Neither the commentators nor the spectators noticed anything strange about the track at first.
Even as the commentator inwardly lamented Xingyun Liuge's doomed overseas campaign, he continued his call:
"We're already past the halfway mark. Gibraltar Mountain is still in front by about half a length, with Diminuendo close behind in second. Third and fourth are World Domination and Twin Mirror Flash respectively. Minster Son is gradually catching up to the front pack and is now running in seventh. And then—"
He froze for a second, his voice shooting upward.
"Xingyun Liuge! Xingyun Liuge, who was dead last, is suddenly accelerating from the outside! But there are still eight hundred meters left, with both downhill and uphill sections still ahead of them. Why is she accelerating now? Is she trying to put pressure on the pack and force open an opportunity?"
But could that really work?
Surely not.
The runners here were all Classic-year horse girls, not the seasoned veterans of the older division, but Xingyun Liuge was moving far too early. There were still eight hundred meters to go. At this point, the other horse girls would only watch her run herself into the grave.
No one could possibly sprint for a full eight hundred meters and still win, could they?
And if someone really could do that, then a full-blown front-running escape from the start would be a far more impressive and oppressive tactic.
If Xingyun Liuge knew what the commentator was thinking, she would very kindly tell him:
No thanks. That would be boring.
If she went with a full runaway strategy, would she still get to hear the other horse girls crying out in despair?
If not, then where was the fun in that?
And running was all about having fun. Surely that was easy enough to understand.
The damp wind, heavy with moisture, swept over the course carrying bits of grass with it. The turf had already drunk its fill from the earlier rain. When their feet came down, what they felt was no longer the familiar firmness of the ground but a soft sinking sensation, like stepping on a sponge swollen with water.
That was true for everyone.
It was just that European horse girls were better adapted to this sort of going.
Unfortunately for everyone else, Xingyun Liuge was not a European horse girl.
But she did not care.
Because she was about to change all of it.
Tiny arcs of electricity flickered through her white hair, like little thunder-snakes testing the air before striking.
Almost at the same moment, the horse girls—so focused on the race that they had nearly forgotten Xingyun Liuge existed—felt the air itself change.
The wind shifted.
Its force intensified sharply.
Even the air grew wetter.
Most importantly, an inexplicable discomfort spread through their bodies.
A strange crackling sound seemed to ring beside their ears, followed by a sharp snap, and then a prickling sensation spread all over them, as if countless fine needles were piercing their skin.
The girls were not unfamiliar with the feeling. In dry seasons, such phenomena—static electricity—were quite common.
But this was summer.
The air was already saturated with moisture.
These were conditions in which static should not have formed at all.
Instinctively, the girls slowed their pace at that subtle but disturbing sting.
The next instant—
Bzzzt.
Distinct arcs of electricity appeared on their bodies.
Bright sparks lit up every face in the field.
At the sight of that spilling electric light, many people felt their hearts seize in fear.
What was going on?
Why were they experiencing something like this?
What exactly had gone wrong?
Fortunately, there were still plenty of quick thinkers among them.
They soon remembered the race footage they had studied in advance.
And in this Two Thousand Guineas, there was only one person capable of causing lightning phenomena like this—
Xingyun Liuge.
"Boom!"
The instant they realized that, lightning flashed.
Then came thunder—heavy, oppressive thunder, rolling forward as though even the earth itself were trembling beneath its might.
Before that lightning, the leaden cloud cover above seemed to collapse in on itself. Icy raindrops plunged down without warning, and in the blink of an eye the shower became a curtain.
This sudden deluge obscured everyone's vision and shattered the rhythm of the race.
The commentators and spectators alike assumed it was nothing more than an ordinary burst of rain.
None of them realized this was an anomaly triggered by Xingyun Liuge.
"Tch, that girl… wait, what is this?!"
Some of the horse girls grumbled out loud. Yes, their race costumes were blessed by the Three Goddesses and easy enough to clean, but who in their right mind enjoyed being soaked through to the bone?
Yet they had no time to dwell on the rain.
Because the sodden turf began to discharge electricity as well.
The fine arcs seemed to be holding a social gathering inside the rainstorm, thriving wildly in the curtain of water, then slithering up from the girls' ankles like living serpents flicking their tongues.
"—!"
Quite a few horse girls had the deepest corners of their fear dragged violently to the surface.
Their whole bodies stiffened.
Their scalps prickled.
Even breathing became difficult.
A nameless terror clutched their hearts.
And even for the half of the field who were not outright frightened, the situation was still dire.
Every step felt like struggling against a swamp, costing them extra stamina.
The errant arcs crackled across their bodies, over the course, even in the stands. Electrical charge seeped into their muscles, bringing with it an unnatural numbness and heaviness.
Newmarket Racecourse had become the dominion of thunder.
Rising Storm: Xingyun Liuge may mark up to five opponents, slightly reducing their stamina and lowering their speed by 5%. If it is raining, the effect chains from target to target until it covers the entire field.
Savage Mauling: Xingyun Liuge restores (1 + number of marked opponents)% of her stamina. Cooldown: 30 seconds. If there are more than five marks on the field, this skill's cooldown resets and the recovery effect doubles. Any excess recovery raises her maximum stamina until the race ends.
"Boom!"
Thunder roared.
Beneath the clouds, within the curtain of rain, and amidst the howling gale, the lightning turned the same pure white as Xingyun Liuge's hair.
The flickering arcs evaporated the water from her clothing and hair, leaving them dry and smooth.
More than that, ionized particles scattered through the air, flashing and fading in crossing strands, lifting her long hair into the wind and coating her in a brilliant, incandescent white outline—radiant, yet carrying an icy majesty.
Without a single word, they made their declaration:
The storm clouds are nothing more than a cloak stirred by the wind upon my back.
And this power was anything but gentle.
The turf beneath Xingyun Liuge's feet changed from heavy going to good going—
and then to scorched black ruin.
The grass was annihilated. The soil split open. She stamped down with explosive force, and the terrifying arcs conducted straight into the earth without dispersing, lighting up the entire course from below so that the other girls could clearly see what was happening to the track.
"Come on," Xingyun Liuge said, smiling.
"The game starts now."
"Boom!"
A massive bolt of lightning ripped across the heavens.
High above, the thick cloud bank seemed to gather into the shape of a mountain-sized colossal bear, descending with the force to overturn heaven and earth itself, its head raised in a world-shaking roar.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
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Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
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TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
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I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
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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 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
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 80
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 74
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 48
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 50
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 47
Uma Musume: From Beginner 42
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