"Seven hundred meters to the finish, and Fujimasa March has made her move early! She's overtaken Minami Kaku—Fujimasa March is now in the lead!"
"But!"
"Our Demon King is making her move at the exact same moment! The Demon King is finally about to display her absolute domin—"
Halfway through, the commentator's tone grew even more feverish. She hastily corrected herself, her words coming as fast as machine-gun fire.
"One, two, three... so fast! Demon King's speed is practically unheard of! She's blown past multiple runners in an instant! With acceleration like this, who in the world could possibly stand in her way? Damn it, who could possibly stand in her way?!"
She could not help blurting out a curse, but nobody cared.
The acceleration Xingyun Liuge had just displayed was simply too absurd. In one burst, she had overtaken the entire field and even left second-place Minami Kaku behind her!
The announcer shouted excitedly as well,
"Xingyun Liuge—she's like a violent bolt of lightning descending upon this land of blooming sakura! With acceleration like this, perhaps her finishing speed is already enough to rival the Emperor's!"
The commentary booth was in a frenzy, and the stands were no different. The spectators were flushed red with excitement, shouting Xingyun Liuge's name at the top of their lungs.
In their eyes, the moment Xingyun Liuge got serious, everything was already over. No horse girl in Kasamatsu could defeat her.
No—more accurately, Xingyun Liuge was already the strongest horse girl in the entire Tokai region, and no one could shake her rule there.
Xingyun Liuge drew level with Fujimasa March.
Then she overtook Fujimasa March.
Though Fujimasa March clenched her teeth until she could taste a faint hint of iron in her mouth, what could not be done simply could not be done. What could not be won simply could not be won.
Under the weight of Xingyun Liuge's pressure, Fujimasa March could only watch as Xingyun Liuge raced farther and farther ahead, the gap between them widening more and more.
Half a length. One full length.
For the Fujimasa March of now, it was an unbearable gap she had no power to close.
Her eyes widened.
She understood now.
She had already seen the winner of this race:
the gray horse girl called Xingyun Liuge.
She had already done everything she could, yet still could not shrink the distance between them. All she could do now was accept the finish line with second place in hand—
No.
Wait.
There were footsteps approaching!
At the sound, Fujimasa March's pupils shrank sharply, shock surging through her heart.
How could this be?
That girl should have already fallen behind after being singled out by Xingyun Liuge's relentless pressure, shouldn't she?
So how—
how had she suddenly caught up?
"Oguri Cap! It's Oguri Cap!"
the commentator roared.
"Oguri Cap, who had been lurking in the rear group, has made her move! She's overtaken Minami Kaku! Ahead of her now are only Fujimasa March and Xingyun Liuge—can she catch them?!"
Can she catch them?
Oguri Cap did not understand the question.
From beginning to end, the only person ahead of her had ever been Xingyun Liuge.
No one else mattered.
With the final 200 meters remaining, Oguri Cap overtook Fujimasa March.
Now there was only Xingyun Liuge ahead of her.
The commentator called it:
"The hero's challenge against the Demon King!"
Xingyun Liuge did not see it that way at all. What hero? Why did she have to be the Demon King while Oguri Cap got to be the hero?
That was not a hero.
That was a gray-haired monster.
From the very start, Xingyun Liuge had used Flay to drain Oguri Cap's stamina, and had focused on suppressing her the entire race. By all logic, Oguri Cap should already have spent a huge amount of energy and no longer posed any real threat.
And yet Oguri Cap had still fought her way back with overwhelming finishing speed.
The gap between them was down to only two lengths.
Though Xingyun Liuge did not yet feel that the distance would shrink any further, she could clearly feel Oguri Cap's eyes on her.
Oguri Cap was staring at her back with blazing intensity—
just as Xingyun Liuge herself had done to Oguri Cap at the start.
Applying pressure?
Now that was interesting.
The corners of Xingyun Liuge's lips curled upward as she thought:
As expected of someone strong enough to stand among my simulation opponents. She's still just starting out, yet she's already grasped how to pressure an opponent without anyone teaching her?
More and more, Xingyun Liuge found herself looking forward to Oguri Cap's growth. Under the pressure she intended to keep applying, Oguri Cap should be able to grow even stronger than the peak phantom version from the simulations... right?
Really, titles like Demon King would be better suited to Oguri Cap.
All Xingyun Liuge wanted was to run little horse girls into tears. What kind of Demon King was that?
She let out a quiet sigh.
"The satisfaction of victory should help her grow faster, right? But unfortunately, I'm not about to hand over victory to anyone~"
If anything, seeing Oguri Cap grow only made Xingyun Liuge want to pressure her harder.
The greater the pressure, the stronger the drive Oguri Cap could produce before reaching her limit—wasn't that right?
Originally, Xingyun Liuge had not intended to use it so soon.
But since Oguri Cap was trying this hard, it was only proper to show her a little more respect.
Xingyun Liuge stopped conserving her stamina and burst into a second acceleration. The two-length gap instantly widened to three lengths.
At the same time, ghostly green light exploded in her eyes.
"My domain. My rules."
"—!"
In that instant, Oguri Cap, Fujimasa March, and many other horse girls saw a miracle.
Gigantic pillars of pure ghostly green energy shot into the sky, like towering beams wreathed in eerie green fire.
They looked intangible, clearly not physical objects—
and yet every one of them radiated a soul-shaking coldness and despair.
An invisible, immensely powerful slowing field burst outward, centered on Xingyun Liuge.
Almost at the same instant, thick, scalp-prickling curtains of dark green energy spread out and connected those towering pillars together.
Everyone heard the sound of locks sliding shut.
It was the prison itself issuing its strong, merciless proclamation:
Welcome to hell.
The entire Kasamatsu Racecourse was "surrounded" by The Box.
Even the sunlight seemed warped. The pitiful, terrifying green glow became the dominant color of the world.
The air turned thick and heavy, like a filthy swamp.
The horse girls trapped within it could barely lift their legs.
Almost every horse girl was trembling as the same thought rose in her mind:
What... is this?
The inside of a demon king's castle?
Had that commentator somehow guessed Xingyun Liuge's true identity?
If that were the case, then what exactly was this horse-girl race supposed to turn into?
And then, at that moment, the horse girls heard a passionate cry ring out:
"She crosses the line! Xingyun Liuge! First place goes to our Demon King! A seven-length gap! Incredible—simply incredible! This is absolute strength crushing everything before it!"
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 172)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 116)
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! (Chapter119)
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 66
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 50
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 52
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 55
The Way the Umamusume Look at 42
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 40
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 36
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