The accident had happened so suddenly that even Risen Star herself was at a complete loss. In fact, she had reflexively shut her eyes, bracing herself for a brutal, unreasonable end.
Then came a sharp smack.
Risen Star felt a burst of "pain" in her wrist, and then her whole body suddenly became weightless, as if her soul had slipped free of her body and left all earthly restraints behind.
Looking at her like that, Xingyun Liuge let out a mocking little laugh.
"So that was your grand declaration? Pretty funny, honestly."
Risen Star's eyes flew open at once, and she turned in astonishment toward the source of the voice.
She could still clearly feel the rushing wind on her face. She could still hear the din of the track around her. But the runners behind her had never had a chance to save her, which meant there was only one possible answer:
In that moment of crisis, the one who had grabbed her and pulled her back from disaster could only have been Xingyun Liuge, right beside her.
There was just one tiny problem.
She was no longer running.
She was flying.
The pain in her wrist had come from Xingyun Liuge seizing it in one sharp motion. Then, without hesitation, Xingyun Liuge had simply hauled her up and accelerated, which was how Risen Star had ended up suspended in midair.
Flash (Pre-Full Maturation): Xingyun Liuge moves a short distance in a designated direction, up to two lengths. Cooldown: five minutes.
Ghost Poro Sprint—no, Ghostwalk? Actually: Ghost Step (Pre-Full Maturation): Xingyun Liuge ignores unit collision while moving and gains an additional 20% movement speed for fifteen seconds. Cooldown: three minutes.
Xingyun Liuge crossed the finish line as a matter of course, then casually set Risen Star down just before it.
"A star of tomorrow? Get past me first before you start talking about the future."
No matter how dazzling a "Rising Star" might be, that was tomorrow's problem. Horse girls raced for the present.
Ordinarily, saying something like that before a race would come off as blatant provocation. But Xingyun Liuge was already the winner of both the UAE Derby and the 2000 Guineas. Nobody took it as arrogance. They only thought: well, naturally.
After all, her strength was plain for anyone to see.
Risen Star climbed up from the mud, not the slightest trace of dejection on her face. Her confidence remained intact.
"I'll remember this favor. But I'm not conceding."
The American horse girls trailing behind them had no particular comment for that. They simply offered Xingyun Liuge a few words of goodwill, then practically hauled Risen Star away with them.
They had all seen it. Secretariat had been standing up in the stands earlier. With the stunt Risen Star had just pulled, there was no way she was getting off without a lecture.
In truth, training injuries among horse girls were nothing unusual. But using a domain in a practice race was extremely rare. A domain was an excellent trump card, yes, but it also placed tremendous strain on the user. Unless it was a truly critical moment, no one in her right mind would use it.
When the main group had already gone on ahead, Winning Colors turned back and returned once more, this time to thank Xingyun Liuge properly.
Goodbye Halo came along too, though her words carried a heavy note of teasing.
"So even that overconfident girl got smacked down by you, huh, Xingyun Liuge? Looks like this Kentucky Derby won't have much suspense after all."
The weather forecast said it would keep raining for the next two days. Churchill Downs really might end up becoming a giant mud pit.
At that, Xingyun Liuge planted her hands on her hips and declared with perfect confidence, "Isn't that only natural? Just watch. I'm going to create a legend of my own."
Even if that meant personally shattering the dreams of all those British and American horse girls.
But Xingyun Liuge had her own argument:
Since every race could only have one champion, why shouldn't that champion be me?
Rather than letting this year's British and American runners awkwardly piece together some patchwork Triple Crown, wouldn't it be better for her to forge a legend that belonged to her alone—one with no predecessor and no successor?
Meanwhile, elsewhere—
Watching Secretariat stride away in a hurry, Sirius Symboli let out a long breath and asked, "Rudolf, aren't you going after her? Those little American fillies are cozying up to Xingyun. Isn't that exactly what you came here worried about?"
Sirius Symboli didn't actually mind stepping in herself. She was pretty good-looking, after all, and she had at least a bit of rapport with Xingyun Liuge. Who knew? Maybe she even had a chance.
But before her sentence had even finished, she noticed Rudolf Symboli staring straight at her.
Sirius immediately raised both hands in surrender, making it clear she had no improper intentions and would follow orders.
Only then did Rudolf say, "JRA is at a natural disadvantage. Some things... give me quite a headache too."
"Shouldn't you be thrilled instead?" Sirius scoffed. "Those stubborn old fossils are already in complete chaos, aren't they? I heard they've been stuck in meetings for days now, so grateful for your stepping in at the last second they're practically in tears. Honestly, serves them right. Who told them not to take your proposal seriously in the first place? Dragging their feet through meeting after meeting... now they're finally paying for it."
At the thought of public opinion nearly swallowing JRA whole, with people demanding answers from every direction, Sirius felt like laughing.
At first, the journalist Fujii Izumisuke had still been trying to gather signatures, hoping to get Oguri Cap into the Japanese Derby. But when news of Xingyun Liuge's overwhelming victory reached Tokyo, racing fans had all but exploded:
How could the strongest horse girl of the generation be barred from her own country's classic Triple Crown? This had gone beyond simple embarrassment abroad. How would the whole world look at Japan now?
Rumor had it the Chief Director's luxurious black sedan still carried the stench of rotten eggs.
Then again, compared to rotten eggs, the shower of "blades" was far more profitable.
Rudolf fell silent for quite a while before finally asking, "Sirius... why are you using so many idioms all of a sudden?"
Rudolf Symboli knew perfectly well that Britain and America's great racing houses might well set their sights on Xingyun Liuge. Japan had its own prestigious stables and bloodlines, yes—but compared to those old powerhouses, they simply did not measure up. Even JRA could not come up with anything that would truly move Xingyun Liuge. If JRA couldn't compete, how were Japan's racing elites supposed to stand against Britain and America's?
"Now is not the time to be talking about that, okay?" Sirius shot back. "If anything, I should be the one asking why you're suddenly talking less like some ancient literary noble."
Then she waved a hand dismissively.
"Enough thinking. The important thing is to find Xingyun now. Whatever comes, we deal with it—go, go, go!"
To Sirius, Rudolf was simply being too cautious.
The one who had offended Xingyun Liuge was JRA, not Rudolf Symboli herself. So what exactly was she worrying about?
A short while later, the two horse girls arrived at the hotel where Xingyun Liuge and the others were staying, intending to have a little talk with her—
Only to discover that some sort of massacre seemed to have taken place.
The Kasamatsu horse girls were sprawled all over the lounge area on the lobby floor, lying in every direction, their clothes stained with suspicious green liquid.
Sirius Symboli grabbed Norin Ace by the shoulders and shook her.
"Hey! Get a hold of yourself! What happened here?"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 126)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter130)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter89)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter157)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 133
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 125
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 84
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 143
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 115
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 99
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 75
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 75
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 52
Uma Musume: I Want All 51
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
A Guide to Aid in the Underwor 26
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
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