The Host pointed at Lexa's neck. "That there, it's diamond right?" Lexa nodded. "Will you take it?"
The Host nodded. "It's the lowest mineral resource we have here on BlueStar, but it's still worth Something, I'll take it."
Lexa rolled her eyes as she took off the diamond necklace. She understood Blue star was a much higher civilization than earth, but why degrade the diamond if she was still going to take it?
The host handed them a sleek, pitch black card. "You may go in. The tournament is starting in thirty minutes"
What of the tournament Board?" Zayne asked.
The host waved for them to go in "It's Already been drawn up."
Riley inhaled as they walked into the dome-like building.
Lexa clapped Zayne's back. "You wanted to play against something more didn't you? Here it is, don't flop it."
Krystal fc stared at the tournament board. thankfully, they weren't playing until after the second game. In other words, they had time to watch their opponents and familiarize themselves first.
"We are playing... Lexa's eyes scanned the tournament board as she spoke. Nebular Sparks."
"Wheew!" Riley exclaimed. "They sound tough." Zayne cracked his knuckles. "It's nothing we can't handle."
Lexa looked around her. "Search for our opponents first." The rest of the team didn't know what she was planning, so they started looking around for the Nebular Sparks team.
In no time, Lucas had spotted them clustered in one corner.
"Oh, they're huge..." Ethan gasped. Lexa's eyes locked onto their coach for a moment, then she started walking towards them, beckoning on her team to follow her.
The boys walked behind her, their strange attire drawing attention from the other players.
Before they reached the Nebular sparks, the opposing coach had sighted them.
The man licked his lips and the sight almost made Lexa's team puke. The Nebular Sparks had forked tongues, just like a snakes'.
"That's disgusting..." Maxwell whispered.
All of a sudden, they felt a weird presence around them, Max suddenly felt a hand wrap around him from behind. "Did you say something...Buddy?"
He licked Max's face with his forked tongue and Krystal Fc was immediately enraged. In a moment, Zayne had blitzed over to where his younger brother was and he pushed the Nebular Sparks member hard, causing him to stagger. The atmosphere was immediately tensed as they got the attention of the entire room of football teams.
"Veyla!" The opposing team coach called, his voice stern.
However, Veyla, the troublesome Nebula Sparks player didn't even budge. "Hey... why you staring me up like that... wanna fight?"
Veyla showcased his tongue again, allowing spittle to trail from them. Zayne's face flickered with annoyance. However, Lexa walked towards Veyla.
"Big guy, let's settle it on the pitch, huh? How about that?" Lexa asked, stretching her hand for a shake.
"Tch!" Veyla sneered, slapping her hand away.
Lexa exhaled slowly. "We must humble them..."
The tournament was kicking off in ten minutes, and Lexa had already gotten a little familiar with the possible teams that she could play. Now, they had to go over their normal formation once again.
Krystal Fc gathered together as Lexa started to make use of the little coaching board they were given. "So our starting line up will be..." Lexa paused for a moment as she pondered something. This was a new style of football, she wasn't accustomed to it. So she had to come up with new terms, new tactics, Lexa bit her lips a little.
She had been working on a new tactics for a while, but it wasn't for her adult team. It was for an ice football team of six players that her younger sister was coaching. She had gotten the idea from a basketball team. Lexa inhaled before she continued.
"Our starting Lineup will be The GK obviously, Zayne, Riley, Damian, Leo, Ethan and Lucas." the players nodded. It was satisfactory. Lexa nodded. "We all know about basketball and how it works, we'll adopt a similar form, everyone attacks, everyone defends. Fortunately, the games only last twenty minutes, we should be strong enough to pull that off, and we have substitutions too, alright?"
"Yes coach!" the players replied simultaneously.
Lexa then went ahead to explain the tactics more broadly, and then explained the role everyone had to them.
"That's all for now" Lexa said standing up. The players nodded. "Oh and remember," Lexa said. "We are playing against Aliens, don't expect a normal game."
"Yes Coach!"
Lexa cracked her knuckles as the buzzer sounded for the first match to begin. "Remember, if you plan to give only your hundred percent, then you're already losing. Let's play for Earth!"
The first match of the Celestial Cup tournament was between Shadow Strikers and Azure Comets, and it was already underway. The players walked into the pitch as the commentator began talking.
Starting Lineup, Azure Comets.
Captain: Kaelen (Winger) - Blazing speed, unstoppable runs.
Striker: Elrik - Deadly from any angle.
Midfielder: Farynn - Creative genius, perfect long passes.
Midfielder: Sylis - Controls tempo, calm under pressure.
Defender: Ryvek - Unshakable, reads plays before they happen.
Defender: Tessa - Swift tackles, great aerial ability.
Goalkeeper: Harken - The "Wall of Azure," impossible to beat in 1v1s.
Shadow Strikers
Captain: Xyros (Midfielder) - A silent playmaker with unmatched vision.
Striker: Vexar - Lightning-fast, ruthless finisher.
Winger: Zyna - Agile, deceptive dribbler.
Midfielder: Orrek - A rock in midfield, excellent passer.
Defender: Drakos - Towering wall, unbeatable in duels.
Defender: Velkor - Sharp tackler, highly disciplined.
Goalkeeper: Zorth - Reflexes beyond human limits.
The captains of the two teams, Xyros and Kaelen stood in front of the referee, choosing sides of the coin to toss. Max shrugged. "At least they still
flip the coin here." Riley nodded. "Yeah, I guess it's still football."
Pii! The winged robot who was the referee signalled for the match to begin, then it flew a few metres into the sky, officiating the first match of the Celestial Cup from there.