If any horse girl knew what Xingyun Liuge was thinking, she would probably conclude that Liuge valued the strong even more than victory itself.
After all, in the middle of a race, she had helped Brian's Time awaken her Domain, only to defeat her afterward. She could have sealed her opponent's Domain and won with ease, yet instead she lifted the restriction and gave her opponent the chance to challenge her properly.
What kind of spirit was that supposed to be?1GaL2
Plainly, it was the noble spirit of someone who thought for everyone's sake, someone above petty interests and base pleasures.
Risen Star did not know what Xingyun Liuge was thinking. At this moment, her mind held only the image of horse girls falling one after another before Xingyun Liuge… the image of the promise she had made to Secretariat as a child… the image of Xingyun Liuge pulling farther and farther away toward the finish line…
Only one thing remained in her vision:
Xingyun Liuge's back.1GaL2
At that instant, nearly every horse girl felt something stir within her and instinctively looked up at the sky. Within that pitch-black cosmos, a cross-shaped starlight bloomed with a radiance all its own.
Before everyone's eyes, that golden brilliance slowly began to take on a crimson hue.
It was not merely a shift in color. It also began, little by little, to raise the temperature of the racetrack, as if it had decided to light up the heavens and bring endless warmth to this cold, desolate cosmic void.1GaL2
Secretariat lifted a hand almost unconsciously and touched her smooth forehead, immediately feeling the dampness she had expected.
Even standing in the grandstand, she could feel the change in temperature this clearly. How much more intense must it be for the girls out on the track?
Was this because Risen Star was forcefully driving her Domain beyond its limits, causing her spiritual power to spill over?
Or had she simply failed to control it properly, producing that overflow by accident?1GaL2
Whichever it was, the pressure Risen Star was under had to be immense. There could easily be aftereffects.
Even Secretariat felt that Risen Star had gone too far.
To strive bravely and yearn to defeat the strong was admirable. But if it came at the cost of her own health, then it simply was not worth it.1GaL2
But this was Risen Star's choice. Secretariat could not simply charge in and interfere. That would be trampling on the girl's determination.
Her hands clenched without her noticing, and unmistakable worry rose between her brows.
"Risen Star! Risen Star is making her move at the four-hundred-meter mark! So fast! Incredibly fast! She's become an arrow loosed from the bow, blasting past the girls ahead and aiming straight for Xingyun Liuge's back! The gap between them is closing at terrifying speed!!!"
The announcer was practically screaming himself hoarse, his face flushed red, desperate to pour every ounce of emotion he had into describing Risen Star's burst.1GaL2
"This swift and powerful finishing kick is a miracle in motion! Will she recreate the miracle Secretariat forged here eighteen years ago? Cheer, ladies and gentlemen! Let us all cheer for these two horse girls as they fight to the death over these final four hundred meters!"
Xingyun Liuge's ears twitched. She did not need the announcer's frantic shouting to lock onto the figure hurtling toward her at breakneck speed.
The stadium lights fell across Risen Star's face, but the shadow cast by her bangs blurred her features. Even so, perhaps because of that, the resolve blazing in her eyes stood out all the more sharply.
Sharp? No—at this moment, Risen Star's gaze was fiercer than any blade. It was starlight splitting the heavens, tearing through darkness itself.
She had come to drive away the cloud that Xingyun Liuge had cast over the crowd—a cloud called Japan's victory in horse racing. No matter the cost, she would grit her teeth and hold on to the end.1GaL2
Because this was Belmont Park, and this race was the Belmont Stakes!
This was her greatest stage on which to pay tribute to Secretariat, and also her last.
So even if her lungs felt as though they were burning, even if her heartbeat was about to reach its absolute limit, she would still catch up to that figure!1GaL2
"They're side by side!"
The announcer roared every word, veins bulging at his temples, determined to proclaim Risen Star's greatness and engrave this moment of glory into the memory of every spectator.
"Risen Star and Xingyun Liuge are neck and neck, utterly inseparable! They're locked in a dead heat, and fifty meters vanish in the blink of an eye! Only three hundred meters remain!"
"My God, I can barely bring myself to watch!" The announcer gasped, then continued in a trembling voice. "But who could possibly turn away from a duel this breathtaking?"
With both hands gripping his own head, he alternated between shouting the names of the two horse girls, his voice shaking even more violently than before.
"Two hundred and fifty meters left! Who will seize the final victory?!"1GaL2
To be honest, the race had reached a stage that was genuinely dangerous for the heart.
Either one of them looked capable of defeating the other. Either one could seize victory at the last moment—or lose it just as easily.
The situation had become so tense it was practically torturous.
Most of the audience had gone red-faced and wide-eyed, not daring to blink, afraid they might miss the decisive instant. Some even forgot to breathe until the suffocating pressure in their chests forced them into violent coughing fits, at which point they gulped in air desperately.
It was not good for the body.
But who could possibly resist a race like this?
In the stands, Daiwa Scarlet clasped her hands tightly together, fists clenched, praying desperately to whatever god might be listening.
She had thought Xingyun Liuge already had victory in the bag, yet Risen Star had suddenly burst forward again. It was the kind of development that was absolutely brutal on the heart. Daiwa Scarlet almost wanted to shut her eyes.1GaL2
At that moment, a pair of slender hands gently covered them for her.
Judging from the medicinal smell lingering on those hands, they could only belong to Agnes Tachyon. No other horse girl had such a distinctive scent.
No—there was something else highly distinctive, too.
The girl was breathing hard, as though she were about to collapse at any second.1GaL2
From the sound alone, it was unmistakably Agnes Tachyon.
Though the breathing sounded… a little strange. Easy to misunderstand.
At this moment, Agnes Tachyon was pressed close against Daiwa Scarlet's side, but all of her attention was fixed on Xingyun Liuge and Risen Star. The clash between those two had seized nearly all her focus; it had taken real effort for her to wrench herself away from that overwhelming desire long enough to spare Daiwa Scarlet a bit of consideration.1GaL2
In the final stretch, the voices supporting Xingyun Liuge and the voices supporting Risen Star were almost evenly split. Some wanted to witness the birth of a foreign Triple Crown champion; others wanted the final jewel of the American Triple Crown to stay in America. The struggle between the two sides had grown just as fierce as the one on the track.
And amid that struggle, one particular shout rang out especially harsh and ugly:
"Elbow her! Elbow her!"
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 155)
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 (Chapter200)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter110)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter230)
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 200
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 180
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 230
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 220
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 120
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 135
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 110
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 100
My Harem Is Indescribable 90
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 95
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 80
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 70
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 75
Checking In in Demon Slayer 80
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 85
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 70
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 65
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 70
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 70
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 65
Why did they assign me to Uma 65
MYGO Beauties 65
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 55
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 65
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 45
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 45
The Uma Musume Who Became 40
I'm Definitely Not the King of 45
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
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