When Symboli Rudolf heard Xingyun Liuge's teasing, she found the girl rather interesting.
What did she mean by elbowing? What did she mean by American horse racing really is dangerous?
At most, there was simply a chance of contact during the break from the gate or while jockeying for position in the chase. Though, to be fair, Rudolf really had been planning to elbow Xingyun Liuge.
But since Xingyun Liuge had seen through her intentions and even said them out loud, Rudolf realized something else as well:
Xingyun Liuge was not completely ignorant of how fierce competition in the American Triple Crown could be.
And from that, another conclusion naturally followed:
She probably knew something about the British Triple Crown too.
Which brought them right back to the same problem. The schedules overlapped. How exactly was Xingyun Liuge planning to run both the British and American Triple Crowns? She would be far better off choosing just one.
Forget winning all three legs—if Xingyun Liuge could win even a single one, Symboli Rudolf would personally petition the JRA to reward her and make sure she became an absolutely enormous star!
So why did she have to say something so outrageously arrogant, in such a tone that made it clear she was dead serious?
Rudolf truly could not understand it.
She just wanted Xingyun Liuge to think it through properly.
Still, judging by Xingyun Liuge's attendance record and school activity history, she was not the sort who would calmly sit still and listen to a lecture. In that case, there was only one way for a horse girl to convey her heart:
Settle it on the track.
Having reached that conclusion, Symboli Rudolf focused herself. As soon as the race began, she intended to give Xingyun Liuge a tiny taste of authentic American racing—
An elbow.
Even if Xingyun Liuge had seen it coming, so what? This was the kind of thing that really could happen in a race. Being mentally prepared for it was a good thing.
And yet, events unfolded in a way completely different from what Rudolf had imagined.
Xingyun Liuge lowered her small body—small enough to even look a little slight and fragile. The iron-shod boots on her feet sank slightly into the turf. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath.
In the next instant, a violent, unstoppable power surged out through every part of her body, strengthening every bone, every muscle, even every blood vessel.
That overflowing force sank downward into her feet, into the soles of her boots, then rebounded upward again. That simple exchange alone made the ground beneath her cry out in protest.
Ever since stepping onto the racetrack, Xingyun Liuge had never once used Ultimate Spellbook. The reason was simple: her luck with it had been unusually good, and she had randomly rolled a special skill that was easy and effective right from the start.
Its name was:
Unstoppable Onslaught.
That was also the direct reason she had chosen to race Symboli Rudolf without spending a reroll die first.
Sion, the Undead Juggernaut, might not be especially strong overall, but his ultimate was absolutely perfect for racing.
Symboli Rudolf sensed something strange about Xingyun Liuge's condition, but then—
The gates flew open.
"!"
At that exact moment, Rudolf realized that a special aura, blazing like roaring fire, had erupted from the gate right next to hers and burst out like an explosion.
The aura was nearly tangible, like actual flames. Even the grass under their feet seemed to scorch yellow beneath it.
Rudolf had no doubt that if the turf had been any drier, Chukyo Racecourse might have literally caught fire.
There was no question—this was the power of a Domain.
Only a Domain could produce something like this.
It was the direct proof of spiritual sublimation, a miracle capable of making the colorless and shapeless force of the mind manifest into reality.
But was that really how a Domain was supposed to be used?
No. That was completely wrong.
The power of a Domain should be unleashed in the final sprint. At worst, it should be saved for a mid-race acceleration.
Who in the world used it right at the start of the race?
A Domain truly was a miracle that turned impossibility into possibility—but it also devoured stamina and mental energy at an astonishing rate. Using it so extravagantly from the opening seconds meant she would probably lose speed by mid-race.
Rudolf could not make sense of it.
What in the world was Xingyun Liuge doing?
What was she doing?
Very simple.
She did not care what Symboli Rudolf thought.
She was going to use this unstoppable force to flee all the way to the end.
She was going to run until she reached the very edge of the world.
The surging power overflowing from her body wrapped around Xingyun Liuge, becoming an almost tangible battle intent, hot enough to burn—and transforming her into a blazing inferno tearing across the track.
Her body was so small.
And yet it erupted with such wild, exaggerated, terrifying force that it seemed capable of destroying anything in its path.
Unstoppable.
Irresistible.
As though no matter what stood in front of her, she would simply use this horrifying power to grind it into dust.
At this moment, she had no business being called a horse girl.
She was a war machine, one that looked down on the whole world.
Elbow her?
Go ahead.
Let's see who ends up sending whom flying.
Her iron-shod boots crashed down onto the turf. Chunks of grass were flung instantly into the air. By the time tonight's private race was over, Chukyo Racecourse was going to be spending a fortune on repairing the track.
A brazen smile bloomed across Xingyun Liuge's face.
A curve ahead?
Slow down?
There was no need for any of that.
A true expert driver did not get troubled by something like a bend. You just took it at full speed.
There was no commentator for this private race—and thank goodness there was not. Otherwise, even Symboli Rudolf worried the commentator might have choked from shock after witnessing the power Xingyun Liuge was displaying.
That Symboli Rudolf could not even bite Xingyun Liuge's tail.
In an instant, she had been thrown far behind.
"!"
Grinding her teeth, the corner of Rudolf's eye began to twitch uncontrollably.
"What… exactly is wrong with this girl?"
How far apart were they now?
Twenty lengths? Thirty?
Had the gap already exceeded fifty?
And what was this nonsense about taking a turn at ultra-high speed? The wind pressure alone had snapped one of the distance markers clean in half.
Rudolf had forbidden anyone from watching this race and had even asked Maruzensky to stand by as a final safeguard. Originally, it had all been for Xingyun Liuge's protection.
And yet now…
That same consideration had ended up protecting her, becoming the very last scrap of dignity shielding her from total humiliation.
What kind of joke was this?
She was the Emperor!
The absolute strongest in the Twinkle Series!
How could she possibly be overturned here by some obscure junior nobody had ever heard of? What kind of absurdity was that?
"Hah."
Once the initial shock passed, Symboli Rudolf's mouth curled into an excited grin.
So she had been driven into a corner right from the start? A junior was actually on the verge of crushing her into the dirt?
As if.
She was the Emperor.
"It's been a long time since I last stood on a track, and yet I'm being driven into a desperate situation this easily? In that case, Xingyun Liuge, it seems I no longer have anything left to teach you."
"But!"
"I will never hand victory over!"
Flames flared in Symboli Rudolf's eyes as well.
She refused to believe that such ridiculous power could carry a horse girl all the way from start to finish.
If it really could, Xingyun Liuge ought to have already been leaving her opponents over a hundred lengths behind in every race. How could her winning margins have stayed in the range of merely several lengths, ten lengths, or a bit more?
Rudolf decided to bet on it.
She was betting that Xingyun Liuge would lose speed in the middle stretch.
So what if the gap really widened to a hundred lengths for now?
She would take every last bit of it back in the final stretch.
Xingyun Liuge noticed Rudolf's composure, but that was completely within expectations.
Her opponent was the legendary undefeated Triple Crown winner. No matter how dazzling Xingyun Liuge's opening display might be, someone like Rudolf was never going to crack that easily.
Otherwise, what kind of legend would a legend be?
"To be honest, I kind of wanted to keep this speed all the way to the end."
Xingyun Liuge muttered to herself.
If she really did that, she might be able to leave Rudolf two or three hundred lengths behind.
At that point, she might even shatter this legendary horse girl's spirit on the spot.
After all, the Unstoppable Onslaught she had rolled from Ultimate Spellbook was not the PC version with its eight-second duration.
It was the mobile version.
The endlessly refreshable one.
Heh heh heh.
Ah, raw stats.
Ah, mechanics.
Though of course, her stamina consumption had also skyrocketed…
That part worried her just a little.
But something else mattered more.
If she simply charged to the finish in one go, would she not lose the joy of crushing hope with her own hands?
People ought to live with a little more happiness in their hearts. A little more kindness too. How could she casually leave Symboli Rudolf behind by several hundred lengths like that?
If Rudolf knew what Xingyun Liuge was thinking right now, she would absolutely explode at this junior who had no respect for her elders.
Symboli Rudolf: I advise you to choose kindness!
Watching the countdown tick down to fifty seconds remaining, and seeing the brand-new ultimate icon light up, Xingyun Liuge suddenly had an idea.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
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Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
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?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
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 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 31
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 27
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 26
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