Uma Musume: Become a Legendary Trainer

Chapter 394 Thank you for running this lap with me

Lifar's mumbling at this moment was just like Akikawa Yayoi's unprofessional live commentary before, deviating from the responsibilities of a commentator.

But these words were completely drowned out by Akikawa Yayoi's excited shouting.

"Big beech tree!

"The teams that were stuck in a stalemate suddenly accelerated and passed the big zelkova tree on the left side of the Tokyo stadium!
"The entire team has expanded horizontally, the entire team has expanded horizontally!
"This competition brings together many of the best horse girls, and all the teams are starting to go all out!
“No player wants to fall behind!

"Every runner is moving towards the final 500 meters at an unusually high speed!"

Along with Akikawa Yayoi's shouts, the spectators in the stadium could no longer control their enthusiasm and shouted at the top of their lungs towards the curved exit on the left side of the stadium.

Looking over there from the audience seats, the long line of horse girls that had lasted for more than half the race suddenly flattened out the moment it came out of the bend.

If the previously stretched queue looked like a line.

The flattened horse racing ladies at this moment are like a "wall" rushing at high speed.

Or a mountain collapsing towards you with a billowing cloud of dust.

In short, the whistling sound made the audience feel suffocated.

Especially for the audience standing closest to the runway, all their cheers and shouts were stuck in their throats, and their waving arms became stiff for a moment.

In a flash, they shouted and waved even harder.

Because this is exactly the game that the audience inside and outside the stadium want to see.

"The inner road is obviously blocked!"

Inadvertently, Akikawa Yayoi shouted, and unknowingly it had the meaning of a professional commentary.

“The experienced runners have a much more agile pace than in most races, and the distance between the horse ladies on the inside lane is very small!

“The confrontation was also very intense. It was hard to believe that after fighting for so long in the early and middle stages, they still had the energy to fight!
"Axel is coming!
"Axel is coming!
"This horse girl with world-class pursuit ability rushed up from the outer lane closest to the inner lane with great agility!
“Saratany also cuts in towards the outside lane, and the two overseas horse girls suddenly occupy a good position at the front of the outside lane!

"The Japanese ace Katsuragi and Chiaki are leading the way in the inner lane. They have the inner lane advantage and continue to sprint without slowing down!
“Go forward!
“It’s Maruzenski!

"but!
“I’m already being chased by four opponents!!
"Maruzenski at the front is already facing pursuit from four opponents!

"He has been leading from the beginning until now, and has accelerated more times than all his opponents. Now Maruzenski is facing the pursuit of four opponents!
“Only the last 400 meters left!!
“It’s getting closer!!
"After the 400-meter mark, the distance between Axel, Saratani, Katsuragi Ace, and Chiaki Representative and Maruzenski is clearly getting closer!

"The race now seems to have turned into a chase for the supercar in the front. Could it be that Maruzenski, who has won all 8 races in his career by leading, will be caught up?!!"

However, compared to Akikawa Yayoi, who gradually developed the posture of a professional commentator, Lifar lost his previous calmness.

It should be that after muttering to himself, he unconsciously and completely gave up his responsibility of commenting.

While Akikawa Yayoi was standing on a chair, holding up the microphone and shouting at the commentary desk, Lifar had completely lost the image of the chairman. He almost lay on the screen in front of him, staring at the stadium facing the floor-to-ceiling window of the broadcasting room.

She was shouting too.

“Definitely!

“I will definitely catch up!

"Even if she still has some energy left for the 2400-meter race, she definitely won't have much!
“The 400 meters before the finish line is still uphill, so she must adjust to this position!

“No horse girl can keep up the pace on the flat straights on an uphill stage!

"While she's adjusting her pace, this is Saratani's chance to catch up!"

This clearly shows the players how to run.

If it was a genuine commentary, the URA Association and the College Board would definitely be held accountable for such obviously biased remarks.

Perhaps, only by taking Lifar's identity into consideration, the responsibility will be adjusted appropriately.

But that’s after the game.

At this moment, as if reminded by Lifar's words, the audience inside and outside the scene also shouted in rebuttal to Lifar after a very brief pause.

"No! We won't be caught up!"

"That's right!! If it's Maruzenski... he can definitely do it!! He can definitely lead to the end!!"

"Let them see the power of a super sports car! This is how you always win!!"

"The finish line is right in front of us! Hold on, don't let anyone catch up!!"

"Come on!! Maruzen…"

Just like the unanimous cheers, almost at the same time, there was an extremely brief pause inside and outside the stadium.

During this stagnation, Lifar, who first started the cheering, first showed joy.

Then it stiffened.

Then there was another surprise.

On the track, the sudden change in the uphill position after 400 meters shocked the British chairman and made her forget her responsibilities at the moment.

Fortunately, Akikawa Yayoi did look like a professional commentator at this moment.

Although her small stature standing on the chair still looked a little funny, her shouting accurately described the situation on the field.

“Representative Qian Ming!!!
“This is the Japanese Triple Crown Horse Girl that breaks common sense!!!

“Who says there are no horse girls who can keep pace in an uphill position!

"We're going to continue our sprint up the hill before the finish line, Representative Chiaki!!
"She caught up with Maruzenski in one go and almost surpassed him!

“Where’s the Katsuragi Ace?!!!
“Katsuragi Ace didn’t catch up!
"The duel with Chiaki before the final turn seemed to have consumed too much of Katsuragi Ace's energy, and she was unable to accelerate uphill like Chiaki!
“She fell behind Sarathani!
“But Saratani was unable to speed up the hill either, and the final victory will be decided between the two Japanese horse girls…Ah——!
“Contestant Excel followed up!
“Has the energy I’ve been saving up for chasing finally paid off?! This American horse girl!
“She’s closing in on Maruzenski too!
“The final situation...

"Is it a one-on-one battle?!!"

At this moment, Akikawa Yayoi, who originally had the style of a professional commentator, once again forgot his duties.

Not only did she scream with a trembling voice, but she also jumped up and lay down in front of the commentary desk, pressing her hands on the floor-to-ceiling window of the broadcasting room facing the track.

Lifar was startled by this action.

She was already extremely surprised by the unexpected situation on the field.

In her expectation, it should be Saratani who would take the lead in launching the final pursuit of Maruzenski.

As someone who has witnessed the career of this horse racing girl, she knows very well that in the previous races, Saratani has been running in the most ideal way until now.

She is a horse girl who is good at leading, and her leading level is top-notch.

The initial lead-release battle was completely expected.

Many stadiums in Europe are not as organized as those in Japan.

There are many triangular, semi-circular and J-shaped tracks, and some tracks require you to enter a fast pace from the start to gain an advantage.

In addition, physical confrontation is very common in European competitions.

Therefore, fighting for position at the beginning is actually very beneficial to Saratani.

The same is true for the mid-game.

In many competitions, when a horse girl in the lead encounters an opponent who takes the lead recklessly, there is no need to force a temporary lead.

Taking this opportunity to adjust your own rhythm, observe the opponent in front, and wait for him to stall due to a mistake in physical strength distribution. This is a tactic in itself.

Although the subsequent changes in the game situation were not within the primary preparation plan, there were still some ideas available.

The opponent's information is sorted out before the game. Ace Katsuragi and Representative Chiaki often play unconventionally, and Saratani and other European horse girls are aware of this.

Because of this, they can react in a short period of time and catch up in time.

In other words, Saratani's performance so far has gone according to plan.

No, maybe it can't be said to be according to plan.

The uphill climb before the finish line of the Tokyo track was originally planned as a normal pace adjustment.

It is about to change from a running style that uses big strides to a running style with shorter strides and faster pace.

Once this switch is made, going uphill will save more energy and maintain the same speed.

The switch doesn't take long, and an experienced horse girl can do it in a few breaths. Saratani is just such a horse girl.

According to the plan, after completing the pace switch as quickly as possible, she will have a greater chance of maintaining her leading advantage.

Now, she wasn’t leading going into the final straight.

The one leading was Maruzenski who kept accelerating from the beginning.

This is not a problem in itself. Her ability to switch pace is theoretically the strongest in this competition, and is more than enough to catch up with Maruzenski.

But Maruzenski's continuous acceleration at the beginning of the game was already very abnormal.

At the moment of going uphill, Representative Qian Ming, who was equally abnormal, or even more abnormal, completely maintained the big stride pursuit method on the straight road, and rushed up the slope with a drop of about two meters in one breath!

Immediately afterwards, Axel, who had been chasing behind, also rushed forward.

Although she did not have the abnormal running style of Representative Qianming, and her pace changes when going uphill were not as fast as Saratani's.

But she was in the chasing position since the start, and this American horse racing girl conserved a lot of energy.

However, after entering the middle stage, Saratani had an additional stage to confront Katsuragi's ace and Chiaki representative.

This meant that after the slope, Saratani's acceleration was slower than that of Axel, who had more energy, and the latter directly caught up to the front in one breath.

Too bad...

Although I expected that the rhythm of this game would be influenced by the last Japan Cup, it would be closer to the situation that is favorable for chasing horses...

but……

Still not fully prepared for a horse girl like Axel...

If she hadn't gotten tangled up with those two Japanese horse racing girls, Saratani...

No! Don’t think like that now!

With his emotions in a turmoil, Lifar was nervous for a while, but finally he calmed down.

“There are still more than 200 meters to go!

“There’s still a chance!
“There’s still a chance to charge forward!
“Don’t give up!
"Saratany!!"

Saratani on the field did not hear the previous direction or the current encouragement.

Generally speaking, the golden period of a horse girl’s career is very short.

Only a very few lucky ones can run on the track for many years, but the vast majority only have the opportunity for two or three years.

What's worse, some people have to leave forever with regret for various reasons after one or two years or a few months.

There are even fewer who have sustained strength far beyond that of ordinary horse girls, both before and after retirement. They are the horse girls who are lucky enough to have mastered the field.

One of the conditions for participating in this international exchange cup, or the first peak cup event, is to become a field-level horse girl.

Not only is it at the field level, it can also keep the field at a normal level to a certain extent.

Saratani is naturally a horse girl of this level.

From the moment she left the gate until now, her control over her entire body is at the peak level of her career.

With every breath and every step she took, she could be sure she was doing her best.

At this moment, she was even more immersed in this state of complete concentration and clarity. All she saw was her body, the track, and the figure in front of her.

Nothing else.

However, what she was thinking was the same as Lifar in the broadcasting room.

It’s not over yet…

It’s not the end yet…

Not yet finished!

Whether it's Katsuragi Ace, Chiaki Representative, or Axel...

You are indeed very strong horse girls...

Everything you have been through till now is indeed not entirely within your expectations...

But as long as you haven’t reached the end, it’s not over yet!

I can still...

My thoughts suddenly stopped for a moment.

The next second, Saratani opened his eyes wide in surprise and suddenly saw that Representative Qianming and Axel, who were originally stuck in front of him on the left and right, touched each other's bodies for a very short moment.

At that moment, the two horse girls' steps were obviously disrupted, and they tilted to the left and right due to the inertia of contact.

“Holy…

"Mother Maria!!!"

Shouting "Mother Mary", at the critical moment, Saratani whizzed past between Representative Qianming and Axel like a sharp dagger.

Perhaps it was the impact of the collision.

It is also possible that the two horse girls were already on the verge of exhaustion before the collision.

Especially Representative Qian Ming who was chasing after someone unknown.

But no matter what, if you don’t seize this momentary opportunity, there may never be a better opportunity.

With this opportunity...

“Next one…

"Maruzensky!!!"

Approaching.

closer.

The silhouette of the horse racing girl in the red winning suit, who had been speeding up for unknown reasons since she left the race, was now very close.

If I just reach out my hand, I can touch the ends of her long chestnut hair that is being blown behind her by the wind... No.

I could already touch the back of her red deciding suit... I could already touch her arms.

Nor is it.

Already side by side with her.

“So it is…

"Speed ​​losing..."

Saratani was somewhat surprised that he could catch up with Maruzenski so easily, but at the same time, it felt it was natural.

No matter how abnormal it is, no one would escape like this Japanese horse racing girl.

Doesn't she have any idea how to allocate rhythm and stamina and only knows how to explode recklessly?
Her previous victory seemed...

Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted for a moment.

On the other side, a pair of green eyes, slightly bent, looked over with a subtle look of enjoyment.

Below the emerald green eyes, there was also a subtle curve, and the light cherry-colored lips moved slightly.

Saratani was stunned.

In a flash, unbelievably, the horse girl who was standing side by side with her and whom she thought had lost speed suddenly disappeared from her sight.

No, not disappearing!
After a whole round of accelerated leading, she accelerated again!!
Realizing this completely incomprehensible fact, Saratani suddenly understood what Maruzenski, who had just been standing side by side with him, had said silently.

“Thank you, and you all…

“For accompanied me with the round.”

(End of this chapter)