Uma Musume Girl, I'll tell you about my Santa Hat special move too?

Since he couldn't reveal what he knew about the training, McQueen began analyzing the match even more diligently:

"Especially now that the race is halfway through, the Emperor has tried several times to cut into the inner circle but failed, and has been completely suppressed... This situation may continue until the end of the race?"

"If that's the case, the emperor will have to run a greater distance and expend extra energy..."

She looked at the Stardust illusion beside her and asked, "Stardust, what do you think the Emperor will do?"

"In my opinion, endurance isn't a big problem."

Stardust Illusion's gaze swept across all the contestants, finally settling on the Sky Palace, and calmly replied:

"The aerial palace, her running style reminds me of Bourbon, the two are very similar - so the emperor may face an even more severe situation next."

"for example……"

----------

Just as Stardust Illusion was talking to McQueen, the Sky Palace, speeding along the track, was also using the curve of the bend to glance back.

Her unique talent for rational calculation, intelligence gathering ability, and her racehorse girl body that matured earlier than others have given her a surge in confidence.

This is precisely why the Sky Palace can devote more energy to paying attention to the actions of the Emperor of the East Sea.

Although when she was trash-talking just now, she made it sound like she really relied entirely on data calculations.

However, the Sky Palace certainly understands that all sorts of extraordinary things can happen on the field, and the calculation results can never be absolutely correct.

It can be said that what Parcae calculated could absolutely be changed.

Whether the East Sea Emperor loses to herself in this match, or she loses by 7cm in the Japanese derby...

Thinking of her goal, the Sky God Palace shook her head sharply, clearing her mind of all distracting thoughts.

To overcome the limitations of the data, she must rely on her self-esteem and ability as a runner to maintain her position.

Just before entering the bend, the Sky Divine Palace saw very clearly that the Emperor of the East Sea revealed a slight smile the moment she stepped into the bend to switch lanes.

That was an expression of absolute certainty.

In that instant, the Sky Divine Palace realized that it was absolutely impossible to exhaust the East Sea Emperor's stamina by relying solely on techniques like blocking positions.

For a top runner like her, even the last bit of strength can create a miraculous result—just like the Yayoi Sho race 12 days ago.

(...Therefore, more interference is necessary.)

He shifted his gaze from the Emperor of the East Sea, took a brief breath of fresh air, and activated the Divine Palace in the Sky, channeling blood to his brain and maximizing his computational power.

(Well... let's try this!)

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...

Those were completely chaotic footsteps, but each one landed precisely the instant the emperor's legs touched the ground.

This chaotic rhythm instantly formed a vast net, enveloping the Emperor of the East Sea behind her!

------------

Running rhythm plays a crucial role in Uma Musume races.

Mastering the rhythm that best suits you is the foundation for a runner to compete with others on the track.

When they run at this pace, both their physical exertion and the application of other running techniques will be in the most suitable and energy-efficient state.

Just like Oguri Kashima's second and even third stage final steps, the fundamental reason is that she usually runs at the pace of a runner in the first half of the race, accumulating endurance and strength for the final sprint.

Take, for example, the strategist under the clear sky, Nebula Sky. Her running rhythm was to create a gap by making a great escape, then slow down to give hope to those who came later, exhaust their stamina, and finally seize victory in one fell swoop.

You could say that rhythm is like a runner's heart during a race—it's absolutely crucial.

That's why, a few months ago, during the Japan-France exchange qualification simulation tournament, Crimson Toyama named the double escape tactic "Heart Destruction," meaning to destroy the rhythm of other runners while allowing Stardust Illusion to maintain its own running style.

Disrupting the running rhythm isn't limited to just escaping.

In a race, besides the emergence of runners who flee, which forces runners to change their pace, runners may also become anxious or reach their physical limits.

Under those circumstances, they were unable to maintain their rhythm, their steps became disordered, and their movements became less standard, leading to further consumption of extra physical strength.

This is also the principle behind the "magic" that some runners possess.

However, for runners like Miura Bourbon or Kōjō Shrine who are truly skilled at calculation, even without any so-called magic, they still have ways to disrupt the rhythm of a particular runner.

That's the technique that Miura Bourbon used on the Stardust Illusion, and it's also the top-tier technology that the Sky Shrine is currently using.

The rhythm, which Toyama Hikari named "Flow," disrupted her steps.

The essence of this approach lies in understanding the target runner's footwork rhythm through massive data analysis during the run, and then changing one's own running style accordingly.

Without expending extra energy, each step is taken precisely just before the opponent's foot lands. This sense of disparity creates the illusion for the target runner that "Am I landing too slowly or too fast?", thus throwing the target into disarray.

Just like the emperors of today...

[The Emperor of the East Sea and the Divine Palace in the Sky have both started to move! The race has entered its second half, and these two runners have simultaneously changed their running pace! Are they about to overtake others?!] The announcer on the field slammed his fist on the table and shouted, drawing everyone's attention to the front center of the runners' group.

The soil, still attached to the grass roots, was kicked up by the rapid footsteps.

On the track, the two runners stood almost touching each other, one in front of the other, without touching each other at all.

Wisdom and passion collided in their confidence at this moment.

Both men, brimming with fighting spirit, relentlessly attacked each other, striving to defeat one another with unparalleled speed.

[The race has entered its final bend! We can see that both Sky Palace and East Sea Emperor have overtaken Xue Laiwei, moving into fifth and sixth place respectively. Will they decide the winner here?!]

Will the Sky Palace shatter the legendary dream of an undefeated three-time champion here, or will the Emperor of the East Sea take down the winner of G1 before the Satsuki Sho?!

[A duel! The most exciting duel yet! These two, who have been locked in a fierce battle since the start of the competition, will emerge victorious in this final one-on-one duel!]

Oh no...

The Eastern Sea Emperor didn't have time to hear what the host was saying, or rather, she heard the host's words but didn't have the energy to understand them.

From the very beginning, it seemed as if the footsteps of the Sky Palace had been constantly on her mind, truly affecting her rhythm.

The originally planned course of the competition was so disrupted that it was impossible to reorganize it.

The current emperor of the East Sea is feeling extremely tired, his head is spinning, and his whole body is exhausted.

But her steps remained firm, as if none of these difficulties existed. The Emperor of the East Sea strode forward with great force, not in a hurry to pass by the Heavenly Palace.

And the aerial palace running ahead of her was in no better condition than the emperor.

It wasn't just physical exhaustion; she had been focusing all her energy on calculating the emperor's steps since the beginning, and now she simply couldn't keep up.

They could only rely on mechanical instinct to swing their arms forward, breathe, step forward, and rush forward.

It felt as if a sharp, pointed hammer was relentlessly pounding at his temples, causing the celestial palace to feel a high-frequency buzzing in its mind.

Her heart was screaming in disbelief:

(How is this possible... the emperor's stamina hasn't been exhausted yet?!)

(Did something happen to her that I didn't expect? No, even the strongest runners can't escape the effects of disrupted rhythm.)

(She must be at her last gasp!)

The Sky Shrine gritted her teeth and kept running. She was absolutely certain that as a precocious racehorse girl, she would not lose to the East Sea Emperor in terms of stamina.

Especially since the opponent had been disrupted throughout the entire match and couldn't even secure the first position—

However, what she didn't know was that the Emperor hadn't started the race in order to be in the lead from the very beginning.

The reason why they are still in such a fierce confrontation is simply because the emperor saw through the Sky Palace's intention to obstruct them and is now playing along with their scheme!

The current emperor of the East Sea feels that his state is very mysterious.

Her body was exhausted; every muscle began to tremble, her bones groaned under the strain, the nerves between her muscles and bones twitched incessantly, and her blood vessels were operating at their limit.

However, her mind was clearer than ever before.

It's like taking that first breath of fresh air as you climb out of your dorm bed, step out the door with the stardust illusion, and head towards the cafeteria.

They have complete control over their own physical condition, and can even clearly perceive the condition of a certain blood vessel.

The emperor didn't understand what had happened, but she didn't need to understand it.

In this match, at this very moment, there is only one thing she needs to do, and that is:

Run forward—!

The wind howled through the air, and the surrounding noise gradually seeped into the emperor's mind.

Her steps were light yet rhythmic, the muscles in her calves contracting instantly, like springs accumulating power.

boom!

The sound of the horseshoes hitting the ground drew the attention of all the racehorse girls around.

However, what these runners saw was a huge, deep red flame rising into the air.

what is that?

That was the figure of the Emperor of the East Sea stepping down with his right foot!

The horseshoe sank deep into the grass, the surrounding ground cracked and shattered, and the muscles in the body seemed to explode completely in that instant.

Like a phoenix soaring through the low sky, the emperor unleashed tremendous power, propelling her body to the side in an instant.

Before anyone could react, the petite figure of the East Sea Emperor had already swept past the outer edge of the aerial palace in front of them!

"Varied--"

The goddess in the sky, who had just been overtaken, only managed to utter this one word before she saw the emperor pass her by and rush forward without looking back!

[Unique Skill: Ultimate Emperor's Dance, activated!]

The host, who was focused on the final match, immediately shouted:

What happened?! The duel suddenly ended! The East Sea Emperor defeated the Sky Palace, breaking through the barriers and appearing in third place in one breath—

[No, that's not all! The Emperor of the East Sea can never be satisfied with this position! She's still accelerating! The sprint continues!!!]

Looking at the Eastern Sea Emperor before him, the Divine Palace in the Sky broke out in a cold sweat, his mind going completely blank for a moment.

What... what's going on?!