"Taking first place is Whirlwind Kate from Ireland, but Britain's Jupiter Lightning is right on her heels. The two are fighting for the lead! Behind them come Steel Candy, Seabird, and Latifa Dubai…"
The commentator stopped for breath and handed things over to her partner.
"And then we have an extremely rare situation! The battle within the stalking pack is just as fierce as the battle for the front—no, it's even fiercer!"
"The field has bunched up into a tight cluster. And because of her small frame, perhaps? Xingyun Liuge has been boxed into the pack! She can neither advance nor retreat!"
In the stands, Sirius Symbol folded her arms and watched Xingyun Liuge's "fight" with total focus. Even by the standards of recent European and American racing, what was happening on the track was rare.
British horse girls certainly valued victory, but for them to pressure a rival from the very start and trap her inside the pack like this… it made them seem practically obsessed.
It was just one defeat in the Hong Kong Gold Cup. Did they really need to go this far?
Sirius Symbol did not dwell on it. She only murmured, "Still, if she can win from here—or no, even if she can just seize an opening and break through the blockade—Xingyun will become a star."
But a star in European and American racing, not in Japan.
Japan would not care, not unless Xingyun Liuge won again.
So then… could she win this time?
It was hard. Very hard.
She had been boxed in from the outset. Ahead of her were one Irish horse girl and one British horse girl. Beside her was another British horse girl, and one more British horse girl was coming up hard from behind.
Add in the mass of Dubai horse girls making up the rest of the pack, and this was no ordinary encirclement.
Even if you brought the peak Rudolf Symbol here, the situation would still look hopeless. Even the Emperor had known bitter defeats. How much less a newcomer like Xingyun Liuge?
Far away in Tokyo and the Tokai region, countless people were watching the race with bated breath.
Kasamatsu Tracen had gone so far as to install an enormous screen in the cafeteria so that all the students and staff could watch Xingyun Liuge's performance live. Though it was already late at night, the cafeteria blazed with light and not a single seat was empty. The chairman had even instructed the kitchen to prepare late-night snacks.
The student council officers at Central Tracen, on the other hand, did not need anything so elaborate. As famous horse girls in their own right, they could watch this overseas race from the comfort of their residences.
Watching Xingyun Liuge get hunted down from all sides, Rudolf Symbol slowly closed her eyes.
"This," she said softly, "is the hardship of racing abroad."
If the local horse girls decided you had come to smash their stage, they might unite as one and turn the race into a many-against-one arena battle.
That was exactly why the two Symbol horse girls had repeatedly said, Do not underestimate foreign soil. They had suffered through it themselves. They knew how crushing that kind of pressure could be. That was why they had hoped Xingyun Liuge would take it seriously and prepare for it carefully.
Rudolf Symbol sighed softly.
"If she were an ordinary horse girl, she would already be completely out of options. She'd have no choice but to accept defeat."
Seeing Xingyun Liuge trapped in the pack, Chihaya Yui bit down on her thumbnail. Her mind raced, trying desperately to find a way for Xingyun Liuge to break free.
But she could not.
This was a tactical victory. Outsiders like them had no way to counter British horse girls who were already experts in this kind of pack warfare.
A bitter taste spread through her mouth.
Was this really how they were going to lose?
Crunch. Crunch.
At almost the same time, Oguri Cap, who was staying up late to watch the race, kept stuffing herself with cookies one after another. It almost looked as though she was so certain Xingyun Liuge would win that she could focus on eating instead.
But those who knew her well could see the truth.
Her eyes had not left the screen for even a second.
Kitahara Jones could only smile helplessly.
"Honestly, Oguri, aren't you a little too relaxed? Xingyun's in a real struggle right now."
In response, Oguri Cap only tilted her head in confusion and silently produced a question mark.
A struggle?
She had not seen a troubled expression on Xingyun Liuge's face.
So to her, everything was still under Xingyun Liuge's control.
At least for now.
Looking at Xingyun Liuge on the screen, Oguri Cap said slowly, "Xingyun once told me about a better way to ignite the crowd."
She raised her index finger.
"First: overwhelm the entire field with a speed and endurance nobody has ever seen before, and run all the way to the end of the world."
Then she raised her middle finger.
"And then, at the very moment when everyone thinks it's over, reverse everything in the most brutally overwhelming way possible and make every horse girl scream."
Kitahara Jones nearly jumped out of her skin.
"No, wait! The first one is obviously just a breakaway. But what is that second one supposed to be? Is this really a footrace? Oguri, don't scare me like that!"
Oguri Cap did not answer. She simply raised her ring finger and continued in her own steady way.
At the same time, on the track—
The British horse girl fighting for the lead got exactly what she wanted. She seized the front and showed not the slightest intention of conserving stamina. Even after opening a three-length gap on the runner in second, she continued to accelerate, as though she meant to lead all the way to the finish in that same domineering fashion.
The Irish horse girl in second, along with the entire front-running group, accelerated in response, trying to stay with her.
Anyone with eyes could see it:
This was clearly not a wise choice.
But that was the brilliance of "legion tactics."
Their teams were organized by running style—front-runners, pace stalkers, mid-pack runners, and closers. Until the race reached its final phase, only they themselves knew who was the true ace and who was merely support.
If you failed to latch onto the front-runner's tail, what if she turned out to be the real core of their strategy? If you mistimed your acceleration, you would lose the race right there.
Latifa narrowed her eyes and fixed her gaze on Seabird just ahead of her. The British had used decoy tactics before—using their most famous runner as bait while another teammate stole the win—but even so, she still felt Seabird was the real spearhead of this race.
Even though Seabird had shifted pace along with the others.
But truly elite horse girls were masters of deception. If Britain's raiding team did not know how to coordinate with one another, they would not be worthy of being called a legion.
Latifa narrowed her eyes further, ears twitching slightly, as the winds roaming the sky carried a message to her:
A faint crackle.
"The race is about to enter its final phase! In front is Polar Hero, who has opened up a five-length lead over the stalking group! Anxiety is beginning to spread through the pack—will anyone make the first move and chase her down?"
"Third favorite Xingyun Liuge is still trapped inside the field! Can she break free? The bend ahead is her last chance… oh! Polar Hero! Polar Hero is accelerating again! After leading the entire race, does she still have something left in reserve? This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill! Polar Hero has launched her final charge, straight toward the Persian Gulf!"
With six hundred meters left, Polar Hero suddenly let out a shout and slammed her right foot into the sand.
She accelerated again.
The original five-length gap widened in an instant to seven.
She gave no one time to think and no one room to breathe. If they did not follow now, the UAE Derby would be over.
At almost the same moment, Seabird made her move.
"Go!"
A crimson light flared in her eyes. Every horse girl within two lengths of her felt a sharp palpitation in her chest, and their limbs turned heavy.
Though they had not yet entered the headwind section, they felt as though a powerful wind were already blowing straight into their faces. It became hard to lift their legs. Their arms felt sluggish. The pace group lost their best opportunity to give chase.
Yet Seabird did not seize second place for herself.
Instead, she held her speed and cadence, continuously pressuring the pace group and grinding away at their stamina.
A nearly feral grin spread across her face, as if she were saying:
You're not getting past. Prepare yourselves.
It seemed she truly was the sacrificial decoy in this year's UAE Derby.
Latifa blinked once and began breathing deeply. The wind swelled around her legs, easing the pressure on her.
But she did not accelerate.
She chose to wait.
Because she had heard something that had no business existing on the grounds of Meydan Racecourse, and within the wind she sensed unease.
The wind began to rise.
A faint crackle.
And while everyone's attention was fixed on Polar Hero and Seabird, within the mid-pack cluster—
Xingyun Liuge laughed softly.
"Honestly, are glaring and making nasty faces the only tricks you know?"
"So this is British team racing? What a joke."
There was unmistakable mockery in the tail end of her voice.
This time it was not just the tips of her hair.
Thin electric arcs were skittering across her pale strands as well, like lightning snakes flicking out their tongues before a strike.
Dongzhisen glared at her. "You—"
And just then, Asset Xiliu, who had broken late at the start, let out a weak cry.
"Ugh, I can't do it anymore!"
She did not even know why.
She just could not keep running.
That became the trigger.
In the eyes of the horse girls, thick black storm clouds came rolling in. They circled overhead like hawks searching for prey, twisting into an unnatural spiral that had no place in the natural world.
A pale white serpent of lightning flashed through the clouds, and thunder came rolling in from some distant place beyond the horizon.
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 115)
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 (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
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 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 32
Uma Musume: From Beginner 26
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