After the second turn, about 300 meters down the slope, lies the notorious "heart-stopping" hill.
No matter how fast an Umamusume is, she almost always slows down on this steep incline.
Golden Crown Eagle was no exception; her speed decreased slightly on the climb, but Sakura Baimu behind her climbed it with superb technique, maintaining her speed without any loss.
Golden Crown Eagle heard the approaching footsteps behind her, a smirk played on her lips.
The one behind her appears to be accelerating.
Up on the steep incline, the race was only just past the halfway point.
Golden Crown Eagle hadn't expected Sakura Baimu to maintain her speed on the climb and mistook the approaching footsteps for Sakura Baimu accelerating prematurely.
"She started accelerating midway through, so it seems I don't need to deliberately slow down…" Golden Crown Eagle thought to herself. Already approaching the third turn, she didn't see Sakura Baimu overtake her from behind.
"What's going on?"
Golden Crown Eagle was a little puzzled, but not too surprised.
After all, they had bet money on this race, and she didn't believe Sakura Baimu could maintain this speed without overtaking her.
"When you overtake me, that's when I'll unleash my power."
Having crossed the fourth turn, with only 500 meters left to the finish line and seeing that Sakura Baimu still showed no intention of accelerating, Golden Crown Eagle finally couldn't hold back any longer.
She could certainly unleash her power and activate her Zone when she was in first place.
But the effect would never be as impactful as when she was behind her target Umamusume.
After all, the one who bears the most pressure from the power is always the Umamusume closest to the Zone user.
"Could it be that she exhausted herself trying to keep up with my speed? She actually doesn't have the stamina for a final acceleration?"
Seeing Sakura Baimu not accelerating, Golden Crown Eagle subtly slowed down.
--
On the sidelines, watching the race from afar, Symboli Rudolf frowned at Golden Crown Eagle's deliberate slowdown and spoke in a low voice.
"She clearly still has stamina, but she slowed down. It looks like she's deliberately trying to let Ogura overtake her."
"So, she's trying to open her Zone behind Ogura…" Maruzensky's eyes narrowed to slits, displeased with Golden Crown Eagle's near disregard for the rules.
An Umamusume is absolutely forbidden from throwing matches in official competitions; if judged to have thrown a race and lost, her career is over.
However, this wasn't an official match, and besides calling Golden Crown Eagle unethical, there was little else anyone could do to punish her.
After all, strength is the true king; anyone wanting to emulate her would need formidable power.
"Ogura's slowing down too!"
Symboli Rudolf, who had also felt a surge of anger, then noticed Ogura slowing down as well, following Golden Crown Eagle's pace.
"Oh, that's interesting."
Maruzensky saw Sakura Baimu slow down and knew she must have seen through Golden Crown Eagle's intentions, so she felt relieved.
With 400 meters left to the finish line, Golden Crown Eagle's speed had slowed considerably since she first stepped onto the final straight, but Sakura Baimu remained behind her, seemingly unhurried and showing no intention of overtaking.
"What's wrong with her?! Did she read my mind? Isn't she afraid I'll just accelerate and cross the finish line to win?"
Golden Crown Eagle was increasingly puzzled.
She felt like she'd punched a sponge—soft and yielding no feedback.
With 300 meters left on the final straight,
Golden Crown Eagle couldn't hold back any longer and suddenly slowed down, forcing Sakura Baimu to overtake her.
After Sakura Baimu had passed her by about five or six Lengths, Golden Crown Eagle took a heavy step.
As her foot struck the ground, a dark green flame, the same color as her pupils, ignited in her eyes, instantly shattering the previously peaceful and desolate night atmosphere.
A violent aura erupted from Golden Crown Eagle's body!
With a loud "bang," Golden Crown Eagle's body shot forward from its spot, enveloped in aura and currents, charging like a train toward the slightly slender, hooded Sakura Baimu.
"This is outrageous! It's utterly insulting! How could anyone do this?!"
Maruzensky could no longer contain herself. While she had never encountered an opponent worthy of her full strength, treating races as mere entertainment, she had never done anything so outrageous.
Intentionally stopping halfway through the race to let Ogura overtake her, then using her Zone to overtake from behind.
This was unheard of; this Umamusume had never seen such a running style in the entire history of Japanese horse racing.
Symboli Rudolf remained silent, but her face had darkened. Clearly, Golden Crown Eagle's unsportsmanlike behavior had angered the "Emperor."
"If she only wins, that's fine. But if she really hurts Ogura, then she can't blame me for not treating my guest well."
Symboli Rudolf also realized that the Zone strength Golden Crown Eagle was currently unleashing wasn't her limit; it seemed Golden Crown Eagle was still holding back.
It was unclear whether she still possessed a sliver of morality or whether she simply felt Ogura couldn't withstand her level of Zone and aura.
Looking at Golden Crown Eagle's actions, Symboli Rudolf leaned toward the latter.
On the track, after sensing the surging momentum behind her, Sakura Baimu quickened her pace.
Seeing her finally accelerate, Golden Crown Eagle grinned, revealing an incredibly wicked smile.
"Accelerating now? Too late."
With her Zone activated, Golden Crown Eagle was incredibly fast. With each step she took, the green grass was carved into a deep crater.
When her footsteps left the crater, not a trace of the original green grass remained.
The six-length gap between her and Sakura Baimu was instantly closed.
Golden Crown Eagle caught up with Sakura Baimu about 100 meters from the finish line.
"Third prey, hunt successful."
Golden Crown Eagle glanced sideways at Sakura Baimu, whose movements appeared almost slow to her, chuckled inwardly, and then overtook her.
Activating her Zone not only boosts her speed and aura, but more importantly, it enhances an Umamusume's own abilities.
An Umamusume's maximum reaction time, achievable through training, is 0.03 seconds.
In other words, 0.03 seconds is the physiological limit of an Umamusume's reaction time.
The Zone, however, allows an Umamusume to instantly surpass this physiological limit, entering a state of hyper-concentration.
In this state, an Umamusume can eliminate all external influencing factors, making the flow of time slow down for her.
At this moment, Golden Crown Eagle's eyes burned with dark green flames. The only sounds she could hear besides her own heartbeat were the thudding of her footsteps.
This hooded umamusume had already been overtaken; she didn't even need to think about it—her opponent must have been intimidated by her astonishing aura.
Now, all that remained was crossing the finish line.
Golden Crown Eagle's lips curled into a wide grin; this level of Zone posed no burden to her whatsoever.
And the exhilarating feeling of crossing the finish line after intimidating her competitor was unparalleled.
"Three steps."
"Two steps."
"One more step."
"One last step, and she'll cross the finish line."
Just then, in her state of heightened concentration and with her Zone activated, Golden Crown Eagle uddenly heard a soft, melodious voice echo within the silent Zone.
"Good work."
Golden Crown Eagle's heart pounded, and her head involuntarily turned to the left.
There she saw Sakura Baimu, her face refined and elegant, with her eyes cool and serene, showing no trace of panic or unease peeking out from under the hood.
In her Zone state, Golden Crown Eagle watched as Sakura Baimu's body slowly overtook her in this world where the flow of energy had slowed.