Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Left-handed Fireballer Descends
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Bwaaaang---!!
“……!!”
The thunderous roar echoed as if it would rip the catcher's mitt apart. Ma Cho-won stood frozen, eyes wide in shock.
The umpire hesitated for a split second before calling it.
“S-Strike…!!”
Stunned by Seong-muk's monstrous fastball, the crowd rushed to check the scoreboard. And there it was.
-160km The left-handed fireballer rumored to drag pitches straight from hell had shattered the 160km barrier—a velocity only the chosen elite could touch.
“Wooooaaahhh……!!!”
The iconic number sent the fans into a frenzy. There was something about it that made hearts race.
💬 Comments — Anonymous ????? 160 for real??? — Fanboy123 Whoa, insane. Speed gun broken or what????? — GaljuStan Lmao Galju comes in and drops a monster right away ;; Our Yasuk confirmed ㅅㅅㅅㅅㅅ — SpeedDemon ↳ Reply Sheeeesh~ lmao ⭐ Top Comment — GayForGeum Seong-muk hyung, I'm turning gay starting today…. — StadiumVibes Venue atmosphere is straight wild rn lmao. This a game we're losing?? — CasualFan Ma Cho-won throws 160 too, why the fuss? ↳ Reply Noob, lefty 160 = righty 160? Lmao ↳ Reply Shut up and go read that pinklon guide for lefties the wise one posted recently — ScoutDream ??: Busan Cups select him. Munhyeok High lefty pitcher Geum Seong-muk. ↳ Reply Dude no need to curse Galju to Busan lmao. He's perfect for Gangnam Yankees. ↳ Reply Chill on the bullshit ;; Coming to Gangseo Mets next year ㅇㅇ ↳ Reply Nah, only Ansan Phillies can keep the Galju character alive. ⚙ LIVE BROADCAST ⚙ [1st pitch...!! Player Geum Seong-muk clocks 160km right out the gate! Ma Cho-won couldn't even twitch!!] [His previous top speed was 158km, right? And this isn't even a start he prepped for as a pitcher—straight to 160km!] “Haha, uhaha…!”
Ma Cho-won let out a hollow chuckle.
He radiated pure delight at the absurdity of it all.
“Nice, great job, Geum Seong-muk…! Let's clash man to man!!”
Ma Cho-won's eyes gleamed as he awaited the next pitch. Seong-muk fired the second with a quick motion. Ma Cho-won's bat swung like it had been waiting.
‘Yeah, this one's going over the fence for sure…, what!!’
Bwack!!
“Strike!!”
Ma Cho-won's bat whiffed at the pitch tailing off the outer edge. He'd been completely fooled by Seong-muk's signature circle changeup.
“Urgh, throwing offspeed in a man's duel…!!”
Count now 0-2—heavily in the pitcher's favor.
That's when Seong-muk pulled off something no one saw coming.
⚙ LIVE BROADCAST ⚙ [Whoa, Player Geum Seong-muk suddenly pulls the ball out and shows it to the batter…?! Th-That's!] [Fastball grip…!!? Player Geum Seong-muk is telegraphing a straight fastball next!!] “………!!”
An unimaginable telegraph fastball.
If that's what you want, I'll throw one—Geum Seong-muk's bold declaration left Ma Cho-won doubting his eyes. The internet exploded again at his unorthodox flair.
💬 Comments — LmaoKing Pffff lmao this is Galju energy — AlphaMale ??: Fastball? Here, hit it you punk lmao — ManlyVibes Ultimate alpha male ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ — TeamGalju Kyah, perfect fit for Gwangju Red Sox ↳ Reply Nah, heading to Gangdong Angels ㅅㄱ ↳ Reply Lmao why Gangdong Angels? Incheon Marlins maybe — TrollMaster If it were me I'd telegraph fastball then throw changeup again ㅇㅇ ↳ Reply Fr lmao Ma Cho-won pissed, easy fool ↳ Reply Take the heat, snag K—pure honey ↳ Reply Galju too manly for that, but it'll mess with batter's head lmao “You're a true man, Geum Seong-muk…!!”
Ma Cho-won never expected a straight-up power clash. Seong-muk's move deeply impressed him.
‘The national team camp coming up is gonna be fun…!’
But in that instant, Daegwallyeong High's manager Yu Hui-woong rushed onto the field, raising both hands high.
“Time, time…!!”
“………??”
Ma Cho-won blinked in confusion at the sudden interruption. Yu Hui-woong cut straight to it.
“Cho-won, this could be a trap…!!”
“Huh? Trap…!?”
“Yeah, that Geum Seong-muk's slyer than he looks. He'll telegraph a fastball then sneak an offspeed—totally his style…!!”
“Manager, but from what I see, that guy's…”
“Anyway! Stay sharp…!! I warned you!”
In case Seong-muk actually threw heat, Yu Hui-woong hedged with vague warnings like “he might.”
He meant to help, but he'd just cluttered Ma Cho-won's mind.
‘Geum Seong-muk's telegraph… could be a lie…?’
Ma Cho-won finally scrutinized the situation. First, Seong-muk's face.
‘He's smirking—one corner of his mouth up…?!’
The sleazy grin of liars he'd seen before. Next, the catcher's mitt work looked suspicious.
‘Slamming the mitt on the ground over and over—dropping ball maybe…!?’
‘Urgh, no. My gut still says fastball…!’
‘But if the manager's right and it's offspeed…?’
Ma Cho-won tore himself apart between logic and instinct. Seong-muk wound up big with a grin.
‘…Man, your confusion's showing way too much.’
Pwaaaang!!
The ball exploded from Seong-muk's fingertips.
By now, Ma Cho-won's mind had narrowed to one choice.
‘Fastball, fastball!’
The incoming pitch was undeniably straight heat. Ma Cho-won swung triumphantly.
‘Haha! This matchup's mine…, no!?’
It looked perfect. Having seen heat once, this one had to clear the fence.
But Seong-muk's fastball dodged the bat, slamming arrogantly into the mitt with a boom.
Bwaaaang---!!!!
“Strikeout!!”
“Uhyoooo……!!”
⚙ LIVE BROADCAST ⚙ [Ahh, strikeout!! Player Geum Seong-muk utterly crushes Daegwallyeong's star Ma Cho-won!!] [Uhyo ceremony echoes through Jongmyo Stadium! "I am Geum Seong-muk," he roars to the world…!!!] ⚙ LIVE BROADCAST ⚙ [161km fastball! He actually threw the telegraph! Ma Cho-won crushed in a pure power duel! This has to sting Daegwallyeong's pride!!] [Exactly! Their whole lineup prides itself on handling heat, but getting shut down like this? Mental hit unavoidable…!] Ma Cho-won stood blankly at the plate, staring in disbelief. It seemed like a simple power clash, but Seong-muk had orchestrated the whole thing.
‘That guy's skill is a real pain.’
Ma Cho-won's S-grade skill Instinctively sensed danger through his unique intuition. Without planting doubts via the paranoid manager Yu Hui-woong, fooling him wouldn't have been this easy.
‘Once offspeed lingers in his head, even aiming straight disrupts the timing.’
Hitters are fragile too—subtle shifts wreck their mechanics, especially big-swing power guys.
But Ma Cho-won didn't see it that way.
‘If my head had been clear… could I have hit that…?’
He shook his head.
He was convinced even at full strength, it was unhittable. Seong-muk's fastball rocketed with terrifying power.
With Ma Cho-won down, runners on first, two out.
“Urgh, Geum Seong-muk. Wasn't expecting this…”
Groaning as he stepped up, cleanup hitter #5 Altan. True to his Mongolian build, he was sturdy and fired up.
But after Ma Cho-won got worked? Altan wasn't ready for Seong-muk's stuff.
Bwaaaang---!!!!
“Strike oooout!!”
“Wh-What kind of pitch is this…!!”
“Uhyoooot……!!”
Seong-muk roared, fists clenched.
Another 160km fastball sent Altan packing. The crowd cheered his surprise appearance shutting down Daegwallyeong's heart of the order.
💬 Comments — ChantLeader Seong-muk up! Seong-muk up! [repeats x12] — KidDreamer Mommy, I wanna be Geum Seong-muk when I grow up…!! ↳ Reply ??: Son, wake up…. — SoupLad Altan cut lmao just prime dorito? — PunMaster How's a guy's name a soup dish Goat lmao ↳ Reply Seolleongtang lmao ↳ Reply Nakji tangtang lmao ↳ Reply Tang Wei lmao ↳ Reply Dumbasses, not every tang works lmao Seong-muk wrapped the inning in just 7 pitches—enough to eye the bottom of the 8th too.
‘Might as well give Dong-hyeok a breather and toss a bit more.’
Ri Dong-hyeok had four straight starts counting the next game against Hancheong High. He'd get lit anyway, but one inning from Seong-muk would ease the load.
“…Urgh, shameful. Lost man-to-man.”
Ma Cho-won took the mound, berating himself for the loss to Seong-muk. Eyes blazing, he gripped the ball tight.
“I'll make up for this mistake from the mound…!!”
Bwack!!
Ma Cho-won went wild with 160km heat from his raw delivery. Down by 4, they needed runs, but Munhyeok went down scoreless again.
“Damn, night and day from Cheon Dong-chan…”
“...Hate to admit it, but he's the real deal.”
Munhyeok's defense returned swiftly.
Seong-muk climbed the mound once more.
And neatly dispatched the rest.
Thwack!
“Out…!”
Bwaaaang---!!
“Strike, out!!”
Bottom 8th, two out before they knew it.
2 strikes, 2 balls—only one pitch left to throw.
Daegwallyeong's #8 Kim Do-hoon gritted his teeth and read the situation.
‘19 pitches already—one more and he's done. Gotta grab count here. Straight fastball for sure…!’
The batter committed.
Swinging at the 5th pitch he pegged as heat—but it whiffed empty.
‘Fuck, sweeper off the plate here…!?’
Bwack!!
“Strike out!!”
Kim Do-hoon got duped by the sweeper dropping out of the zone. Seong-muk stuffed 20 pitches into the frame, shut it down, and descended the mound with a relieved sigh.
‘Phew, wrapped it up myself. Issue's Ma Cho-won now…’
One last at-bat left, and the opposing pitcher's still Ma Cho-won. At 31 pitches, he'd likely max the 50-pitch limit.
‘Believe in you guys…!!’
He'd done his part.
Now, teammates needed to deliver for the win.
Top of the 9th—Munhyeok's final regular-inning at-bat.
Down 11-7, their last desperate push for the Sejong tournament slot began.