Having trained real horses, why are we now training racehorse girls after time-traveling?

"—Won't this be a huge shock?"

However, when Ikezoe, with a bitter expression, thought of this possibility and spoke it out, Maruzen's silence clearly confirmed Ikezoe's guess. At this moment, not only Ikezoe, but everyone else finally realized the seriousness of the matter.

It turns out that this time, the station's investment was not out of a change of heart, but rather a final, high-stakes gamble.

Chapter 514: The Ikemoto Group, all members head to the Arc de Triomphe!

"How could this be... If the scandal of the Great Shock has already happened in this world, why would Paris agree to let the Great Shock participate in the Arc de Triomphe Grand Prix?"

"...Probably, the Socialist Party has some means, or they've reached some kind of deal with the French central government. After all, the Socialist Party has a lot of influence, so it's not hard to understand if they've reached some favorable agreement with the Paris central government in exchange for the Great Shock's participation in this battle."

The information obtained from Maruzensky also took Ikezoe and his group a long time to digest. However, Ikezoe still couldn't understand why the TV station supported Daehan to compete in the Arc de Triomphe Grand Prix. Although Daehan hadn't announced his retirement, he hadn't participated in a single competition for so many years. Could he really participate in the Arc de Triomphe?

Clearly, this not only baffled Ikezoe, but also Jinnami and Wada, as such a situation had never occurred in their world. In their original world, racehorses had extremely short careers, retiring when they were supposed to. There was never a case of a racehorse that should have retired several years ago running alongside a classic year's racehorse.

But on second thought, this might explain why the racehorse girls in this world haven't announced their retirement, even though they haven't raced in a long time. Racehorse girls aren't racehorses after all. Even if they couldn't run anymore due to certain factors, they still have the ability to compete once their injuries heal—though not at their peak, they can easily retain about 80% or 90% of their strength.

As they age, the racehorse girls, possessing both "aura" and "territory," will grow stronger in spirit. Even if their physical bodies can't keep up, they can still guide many young racehorse girls to go further.

Therefore, in the world of Uma Musume, unless a racehorse is completely unable to continue running due to injury, most racehorses, even with fractures or injuries, can still make a comeback after a period of rest. In Japan, there is the "Dream Cup," which is like an all-star race for racehorses, and all the proceeds are donated to bring dreams and joy to everyone.

And the big shock undoubtedly has this advantage. Even though her career was basically over after the Arima Memorial event, now that she wants to make a comeback, with the TV station backing her up, there's really no way to stop her...

However, Ikezoe did not expect that the big shock would be so ruthless from the start. She thought that she only planned to compete with the Gold Master at the Arima Memorial, but now she has actually been promoted from the Japanese GI to the international GI.

"Shetai is planning a high-stakes gamble with us. Even though the Great Shock didn't win against the Arc de Triomphe, Shetai is confident they can put the Great Shock directly against Orpheus at the Arc de Triomphe..."

"Are they really that confident? Do they think Great Shock can definitely beat Orpheus...?"

Ikezoe felt that this gamble by the racer was truly a desperate choice for them. Dai Shock was the racer's last trump card, guaranteeing her position. Not only did she possess exceptional racing ability, but from a bloodline perspective, she also carried the bloodline of "Sunday Serenity," arguably the most powerful stallion in Japan. While Ikezoe didn't know the details of Sunday Serenity in the Uma Musume world, Dai Shock undoubtedly possessed an equally excellent bloodline.

If Da Zhenhan is defeated by Jin Gongjia on the field, it would mean that Shetai's last and strongest trump card has been completely crushed by a single team. This would be a devastating blow to Shetai, which is already teetering on the edge.

At that time, the reputation and overall strength of the opera house will suffer a second huge blow, and this blow will definitely be more significant than the defeat of Rudolf's symbol by good opera.

At that time, the shatai might really disappear... But that's not what Ikezoe and the others wanted. Although they didn't like shatai, they never thought about making it disappear completely because they knew very well that capital cannot be changed. Even if a shatai disappeared, the next industry to replace it would only be more solid and harder to deal with.

For the entire Japanese horse racing industry, a barely thriving racing system is exactly what they need most—of course, this is just an ideal; many things are beyond their control.

"...Forget it, now that the TV station has come knocking on our door, if we don't fight back, it will be seen as us admitting defeat."

Chi Tian had finally made up his mind. He didn't want to think about so many problems, nor did he want to get involved in any conflicts. But if the other party came to bully him, then as the only one who could slap them back, he couldn't just pretend that nothing had happened.

However… if the opponent is that Great Shock, it will probably be extremely difficult to deal with. Ikezoe wouldn't really consider third place at the Arc de Triomphe as Great Shock's limit. If, as Great Shock has shown before, her [Domain] can disable all the [Domains] of the racehorse girls in the arena and cause a huge impact, then it's impossible for her to just be third place—even if Great Shock doesn't have [Aura], she still surpassed her with the [Aura] of a raging torrent.

Therefore, Ikezoe strongly suspects that the reason why this world's Great Shock lost third place in that Arc de Triomphe Grand Prix was not just because of a lack of strength like that of their world, but because of some special reason.

Unfortunately, Ikezoe couldn't find any race footage of the Great Shock no matter what she tried, and even Maruzensky said he couldn't help. There wasn't a single clip of the Great Shock race online, as if the racehorse girl Great Shock didn't exist at all.

It's easy to imagine how much impact the events of that time had on the Great Shock, to the point that not a single piece of related information could be found... This made it impossible for Chi Tian to investigate whether the Great Shock's [Domain] had the same weaknesses as the noblewoman back then.

What? Why only study the field and not the tactics? Well then, Ikezo has to mention the advantage of time travel. Regarding the tactics that Great Shock excels at, Ikezo can imagine how Great Shock runs with his eyes closed. He even personally massaged Great Shock back then. As the "triple crown horse who didn't dislike Ikezo the most" back then, Ikezo actually cared about Great Shock quite a bit.

Of course, in terms of showing disdain, Da Zhenhan actually gave Chi Tian more face than Wu Feng, which is quite strange...

"Chi Tian!"

A sudden sound jolted Chi Tian out of his thoughts. Not far away, he saw the Golden Master, Zhen Jiling, and Dong Shang Biange, all three women running towards him. The Golden Master, wearing a mask, said directly:

"Ikezoe! I've heard! Is that Daijinzhan going to challenge me to a duel at the Arc de Triomphe?! We absolutely cannot lose!"

"Let's work together! To the Arc de Triomphe! Let's pull that guy down from his throne! We'll win!"

"So what if her [domain] is ineffective against others?! Even so! I will definitely beat her! Otherwise, she wouldn't have only come in third place! This time, we'll make her taste defeat!"

"That's right! Qianyi, don't give up! We'll all be with you this time!" Dongshang Biange nodded vigorously, indicating that she would go to France with Chitian and the others.

"Hehe, Karen-chan, I will help everyone, and there will definitely be no mishaps~" Makoto also smiled and nodded. She was prepared to keep an eye on the company's every move for several months, and she would never let anything shocking happen to the Golden Master.

The Gold Masters seemed full of confidence, clearly unaware of what they were actually fighting against. They were not only fighting against the Great Shock, but also against a desperate gambler. The Gold Masters' confidence also infected the worried Chi Tian, ​​allowing him to break free from his anxiety.

Yes, what does he have to worry about? This time, it's him leading the Golden Master to challenge this goal. This time, he's fighting side by side with his strongest partner, and there's no opponent they can't defeat.

As the Golden Master said, even the Great Shock was only third place and narrowly lost. That means the Great Shock is not invincible. She must have a weakness, but they haven't found it yet.

But there must be some way, there must be... Chi Tian pondered carefully. He felt that he might be able to find out the answer from other people, from other people who were more familiar with the Great Shock.

Chapter 515: The Great Shock of Having No Weaknesses?

Although he was prepared to fight the Great Shock, researching the Great Shock was not an easy task, especially since information about the Great Shock was almost completely blocked. It was difficult for Ikezo to learn about the Great Shock's "domain" through the internet. Therefore, he had to try to find the Great Shock's weaknesses by talking to several racehorse girls who were familiar with the Great Shock.

However, a month passed in the blink of an eye. Within that month, Ikezo had still accomplished nothing, and the Takarazuka Memorial, the last stop in Japan before the goldsmith's expedition, was already approaching...

Needless to say, the result of this Takarazuka Memorial race was that the team considered the special nature of Gold Master's "domain" and worried that she would suffer from the overexertion that occurred at the Arima Memorial race, requiring a long period of recovery. Therefore, with the absence of other race girls such as the recovered Good Opera, Mejiro McQueen who won a great victory at the Spring Emperor's Sho race, and the self-deprecating Nobita and Tokai Teio, only Gold Master represented the Miracle Team at the Takarazuka Memorial race.

With no more obstacles in his way, the Golden Master was determined to win this Takarazuka Memorial. However, what surprised him a little was the other contestant in this competition.

Having returned from her overseas campaign and won first place in the Dubai Sima Classic, the Lady's first priority upon returning home was to challenge the Gold Master again at the Takarazuka Memorial. However, this time, the Gold Master, having seen through the Lady's weakness in her "Domain," did not intend to entangle with her and chose the most direct tactic to strike at her weakness.

"It's over! The champion of Takarazuka Memorial! The Golden Master! This time, he won with an unparalleled performance! He washed away the shame of Arima Memorial! He defeated the Lady and won first place! The Lady, who returned from the expedition and challenged the Golden Master again, only managed to get ninth place. It seems that she was not in good condition after the expedition."

"But in any case, let us congratulate the Golden Tyrant on her victory once again! She has washed away the shame of defeat with her triumph! And this time, she will represent Japan at this year's Arc de Triomphe Grand Prix!"

"The Golden Tyrant, right after the King of Opera! Can she bring us the Arc de Triomphe Grand Prix for the second year in a row?! And now, her resounding victory at the Takarazuka Memorial really reminds me of the scene before the King of Opera set off last year!"

"Let us cheer for the Goldsmith's expedition! She can do it! She absolutely can achieve this!"

"Ha ha……"

"Indeed—you've become even stronger, Gold Master."

Upon returning from this expedition, the noblewoman who had been defeated in the ninth place at Takarazuka was unexpectedly found panting as she walked up to the Golden Master. She looked pale, clearly having had her [Domain] weakness exposed in the clash with the Golden Master, putting her at a huge disadvantage from the start.

As expected, the Golden Master unleashed his full power as soon as the match began, forcibly pulling the Lady into a one-on-one duel with his [Domain]. However, after two rounds, the Lady was defeated by the Golden Master's fearless method of trading injury for injury. As a result, she did not have enough mental energy to continue using the Domain and was defeated in ninth place.

Recalling last year's Arima Memorial, she and the Golden Master tied for second place in an unprecedented manner, both suffering heavy losses. However, only half a year later, the Lady, whose weaknesses had been discovered by the [Domain], completely lost the ability to compete with the Golden Master in another duel.

Moreover, the noblewoman did not believe that her quick defeat was entirely due to the fact that the weaknesses of her domain had been discovered—in other words, before the Gold Master, who else could have been beaten almost the entire match under the noblewoman's domain, thus analyzing the weaknesses of her domain and being able to strike at her?

Aside from the realms of the Gold Master and the Noblewoman, which can directly inflict massive damage on the mental strength of others, other racehorse girls can only passively take hits when facing the Noblewoman; they have no way to fight back.

This time, the noblewoman sensed something from this Takarazuka memorial—the Golden Master, after half a year of recuperation, not only did not decline in strength, but actually became much stronger than during the Arima memorial.

Six months is indeed a very long time for a female racehorse's career. Generally speaking, if she rests well and is injury-free, this period is enough to run six races. The lady knows very well that due to the excessive mental exertion at Arima Kinen, Golden Giant has been resting for the past six months.

Rest means being unable to participate in races or compete against strong opponents, which is tantamount to standing still for racehorses of their caliber.

The extent of the Gold Master's recovery and the speed of his progress have left the noblewoman speechless. Now, the Gold Master is going to represent Japan at the Arc de Triomphe Grand Prix, and as the direct disciple of the Great Shock, the noblewoman knows what this means.

This means that the Golden Master and her teacher, whom she admires most and believes is definitely not "Emperor" Rudolf, who is also her mentor and an undefeated three-time champion, are likely to have a great showdown on the most prestigious international GI stage.

However, even so, the noblewoman was still not optimistic about the outcome of the current gold master's competition.

“Golden Master… If your opponent were any other female racehorse, I believe you would absolutely win.”

"But you still have no chance... You have absolutely no way to win against a teacher who is giving it their all."

"You really make your teacher proud, lady." The Gold Master rolled his eyes at the lady's words, which were neither discouraging nor encouraging, and said after pulling up his mask, "Recently, Chi Tian has been looking for information about your teacher, but without any results. Your company's secrecy is really good."

"Well? As a disciple of the Great Shock, you must know your teacher very well, right? I would be very grateful if you could reveal the weakness of your teacher's [Domain]."

"...You clearly know I'm the teacher's disciple, yet you still try to pry information out of me like this. Should I admire your thick skin?"

The noblewoman sighed helplessly upon hearing this, rubbing her forehead, and said calmly, "Even if I knew, I couldn't tell you."

"The teacher's [domain] can directly nullify the [domains] of other racehorse girls... I think you already know that, right? I often train with the teacher and have experienced the teacher's full power."

"I can only say that, at my level, I can't see any weakness in the teacher's [domain]... or rather, the teacher's domain doesn't have any weakness. If she really releases it, the talents of the other racehorse girls will be sealed. What's left is to fight against the teacher who has the buff while enduring the debuff of the teacher's [domain]."

"What a rogue, this field." The Gold Master was already aware of this, but even after hearing confirmation from the noblewoman, he couldn't help but sigh, though he couldn't help but say:

"Then why did she come in third place at the Arc de Triomphe? I could accept that she came in second, maybe there was a racehorse girl with that kind of ability who made it through... Don't tell me that she didn't go all out at that Grand Shock because she was testing her strength."

However, when the goldsmith spoke so casually, the noblewoman's silent gaze seemed to be her answer to him.

Gradually, even the master goldsmith began to feel surprised, and at this moment, the noblewoman calmly replied:

"This is the hint I wanted to give you, Golden Master. Perhaps there are [Domains] that are perfect, but no racehorse girl is perfect."

"Our teacher... has always been striving to become stronger, rather than striving to be number one."

“In this respect, Master Gold, you are very similar to your teacher. You are both pursuing to become stronger. As long as you can break through your limits, you will not be upset even if you do not win.”

"You treat your teacher as a stepping stone to move forward, but in reality, your teacher may also be using you as a stepping stone to move forward."

"As for who the stone is... at least, you haven't realized that yet, have you?"

The noblewoman smiled and slowly withdrew. She knew that she could no longer compare to her former rival. Her advice ended there; all that remained was to witness the outcome.

Chapter 516: Ikemoto's Pinnacle, the Beginning of a Master

After the Takarazuka Memorial, the noblewoman's words were of great help to the Golden Master. She gained a general understanding of the Arc de Triomphe that caused the Great Shock—although it was hard to believe, it was clear that the Great Shock had deliberately chosen to lose that match, probably because she hadn't used her [Domain] in that match.

If that's the case... then it has to be said, Da Zhenhan is really something else. He actually managed to compete with these strong European and American racehorse girls on a world-class stage like the International GI without even releasing his [Domain], and even managed to take third place.

As the noblewoman said, perhaps there are perfect realms, but there is no perfect racehorse girl. The Great Shock was defeated by her own desire for greater strength, and now, if the Golden Master wants to defeat her, the best approach is to start from that same point.

The best way to defeat the Great Shock is to crush it with all your might while it is still in the exploratory stage.

However, the Golden Master was somewhat conflicted. If she were to use her [Domain] at full strength, she could definitely do it. The offensive power of her domain was so strong that even if the Great Shock's mental strength was strong, it wouldn't last long. If she were hit a few times, she would definitely fall down due to lack of stamina, just like the noblewoman at the Takarazuka Memorial.

However… the Golden Master felt that such a crushing defeat didn't count as a true victory. As the "Golden Tyrant," her winning style was to relentlessly crush her opponent even at their strongest. Her [Domain] allowed her to concentrate everyone's weaknesses and strengths into a single point, and these combined statistics made the Golden Master extremely powerful. Coupled with her formidable mental strength, this gave her more room for error, which was the foundation of her continued success.

If she were to strike when her opponent was weak, or even when they were testing her, that would be taking advantage of their vulnerability, which is not her style of competition.

But if he didn't do that, he would probably be in a tough fight. This guy's [domain] was really hard to deal with... For a moment, the Golden Master was also a little conflicted. He was torn between whether he should use any means necessary to win or give up his advantages and compete fairly with the Great Shock.

However, while the Gold Master was still pondering this question, the day she and Ikezoe set off for the expedition had already quietly arrived.

……

"Let's go! I hate to say it, but I hope that while you cooperate closely with the staff at the TV station, you'll also be a little wary of them. Who knows what they might do?"

While in the chairman's office, Chairman Akikawa Misae had already carefully reminded Ikezoe and the group of the Golden Master. However, when the chairman saw that not only these two, but also Makoto and Dongshang Reform had followed the group to France, she felt that Ikezoe was not a big concern this time.

The Golden Master may be a little naive, but with Dong Shang's reforms and Zhen Jiling, these two are clearly there to ensure stability for the next few months. They are there to keep out any obstacles and anything that tries to hinder the Golden Master as she steps onto the Long Shang Racecourse.

Therefore, they even gave up their training or competition schedules for the next four to five months, just to protect the Golden Master and Ikemoto and ensure that nothing went wrong.

Therefore, the chairperson was extremely reassured about their safety during their months in Paris, but she still kept a watchful eye and arranged for several staff members from the Teresen College to accompany them to Paris as helpers for Chi Tian and his group.

It's not that they're 100% certain that the social media platform won't use legitimate means to win this time, but when the match actually comes, they can be certain that the social media platform will wholeheartedly stand on the side of the Great Shock, without a doubt.