Uma Musume: Become a Legendary Trainer

Chapter 243 Backstab, Backstab Again

On the track, as the dark figure approached swiftly and rapidly, the screams and cheers inside and outside the stadium reached an unprecedented climax in this relay race.

Just like Yae Mudi and her friends who were watching the game on TV far away in the north, none of the spectators watching inside and outside the venue, including the commentators who took over from Kitahara and Akikawa Yayoi in this game, expected that the last part of the competition would be as exciting and intense as the previous ones.

In their opinion, the biggest highlight of today's game is the reappearance of these legends represented by Ludo, and the competition between the strongest active players in Oguruma.

For those who haven't debuted yet, most of them are encouraged by Kitahara trainers or arranged for training purposes. As long as they can finish the race normally, it's fine. Almost everyone thinks this way before the race.

However, when they actually watched the last leg of the race, they discovered that these little guys who hadn’t made their debut yet were definitely no less capable, motivated, or perseverant than any of their predecessors.

"This is so surprising!"

By this time, the commentary had switched to the off-site broadcast, and this unexpected tone hadn't stopped since the beginning.

“Mejiro McQueen has already demonstrated his superb leading skills, and Miura Bourbon, who is almost on the same track with him, has also performed brilliantly.”

"It would be fine if only two horse girls were so outstanding, but..."

"But! The performance of Mi Yu, who suddenly rushed out from the middle of the team and approached the two opponents in front, was equally amazing!"

“Although she has no advantage in terms of size, her strong and firm steps at this moment clearly tell us that the advantage of size is not important!”

"Like a long, slender black razor, she cut through the obstacles in an instant and pressed closely towards contestants Miura Bourbon and Mejiro McQueen!"

"Excellent timing! Awesome sprint!"

"Now...the distance between them is very close! They are almost running neck and neck!"

Perhaps because he was too surprised by everything on the track, the commentator used a more emotional description than in most cases.

This was indeed the case. In just a few seconds, Mi Yu, who was in fourth place, started accelerating and surpassed the East China Sea Emperor who was in front of him in the blink of an eye, and caught up with the two opponents in front of him in almost the same amount of time.

However, on the screens inside and outside the stadium, Mi Yu, who suddenly showed a brilliant performance, looked very calm.

Mi, Mi Yu...Mi Yu knew that she was an unfortunate child...

But, but... But Oguri-senpai worked so hard, and Maruzen-senpai, in order to comfort me, had been smiling and telling Mi not to feel stressed...

Mi...Since it will bring misfortune to everyone...

Then I'll do my best to make up for it...!
There was no longer the weakness and timidity of the past. Thinking this way, Mi Yu revealed an unprecedented determination in his whole body.

She pursed her lips tightly, a strand of black hair blown by the wind was stuck between her lips, her long black bangs covered her right eye, but the exposed purple pupil in her left eye was as clear and bright as a mirror.

From the reflection of those purple eyes, the audience who were staring at the screen seemed to see two close figures.

A streak of maroon, a little closer.

A streak of lavender, a little further away, but not much further.

"...Wow, Mi Yu can actually burst out such amazing strength, interesting~"

The one who was amazed was Maruzenski.

At this moment, she was next to a large medical vehicle. In the medical examination compartment, Kyoko Miyamura and some medical staff were giving Oguruma and the others a preliminary physical examination.

Standing outside the car, she and Lu Duo and the others looked inside the car from time to time with concern, while paying attention to the game situation on the car screen not far away.

After watching the race at the starting point of the second stage, this group of seniors soon arrived at the third stage.

With a wealth of experience, they, like Kitahara and Akigawa Yayoi, can see how intense the competition is between Oguruma and the others.

To be fair, they know that they are now fully capable of withstanding competition of that level, but if it were in the past, it would have been a huge burden for them.

So they rushed over out of concern, and for the same reason, they didn't pay much attention to the final stage of the race at the beginning.

"Indeed... Speaking for myself, I am more optimistic about the two children, Emperor and Bai Ren."

"Of course it's not that I think the other kids aren't talented or capable, it's just that I know the Emperor better and have more contact with Bai Ren in the student council."

"Originally, I felt that the two of them would have a better chance of winning."

After hearing Maruzenski's words, Ludo nodded in agreement, "But now it seems that it is still difficult to predict who will win or lose in this game."

After stating her opinion, she turned her head, "What do you think, Kitahara?"

Kitahara did not follow the medical staff into the medical carriage. It was full of horse racing girls and women, and they had to take off their clothes for the physical examination. It was a bit inappropriate for a grown man like him to be in there.

Yuhara was in the same situation as him. Hearing Luduo's symbolic question, Yuhara couldn't help but nodded and asked further.

"Well... the performance of these children is actually beyond my expectations. I think the same may be true for Komiya-san. Brother Kitahara, what do you think?"

After asking, he subconsciously saw Beiyuan and was stunned.

Kitahara was staring blankly at the game screen.

How could they be... so similar?
Although I know that, perhaps it is destined, you may stab Miura Bourbon and Mejiro McQueen sooner or later...

But what about you planning to backstab two people at once...?
A sense of déjà vu that made him laugh and cry kept spreading in his heart.

There is no way, the dispute between Miyu and Miura Bourbon and Mejiro McQueen is too famous.

In a sense, it is even more famous than the feud between the symbol of Birudo, the representative of Chiaki, and the ace of Katsuragi.

First, enjoy the chrysanthemums.

At the Chrysanthemum Festival in which both Miyu and Miura Bourbon participated, the former unexpectedly defeated the latter.

Before that game, Miura Bourbon had won seven games in a row without losing, and won the Asahi Cup, Gaoyue Sho, Japan Derby and other major prizes without losing, and they were naturally the most popular team before the game.

If it were just that it would be fine, but coincidentally, the East Sea Emperor, who won two championships without a loss the year before, missed the Chrysanthemum Sho due to a fracture, while Miura Bourbon was in a healthy state without any injury.

At that moment, almost all fans were looking forward to the legend of the undefeated triple crown being staged again in the Kyoto arena.

However, something unusual happened right from the start of the game.

Miura Bourbon is very adaptable in leading and releasing, and she has almost always won by escaping in previous competitions. This kind of competition where she "wins" from the beginning to the end as the first place is very entertaining, which is one of the reasons why she is very popular.

But when the Chrysanthemum Appreciation Competition started, the first one to rush out of the team was not Miura Bourbon, but Kyoei Strong Crossbow.

It was extremely rare for Miura Bourbon to not take the lead and instead remained in second place by several lengths.

Afterwards, abnormalities occurred one after another. Due to the explosion of the Kyoei Strong Crossbow, the speed of the entire competition group was very high, and the distance between the players was also very far, which seemed to affect Miura Bourbon.

When they reached the slope close to the finish line, although Kyoei's strong crossbow lost speed and although Miura Bourbon took advantage of her opponent's lack of energy to rush to the first place, her sprint this time was obviously not strong enough.

Miura Bourbon has a famous title, "The Genius of the Slope".

This not only means that she has undergone rigorous slope training, strengthened her cardiopulmonary capacity, and forcibly broke through the limitations of short-distance adaptability.

Still, she already has outstanding strength on the slopes.

This time, I failed to show my full strength on the slope, which not only affected my overall rhythm, but also affected my leading running tactics.

A key significance of the lead running method is to make up for the fact that your last leg is not as strong as your opponent, which requires you to create a sufficient distance before the finish line.

However, Miura Bourbon failed to successfully distance themselves.

It was at this moment that Mi Yu, who had been in fourth or fifth place, began a long-distance sprint and eventually surpassed Miura Bourbon, winning the Chrysanthemum Award with a record-breaking time of 3 minutes and 5 seconds.

Knowing all this, Kitahara felt that it was a coincidence that in this game, Miura Bourbon failed to successfully take the lead.

Although she was facing Mejiro McQueen instead of Kyoei Strongbow, and although she had not yet developed the adaptability to medium and long distances, and although this was not the Chrysanthemum Shooting, and not even the Shining Series...

But... they look so similar...

A similar resemblance can be found between Mi Yu and Mejiro McQueen.

The Emperor was enjoying the spring, and at that time, Mejiro McQueen had already won two consecutive championships. Just like the fans were looking forward to Miura Bourbon's undefeated triple crown, the fans were also looking forward to Mejiro McQueen being able to achieve the feat of three consecutive championships.

Then, this expectation was ended by Mi Yu.

Mi Yu was once subject to controversy and attacks for ending his opponent's highly anticipated results twice in a row.

"Is it a villain or a hero, a nightmare or a miracle?" Even the "praise" given by the official is full of ambiguity.

This controversy has been going on for a long time.

To be precise, it was a full 728 days, until Mi Yu won the Emperor's Spring Viewing Championship again, that people realized that the so-called villain and nightmare on the field was just her who wanted to win.

Just as the commentary after the game said, she should also have her own applause and glory, "Bourbon and McQueen will be happy about this."

Kitahara was not just sighing when thinking about this. He suddenly realized that, without realizing it, in addition to the changes in the competition, he had also subtly changed many things.

In the parallel world, Mi Yu was criticized as a villain because he did not have any outstanding performance in the early competitions, and the records of Miura Bourbon and Mejiro McQueen were indeed more outstanding.

But now, even before his debut, he has fought against strong opponents and demonstrated his talent that can be seen with the naked eye. I think Mi Yu will not encounter the fate of being criticized and badly criticized in the future.

That kind of her would be like the name Mi Yu, who can truly bring happiness to everyone.

"...Brother Kitahara? Brother Kitahara...?"

"Ah... ah?"

It took Kitahara several times to react and notice that Yuuhara beside him and the symbol of Luduo further away were looking at him.

"...What's wrong?" he asked subconsciously.

"Ah, nothing." Not paying too much attention to Kitahara's absent-mindedness, Yuhara smiled and waved his hand, "I just wanted to ask your opinion on this game."

As he said this, he looked back at the screen. "Right now, the competition among these kids is very fierce. McQueen has always had an advantage, but now she has to face the pressure from Mi Yu... The same is true for Bourbon, ah..."

"Bourbon has lost speed. It looks like the next battle will be between McQueen and Miyu...?"

After a slightly uncertain judgment, Yuhara looked over again, "Brother Kitahara, what do you think?"

Before Beiyuan could say anything, Luduo nodded slightly and said, "It seems to be the case at the moment."

"At this stage, there are still more than 600 meters to the finish line. McQueen and Miyu are both very adaptable to long distances. If we start to accelerate at this time, the speed at the finish line will be very advantageous, and there will be no worries about physical strength."

"This is similar to the mid-term acceleration tactics often used in Yongshi. I remember Xiao Haiwan is very good at this."

"So... well, even though I just said that I'm more optimistic about Di Wang and Bai Ren, if the match is like this..."

She was also a little uncertain.

You are optimistic about "your son"... no, "daughter". I can understand if you are optimistic about the emperor, Lu Duo, but if Bai Ren...

Could it be a resonance between both being Triple Crown horses?
After secretly laughing, Kitahara focused on watching the game on the screen for a while.

Miura Bourbon did lose speed, which was not beyond expectations before the game.

Nowadays, she is not good at races other than short distances. Now facing the 2000-meter race, she can put enough pressure on Mejiro McQueen within 1400 meters, and there is no problem in that.

But after 1400 meters, it would be unlikely for her to continue to keep up or even surpass others. There are too many aspects that are affected by adaptation, and there is no possibility of a breakthrough in a short period of time.

In the hypothetical situation, if she responds, only the first two batters, Katsuragi Ace and Super Little Bay, will gain enough advantage.

That is to say, we have to rely on our predecessors to make up for the 600-meter gap.

However, it would be okay if the opponent was a weaker horse girl. Katsuragi Ace's opponents were Rudo Symbol and the others, and Super Cove's opponents were Oguruma and Tamamo Cross.

It is possible for the two of them to gain a slight advantage at a certain stage, but a big advantage is almost impossible to achieve.

This is indeed the case. Miura Bourbon's start was not very good and he was not even the first to rush out of the relay area.

In this regard, Kitahara still agrees with the speculation about the symbolism of Yusuhara and Rudo.

But for the rest, he had a different opinion.

"It is indeed a good strategy to accelerate over long distances in middle-distance races..."

As he said this, his eyes had actually left Mejiro McQueen and Miyu who were in the lead, as well as Miura Bourbon who was gradually losing speed and falling behind.

He looked at the two figures at the back of the team, one in front and one behind.

One is shorter and brown.

One is higher and black.

"But that is based on being proficient in long-distance acceleration tactics and having sufficient training and competition experience."

"McQueen and Miyu are indeed very adaptable to long distances, but their experience is still too shallow. I am worried... they are not able to control their physical strength well."

"In addition to experience, the long-distance acceleration tactic can be successfully used only if the opponent is not incredibly strong, especially at the distance that the opponent is good at..."

Although Kitahara said the last one or two sentences, Yuhara and Luduo did not listen too carefully.

Because the suddenly excited voices of the commentator and the audience completely drowned out Kitahara's voice.

“Is this really not a Shining Star event?! Why can we see three top-notch matches in a relay race like this?!”

"Contestant Miura Bourbon has stalled! It was originally going to be a duel between Contestant Mejiro McQueen and Contestant Miyu..."

"but!"

"The arena was instantly divided into two dimensions!"

"Another equally exciting duel has appeared!"

"It's the Emperor of the East Sea! It's Narita Shirahito!"

“Towards the end of the race, at the curve, two runners caught up from behind!”

"The two of them caught up with us from behind!"

"The East Sea Emperor who took the lead earlier is slightly ahead! Narita Shirahito who was a little further inside is slightly behind!"

"The two of them rushed forward almost side by side, just like Mi Yu who suddenly took action just now!"

"The atmosphere in the open-air stadium has once again reached its peak... Wait, why again... Anyway! The atmosphere is completely boiling!"

“There was a battle for position between the two women chasing each other in the corners, but it didn’t last long.”

"It seems that Mejiro McQueen first competed with Miura Bourbon for the lead, and then had to face Miyu's pursuit. His physical strength was not distributed well, and his speed did not increase significantly."

"The same is true for contestant Mi Yu. She and Mejiro McQueen were unable to successfully resist the sudden pursuit from behind."

"The Emperor of the East Sea and Narita Bairen, one in front and one behind, one inside and one outside, completed the overtaking at the same time!"

"The distance is still widening, just in the last 200 meters straight line!"

"The two horse girls are moving forward in unison. As everyone expected, the situation has completely turned into a one-on-one duel, but..."

"But it's a one-on-one between the Emperor of the East Sea and Narita Shirahito!"

“Totally unforeseen, totally unforeseeable, totally unimaginable!”

"It's hard to imagine that these five kids who haven't debuted yet brought us such excitement. They didn't treat this competition as a joke just because they were young and inexperienced. They must have run as hard as their predecessors with their own determination!"

“This is Uma Musume, this is everything we love, this is the hope and dawn we can see now, and the brilliance and excitement we can see in the future!”

"Mejiro McQueen and Miyu are still trying their best. They don't intend to give up completely. The same is true for Miura Bourbon. Even though she obviously lost speed, she is still chasing and she didn't stop!"

"So, the ones in the front are still Emperor Donghai and Narita Bairen. With less than 200 meters to go, they are gradually moving side by side and rushing towards the finish line!"

"I won't give in. This is definitely not a foolish game. This is a fight to the death with everything at stake!"

"The gap has slightly opened up, and now the Emperor of the East Sea is in the lead... No, Narita Shirahito is catching up quickly, and now it's Narita Shirahito who is in the lead again!"

"100 meters! The battle continues!"

"Narita Bairen is in the lead... and now it's the Emperor of the East Sea!"

"Side by side! Side by side for now!"

"Still side by side! 50 meters to go!"

"The lead appears again, this time... Is it the Emperor of the East Sea or Narita Shirahito?!"

"Too fast, we are side by side again!"

"Are you going to keep going like this?! Are you going to keep fighting to the death and fighting side by side?! Who will win this match?..."

"wait wait wait!!"

“Already crossed the finish line?!!”

"Replay it?!!"

(End of this chapter)