For Xingyun Liuge, this debut race had been absurdly easy.
If anything, it would have been even easier with a larger field.
With a full forty seconds of movement-speed amplification stacked on her, she had run to her heart's content and practically reached the finish line without even exerting herself.
She had not even needed to use Ghost.
Ghost: Grants a 28%–45% movement speed increase for 10 seconds.
(The strength of the boost increases with total wins, gaining an additional 1% per victory.)
If you successfully seize the lead, the duration is extended by another 10 seconds.
During its duration, collision is ignored.
Cooldown: 180 seconds.
Just as Xingyun Liuge had judged, real horse girls' decision-making simply did not compare to the phantoms in her simulation battles. One could say they had fallen hard for her trap.
Only Fujimasa March and Oguri Cap had managed to keep calm heads and launch their pursuit through sharp judgment.
Fujimasa March truly was inferior to Oguri Cap in raw ability. Once Oguri Cap had changed into proper racing shoes, Kasamatsu's star had been left half a length behind, with no way to reverse the situation.
Oguri Cap had even, without anyone teaching her, grasped the technique of a second burst of acceleration, attempting to use it to break through that final half-length gap.
Oguri Cap's thinking was simple:
As long as she could just reach that point—
victory would be right there in her hands!
But how could she have known that Xingyun Liuge was still holding Ghost in reserve? If Xingyun Liuge had wanted to, she could even have swapped out Ultimate Spellbook for Flash, then swapped it back again.
And besides, Xingyun Liuge had already expected Oguri Cap's second acceleration. She had seen Holy Night's Miraculous Charge before.
Back in simulation battles, if she had not activated Ghost at the time, the outcome really might have been hard to call.
So when Oguri Cap revealed that still somewhat rough second burst, Xingyun Liuge found herself thinking:
As expected of you, Oguri Cap. To have mastered a technique like that so early… I may never forget you for the rest of my life.
But unfortunately for her, Xingyun Liuge's stamina reserves were still overflowing. On top of that, she had learned from Chihaya Yui a better way to exert force on Kasamatsu's dirt track.
And so, right in front of everyone's eyes, the two gray horse girls burst forward at the same time—
yet instead of the gap shrinking from half a length, it widened to a full length!
At that instant, shock exploded in Oguri Cap's chest. She had thought she had grasped victory—
only to realize her opponent had still been holding something back.
The gray-haired girl's blue eyes widened round as bells.
She gritted her teeth and tried to squeeze out the very last bit of strength left in her body.
Victory was right ahead. She had to keep driving forward!
Oguri Cap's eyes held nothing but Xingyun Liuge's back, nothing but her desire for victory. Her gaze—no, even her running form alone—was enough to put tremendous pressure on anyone watching.
Xingyun Liuge clearly felt Oguri Cap's eyes on her.
But she did not turn her head again.
She simply kept running forward, and then—
"She's across the line! Xingyun Liuge takes first! First place is Xingyun Liuge!"
the commentator shouted.
"Though another horse girl once surged to within half a length of her, she held the lead to the very end through absolute superiority! In the end, she claims victory by a full length!"
"She has seized the glory of the winners' stage in true dark-horse fashion! Cheer for her! Let's give her thunderous applause!"
The announcer sighed in admiration.
"Fujimasa March and Oguri Cap's finishing speed was truly incredible, but I never expected Xingyun Liuge to still have something left in the tank as well. What a spectacular race. It's hard to believe this was only a debut race! It honestly feels like the most exciting race I've seen in the last five years!"
Having taken the victory that, to her, felt only natural, Xingyun Liuge merely smiled faintly, without much emotional fluctuation.
She had fought simulation opponents far too many times. A victory on this level was no longer enough to leave her fully satisfied.
Looking at the sweat-drenched Fujimasa March and Oguri Cap, Xingyun Liuge extended a hand to them on her own initiative and invited them:
"Let's run together again next time."
"…I'll keep working hard and stand before you again, Xingyun."
After a brief silence, Fujimasa March was the first to take Xingyun Liuge's hand.
"…Next time, I'll win it back!"
Oguri Cap's competitive spirit had been fully ignited, firm resolve rising in her blue eyes.
"Mhm, I'll be waiting for you both. Let's go conquer the world together!"
That line was mainly meant for Oguri Cap. Xingyun Liuge wanted to see all the great talents under heaven for herself.
But before either of the two girls could answer, Xingyun Liuge had already vanished from in front of them.
Because she had spotted Minami Kaku crying in sorrow over finishing only fourth.
Gently patting the girl on the head, she comforted her kindly:
"There, there. You already did really well, so don't be so upset. Just win it back next time."
That was what she said, but when Xingyun Liuge saw the crying Minami Kaku, she felt as though she heard a faint creak somewhere inside herself—
like the door to a whole new world had just opened.
Her heart was pounding wildly, doki doki.
The corners of her lips rose unconsciously.
She thought Minami Kaku like this was especially adorable.
She wanted to make all the little horse girls cry!
Oh, right. Since this was a running race, maybe she should say—
make them all cry from losing on the track?
Either way, life was starting to look more and more promising!
As the race came to an end, Trainers Shibasaki and Kitahara both turned gray on the spot.
They had shared one firm belief:
Fujimasa March was the strongest horse girl at Kasamatsu Tracen.
But Kitahara had thought that was only temporary. He believed Oguri Cap could surpass Fujimasa March someday. Never had he expected both of them to be defeated head-on by an obscure gray horse girl no one had heard of before.
Some people had even started making wildly unrealistic comparisons:
A victory by one full length—why, it was almost like the Emperor herself!
But neither trainer agreed.
The Emperor was the Emperor, a singular and unique existence. How could Xingyun Liuge be given some title like "Little Emperor" just because of one debut race?
Chihaya Yui, however, had no such complicated thoughts.
She was simply, from the bottom of her heart, overjoyed by Xingyun Liuge's victory.
To be honest, when Xingyun Liuge had adopted a frontrunner strategy, Chihaya Yui had been extremely worried.
Xingyun Liuge's explosive power and stamina were both astonishing, almost as though she had undergone brutally intense training—but the two of them had never actually done targeted preparation for frontrunning. Xingyun Liuge should not have been able to control that style properly.
And yet that girl had actually used it to win!
As a rookie trainer, Chihaya Yui was so overwhelmed with joy that she even cried.
The very first horse girl under her charge had debuted smoothly and successfully.
That was wonderful news—news worth celebrating with all her heart!
"Ah, right—the winners' stage. Next comes the winners' stage."
After being moved for a while, Chihaya Yui finally remembered that problem.
She had, in fact, made Xingyun Liuge practice The Legend of the Galloping Horse, but that girl had seemed rather uninterested in the song.
Could something go wrong on the winners' stage?
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 150)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 110)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter100)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 60
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 50
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 50
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 50
The Way the Umamusume Look at 31
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 26
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 26
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