Gasps rose one after another, like free-running waves flashing a translucent jade-green beneath the sunlight. But in the very next moment, those "waves" revealed their violent side.
The cries from the stands suddenly surged upward, roaring into the sky from all directions. Even the clouds above seemed unable to withstand the force of it, driven far off into the distance, perfectly embodying the saying: one wave rising higher than the last.
That deafening clamor rolled on without end, unstoppable.
Wrapped in that mighty tide of noise, the horse girls all felt themselves stirred on. They wanted to prove themselves on this stage before countless eyes and win the loudest cheers of all. Brian's Time and Forty Niner, accelerating at the same moment, felt this more keenly than anyone.
The two horse girls wanted nothing more than to squeeze every last ounce of strength from their bodies, surge past the runners ahead, and claim for themselves the breathtaking view that only the leader could see.
They wanted to answer the crowd's cries, to make the audience recognize their strength more clearly, and then use this chance to shout their own names to all of America—and even the world:
This generation does not belong only to Xingyun Liuge and Risen Star. It has me, Brian's Time / Forty Niner, too!
The emcee, who very much seemed to have a chatterbox streak, was kind enough to play along. Drawing a deep breath, lowering his body slightly, and clutching the microphone in one hand, he rattled off in a voice both rapid and clear:
"This is extraordinarily rare! The race is not even halfway over, yet Forty Niner and Brian's Time have accelerated at the same time! They have almost simultaneously passed Goodbye Halo, then Winning Colors, and are driving straight toward Risen Star's back! The horse girls refuse to yield an inch! What a truly unusual sight—are they trying to imitate the tactic Xingyun Liuge used in the Two Thousand Guineas?"
The shock in his voice seemed almost ready to spread through the microphone and into every corner of Pimlico Race Course. He paused for only the briefest instant, fingers tightening around the microphone's base, veins standing out on his forehead.
"But!!!"
At that same moment, the horse girls focused on the race began to notice something strange happening on the track.
Their ears twitched upright as they tried to catch that fleeting odd sensation more clearly.
The hoofbeats behind them sounded wrong somehow.
Out of sync.
But none of them could afford to look back while running, which made the host's commentary the key to obtaining brand-new information.
He might be a chatterbox—fine, whatever. But there was no way he could be making things up in the middle of a race this tense. If he had the leisure for that, the race situation would have changed several times already.
Goodbye Halo's ears gave a slight twitch.
She felt as though she had caught onto something: amid the hoofbeats and the spray of kicked-up dirt, there seemed to be another sound, sharper and more urgent.
But she could not be sure, because the crowd's thunderous roar came crashing down, greatly interfering with her attempts to read the movement of the pack behind her.
Still, the roar had risen from scattered cries into a full-blown avalanche, and it had done so seamlessly. Combined with that faint sense of disharmony…
Any horse girl daring enough could guess the truth of what was happening behind them.
Winning Colors and Risen Star reached the same conclusion at the same time:
It's Xingyun Liuge!
Everything happened in the span of a heartbeat. The host's reveal was already fast, but to those two horse girls, it still felt unbearably slow.
"Xingyun Liuge! It's Xingyun Liuge!" the host cried, face flushed red, voice hoarse with effort. "This is not just two horse girls making their move—it's three! Is Xingyun Liuge about to recreate the overwhelming one-breath charge she unleashed in the Two Thousand Guineas, overturn the race in mid-course, seize the lead, and hold it to the end?"
"Or will the iron wall before her cut off her path? Let us witness it together!" His voice nearly cracked.
Were the crowd's roaring cheers meant for Forty Niner and Brian's Time?
Partly, perhaps.
But certainly not all of them.
Because Xingyun Liuge had accelerated at exactly the same moment as those two, creating a scene in which three horse girls launched a mid-race charge together.
With her previous two overwhelming victories in mind, what spectator would not feel their blood boil at a sight like this?
The only problem was this:
The audience, and even the older veterans, had all fixed their attention on Xingyun Liuge. Some had even gone so far as to arrange that scene where Triple Crown winners personally invited her to transfer in.
How could the American horse girls possibly accept that?
Xingyun Liuge was the biggest star on this stage?
Dream on.
Did people really think so little of the tactics they were so proud of?
The horse girls at the back were primarily supposed to support their own "generals," and none of them had ever cooperated with horse girls from other camps before.
But that was fine.
As long as they all focused on Xingyun Liuge, it would be enough.
Three horse girls spread out one after another at an angle, practically sealing off the road ahead of her.
The inner lane, the outer lane, and the very outside were all occupied by sturdily built horse girls. Xingyun Liuge herself was relatively small; if a collision occurred, the result would almost certainly be devastatingly unfavorable for her.
A few of the girls wore smiles of satisfaction.
Hmph. You want to catch up? Then blame yourself for not fighting for the lead from the very start!
In their eyes, Xingyun Liuge should never have chosen a closer's tactic. Once others had marked her out, someone with her build would find it extremely difficult to break through an encirclement like this.
American racing seldom penalized contact and pressure between horse girls. And with Xingyun Liuge's size, if she smashed into them, she would be the one who suffered.
But how could they call it a real tactic if all they did was block her?
So, once the horse girls judged that Xingyun Liuge could no longer break through their makeshift alliance, dangerous red lights flared in their eyes.
Gate her. They had to gate her hard.
You want to take the American Triple Crown?
It won't be that easy!
In an instant, foot-dragging slows, stamina-draining effects, oppressive pressure, amplified burden—one after another, all sorts of debuffs slammed toward Xingyun Liuge.
They were not fighting alone!
A full six horse girls joined the "gang-up" against Xingyun Liuge.
The Japanese horse girls, with Oguri Cap at their head, were instantly outraged.
"This is too much!"
Norn Ace even shot a middle finger high into the air and shouted furiously, "If you can't win fair, then don't race at all, damn it!"
So what if the American horse girls were far stronger than mere local girls like them—was she not allowed to tell the truth?
Kawamura Hiyori hurriedly grabbed Norn Ace's hand and warned, "Idiot, this is America! Don't make trouble for Xingyun!"
What good would indignation do? Even if they were furious, what could they actually do? After all, the Americans' tactics did not technically violate any rules.
Compared to the situation itself, Hiyori was even more worried about the possibility of elbows coming out. American dirt races often saw horse girls bumping into each other, and as long as it was not blatant, the organizers would not hand down any penalties.
In other words, if someone disguised a malicious elbow as an "accidental" collision, there would be nowhere to appeal.
"Trying to make this harder for me?" Xingyun Liuge smiled faintly as she looked at the sturdy horse girls blocking her path. "Fine. I'll just use you as appetizers."
A white light flashed over her body.
The American horse girls: "?!"
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 139)
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 (Chapter171)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter100)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter184)
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 168
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 156
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 105
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 185
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 160
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 150
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 76
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 97
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 116
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 75
Uma Musume: I Want All 93
I Can Copy Unique Skills 79
Summoning an Evil God, but the 55
Supernatural Multiverse 75
My Harem Is Indescribable 68
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 70
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 66
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 69
Still playing traditional Honk 49
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 53
What Should I Do After Switchi 42
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 50
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 38
Transmigrated as Sukuna 35
Checking In in Demon Slayer 40
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 55
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin