily," Coach Kataoka immediately gave orders for the offensive tactics.

"I want you to go all out from the start and take advantage of the rhythm Sawamura made!"

"YES SIR!!!"

There was no harm in going all out for an inning to see what the opponent's defense was like.

Although the time was short and the opponent was not a primary focus for Seidou High School, Seidou had still gathered some information on Senku High School.

They had studied the opponent's pitcher abilities as well as their fielding habits.

Seidou High School had researched some key aspects.

From the data, it was clear that the opponent was not weak.

Of course, whether they lived up to the reputation needed to be verified by Seidou's direct examination.

"First batter, shortstop, Kuramochi-kun!"

The first batter to step into the box was Kuramochi.

He stood confidently in the Batter's Box, holding his bat.

From the previous game footage, Kuramochi could tell there was nothing too special about the pitcher in front of him.

'The ball speed was only 130 km/h, and the breaking balls weren't outstanding. The only impressive skill was his control.'

'He had good control, able to throw both inside and outside corners.'

'Such an opponent, if allowed to find a rhythm, could become a troublesome player!'

Hakuryu High School, known for its mobility, had only scored six runs off this team.

That was over a full nine innings, averaging just one run every one-and-a-half innings.

'It seems that getting runs won't be as easy as we thought.'

Kuramochi's eyes darkened, and he raised his bat.

As expected, the opponent started with a front guard defense.

Although the range of the forward movement wasn't large, the stance was firm.

Immediately, Kuramochi adjusted his strategy according to the different opponents.

Kuramochi realized that the opponent was tougher than he had expected.

'This is interesting!'

Although his hitting power had improved recently, the impression he left on others was still his speed.

Senku High School was clearly wary of this and didn't seem to want to give Kuramochi any chance to showcase his skills.

'How naive!'

'Do they really think they can stop me, Kuramochi-cheetah-sama, with such a simple tactic?'

'It's a dream!'

Whoosh!

The opponent's ball flew over, and Kuramochi remained motionless in the Batter's Box.

He watched the ball enter the catcher's Mitt.

Snap!

"BALL!!!"

The baseball grazed the edge of the strike zone.

The catcher of Senku High School gritted his teeth in frustration.

Kuramochi had always given the impression of being a fiery, reckless player. The catcher had expected him to swing actively.

But instead, Kuramochi stood there with calm composure.

Not only was his speed incredible, but his ability to pick pitches was precise as well.

'With this approach, it would be impossible to solve him with corner balls.'

After forming a new plan in his mind, the Senku catcher reluctantly changed strategies.

He began using 'fishing' pitches.

As his strategy changed, the defense of Senku High School also underwent significant adjustments.

In Seidou High School's dugout,

Miyuki clasped his hands on his waist and murmured,

"Just as Watanabe said, their defense is completely different from ours. It's built around the whole team, with the players cooperating with the pitcher to form a cohesive defensive system..."

He was deep in thought, analyzing.

Sawamura rolled his eyes in response.

"And their weaknesses are just as obvious!"

Senku High School's defense had its own unique features, but it also had clear weaknesses.

A web that is too large and complete will inevitably become weak in certain areas.

If you focus on attacking one spot, you'll tear through their defense.

"Should we remind him?"

Miyuki looked at Sawamura.

Sawamura shook his head. "No need!"

Finding the opponent's weaknesses and loopholes had become second nature to Kuramochi Youichi.

He didn't need anyone to remind him; he'd probably already figured it out himself.

Snap!

"STRIKE!"

On the second pitch, Kuramochi still didn't swing.

His steady attitude stunned the battery duo of Senku High School.

'Could someone explain what's going on in this guy's head?'

The Senku catcher had no choice but to adjust his strategy once again.

The bait can't stay in one place forever. If there are no fish in this spot, it's impossible to catch anything.

'It was time to move.'

He quickly changed position and threw out the bait again, waiting for Kuramochi to take it.

The second pitch flew over.

Kuramochi stood motionless in the Batter's Box again.

'Is he getting cold feet?'

The Senku catcher's heart skipped a beat.

His mind was heavy, but he still tried to think through the strategy for the next pitch.

If Kuramochi didn't swing at this pitch, then the next one...

Before he could come to a conclusion, a dark shadow appeared in front of him.

The once calm and steady Kuramochi Yoichi had suddenly swung his bat.

Ping!

Without any suspense, the baseball was blasted away to the outfield.

"Hyaa-ha-haa!"

Kuramochi ran to first base with a laugh.

By the time he reached first base, the Senku catcher still couldn't react.

'What just happened?'

'Everything happened so suddenly!'

…

T/N: Well, That's it for now.

As always, Thank you all for reading!!

Have a good day people!

You also can check my Patre0n for extra Chapters.

https://www.patre0n.com/ColdColt

There are +150 Chapters there.