Kai felt genuinely pleased.
In last year's Champions League final, his advice to Peter Schmeichel clearly hadn't gone to waste. Now, whenever players connected with Manchester United saw him, they'd probably give him a thumbs-up—win or lose.
"Schmeichel's Roaring Skill: There is only one true 'Golden Retriever Lion King' in football—that's Oliver Kahn. But besides Kahn, there have been plenty of fierce lions, and Peter Schmeichel is definitely one of them."
"Defensive movement +2, interception +2, tackle +2, block +5, clearance +5."
"When you shout instructions at your teammates, their morale increases, they understand your tactics more easily, and both their attacking and defensive abilities improve slightly."
"When you roar at your opponents, they're more likely to be intimidated, increasing their chances of making mistakes."
"Inside the penalty area, both the motivational and intimidation effects are doubled."
Damn… that's a serious mental buff.
And it didn't come out of nowhere.
Most fans, especially in China, haven't experienced many live matches. Even some football writers have never watched games in Europe's top leagues in person. But as broadcast audio quality improves, fans can now hear players and coaches shouting on the pitch more clearly.
Nowhere is that more obvious than in defense.
The defensive core, the captain, and especially the goalkeeper—they're constantly yelling, organizing, and commanding the back line. Without communication, the defense falls apart.
So yeah, having a loud, commanding voice isn't optional—it's essential.
A defender who doesn't shout? Good luck ever becoming elite.
This skill suited Kai perfectly. No need to even occupy inventory space—just pure, practical value.
If Schmeichel's drop was already impressive…
Then the next one was downright insane.
At least, the name alone sounded cooler.
"What is Ronaldo? Mario Jardel is the perfect example of a player whose talent isn't recognized by the national team. Even with Ronaldo injured for nearly two years, once he returns, he'll still be Brazil's first choice striker."
"Jumping +1, Strength +1, Heading +1, Shot Power +1, Finishing +5."
"Acquired blue skill: Lion's Head Shake."
"When facing Brazilian players, shooting ability increases by 30% (lasts five minutes, triggers once per match)."
…Damn.
You could practically feel Jardel's resentment toward Ronaldo baked into that skill.
Of course, it hadn't reached peak bitterness yet.
Give it a couple of years—once he still doesn't get called up to Brazil—he'll probably explode publicly, ranting about how Ronaldo does nothing for the national team but still walks into the World Cup squad.
Honestly, Jardel wouldn't be completely wrong.
Brazil's forward line is stacked beyond belief. Even legends like Romário got squeezed out. So him missing out? Understandable.
But at the same time, Brazil actually lacks a classic striker like Jardel. From a tactical and depth perspective, bringing him along would've made perfect sense.
"Lion's Head Shake: Enhances the power, speed, and angle of headers."
To be fair, Jardel did give Kai something useful.
This move shows up all the time on corners.
And despite the name, it's not about literally shaking your head like a madman—that's how you injure yourself.
Real technique comes from keeping your head, neck, and torso aligned, then generating force by twisting your waist and upper body.
For slower or weaker crosses, a normal header won't have enough power. That's when the "Lion's Head Shake" comes in—turning a soft touch into a dangerous strike.
…
May 10th.
Moreirense faced Gil Vicente away from home.
Before kickoff, Gil Vicente made their intentions crystal clear.
Their head coach said bluntly:
"We already dropped points against Fátima—that was a gift we shouldn't have missed. We're not letting Moreirense take anything from us. These three points are crucial on our road to the title. Moreirense exists to give us that value."
Arrogant as hell.
The whistle blew.
The match began.
Both sides tested each other early on, but Gil Vicente's players clearly carried more confidence.
Moreirense, after their winning streak, had built momentum—but against the league's top teams, there was still pressure.
It sounds strange, but it's real.
Even Jackie Chan once said he didn't realize how famous he was until long after he'd already become a star across Asia.
He thought he was worth 500,000—someone offered him 7 million without blinking.
Same thing here.
Moreirense's players could fight fearlessly against giants like Benfica or Sporting CP—because they didn't fully understand the gap.
But against top Liga teams like Gil Vicente?
They knew exactly how strong they were.
And that knowledge… weighed on them.
Add in Gil Vicente's "devil home stadium," and things got worse.
When Moreirense played in Lisbon, it almost felt like home—especially with Kai and Cristiano Ronaldo drawing energy from the crowd.
But here?
No comfort. No magic.
Just pressure.
And it showed.
Within five minutes, Gil Vicente took control.
Kai saw the problem immediately—but fixing it wasn't instant.
They had to adapt.
By the 15th minute, disaster struck.
Gil Vicente's high press exposed Moreirense's young center-back pairing.
First, Fonte underhit a pass to Pepe, gifting the opponent a loose ball.
Then Pepe panicked and sent a terrible back pass toward goalkeeper Ricardo—too close to goal, completely off angle.
Ricardo scrambled and managed a desperate save…
…but the rebound fell straight to a Gil Vicente forward.
Empty net.
Goal.
1–0.
Moreirense trailed.
Pepe and Fonte dropped their heads.
Ricardo shouted at them, furious—but it didn't change shit.
Kai sprinted back into defense.
"What the hell are you doing?" he snapped at Pepe and Fonte. "Game over already? You look like we should just walk off and start writing the post-match report!"
They looked up, stunned.
"Wake the hell up! It's one goal—just one! What, you've never conceded before?" Kai punched each of them lightly on the shoulder.
Then he turned to Ricardo.
"You three—talk it out. Mistakes happen. Don't carry that shit in your head."
He paused, then added with a grin:
"But don't let it happen again… or I can't promise Ronaldo won't beat the crap out of you after the match."
Ricardo couldn't help it—he burst out laughing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
I upload 2 chapters daily on Patreon!
There are 200+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.
📢 Check out my new Naruto fanfic!
[Marvel: Living the Laid-Back Life]