Mejiro McQueen is making a Great Escape!
Behind her, the Emperor is wreaking havoc!
As soon as Symboli Rudolf's domain, like a minefield, spread over them, her opponents' pacing was thrown into disarray. The chaser group was almost completely wiped out by Symboli Rudolf in one fell swoop. That terrifying aura on the track fully displayed the Emperor's bearing as the strongest!
If one had to describe her domain in a single sentence, it would be this: Other runners are racing, but the Emperor is beating up the other runners!
That terrifying aura knocked all the other runners aside. The Emperor didn't even change lanes; she just forcefully carved a path straight through.
'So this is your ZONE. No wonder you don't like it.'
Watching the Emperor's burst of speed from the back of the pack, the small horse girl's previously lazy expression suddenly changed. A wild grin spread across Tamamo Cross's face, her eyes becoming momentarily vacant. A white arc of electricity flashed, and the next moment, a sound as if a thousand birds were chirping at once rang out. The runner stomped heavily on the turf and, like a bolt of lightning, chased after the Emperor's figure.
'Interesting. I think I'll raise some hell too!'
Tamamo Cross hadn't expected Symboli Rudolf to be this serious. She had originally planned to just breeze through this race, seeing as it was only a campus event. But now, she intended to win. Because that was the real Emperor. What horse girl wouldn't want to defeat an Emperor like that?
"Following closely behind Symboli Rudolf, Tamamo Cross, the legendary White Lightning, is also starting to surge forward!" Akasaka mechanically reported the situation, but to be honest, she was beginning to lose grasp of this race.
Are they really just entering the corner, and not the final stretch?
In the stands, two horse girls wore serious expressions.
"I never thought they'd use this kind of running style in a school event. Even for Symboli Rudolf, running a full race like this will leave her sore for days. Is the educational policy at Japan's Tracen Academy this aggressive now?"
Bōzoku was a bit stunned.
Is this really just a school event and not the Arc de Triomphe?
That Emperor is really going all out. And what kind of freaks are those two leading runners? They've completely thrown off the pace of the entire race. Seriously, few runners would ever run like this even in a normal G1 race. Even if you win this way, it puts an immense burden on your body.
Once or twice might be fine, but if you run too many races like this, the accumulated injuries will genuinely be fatal. It's precisely because of these limitations that traditional running styles have persisted to this day—because they are the most suitable way to race.
"Teacher, are the horse girls here all this fierce?"
Trêve was a little frightened, especially by that Emperor's domain. Was that person really racing? It looked more like she wanted to pick a fight on the track. How could anyone awaken that kind of domain? It's just too barbaric.
"..." Bōzoku fell silent.
She really wanted to know what Symboli Rudolf and the others had gone through recently to become like this. She looked at the other runners she had high hopes for; they had either failed at the gate or were being so oppressed by the Emperor's Zone that they couldn't even lift their heads. She didn't know how to explain this to Trêve.
This was completely different from the Japanese Tracen Academy she remembered.
In the commentary booth, the two senior commentators watched the race with grim expressions.
'A clash between domain-users!'
This was a spectacular sight one might not even witness in a G1 major stakes race.
After all, very few runners could enter the Zone, let alone completely master that power for their own use after entering it. Tamamo Cross and Symboli Rudolf were runners of that caliber.
Then, he glanced at the two runners at the very front.
Honestly, he couldn't quite figure these two out either. Maruzensky's strength had always been a mystery, as she had never gone all out. As for that Mejiro McQueen, she didn't look simple either, or else she wouldn't be able to hold first place in front of Maruzensky.
In the crowd, a horse girl in a white lab coat stared at the leading Mejiro McQueen, her eyes gleaming. The domain bursts from Symboli Rudolf and Tamamo Cross couldn't capture her attention at all. Her gaze was now completely fixed on Mejiro McQueen's form. She had noticed the skill Mejiro McQueen had activated.
And she also noticed the domain that was lightly covering Mejiro McQueen's body. Although [McQueen]'s physical stats were clearly lagging, she had a feeling— "She might just be the most terrifying runner in this race!"
"Cafe, I regret it."
Agnes Tachyon suddenly felt she should have found a way to participate in this race. She desperately wanted to observe that runner's form up close. She truly regretted not signing up. If she had known she'd encounter such an interesting horse girl, she would have used any trick necessary to become a competitor.
First, the Emperor's Aura bloomed in the race! Immediately followed by the White Lightning's charge!
The bursts from these two runners "killed" all the runners in the back. In the face of a Zone burst, runners who hadn't stepped into that realm simply couldn't cope. The aura from these two alone was enough to suppress them, to say nothing of the Emperor being a "gate horse" (blocker).
Even if some runners managed to hold on through sheer willpower, they could no longer contend with the monsters who had already entered their domains. This was the absolute gap between an ordinary genius and a horse girl who had already become a monster.
'This is a first-class race?!' King Halo's face still showed lingering fear. She had just been overtaken by Symboli Rudolf. In that instant, she even thought she was going to be killed. It was terrifying.
Before she could react, another bolt of white lightning shot out from behind her. Before she could even see what it was, Tamamo Cross had left her far behind. She couldn't understand what that power was. She could only think, is that the power that truly first-class horse girls possess? Is that the first-class realm she had been chasing all this time?
'The gap between me and them is... this huge...'
King Halo felt defeated. She knew she had already lost. She didn't think these two seniors would make a major mistake later on. Besides, in terms of sheer speed, she was already too far behind runners of that realm.
It wasn't just King Halo who was at a loss; many other runners were also scared stiff.
The frighteningly fast lead-runner group was still pulling away from the pack. The two domains that suddenly exploded from behind dealt them another heavy blow. Symboli Rudolf's domain, in particular, was a "little horse girl killer," instantly "gating" them to death.
'This is just lethal!'
The front-runners caught in the middle felt extremely uncomfortable. The lead-runner group was too fast, not at all the pace of a normal race. And from the pack behind, an Emperor had burst out. That terrifying aura felt like needles on their backs. Tokai Teio, a genius, was already drenched in a cold sweat.
'Gah, what is this power?!'
Tokai Teio felt the chill coming from behind and grit her teeth, trying to escape.
But she couldn't pull away at all. The two chilling presences were approaching her at terrifying speed. Although she knew there was a gap between her and the President, this gap was far beyond what she could accept. As a genius, did Teio not even have the right to compete with them?!
Just as Tokai Teio was frozen in fear, several runners beside her suddenly moved. The first to accelerate was T.M. Opera O.
Her eyes locked onto the two figures at the very front. Feeling the two great auras coming from behind, she couldn't suppress the excitement on her face. The next moment, she activated her "Tides" and "Aura," flashing into an open lane and starting to accelerate. 'Hahaha, wonderful! This is the perfect stage for me, the Overlord! The track is shining! The goddess of victory is calling to me!'
The instant T.M. Opera O burst forward, a gray figure radiating a dark aura followed closely behind. Oguri Cap latched right onto T.M. Opera O's slipstream. Although T.M. Opera O's strength was monstrous among the rookies, with talent even greater than Tokai Teio and [McQueen], and she had even mastered the first two stages of a domain, she couldn't shake off Oguri Cap. She could only be used by her.
Super Creek and Narita Brian's bursts weren't as fierce as those two, but they also successfully broke out, escaping the range of Symboli Rudolf's domain.
Symboli Rudolf's domain didn't just have an intimidation effect; it also had a wide-area "plunder" effect. Although the power it could plunder wasn't as strong as Oguri Cap's "devour," Symboli Rudolf's domain had no limit on the number of targets. It was practically a weed harvester.
The more people in a race, the stronger Symboli Rudolf's domain became. Those runners overtaken by her would have a portion of their stamina plundered, which was fatal for runners in the middle of a race.
Symboli Rudolf's domain was the ultimate torture!
This was also why Symboli Rudolf had sealed her domain. The blow it dealt to her opponents was simply too great. After her strength reached a certain level, she became unwilling to use this power.
But today, she was here to "correct" Mejiro McQueen!
If she didn't use this move, she, being targeted by the other competitors, might not even be able to break out of the enclosing pack. Forget correcting Mejiro McQueen; she would probably suffer an ugly loss. Thinking of this, Symboli Rudolf couldn't help but undo the seal.
Tokai Teio was overtaken. Symboli Rudolf showed no mercy.
Tokai Teio, who hadn't even mastered the first stage of a domain, was utterly incapable of defying the Emperor's aura.
This was the first time Tokai Teio had ever seen the President like this.
So scary!
'Urgh!' Tokai Teio lost speed and fell back.
Tamamo Cross followed closely behind Symboli Rudolf and also overtook Tokai Teio.
Watching the runners, each clad in their own aura, Tokai Teio could only look on resentfully as they grew further and further away.
And at that moment, the race reached the middle-stage straightaway.
...
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