Chapter 111: The Lionesse and Dioganose Team Clubs

"Do you plan on going there now?" Saga was speechless.

"Why not?" Jim laughed, "after all we are all energized by this dancing ball and can vent out some steam there."

The team stopped in tracks and gradually the words of Jim started to seep deeper inside their minds. "I know the way," Kro said, "but the fees…"

"Don't worry, I'll handle this," Jim confidently said.

"I'm not talking about the rent," Kro said before explaining, "what I meant is the gears needed to play."

"Gears?" Jim was oblivious to this, "what gears?"

"Gloves, knee guards, chest plates, shoulder guards… many are needed to be bought," Rick said before adding, ''not to mention the ace gears… if the ace didn't use better grade boots and wings, he won't be able to overcome the defenders."

"Wings?" Ashley asked in surprise, "the ace will wear wings?"

"That's certain," Tina chuckled, "the ace can use any gear to boost his speed, and what is better than wings out there?"

"Oh… I never knew that," Ashley muttered while Rick added, "the highest grade wings are very rare. Forget about being expensive, just buying a pair of wings of decent grade will require not only fortune but good connection."

"Indeed," Rick nodded before adding, "I doubt we can find such a high end gear here or even be able to acquire it. the wings here might be… slightly lacking."

"At least they'll help," Jim said before adding, "may I ask why the Casons are considered the best aces?"

"Because of their compatibility with the wings," Kro sighed, "each Cason has a place for the wings naturally placed on their backs."

"Some even claim that the first maker of these wings was a Cason clan member and so he made them to fit their own," Roo said, "but I personally don't believe such rumors."

"But it makes quite sense," Jenny said.

"It doesn't actually," Rick said, "many tried to use other things to replace the wings, or even change their initial design… no matter what the gear was, the Casons always were the best to use it."

"Strange," Jim muttered, "even the leg gears?"

"Yes," Rick nodded, "but don't mind that… after all not all Casons are legends. I recall that most of the teams use Casons, yet not all the top teams are."

Jim knew that Rick said these words to reassure him, and he appreciated that gesture of him.

"Who will be the hitters? And who is going to be the tankers?" Deno asked, and the three who knew everything about the game took the turn of answering and explaining, making Jim better understand about this game.

"The defenders should be those with big bodies, but the hitters shouldn't," Rick said.

"The hitter should be fast, not delayed by his huge body. That's of course to catch the ace," Roo said.

"Then what's the role of the tankers?" Ashley asked.

"They act as the last line of defense to stop the ace from reaching the final line," Rick said, "the hitters are the frontal line of attack, while the defenders are the last line."

"And the decoys?" Jim asked, "the shapeshifters?"

He pointed toward the five lucky shapeshifters who smiled in pride. After all everyone here might or not have a role inside the game, but they already secured their spots in the team.

"They will mimic the external appearance of the ace," Kro said, "their role is to cause chaos and confusion to the opponent team, not to participate in any clash."

"But…" Jim had a thought in his mind, "is there a rule to prevent them from playing like hitters or tankers?"

The three exchanged silent glances before Saga said:

"Doing so would only expose you," she paused before adding, "that means the entire opponent team would move towards you and ignore everyone else."

"That…" Jim had many thoughts in his mind before adding, "let's see how well we'll do in the training session… who wants to be a tanker, and who wants to be a hitter?"

As he asked, many already raised their hands to participate. Jim knew it was really hard to select from these excellent members, "at least I know the ace and the decoys," he muttered before adding, "how many can we have?"

"In the entire team?" Rick said, "no limit for this, but for those inside the field only ten can be there at any given time."

"We can add all," Roo suggested, "as who knows who might get hurt during the game."

"Hurt?" Jim was speechless when he heard that, "is it a dangerous game?"

"Hahaha, you'll soon see," Rick laughed, "we are almost there."

"How do you know the road?" Jim couldn't help but ask.

"I'm a big fan of one team here in the ultimatum league," Rick said.

"The Lionesse team?" Kro asked with anticipation.

"Lionesse? Hell no, I love chicks but only in bed, not in the field," Rick said in disdain, "I support the Dioganose team."

"Loser," Roo said before adding in a mocking tone, "your team sucks! They always lost in front of the ladies."

"That's only because the referee was partial to them in recent years, humph… if the game was fair in the last five years then your beloved ladies wouldn't have even sniffed the scent of the cup!"

"Empty words coming from the last ten years straight second in line," Kro sarcastically laughed.

"Easy boys," Jim stopped them before this escalated into something more intense than intended, "they will be our opponents as well."

"I can't believe I would play one day against the Lionesse," Kro said in a dreaming tone.

"Damn! Even you Rick wouldn't reject playing against such beauties," Roo said while hitting Rick with his elbow.

And Rick only sighed and said nothing.

"Finally we are here," arriving at the grand stadium here made the team silent and amazed.

The stadium was really majestic, with high seats flying in the air; all arranged inside a big circle.

As for the field itself, they couldn't see any of it from their position outside.