This was also the reason why Demon King Ship had given up on running as a Betweener (Senkou).
Because running as a Betweener, not only would her own "gating" skills be restricted, but she herself might get "gated" by her opponents.
This was absolutely intolerable!
Especially when she eventually raced Mejiro McQueen. If she ran as a Betweener and there were "gate horses" (debuffers) behind her, those gate horses—unable to reach the leading McQueen—would definitely choose to gate her. If that happened, she could forget about beating Mejiro McQueen.
As for that "fatal weakness" Seiun Sky believed in...
Demon King Ship didn't think absolute confidence was a weakness.
If one was strong but lacked such confidence, that would be truly unreasonable.
Besides, Seiun Sky's little scheme was a joke in Demon King Ship's eyes. Did she really think a temporary lead could defeat the Demon King? Unless Seiun Sky could be immune to gating skills like Mejiro McQueen, it was all a delusion. It must be known that Demon King Ship hadn't even utilized the maximum effect of her gating combo since her debut.
It was precisely because she had this ability as a safety net that Demon King Ship had the confidence to "learn" during the race.
Because apart from that Mejiro McQueen, she couldn't think of a second person who could break through this combo.
The race entered the corner, and Seiun Sky was still escaping!
She had no intention of holding back. She used all the skills she had comprehended right at the beginning of the race. Her tactic for this race was to escape to the very end! As long as her lead was substantial enough, she wouldn't fear the Demon King's late burst. Moreover, she still had her Unique Skill that would take effect in the final stage!
Based on her understanding of skill power, Seiun Sky believed her Unique Skill definitely possessed the power of an advanced skill, perhaps even reaching the level of a "Glimmer" skill.
In past races against the Demon King, the reason she couldn't display the power of this Unique Skill was simply a lack of good timing. But now, with the added power of generic skills, she felt she could finally push her Unique Skill to its limit!
Among the Betweener runners in this race, none had mastered skills. This caused a separation between the front and rear groups, weighing heavily on the minds of the runners behind.
'This is trouble. I thought my only opponents were the Demon King and Narita Taishin, but I didn't expect Seiun Sky's skill proficiency to reach this level.' Mejiro Ryan thought with a headache.
She could guess Seiun Sky's tactic. Whether this tactic would work on the Demon King was hard to say for now, but it was indeed very tricky for her. If she continued to hang back here and let Seiun Sky open up a huge gap, it was uncertain if she could catch up in the final stage. Furthermore, she remembered Seiun Sky had a powerful Unique Skill in the final stage. That skill posed a significant threat. Could she really just let Seiun Sky run away like this?
'Will the Demon King activate that so-called "Red Skill"?'
The Skill Manual also introduced "Gating Skills" (Red Skills), dedicating a separate section to them.
However, the training method for these things was as esoteric as "bewitching"—or rather, the two were essentially the same thing. Mejiro Ryan had tried to learn them but felt absolutely nothing, so she gave up.
The Demon King obviously possessed powerful gating skills.
That kind of skill had the ability to interfere with opponents. If the Demon King used it, she could definitely deal a massive blow to Seiun Sky, who was running regardless of stamina consumption. However, the Demon King seemed to have intentionally sealed her gating skills in recent races.
This was supposed to be a good thing for challengers like them.
But right now, Mejiro Ryan desperately hoped the Demon King would use a gating skill to attack Seiun Sky. Because in the current race situation, the Demon King hadn't posed a threat to her yet, but Seiun Sky had become the enemy she needed to deal with first.
This was the pressure a powerful Escape horse put on other runners.
Just as Mejiro Ryan was hesitating on whether to use her skills to chase Seiun Sky, Narita Taishin behind her made a decisive choice. She activated her "Tides" and skills directly and charged out.
'I'm going to win! No matter who the opponent is!'
Narita Taishin's thought process was simple: she just wanted to win this race.
The Demon King was her opponent. Mejiro Ryan, who had finished one place ahead of her in the Satsuki Sho, was her opponent. And now, Seiun Sky, who posed a threat at the front, was also her opponent!
In that case, she had nothing to hesitate about!
Mejiro Ryan's eyes went wide.
Watching Narita Taishin charge forward, she was shocked.
Launching a sprint at this time was a very rash decision for horse girls like them who specialized in a strong last spurt (末脚 - Suashi). After all, consuming stamina for a sprint now meant they wouldn't be able to unleash the full power of their last spurt later.
To defeat a powerful opponent like the Demon King, she felt she should choose the safest running style—tactics that allowed her abilities to be utilized to the limit. It was precisely because she held this view that she had been indecisive.
But Narita Taishin's burst startled Mejiro Ryan. She realized that she seemed to be so focused on the Demon King, thinking only about how to challenge her, that she had forgotten the ultimate meaning of the race.
That's right! The ultimate meaning of the race is to win the championship!
She didn't know what the Demon King was thinking, but she knew that if she continued to hesitate here, she definitely wouldn't be able to outrun Seiun Sky later. That kind of tactic posed such a terrifying threat to runners like them in the back.
Giving up her chance at the championship just to challenge the Demon King? No, that would deviate from her original intention of participating. She wanted to challenge the Demon King because she assumed the Demon King would win. But what she truly wanted wasn't just to beat the Demon King; she wanted to seize the race victory. That was her true intent!
In that case, she shouldn't hesitate!
Having thought this through, Mejiro Ryan also decisively launched her sprint.
Behind them, Demon King Ship watched the performance of these runners, and question marks popped up in her head. What is going on? Aren't you guys here to challenge this great one? Why are you fighting amongst yourselves before you even challenge me? She looked a bit speechless; she hadn't expected the race to develop this way.
'Is it the desire to win? Did the desire to win make you unable to hold back? But have you considered a possibility... that if you don't join forces to fight against this great one, the fact is you have no chance of winning at all!'
Demon King Ship could roughly guess Mejiro Ryan and Narita Taishin's thoughts.
Because Seiun Sky's performance threatened them, they couldn't let her continue running like that. This meant that deep in their hearts, those two still hadn't recognized the fact that only by defeating the Demon King could they achieve victory. That was why they wanted to chase Seiun Sky.
'How foolish. In front of this great one, you should be allies, not opponents! Recognize reality!'
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