...
After the swimming training ended, what remained was the mountain climbing relay race.
Sprinting up a mountain at full power was nothing difficult for the Uma Musume, but when tires and weighted rings were added, the situation became completely different.
"You three teams, look at the stage map and then discuss the members for each point."
The road wound around the mountain like a gray ribbon wrapping the mountain body. This design cleverly increased the distance and reduced the slope, yet at the same time it meant there was no flat ground for breathing room. Every single step was a continuous test of the muscles.
Although each team had more than ten Uma Musume taking responsibility in segments, the total training volume could still be guaranteed.
It would be a little easier than the swimming, after all this was also the final event.
After Lucian handed the maps to the three captains, the Uma Musume of the three teams gathered together and began discussing.
Some stages had many curves and needed Uma Musume skilled at cornering techniques. Some stages were very short in distance but steeper in slope than the others. Some stages were long, continuous gentle slopes that tested endurance...
There were still quite a few things that needed to be discussed.
...
After a while, each team finished arranging their personnel. Lucian, Toujou Hana, and Nishizaki Ryo divided the work and cooperated, leading the Uma Musume responsible for different stages by car to the designated relay points.
Once everything was ready, Nishizaki Ryo sent a message to Lucian at the starting point. "We can begin."
Lucian received the message and looked at the three Uma Musume in front of him. Unexpectedly, the three captains had all thought the same way and wanted to seize the initiative, so right from the start it was a contest of explosive power.
"Tree-chan, Suzuka, Seiun, ready... on your marks."
The three Uma Musume lowered their bodies, eyes locked tightly forward, battle intent blazing in their pupils.
"Run—!"
The starting gun sounded. The three Uma Musume exerted force at the same time, and the thick cables were instantly pulled taut and straight.
The torch leading to the mountain peak began to be passed from the foot of the mountain!
...
In the first stage of Taiki Shuttle, Silence Suzuka, and Seiun Sky, no clear winner was decided. Taiki Shuttle was only slightly ahead by a small distance.
In a flash of lightning, the curtain of the handover was abruptly pulled open.
Taiki Shuttle's agile body still carried an unstoppable inertia even while decelerating.
She quickly untied the hemp rope on her body and handed it over to Tokai Teio who was already waiting in full readiness. "Teio, fighting!"
"Leave it to me!" Tokai Teio's reply was clean and decisive.
Silence Suzuka's relay teammate was Mejiro McQueen.
There were no passionate slogans. Silence Suzuka only held out the hemp rope and passed all her trust through her eyes. "McQueen, do your best."
"Mm. I won't hold everyone back." Mejiro McQueen also quickly wrapped the hemp rope around her waist.
Seiun Sky's partner was Rice Shower. "Rice, let Teio and McQueen see the strength you've gained from training this period!"
Rice Shower's large eyes that always carried a trace of timidness lit up the moment she heard those words.
She felt that heavy recognition and trust, as if a warm current had driven away all her unease. She nodded firmly. "Mm! Rice will do her best!"
The appearance of Tokai Teio, Mejiro McQueen, and Rice Shower made it easy to guess that the second stage would be a long tug-of-war.
...
In the contest of the first few hundred meters, the positions of Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio changed frequently. The moment one ran into the frame, the side profile of the other would block her in the next second.
But in the middle-to-late part of the stage, Mejiro McQueen stabilized the leading position.
Yet the pressure only increased instead of decreasing.
She could clearly hear the slightly hurried yet still powerful breathing of Tokai Teio behind her, and feel the other's scorching gaze as if it wanted to burn through her back.
But that was only on the surface. What truly made a chill rise in Mejiro McQueen's heart was that black little horse on the right rear who always kept a distance, bit down tightly, and watched with tiger-like eyes...
Rice Shower did not issue any challenging declaration the way Tokai Teio did, yet her presence was like a sharp sword tempered with cold ice, hanging silently behind Mejiro McQueen!
"This feeling again... damn it." Mejiro McQueen felt a little annoyed inside, because Rice Shower sometimes gave her this same feeling during daily training.
Even though there was still some gap between them...
Mejiro McQueen even began to wonder if she herself was sick, or if Rice Shower's usual soft, sticky, harmless appearance had sunk too deeply into people's hearts, so that this resolute focus during a race created such an enormous contrast?
It was like thinking that cat had always been gentle, when in truth it was a fierce white tiger!
"No. Right now I should focus on what's in front of me!" Mejiro McQueen took a deep breath and drove the distracting thoughts out of her mind.
The icy air poured into her lungs as if it had ignited the engine inside her body. The aura around her rose sharply, and a faint flowing light like white electric arcs suddenly appeared.
Tokai Teio saw this and refused to show weakness. She was long past being the weak one who could only watch Mejiro McQueen's back grow farther and farther away. "My Queen!! I'm going to catch up to you!"
A powerful presence swept over like a tangible shockwave.
Rice Shower was stunned for a moment by the sudden burst of aura from the two of them. A flash of fluster passed through her eyes, then was replaced by firmness. "Rice.... has to hold on until the next leg! Can't let the gap open too much!"
...
In the next leg, Grass Wonder, Special Week, and Daiwa Scarlet had not yet seen the figures of Mejiro McQueen and the others, but they could already hear the heavy footsteps and the sound of the tires scraping across the ground.
"Rice-san seems to be coming." Special Week looked back, her gaze locked tightly on that single point at the end.
"Spe, this time Suzuka is on the same team as me." Grass Wonder narrowed her eyes and said without any particular reason.
"Mm?" Special Week's attention was also pulled away by her inexplicable words. "I know that. Why is Grass emphasizing it?"
That question actually stumped Grass Wonder.
She placed a hand on her own chest, yet the words she spoke carried uncertainty. "I just feel..... saying it out loud makes my heart feel a little better?"
Special Week showed a puzzled expression, thinking Grass Wonder was declaring war on her. "Grass, even if Suzuka is on your team, I won't underestimate you!"
"Hey hey hey, that... two senpai, do you still remember me?" Daiwa Scarlet's position had originally been off to the side. Listening to the conversation between Special Week and Grass Wonder, she felt even more left out.
She planted her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest.
Grass Wonder and Special Week turned their heads to look at Daiwa Scarlet at the same time, then their gazes simultaneously moved downward a stretch.
"Ara... truly an enviable figure, bigger than me, Spe-chan, and Suzuka added together..."
"So big... feels like it's even a little bigger than Ines-senpai's... Trainer-san would probably like it more... no no no!! Idiot! What am I thinking about!?"
...