"He actually blocked Tokugawa's Glowing Shot? That Ling Xiu from England's got some skills, huh~" Irie said with mild surprise as he watched the screen.
'So Ling Xiu at his peak wasn't much weaker than Keith. Too bad that in the movie version, he was badly injured, and by the time Keith went on court, Ling Xiu's body had already given out,' Akashi thought silently as he watched the same match.
On court, Ling Xiu gritted his teeth through the pain in his arm and served again. He still infused qi into the ball, but the serve's speed had clearly dropped. It seemed Tokugawa's earlier Glowing Shot had taken its toll after all.
Duke, however, paid no mind. He stepped into position and crushed the ball with a powerful return. Against that destructive force, Ling Xiu's energy spheres had no effect at all.
Peter dashed to the net, holding his racket with both hands as he intercepted Duke's return, then aimed for the open right side and countered quickly. This time, he didn't use the Twin Stars technique. The match suddenly shifted into a normal rally.
The audience seemed almost unaccustomed to the sudden change. Compared to the divine-level exchange earlier, the current rally looked far more ordinary.
After seven or eight back-and-forths, Peter seized the chance and launched Four-Star Formation, his limit. But Duke instantly stepped in front of Tokugawa, took the full hit head-on, and unleashed another Duke Homerun, blasting both opponents' rackets from their hands.
"Game! Japan! 2–1!"
The fourth game was Duke's service game. He didn't rely on fancy techniques—just raw power. Every serve carried his destructive energy, making it almost impossible for Ling Xiu or Peter to maintain their balance upon return.
Tokugawa capitalized on their instability, scoring decisively. Peter could only grit his teeth in frustration; there was no effective counter. Ling Xiu managed to steady himself on the second ball, but Duke soon found another opening and exploited it cleanly.
"Game! Japan! 3–1!"
As Japan began pulling ahead, a middle-aged white man sitting in England's coaching area could no longer sit still. He glared at Ling Xiu and Peter with open contempt, cursing them in his heart.
He wasn't actually England's coach, but an executive from the English Tennis Association named Philip Brook. He had come to the World Cup specifically to supervise the Clack members.
Brook had originally opposed allowing anyone from Clack to represent England, calling it a disgrace to the nation's tennis image. But since the final decision wasn't his alone, and other senior officials supported it, he had no choice but to comply.
Now, watching Ling Xiu and Peter being crushed by their opponents—and with England's overall poor group-stage results—Brook's resentment toward Clack burned even stronger. In his mind, they were the cause of all this chaos.
"Game! Japan! 4–1!"
While Brook was already scheming how to shift the blame and punish the Clack members once he returned home, Japan took yet another game.
With Duke's transformation and Tokugawa's Divine Path of the Asura active, the power gap between both sides was now overwhelming. Earlier, Ling Xiu and Peter's Twin Stars technique had barely kept them in the fight. But as Tokugawa's understanding of qi deepened, their advantage completely vanished.
Even after Ling Xiu and Peter set aside their differences to cooperate, they still couldn't turn the tide.
During the timeout, Brook stormed over to the two, kicking over their water bottles and snarling coldly, "Useless trash! If not for the meddling of scum like you, how could England's tennis have fallen this far?! Do you have any idea how much damage you've done to the Association's reputation?!"
Peter's face darkened. His fists clenched tightly, his body trembling with fury, ready to explode—when a heavy impact suddenly echoed from behind him.
A burst of violent qi struck Brook squarely in the chest, sending him flying backward.
"Pathetic fool who knows nothing," a cold voice said.
Keith stood there, racket in hand, his expression like ice.
"Take a good look, Xiu. This is the real England tennis world today."
Ling Xiu turned to look at Keith, his face caught between confusion and hesitation, not sure what to say. The audience, however, had already turned their eyes toward him. To them, Keith had merely swung his racket into empty air—and somehow, their "coach" had been sent flying.
The Japan team noticed the scene too, but like everyone else, they had no idea what had just happened. The next development only made things even stranger.
Two England staff members rushed frantically onto the court. After a quick check of Brook's condition, they immediately lifted him onto a stretcher. It was clear that Brook had already lost consciousness.
"Seriously? Give me a break~ Did that England player just attack his own coach?" Omagari muttered in disbelief, staring blankly at the screen.
"It seems so. But from the footage, there's no visible evidence. That man is both smart and dangerous," Irie replied, pushing his glasses up with a grave expression.
"That idiot wasn't England's coach," Akashi said flatly.
"Philip Brook. Executive director of the English Tennis Association. Supposedly of noble descent, and someone with considerable influence inside the organization," Mitsuya added calmly as he read off the data he had gathered.
"A high-ranking official, huh? Then why would he show up courtside—sitting right in the coach's seat, no less? Looks like something interesting's going on with the England team~" Kimijima said, a knowing grin spreading across his face.
Over in the England bench, Leon and Eric stared at Keith in shock, joined by two other senior players, all of them frozen in confusion. Things had already spiraled far beyond anything they could handle.
But the umpire wasn't interested in what had happened. As long as the players were fine, the match had to go on. Under his urging, Ling Xiu and Peter reluctantly returned to the court.
Unfortunately, after Keith's earlier outburst, neither Ling Xiu nor Peter could fully focus. Both were silently worrying about how Keith would deal with the inevitable backlash from the Association.
Taking advantage of their distraction, Tokugawa easily claimed the fifth game with four Illusion Serves. Duke, noticing their deteriorating state, simply shook his head and gradually reined in his own overwhelming aura.
Ling Xiu managed to pull himself together for his service game, but Peter never recovered. His rhythm faltered, his movements were erratic, and even simple mistakes piled up. In the end, the match slipped away from them completely.
"Game! 6–1! Match over! Winner, Japan!"
"Nice job, boys! Go rest up first~" Coach Mifune called out as Duke and Tokugawa walked back to the bench.
As they returned, Akutsu stood up with his racket, clearly intending to take the court for the next singles match. But Byoudouin suddenly reached out and pressed him back into his seat.
"You bastard, what do you think you're doing?!" Akutsu snapped, glaring at him.
"I'll handle Singles Three myself," Byoudouin said calmly.
"Hah? Don't order me around!" Akutsu shot back, half rising again, but Byoudouin cut him off.
"Calm down, kid. The other countries have already studied my play in detail. But to them, you're still an unknown. This is just the group stage—you'll be needed when it really counts."
"Tch, boring. Doesn't matter who it is—I won't lose," Akutsu muttered with disdain, but he stopped trying to stand.
Satisfied, Byoudouin picked up his racket and strode toward the court. Around the stadium, scouts from various countries immediately sat up, their eyes sharpening the moment they realized who was entering the field.
"Next up, the Group B Singles Three match of the World Cup! England—Keith Joshua, First Year! Japan—Byoudouin Houou, Third Year! Players, please enter the court!"