"The race has only just begun, but things have already reached a boiling point. Risen Star has begun applying pressure to Xingyun Liuge, and the girls behind them are also chasing hard."
"That's probably because Xingyun Liuge showed such overwhelming front-running ability in the training race. I've heard she's never lost since her debut—not even in training races. If she keeps winning like this, she'll become a legend without question!"
Training-race results were always a tricky thing to judge. Some horse girls deliberately held back in practice, so most people did not place too much weight on those outcomes—unless both sides, or everyone involved, had clearly gone all out.
Risen Star stared fixedly at Xingyun Liuge, two lengths ahead of her, and thought, Is it because the track is even worse than it was during training? Her front-running isn't looking quite as overwhelming as it did then…
But she quickly came to her senses. During the training race, hardly anyone had used gate techniques, and aside from her, no one had displayed a truly explosive finishing burst. As an outsider, it was only natural for Xingyun Liuge to race more cautiously.
With that thought in mind, Risen Star said to herself, Good. Then let me put that caution to the test!
Since Xingyun Liuge was being so careful, wouldn't it be rude not to "reward" that effort with a little interference?
They entered the first turn.
Risen Star narrowed her eyes. A dangerous red glow welled up around her body, followed immediately by a flash of gold.
Her horseshoes slammed into the muddy water. The sluggish drag beneath her feet made her frown ever so slightly, but that could not be helped. Horse girls could not defy the weather. All they could do was face it head-on and learn to adapt.
A path of golden hoofprints appeared before Risen Star's eyes. As long as she ran along that route, she could maintain the ideal speed for the least possible stamina cost.
What should a girl do if she failed to seize a good position at the break?
Simple—take it back in the early or middle stages.
Of course, that only applied when such a move was necessary.
On a bog-like course like this, she had no need to fight for the lead. Running from a stalking position was the most suitable tactic for these conditions. Granted, third place would have been even better than second.
But a conventional approach was not going to win this race. She had to shatter Xingyun Liuge's rhythm right now and disrupt her stamina distribution.
The crimson light quietly took effect.
Xingyun Liuge's eyes shifted slightly. She felt as though something had latched onto her legs, increasing her stamina drain. If she kept up this pace, the cost would rise from perfectly acceptable to merely barely acceptable.
So, she used a gate skill, Xingyun Liuge thought, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
Although breaking through from inside the pack would have shown off her strength more dramatically, she had already written the script for this race. This time, she intended to lead from start to finish. Unless Secretariat herself showed up, there was no reason to revise the plan.
So Xingyun Liuge simply endured Risen Star's pressure and maintained her speed, pressing onward without hesitation.
"…Tch."
Watching the silver hair streaming ahead of her, Risen Star could not help clicking her tongue. She had considered the possibility that Xingyun Liuge might just brute-force her way through it, but seeing it happen in reality, she could only think the girl was absurdly stubborn.
That changed everything. If Risen Star insisted on sticking to her original plan, she would be forced into extra stamina expenditure. And that introduced uncertainty—something she could tolerate, perhaps, but…
Winning Colors was right behind her, staring her down.
This might very well turn into a classic case of the snipe and clam exhausting each other, only for the fisherman to reap the reward.
A bead of cold sweat slid down Risen Star's forehead. The race had only just begun, and already she had been pushed into a dilemma. There was nothing amusing about that.
If she pushed forward, she and Xingyun Liuge might batter each other senseless, only for Winning Colors behind them to pick the fruit after it ripened.
If she pulled back, she would lose her chance to throw Xingyun Liuge off balance. Then she would have no choice but to deploy her domain in the final stage and clash head-on—but that was exactly the kind of scenario Xingyun Liuge would welcome, which might well put Risen Star at a disadvantage.
Risen Star had not expected that after just one training race, she would already be burdened with so many worries. Really… there was not a single thing funny about it.
After a brief silence, she gritted her teeth and chose to press on.
Believing in oneself was a virtue every horse girl ought to possess. And from the days of small local races, she had always dreamed of taking on the very strongest. So being driven to the edge by a powerful opponent was the most exciting thing of all, wasn't it?
If victory could be won just by proceeding according to plan, then such a victory would be terribly dull.
With that thought, Risen Star adjusted her stamina distribution and stepped onto the Golden Road.
"Xingyun Liuge exits the first turn, and now Risen Star accelerates sharply—she's trying to overtake her! Of course, a masterpiece of Secretariat could never be content to let another horse girl run in front of her! In her eyes, there is only absolute first place!"
"If Xingyun Liuge hadn't suddenly appeared out of nowhere, Risen Star would undoubtedly have been the clear favorite for the Kentucky Derby. In that sense, there's a natural rivalry between these two! And making a positional reversal on the straight after the first turn is a very common sight in the Kentucky Derby. Risen Star's move makes perfect sense—but will Xingyun Liuge allow her ambition to succeed?"
The host and commentator played off one another so smoothly that anyone listening might have thought this Kentucky Derby was nothing more than a head-to-head duel between Xingyun Liuge and Risen Star.
Listening to the noisy commentary, Winning Colors drew in a slow breath. She suppressed the restless impatience in her heart and told herself:
Patience. Be patient, Winning Colors. Your chance will come. Let them wear each other down for now. It still isn't the right moment to strike.
The blue-haired girl lowered her gaze slightly, as if the brilliance of the two girls ahead had dazzled her so badly that she needed to shield her eyes.
Xingyun Liuge's ears twitched. She had already caught the sound of footsteps closing in from behind—horseshoes crashing into standing water, muddy spray flying everywhere.
Risen Star was coming at her with the aura of someone determined not only to decide who was better, but to settle victory and defeat here and now.
Exactly as Xingyun Liuge had expected.
She had never thought a girl like Risen Star would be willing to stay in second place. Wasn't she trying to prove that she was not "Secretariat the Second," but the true Risen Star in her own right? Then what she needed was a clean, exhilarating victory.
A faint curve lifted the corner of Xingyun Liuge's mouth.
Wind resistance, drag from mud and water, weight, stride length, stride frequency…
All kinds of data flowed through her mind as streams of ones and zeroes, and the conclusion they produced was simple:
"In two seconds, the gap between us will shrink to one length. In the third second, she'll close it to a neck… and then…"
"The race is entering the middle stages! Risen Star surges forward—two lengths, one length—can she draw alongside?" The commentator shot to his feet. "No! Xingyun Liuge suddenly accelerates! That one-length gap is insurmountable!"
Her attempt to challenge for position had failed.
Risen Star bit down hard, and the red light in her sharp, heroic eyes began to deepen.
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 (Chapter140)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter89)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter1165)
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 145
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 135
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 84
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 150
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 125
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 105
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 80
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 80
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 52
Uma Musume: I Want All 55
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
My Harem Is Indescribable 26
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