The original King Halo was still thinking of a countermeasure.
The leading Silence Suzuka had left everyone in the dust.
At the moment, it looked as if no runner could catch her at all.
This would not do.
The original King Halo knew very well how much of a threat Silence Suzuka's Great Runner style posed at this distance. If no one caught up and disrupted Silence Suzuka's rhythm, Silence Suzuka might really be able to lead all the way to the finish. That was the dominance of a Great Runner in a sprint race. But even if the original King Halo wanted to interfere with Silence Suzuka, there was nothing she could do. At this distance, she truly had no confidence that an interference skill would hit Silence Suzuka. As for accelerating to catch up?
Impossible. Setting aside whether her burst could even successfully catch up, even if she somehow did, she would lose the chance to compete for the top three and merely hand the advantage to the other opponents.
Besides, she was the weak one.
What weakling would think of attacking the strong first?
But if she did nothing, what should she do?
Would an opportunity really appear if she simply waited?
The original King Halo thought anxiously.
"What exactly should I do?"
She wanted very much to calm down, but actually calming down
was difficult. Especially after feeling the gap in strength between her and her opponents, her emotions wavered badly. She felt somewhat at a loss.
If she did not clearly remember King Halo's teachings,
the original King Halo might already have given in and gone all in.
But now, at least, she could still endure and not move.
No matter how anxious she was, she chose patience.
Because she knew very well that now was not the time to make her move. As long as she still wanted to take one of the top three spots, she had to learn to control her own feelings.
And so,
the race reached the middle phase.
"A lead as if she has entered unoccupied territory!"
"Silence Suzuka is still far ahead!"
"Rhein Kraft is currently in second."
"Seeking the Pearl has chosen to slow her pace."
"Mejiro Ramonu is starting to move forward, but she is still holding something back."
"..."
While the commentator was still reporting the runners' positions,
Rhein Kraft suddenly clenched her fists. The horseshoes beneath her feet pierced hard through the turf. The muscles of her legs tightened, and rainbow light and golden light flashed at the same time. Starlight appeared in her eyes.
"Now!"
The waves of air surged. Pink light shone bright and dazzling.
She would catch up here.
Rhein Kraft had a feeling that if she did not catch up here, then later she would absolutely have no chance to surpass Silence Suzuka-senpai. This senior's Great Runner style was truly eye-opening.
That light figure was almost like a gust of wind.
Her speed was frightening.
In the stands, Rhein Kraft's seniors and teammates noticed her move and opened their eyes wide in excitement.
"Go!"
Astonishing momentum erupted from Rhein Kraft.
Although she had not awakened ZONE, she had already awakened to the stage where she could unlock [force]. Combined with the drive of two skills, Rhein Kraft's strength in this race truly counted as above average. She was one of the popular runners capable of taking the championship.
But Silence Suzuka in front seemed to have predicted Rhein Kraft's thoughts. At the same time Rhein Kraft burst, she used her own Flash Skill. The wave of air in front of her turned into wind.
Her body leaned forward slightly, giving her greater explosive force. Accompanied by the radiance of her skill and the bloom of her ZONE, the terrifying wave of air broke through the wind resistance before her. Her speed rose again. While the Flash Skill was still shining, Silence Suzuka's figure had already shot forward.
A terrifying obsession carried through the raging wind.
"I will never give this scenery to anyone. Just like this, forever and ever, I will run to a place no one has ever reached!"
Silence Suzuka and Rhein Kraft sprinted at the same time.
Because this course had no turns,
the runners could sprint forward without any reservations.
In the spectator seats, Silence Suzuka's teammates and friends cheered. It was obvious that Rhein Kraft's speed could not catch the current Silence Suzuka. Rhein Kraft's burst was indeed strong and full of power, but Silence Suzuka's speed was truly like a gust of wind. She simply could not be caught.
Special Week said in fascination, "As expected of Suzuka-san!"
This free, unconstrained running style was so beautiful.
While Silence Suzuka's camp rejoiced,
Rhein Kraft's camp began to sink.
Even Rhein Kraft herself, in the race, felt despair. She was being suppressed by Silence Suzuka-senpai's overwhelming speed.
"Damn it, I can't catch her!"
Rhein Kraft thought painfully.
The timing she had chosen was perfectly correct.
But even if she had read the timing of her burst correctly, it could not change one fact: the absolute gap in strength.
Silence Suzuka-senpai was stronger than her.
This was no longer competition on the same level.
Silence Suzuka-senpai's strength was at least one tier above hers. In that situation, there was certainly no chance of winning. But Rhein Kraft had no other way, because she had never learned interference skills. She had always firmly believed that her strength would not lose to anyone, and that even when facing a senior, she still had the power to fight.
But...
Silence Suzuka had one more ZONE enhancement than Rhein Kraft. That was the gap Rhein Kraft absolutely could not cross right now.
At that moment,
Seeking the Pearl, who had originally fallen slightly behind, could not help sighing inwardly.
When she noticed Rhein Kraft's plan, she had intended to pretend to conserve her strength for the moment, then look for a chance to surpass both of them in one move while Rhein Kraft and Silence Suzuka were locked in a stalemate. But she had not expected Rhein Kraft to be so useless. Not only had she failed to restrain Silence Suzuka, she had even allowed Silence Suzuka to escape.
"No helping it."
Seeking the Pearl's expression turned serious.
"Since little tricks don't work, I'll use my strength to win this race fair and square!"
Seeking the Pearl's originally descending figure suddenly stabilized. In the next instant, she began to move forward. Her calm figure erupted with waves of air, and the echoes of those waves overlapped with the sound of her steps. Her momentum burst like flame, and brilliant light bloomed on the ground.
It was a Flash Skill: [Supreme Radiance That Pierces the World], a skill that could display its greatest effect on a straight course.
Her accelerating figure carried a diamond-like brilliance as she chased Rhein Kraft and Silence Suzuka ahead. In the next moments, Seeking the Pearl's steps gradually became more and more flamboyant. Her dance-like stride was not only full of charm, but also possessed even stronger explosive power.
Another Flash Skill activated: [Pearl-Style Fighting Dance]!
Rhein Kraft was overtaken by Seeking the Pearl.
And Seeking the Pearl's speed was still rising.
That dazzling radiance did not vanish.
Clearly, Seeking the Pearl's burst was not limited to this.
She truly had the strength to fight Silence Suzuka.
Silence Suzuka's speed was very fast, but after her skill burst, she had maintained that state the entire time. That seemed to be Silence Suzuka's current top speed, and she could not raise it any further.
But Seeking the Pearl's current burst had not yet reached its limit.
The gap that had opened was being closed little by little.
After Seeking the Pearl burst,
the runners behind her also began to exert themselves.
The original King Halo was mixed among them, completely inconspicuous.
At this moment, she noticed that Rhein Kraft's originally powerful force had begun to destabilize after being suppressed by Silence Suzuka. Now that she had been overtaken by Seeking the Pearl, her force had begun to slide even further. Although that burst state still looked frightening, as long as one calmed down and calculated, one would discover that Rhein Kraft was now all show. Her speed ceiling had already dropped without her noticing.
"So this is what happens when one's state of mind is affected."
The original King Halo felt as if she understood something.
She somewhat understood why King Halo maintained absolute calm during races. Although a rise in fighting spirit could indeed sometimes make an umamusume perform beyond her normal level, compared with absolute calm and a state of mind that was not affected by opponents, it was simply not worth mentioning.
She noticed
that many runners were indeed bursting,
but their power seemed to be restricted within a certain range because of their mental state. Some might not even be able to break through the current Rhein Kraft because their [force] was inferior. Yet the original King Halo had a feeling that, in such a calm state, she could catch up to and overtake the current Rhein Kraft.
"Amazing."
"If it's like this... maybe I really can do it!"
The original King Halo's confidence began to recover.
To be honest, she had truly been somewhat dejected earlier. She had felt that she might really be eliminated in her first race. She had only suppressed that feeling because she did not want to do something embarrassing, and did not want to disappoint King Halo, who was watching the race.
But she had not expected to actually see hope.
Sure enough, the other her was incredible.
Just by learning a little of her experience, she had become this strong. She even had hope of rushing into the top three in a race of this level. If this had been the old her, she would never have been able to do something like this. She might even have given up on herself not long after the race began.
The original King Halo silently released her skills.
Her Flash Skills stayed still.
Under the support of one basic and advanced skill after another, along with the interference of some blocking skills, she had already found an excellent route before anyone paid her much attention. Her position began moving forward, closing the distance little by little as she waited for an opportunity.
In the stands, King Halo saw this and could not help revealing a faint smile. It seemed her investment had not been wasted.
The others also noticed the original King Halo's performance.
Tokai Teio glanced at King Halo.
Kitasan Black looked somewhat nervous. She did not quite understand how even this weak original King Halo could show such performance. And when she thought that this experience had been learned from King Halo, she felt a sense of crisis. Although King Halo's current strength appeared weaker than hers, King Halo still had a divine skill she had not used, her ZONE had not awakened yet, and she also had this sinister tactical running style. Kitasan Black really had no choice but to guard against her.
Kitasan Black silently calculated everyone's current strength.
McQueen-senpai was definitely in a tier of her own.
Demon King-senpai was also currently a powerful opponent.
Teio-senpai had only just completely crushed her earlier.
Rice Shower-senpai...
All one could say was that the Conqueror's upper limit was unfathomable.
And now, even King Halo was becoming stronger and stronger right before her eyes.
Kitasan Black suddenly had a bad premonition.
Don't tell me that in this version, I've become the punching bag?
No way. I only just started working hard. With my monstrous talent on top of that, shouldn't I be T0 this version?
"This is bad. I absolutely refuse to be at the bottom!"
Kitasan Black suddenly looked at King Halo fiercely.
"?"
King Halo glanced at Kitasan Black in confusion.
Although she did not understand why Kitasan Black had suddenly targeted her, she did sense Kitasan Black's fighting spirit, the will to battle King Halo. Did she want to seize ownership of the divine skill from her?
Interesting. Then come.
If the next race matches me against you,
then you can be the perfect sacrifice for awakening my ZONE!
King Halo's eyes turned cold as she answered Kitasan Black's gaze.
Tokai Teio looked at Kita with exasperation.
She had guessed what Kita was thinking.
Although this was a slacking-off Kita, Kita was indeed a proud girl. She could accept not being first, but if she lost so badly that she ended up at the bottom, proud Kita definitely could not accept it.
Mejiro McQueen had noticed these things as well, but her aloof self did not take them to heart. After all, the trophy for this tournament had been reserved for her from the very beginning.
She did not care what others thought.
However, after they became stronger, it did make things more interesting to her. But her thoughts went no further than that.
Back to the current race.
Seeking the Pearl successfully caught up to Silence Suzuka and restrained her.
Their forces collided.
Although their speed remained terrifying as they clashed,
at this moment the influence of their [force] on the other runners disappeared. Quite a few runners took the chance to chase up behind them, and Mejiro Ramonu grasped the opportunity in that instant.
Surging force erupted instantly, suppressing the umamusume around her. Mejiro Ramonu broke out from among them. To be honest, this course was not very suitable for her. But as an excellent umamusume, Mejiro Ramonu could still display her strength steadily. Even if the course's limitations prevented her skills from showing their maximum effect, her mastery allowed her to use those effects all the same.
Once the opportunity arrived,
Mejiro Ramonu decisively launched her advance.
"Dissolve into this love."
Mejiro Ramonu, who called her racing pure love, sped across the track. Even restricted by the course, her force was still the strongest among all the participants. Not even Silence Suzuka and Seeking the Pearl's forces combined could compare to hers. When Seeking the Pearl sensed Mejiro Ramonu's force, she realized she had accidentally overlooked this opponent.
But she had no choice. If she had not stepped forward earlier to restrain Silence Suzuka, she could only have watched helplessly as Silence Suzuka took first. Now she could only break free of Silence Suzuka as quickly as possible.
But Silence Suzuka was not so easy to shake off.
Seeking the Pearl grew somewhat anxious.
And now,
Mejiro Ramonu was side by side with Silence Suzuka.
Seeking the Pearl was just slightly behind.
Rhein Kraft and the original King Halo were side by side.
Less than 200 meters remained to the finish.
Only at this moment did the original King Halo clench her teeth and activate her Flash Skills. She used two Flash Skills despite the burden on her body. Even if they were not at maximum effect, the lower limit of Flash Skills was still there. Driven by dual Flash Skills, the original King Halo began to abandon thought, unable to restrain her feelings as she sprinted toward the finish.
After Mejiro Ramonu crossed the line first,
the original King Halo stepped into the finish half a step ahead of Silence Suzuka and Seeking the Pearl. Seeking the Pearl, caught in the struggle, was affected for an instant by the original King Halo who had caught up. That moment of distraction caused her to fall behind Silence Suzuka and miss third place. When she finished the race, her head was filled with only one thought:
Wait, where did this girl come from?
The original King Halo panted.
She lifted her head and looked at the results on the big screen.
When she saw her second-place result,
she immediately clenched her fist in joy.
"I did it. I did it!"
...
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