An oppressive racing style looked extremely dangerous, so the moment someone pulled it out, people would start criticizing it.
But then again, the ones using it were horse girls.
How bad could a horse girl's intentions really be—
Well, all right, some horse girls really were a little strange.
For example, there was one named Love as Ever who seemed downright yandere. When Xingyun Liuge had run into her inside Reincarnation's End, she had almost thought that girl was the true master of that place. The whole thing had felt bizarre no matter how she looked at it.
But Brian's Time should have been different.
Back in Japan, she had plenty of juniors who supported her wholeheartedly. If Brian's Time had really been some nasty or underhanded horse girl, how could those juniors possibly admire her so much?
And if that was the case, then an oppressive racing style stopped being something truly dangerous and turned into nothing more than bluffing.
So there was nothing to be afraid of.
Not that Xingyun Liuge would have been afraid anyway.
If Brian's Time really threw caution to the wind and elbowed her, then Xingyun would retaliate without a shred of psychological burden.
In fact, even now, Xingyun Liuge had no intention of staying restrained or shrinking her own space. Instead, she chose to expand outward, and at a glance, it actually looked as though she was the one about to throw the elbow at Brian's Time first!
The host instantly got excited.
"Xingyun Liuge! Xingyun Liuge shows absolutely no fear! She's displaying the violent bearing of a conqueror—there is no one who can force her to yield even a single step!"
If some other horse girl tried to elbow Xingyun Liuge, the audience would just think it was a questionable tactic adopted in the pursuit of victory. A little dull. A little too close to the line.
But if Xingyun Liuge took that posture instead, not only did they not find it dull—they found it exhilarating. Some of them were practically thinking:
Yes, this is exactly how the strong should deal with the weak—slam them aside!
But Xingyun Liuge was not actually striking first. She was turning the tables.
Her dangerous stare alone nearly frightened Brian's Time into backing down, leaving the girl wavering.
Brian's Time wanted to keep pressing Xingyun Liuge, but she was also afraid Xingyun would ignore the script and really collide with her head-on. Putting aside the fact that Xingyun Liuge obviously possessed championship-level strength and carried the audience's expectations on her shoulders—even without that, if Brian's Time won this way, she felt she would have no face left to show her juniors.
And so, in an instant, Brian's Time was the one driven into a corner.
Xingyun Liuge seized upon that hesitation and pressed outward aggressively.
What followed was an extremely rare sight for the audience:
The Xingyun Liuge who ought to have been pinned helplessly against the inside rail instead forced Brian's Time wider and wider, little by little, until she was being driven all the way toward the far outside.
Had their diagonal movement affected any of the other runners, both of them would have been demoted on the spot. The only reason they escaped that was because, if anything, they had opened up space on the track rather than blocked it.
That was how the rules worked.
You were allowed to drift diagonally—but not if it interfered with another horse girl's running. The moment you affected someone else, you were demoted.
And "demoted" meant your result and placing were wiped out, dropping you straight to last.
Honestly, it was a perfectly reasonable rule. It existed to prevent a front-runner from weaving in S-curves and deliberately blocking the girls behind her. That was not winning through strength. That was leaning on a slight advantage and playing dirty tricks.
Xingyun Liuge's pressure forced Brian's Time to waste a large amount of stamina. Before the race had even reached the middle stages, sweat was already pouring down Brian's Time's face.
But Xingyun Liuge, in exchange, gave up her bid for the lead and settled into the forward pack.
For Xingyun Liuge, though, that clearly did not matter in the slightest.
She had barely broken a sweat. There was no need to think twice—she was still brimming with reserves. Chances were she would explode again in mid-race, or unleash a sudden burst right before the final phase and drag Rising Star down from the clouds.
But as the one being pressured, Brian's Time was miserable.
She clenched her teeth so hard she could practically taste rust in the back of her throat. Right now, she regretted it—regretted it deeply.
If she had not used this method to provoke Xingyun Liuge, then even if she lost, at least she would not have lost this badly. But now? What was this supposed to be?
Would outsiders decide she had tried to be clever? That she had deliberately provoked Xingyun Liuge with cheap tricks?
No—not "would."
They almost certainly would.
The thought made her feel even worse. She wanted to slap her earlier self across the face and scream:
What the hell did you provoke her for?!
But people had to take responsibility for the choices they made.
She had believed there was nothing wrong with using a traditional American racing style. She had thought it would let her juniors see how hard she was trying.
Then she had to accept the consequences of angering Xingyun Liuge.
She was about to be swept off the stage.
"—!"
Brian's Time suddenly felt her heart convulse violently, nearly pitching her off balance.
After struggling to steady herself, Xingyun Liuge's pressure came crashing over her again. It felt as though she had been thrown into deep water, thrashing desperately while pressure surged in from every direction, until she could hardly breathe.
She was unwilling.
She did not want to be cast out in such an embarrassing fashion.
She did not want to become roadside scenery in front of all her juniors.
Brian's Time was panting hard now. Her vision was flickering black at the edges. She felt as if invisible chains had wrapped around her arms, legs, even her throat. She felt herself reaching her limit.
And yet Xingyun Liuge showed not the slightest trace of mercy. She kept piling on the pressure, as if she would not stop until Brian's Time had been kicked clean out of the race.
Considering how she had behaved in the Preakness Stakes, that pressure was obviously real.
If Xingyun Liuge decided to crush a girl, she would crush her thoroughly. She would not spare anyone who had challenged her.
Seeing Brian's Time in such a miserable state, even the usually rowdy Vodka fell silent.
Her hands clenched tight as she thought of her family ties to Brian's Time and prayed for a miracle.
Narita Brian gently rested a hand on Vodka's shoulder, wanting to comfort the younger girl—but she had no idea where to begin.
What could she even say?
Brian's Time had wanted too badly to prove herself. She had ignored Xingyun Liuge's strength and resolve, and that was why she had ended up like this.
At that moment, Xingyun Liuge suddenly shouted:
"Brian's Time, is this all you've got? Your juniors are all watching you from the screen, aren't they? Are you just going to give up like this? Where's the Brian's Time who was so eager to provoke me just now?!"
The words shocked even Brian's Time herself.
Had Xingyun Liuge not been applying pressure the entire time? Why was she suddenly changing her tune? What was going on?
Xingyun Liuge's voice sharpened.
"So that's it? You're just going to give up and decide to bow out of the race entirely? Brian's Time, answer me!"
"Do you want your juniors to be completely disappointed in you?"
"Or are you saying you'd be perfectly happy losing like this?"
"I... I..."
Brian's Time's eyes suddenly stung.
And tears spilled out.
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 150)
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 (Chapter190)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter225)
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 195
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 225
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 210
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 115
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 130
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 85
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 90
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 100
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 75
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 60
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 71
Checking In in Demon Slayer 75
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 80
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 66
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 58
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 65
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 63
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 59
Why did they assign me to Uma 55
MYGO Beauties 56
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 45
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 49
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 36
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 35
The Uma Musume Who Became 30
I'm Definitely Not the King of 35
After Maxing Out Every Class 35
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