"Huh?!?!"
Smart Falcon was startled by Lillian's shout, somewhat bewildered.
"What happened?"
"Why did Lillian suddenly stop competing?"
Not only Smart Falcon, but many of the Umamusume present shared the same question.
Lillian clearly looked aggrieved and terrified. What on earth had happened?
The Umamusume from Tracen Academy were quite familiar with Smart Falcon.
Smart Falcon had always been active as an idol and often served as a commentator or host for various school events.
Everyone really liked Smart Falcon.
After hearing that Smart Falcon had been matched up against Abyss's Umamusume, they had all been secretly worried for her.
But for some reason, Smart Falcon wasn't afraid; instead, it was Abyss's Umamusume who looked terrified.
How bizarre!
"Miss Lillian, are you feeling unwell?" Smart Falcon asked with concern, looking at Lillian, whose eyes were now fogged with tears.
However, her genuine concern was perceived very differently by Lillian.
Like a hunter eyeing its prey—hypocritical and terrifying.
Air Groove looked over and asked,
"Smart Falcon, what's wrong with Lillian? Is something wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong..." Smart Falcon replied, then looked at Lillian again. "Is something wrong, Miss Lillian?"
"Ah, no! Nothing! I'm fine!!"
Having heard Smart Falcon speak before her and say she was fine, how could Lillian dare to say anything more?
"Let's continue the match. You can go through the gate now, Smart Falcon, Lillian."
Air Groove nodded and gave the order.
"That's great, Miss Lillian." Smart Falcon felt that Lillian wasn't so bad after all, so she said happily to her.
Lillian didn't dare to argue and could only suppress her immense reluctance as she walked through the gate.
"Alright, there seemed to be a small mishap just now, but it's been perfectly resolved."
"Now Lillian and Smart Falcon have both entered the gate. This is the first time I've seen Smart Falcon participate in a Dirt match. It's quite a novelty!"
"It's her first time participating in a Dirt match?!"
Lillian's heart skipped a beat when she heard Sakura Bakushin O's voice.
The suitability of the Zone is extremely important for Umamusume.
Without a suitable Zone, an Umamusume wouldn't even be able to perform at half her potential.
"This Smart Falcon is already in the high school division, and no one has ever seen her participate in a Dirt match?! And she still dares to take this match? What confidence! She's definitely stronger than Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen from before!!"
Lillian's last glimmer of hope was shattered.
As for Smart Falcon's suggestion that she compete seriously, she had no intention of heeding it.
She had a premonition.
She absolutely couldn't get ahead of Smart Falcon.
Although she hadn't mastered a Zone, she knew the terrifying pressure she would face if an Umamusume with a Zone caught up from behind.
Even Tokai Teio from the middle school division managed to make their Abyss team leader and second-ranked player look like that.
How brutal must this high school Smart Falcon be?!
"1400 Meter Dirt Mile Race, now—"
"Start!"
Air Groove waved her flag, and Smart Falcon shot off like an arrow.
This time, she was prepared, so she didn't make the fatal start mistake she made in her last race against Satono Crown.
Furthermore, she knew that front running would avoid a lot of interference.
Kicking through the mud only happens when you're behind others.
Therefore, this time Smart Falcon's start was much faster than before.
"Wow, so fast! Smart Falcon is so fast! I didn't know Smart Falcon could run this fast!"
Sakura Bakushin O exclaimed in surprise as she watched Smart Falcon speeding along the dirt.
"Even in the opening stages, she had already built a five-Length lead over Lillian behind her, and that gap was widening!"
Inside the arena, the Umamusume at Tracen Academy exclaimed in astonishment at this sight.
The speed Smart Falcon displayed on the dirt even surprised many at Rigil.
Rigil's trainers, Tojo Hana, Symboli Rudolf, and Maruzensky, were all watching the race.
Upon witnessing Smart Falcon's speed, they were all impressed.
"Is Smart Falcon really that amazing? Her speed on the dirt doesn't seem much slower than Daiki Shuttle's!"
Symboli Rudolf said to Maruzensky beside her.
Daiki Shuttle wasn't just the fastest sprint Umamusume at Tracen Academy;
she was the fastest sprint Umamusume in all of Japan.
She could run both turf and dirt.
She was an all-around British sprinter.
There were many sprinters at Tracen Academy, but apart from Daiki Shuttle, no other Umamusume could demonstrate such speed on the dirt.
Therefore, the sight of the usually unknown Smart Falcon speeding across the dirt track caught the attention of many.
"Wow! Smart Falcon accelerates really fast! As expected of a TCB member, even with a slight slowdown, she's still very good!"
"Smart Falcon has entered the first corner, and Lillian behind... wait? Is she that much slower?!"
Lillian watched as Smart Falcon surged forward the moment the gates opened, demonstrating an adaptability on the dirt that was in no way inferior to turf, and she lost all interest in the race.
It wasn't that she thought she couldn't beat Smart Falcon.
It was that she saw Smart Falcon achieve such speed on her first dirt run, and that was without her Zone activated.
If she got too close to Smart Falcon, wouldn't she be in big trouble?!
"Don't get too close! Maintain distance, but don't let her think I'm deliberately humiliating her."
Lillian ran quickly, calculating how to maintain the gap without making Smart Falcon think she was holding back.
She felt this was the first time she'd ever used her brain so much during a race. Even when she was competing in big prize races in America or scheming to torment Umamusume behind her, she had never felt this way.
"Amazing, Smart Falcon!"
"Smart Falcon, she's completely on her own!"
Sakura Bakushin O shouted excitedly. Seeing her school's Umamusume defeat the American Umamusume was incredibly exhilarating.
"Smart Falcon, now—"
"Big difference, crosses the finish line!"
Cheers erupted all around at the same time.
"What the hell is that running?! This girl's skill level is unbelievable!"
Sakura Baimu had the corner of her mouth twitch as she frowned, looking at the black-haired American Umamusume behind Smart Falcon. She felt her reminder to Smart Falcon at the start of the race was completely unnecessary.