Chapter 434: The Great Race (Part 2)
[At this point in the race, less than three kilometers in, one of the seeded contestants—dentist Jonathan Brook—had already been disqualified and forced to withdraw. The clear leader remained Joker-Man, pedaling away on his mountain bike. His custom-built ride showed no sign of slowing down; he was ahead of second place by a full twenty horse lengths, and nearly sixty lengths ahead of the main pack.]
[You could still see the leaders up ahead—though, wait, your count was off. You weren't fifth; you were actually sixth. Dio Brando, who'd briefly vanished earlier, had reappeared—riding along a perilously narrow ledge carved into the cliffside, a path barely wide enough for one rider. By taking this shortcut, he'd closed the distance between himself and Joker-Man. George Washington and Barrett Allen trailed close behind you in seventh and eighth, while the sole remaining automobile contestant, an American named Wally West, held ninth.]
[The leading group pushed hard but stayed cautious. After witnessing Jonathan Brook's downfall, none of them wanted to risk an early elimination. Before long, you reached the 18,000-meter marker—just seven kilometers left in this 25,000-meter opening stage. The uphill climb was nearly over; ahead lay a chain of steep downhill slopes.]
[Then, suddenly, Dio Brando veered off the marked route and dashed into a nearby forest—he was taking a shortcut! If he could make it through, he'd shave off nearly a full kilometer and easily overtake Joker-Man.]
[But the woods were dense, the trees packed tightly together. It was a dangerous move—any horse carrying a rider would need to constantly swerve to avoid obstacles, burning stamina fast. Even so, Dio charged in headfirst, and others quickly followed suit. You and Jonathan Joestar were among them.]
[One pigeon turns right, the whole flock follows. More and more riders streamed into the trees. Yet the shortcut was not easily conquered—only the skilled could pass. Horses shared their riders' fear; if a rider wavered, the mount would sense it too. Soon, riders began to fall, some injured, some dismounted, horses stumbling and dropping out in droves.]
[Once inside the woods, Snowstep surged ahead at full gallop. You flipped your body beneath the horse's neck, giving it full freedom of movement. Without a rider's weight in the saddle, Snowstep glided nimbly through the narrow gaps between trees. Using this daring technique, you overtook both Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando, bursting out of the forest ahead of them—just as you drew level with Joker-Man, even edging out a half-length lead.]
[With 4,500 meters remaining in Stage One, the course now plunged into a 2,500-meter downhill section descending through San Diego's Mission Valley. The slope was a brutal thirty degrees, with a fifty-centimeter drop between levels.]
[On such terrain, every rider was forced to rein in their speed. Even the strongest horse would collapse under its own weight if it ran too fast down the incline. The key to victory was not reckless acceleration, but how well you could balance control and endurance for the final sprint.]
[However, Joker-Man's bicycle, Diana's own legs, and Bruce Wayne's mechanical horse weren't bound by those limits. Bruce, in fact, chose this moment to accelerate. To everyone's astonishment, blue jets of flame erupted from the heels of his steed—rocket propulsion! Its wings spread wide, and in one sweeping motion, he glided past you, seizing the lead. Meanwhile, several reckless riders attempting downhill sprints lost control, tumbling from their saddles. Nearly two thousand contestants were eliminated between the forest shortcut and this deadly descent alone!]
[By this stage, Bruce Wayne led the pack, you were in second, followed closely by Joker-Man and Diana. Dio Brando and Jonathan Joestar held fifth and sixth. This formed the first group—the elite front-runners—each separated by mere meters. Behind them, Washington, Barrett Allen, and the last car driver Wally West made up the second group, also filled with top-tier riders. Dio and Jonathan, still locked in rivalry, clashed again and again—each realizing at last that the other was no mere amateur but a professional horseman.]
[Soon, the 2,500-meter downhill section came to an end. One final bend remained, after which lay a two-kilometer straightaway—the home stretch.]
[At 12:37 p.m. on January 1, 1973, after more than thirty minutes of racing, the crowd-packed Catholic church at the finish line came into view. By now, nearly every horse was running on fumes; countless mounts stumbled and fell, taking their riders with them. Some contestants even gave up entirely. The last stretch left no room for tricks—only sheer endurance mattered now.]
[You could feel the faint hostility radiating from nearby riders, but Snowstep sensed your vigilance and charged harder.]
[Because you'd conserved energy early on, Snowstep still had plenty of strength left. Now it unleashed its full power, galloping at breakneck speed. In the final sprint, you surged past Bruce Wayne once again—only fifty meters from the finish—and, amid thunderous cheers, crossed the line first.]
[Your completion time: 38 minutes, 17 seconds. You took first place in Stage One, becoming the overall race leader! Your rewards: $10,000 in prize money, a one-hour Time Bonus, and 100 ranking points.]
[The rest of the leading group crossed the line almost simultaneously. To the naked eye, it was impossible to tell who placed where, so the officials convened a panel of five judges—and, for the first time in sporting history, used video replay technology to determine the results.]
[In the end, Bruce Wayne placed second, Diana third, Dio Brando and Jonathan Joestar fourth and fifth, and Joker-Man—who had led for most of the race—fell to sixth. Scoring went as follows: 1st place, 100 points; 2nd, 50; 3rd, 40; and so on down to 21st. The cumulative total after all nine stages would determine the final overall ranking.]
[Despite dropping from first to sixth, Joker-Man showed no bitterness. Instead, he graciously congratulated you on your victory.]
[After camping overnight, the contestants would resume the second stage the following morning. You were now the favorite to win it all. From Stage Two onward, every leg of the race would be long-distance endurance.]
[That night, to your mild surprise, Bruce Wayne came to see you. He proposed forming an alliance—two powerhouses working together to seize the top two spots.]
[You accepted without hesitation. From what you'd observed, this competition was far from ordinary. Some participants might truly be here for the prize money, but from Joker-Man, Washington, and Barrett Allen, you sensed something else entirely. They didn't seem to care much about victory. For some reason, the whole situation reminded you of the Holy Grail War you once experienced—something about it felt… familiar.]
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