The trembling McQueen turned her head to hear the voice that seemed to rise from hell beside her.
She met the gaze of Golden Crown Eagle, who wore an extremely ugly smile.
An intense palpitation made Mejiro McQueen's chest tighten; for a moment, she couldn't even feel her legs.
"She caught up! In the last 200 Meter, Golden Crown Eagle caught up with Mejiro McQueen!!!"
Golden Crown Eagle caught up with Mejiro McQueen, brushing past her in a mere instant.
But in that instant, Golden Crown Eagle, with her fully activated Zone, took in Mejiro McQueen's grip on her tail and the look of terror on her face.
Golden Crown Eagle looked at this young lady from a prestigious family, who had always maintained a cold and aloof demeanor, now with her pupils constricted and her face covered in sweat.
A surge of immense satisfaction welled up within her.
"Heh heh, this is the insurmountable gap between a Zone Umamusume and an ordinary Umamusume."
Golden Crown Eagle thought smugly, and in the next instant, she surpassed Mejiro McQueen.
"She's overtaken! Golden Crown Eagle has overtaken Mejiro McQueen!!"
"Is that enough for Mejiro McQueen? She hasn't accelerated any further!"
"The gap between them is widening!"
"Three lengths! Four lengths!"
"The last 100 meter!"
"What terrifying speed!! Is this the strongest force in US active duty?!"
"Golden Crown Eagle, now—"
"Crossing the finish line!!"
"Golden Crown Eagle has defeated Mejiro McQueen by a margin of seven lengths!"
"This strongest vs. strongest match ends with an overwhelming victory for Golden Crown Eagle..."
As Golden Crown Eagle crossed the finish line, the entire arena fell into a deathly silence.
Many Tracen Academy Umamusume watched Mejiro McQueen behind the finish line, hands on knees, panting heavily, sweat pouring from her chin to the ground like a waterfall. They covered their mouths in shock.
They lost?
Mejiro McQueen lost?!
Mejiro McQueen, once considered one of the strongest active-duty competitors alongside Tokai Teio, was unexpectedly overtaken by a large margin and defeated by a staggering seven lengths in a brutal clash.
What a cruel and devastating defeat!
Mejiro McQueen is the most popular active-duty Umamusume in Tracen Academy, and indeed in all of Japan.
When countless Tracen Academy Umamusume witnessed their idol's brutal defeat, they felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave.
This was not just a simple 1v1 match.
Mejiro McQueen's defeat was tantamount to the defeat of Tracen Academy.
After the deathly silence came the thunderous cheers of the fewer than 20 American Umamusume.
Their voices were far less deafening than the cheers that erupted from the stands when Mejiro McQueen unleashed her final burst of speed.
But these faint voices of fewer than 20 people reached the ears of every Tracen Academy member around the track.
They were incredibly jarring.
They were incredibly annoying.
Golden Crown Eagle waved to the Umamusume members of Pluto Academy, standing behind the finish line, and watched Mejiro McQueen's trembling expression as she stared at the ground.
The frustration of being defeated by Sakura Baimu yesterday had been largely vented on Mejiro McQueen, and Golden Crown Eagle's mood had improved considerably.
After admiring Mejiro McQueen's trembling for a while, she slowly walked to her side, placed her hand on her shoulder, and whispered:
"See? That's the difference between a Zone Umamusume and an ordinary Umamusume. Do you want to learn? I'll teach you."
She was confident that this time, Mejiro McQueen wouldn't refuse.
At that moment, Maruzensky, Symboli Rudolf, and the other legendary Umamusume from the academy all stopped what they were doing, watching Mejiro McQueen and Golden Crown Eagle with curiosity in the arena.
They were curious: what decision would Mejiro McQueen, the active-duty Umamusume who carried the hopes and dreams of countless Tracen Academy newcomers, make at this crucial moment?
Would she accept the other's guidance now, only to become discouraged and give up after failing to break through her current level?
Or would she accept her failure but remain true to herself, unswayed by temptation?
Among the many legends in the academy, only one Umamusume was completely unconcerned about Mejiro McQueen, silently eating her meal.
That was Oguri Cap, known as the "monster" of the reed-haired girl.
At this moment, she held an enormous bowl of fried noodles, seemingly purchased from who-knows-where, and nonchalantly watched Mejiro McQueen in the arena while devouring her food.
The clatter of chopsticks against the plastic container was extremely jarring in the surrounding silence.
"Oguri…"
Berno Light turned to look at Oguri Cap, who seemed oblivious to the tense atmosphere around her, and gently reminded her.
"Aren't you worried that Miss McQueen really won't be able to pull herself together and will just stay depressed?"
"No." Oguri Cap chewed on her fried noodles. "After all, she's an Umamusume trained by Sakura."
Tamamo Cross glanced back at Oguri Cap upon hearing this.
"Honestly, why does Oguri trust that weird trainer so much…" Tamamo Cross muttered, then refocused her attention on the arena.
A moment later, everyone's doubts were confirmed.
Golden Crown Eagle's judgment was wrong once again.
Mejiro McQueen struggled to sit up and slapped away Golden Crown Eagle's hand that was on her shoulder.
"No need. I won't lose next time."
Then, Mejiro McQueen turned and walked back toward her team.
The legendary Umamusume of Tracen Academy who saw her do this all smiled in unison.
Mejiro McQueen had chosen to face her fear head-on.
"That's it. Only an Umamusume with this kind of belief can go further beyond."
Symboli Rudolf nodded with a smile, extremely satisfied with Mejiro McQueen's resolve.
Golden Crown Eagle's hand was slapped away by Mejiro McQueen without any emotion. Her scheme failed, and anger surged within her once more.
"Tch, forget it. No matter how hard you train, I reckon you won't break through your Zone in six months. And even if you do, can the lowest-level Zone really compete with mine?"
Golden Crown Eagle thought to herself, her hard-won cheerful mood turning incredibly irritable again.
"If it weren't for so many people watching, do you really think you could walk back unscathed?"
It was daytime, and Golden Crown Eagle dared not do anything too outrageous in the match.
After all, so many legendary Umamusume were watching.
Mejiro McQueen's mental fortitude surprised her; the daytime matches were far more restrictive than nighttime ones.
"This frustration can only be vented at night..."