"A GOOD START!"
"ALL THE UMAMUSUME ARE ALMOST OUT OF THE GATES AT THE SAME TIME!"
"BUT WHO'S GOING TO TAKE THE LEAD?"
"IT'S ADVANCED MORE! ADVANCED MORE HAS GONE TO THE FRONT!"
As the race began, the commentator's voice naturally picked up speed with it.
To Sakuraba Ryo, the pack of twenty-four runners looked like one dense black mass.
"Huh? Why aren't any of the really strong ones fighting for the front?"
Seeing that Yaeno Muteki and the others had no intention of contesting the lead, Sakuraba asked in confusion.
At his side, Fujimasa March gave a thoughtful explanation.
"Different runners excel at different styles, and in a race as important as the Derby, they'll usually stick to what suits them best."
"And with this many runners in the field, if you accidentally choose the wrong position, there's a good chance the whole pack will swallow you up..."
"As long as your acceleration isn't affected, it doesn't make much difference whether you're near the front of the pack or the back."
"I see."
Sakuraba took a closer look, and sure enough, Oguri Cap was right in the middle of the field, boxed in by Umamusume both ahead of and behind her.
Ohhh, so that was the downside of being swallowed by the pack.
If she wanted to accelerate, someone was blocking her from the front. If she wanted to conserve stamina, the runners behind would keep pressing her forward from the rear.
Oh yeah, Oguri fell for it!
Seeing Oguri Cap trapped in such an unfavorable position, Sakuraba was in an excellent mood.
But on the other side, Kitahara, who was also watching the race unfold, curled his lips into a smile.
"Yes! Exactly!"
"That's it—that's the position!"
"Everything is going according to plan!"
Indeed, just as Fujimasa March had analyzed, in a high-intensity race like the Derby, getting caught in the pack and being unable to either accelerate or ease off really was extremely dangerous.
But that was only under the assumption that Oguri Cap's strength was still at its previous level.
The Oguri Cap of now was different!
"Go, Oguri! Show them your full strength!"
Under Kitahara's expectant gaze, boxed in on all sides, Oguri Cap lowered her gaze slightly.
Kitahara told me to stay calm at times like this.
Deep breath...
Don't let my footwork get sloppy. Feel the power flowing through my body, then channel it into my legs.
It's not time to sprint yet, so I need to minimize stamina loss as much as possible.
Within the pack, Oguri Cap's running form shifted ever so slightly, and her whole body seemed to melt completely into the crowd around her.
Up in the stands, Symboli Rudolf narrowed her eyes slightly at the sight.
"Who taught her to run like that? Interesting."
By adjusting her form to blend into the pack, she was reducing wind resistance while hiding inside it and recovering stamina...
That kind of wild, unconventional decision-making made Oguri Cap someone worth watching.
"But strategy like that alone won't win you the race."
And at that moment, Oguri Cap made another move on the track.
On the bend, the gray-haired girl adjusted her posture slightly and slipped from the inside of the pack to the outside lane.
Then she took the corner from the outside at an astonishing angle of lean!
Conserve stamina on the straight, then build up another surge of it on the bend!
Then, at the most critical moment, unleash all of it in one burst!
"...!"
Running in second behind Advanced More, Yaeno Muteki sensed something strange rising from behind her and frowned slightly.
What was this restless, uneasy feeling?
Had something changed in the back of the field?
With that thought in mind, Yaeno Muteki quickly assessed the situation.
The lead group was about to come out of the final corner. Beyond it lay Tokyo Racecourse's famous long uphill stretch into the homestretch.
She didn't know what was happening behind her, but right now was the best chance to seize victory!
The instant the lead pack hit the final straight, Yaeno Muteki's eyes sharpened, and her feet drove into the wind!
In a single instant, she easily overtook Advanced More, who had been in front!
At that moment, the speed of the Satsuki Sho winner was on full display!
"YAENO MUTEKI HAS MADE HER MOVE!"
"IS SHE ABOUT TO SHOW THE PRIDE OF THE SATSUKI SHO WINNER?!"
"NO!"
"MEJIRO ARDAN IS MOVING WITH HER! SAKURA CHIYONO O IS SURGING TOO!"
"THEY HAVE NO INTENTION OF GIVING UP THE DERBY CROWN!"
On the final straight, the top favorites all unleashed their final spurts at once! The howling wind whipped their hair into disarray, and in their eyes burned nothing but the desire for victory!
"I'm not losing to you!"
"I'm definitely passing you!"
"HAAAHHH—!!"
The three Umamusume cried out on the track, driving their will into their legs like rounds being slammed into a chamber!
As their bodies burned hotter and hotter, their consciousness began to blur.
And then!
A strange chill crawled up their spines and into their brains, and their once-blurred awareness turned crystal clear in an instant!
A shiver of dread!
An uncontrollable shiver of dread!
The crushing terror of being stared down by a monster instantly seized the hearts of the three runners in front.
Unable to stop themselves, they turned back on instinct—and finally saw the source of their unease—
The gray-haired monster, her gray-white hair streaming loose behind her, was flying down the track, her blue-green eyes cutting suffocating arcs through the air like blades of ice!
The crushing pressure bearing down on them was like wave after wave of a raging sea!
Before they could even react, Oguri Cap swept past them on the outside like a phantom!
How is that possible?!
Why does she still have this much stamina left at this point?!
Yaeno Muteki was stunned. This was the final long uphill stretch of the Tokyo course—so why was she climbing it so easily?!
WHOOOSH!
Pink cherry blossoms burst into bloom—!
The first of the three to react was Sakura Chiyono O!
Blazing fire flared in her eyes, letting her push forward once more under the pressure of Oguri Cap—!
"I can't go down here!"
"Maruzensky-senpai is watching!"
"How can I fall here?!"
Extreme emotion gathered in the sakura-haired girl's heart, and her desire to fulfill her dream drove her to the threshold of a domain in an instant—!
In an ordinary race, opening a domain like this would surely have won her the race...
But...
The opponent before her was also an expert in using a domain!
On the final straight, the burning sakura tried to catch up to that gray-white streak of light—
"THEY'VE CROSSED THE LINE—!!!"
Two figures crossed the finish line, and the commentator's voice split the sky—!
"THE WINNER OF THE DERBY HAS BEEN DECIDED—!"
"THE VICTOR IS THE GRAY-HAIRED MONSTER—"
"O—GU—RI—CAP—!!"
---
T/N: ........................WHY IS OUR LOSER HORSE AN UNDEFEATED HORSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl