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

Indeed, the starting speed of the Stardust Illusion at the forefront was still so fast that no one could catch up with it, and they could only watch helplessly as she took the lead.

But what about now?

That speed was definitely a great escape, but if it were the Saber I knew, her steps should have been even faster and more powerful, continuing to accelerate forward and leaving everyone far behind, right?

Now, it seems that after seizing the position of the Great Escape, she has become powerless. She doesn't even need Dongshang Reform to grit her teeth and desperately accelerate anymore, and she has stabilized the gap with the opponent at about 2 horse lengths.

How is this going?

Is there really something wrong with Saber's Stardust Illusion state? Or is it because she was influenced by Shigeba that she's experiencing this condition?

In this decisive battle held at the Tokyo Racecourse, the first straight after the start of the race is 325 meters long, and the relationship between the riders in the early stages of the race is often determined within this distance.

As previously explained regarding the competition in the lead, while the runner in the lead may face pressure from the opponents behind, she can also actively influence the runners behind her by controlling the pace.

In other words, as long as Dongshang Reforms takes the lead from Stardust Illusion, she will have the upper hand in the battle against Stardust Illusion. The only thing she needs to worry about is the physical exhaustion caused by the Great Escape.

The 2400m course is already a test of physical strength, and the added resistance from the sticky mud with every step makes it even more challenging. If you also need to reserve some endurance for the escape battle...

(It can work!)

Dong Shangbian raised his head slightly, a determined look flashing in his eyes.

If she were an ordinary racehorse girl who only started training herself after enrolling in school, honing her endurance, speed, strength, and running techniques, then she would indeed face endurance pressure here.

However, she was chosen by her grandmother as a magical girl and is the only hope of the Fujimasa family in this generation!

From childhood, before we became fully established, the magic of running has been Dongshang's favorite thing.

This is the result of her practicing magic since childhood as Sweepy.

It's a skill she's proud of as a member of the Dongshang Reform, called "The Magic of Running"!

The challenge we face now is not just the stamina accumulated in the classic year of Uma Musume... but all the physical strength that Tosho has accumulated since it learned to run!

boom!

[Skill Distance Sense, activated!]

Therefore, Dong Shang stopped thinking about anything else and seized the opportunity when the Stardust Illusion did not accelerate, suddenly kicking hard behind her.

At this moment, the whole body and the straightened legs seemed to form a straight line. All the power in the body was poured directly from the top of the head to the soles of the feet under the action of the muscles, and the explosive force pushed out from behind.

In an instant, it was as if magic had been activated in this area.

A pale purple aura flashed in the eyes of the petite witch, and then she kicked the ground, creating a huge crater.

With a loud bang!

A giant dragon phantom with outstretched wings quietly appeared beneath everyone's feet, sweeping across the entire track from the center of the Eastern Business Revolution, leading the runner to leave the pursuers behind, taking swift steps, and engaging in a direct confrontation with the fighting spirit shrouded in the Stardust Illusion in front!

With exaggerated steps, the girl seemed to be riding a rapidly flying fire arrow, directly approaching the stardust illusion at the forefront!

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Distance awareness: A positioning skill that makes it easier to find good routes in the early stages of a match.

Chapter 282 He took the bait~

(Let me use your slipstream for a moment to observe the situation here, Narita Shirahito.)

As the fourth-ranked Sky Shrine rider spurred a smile, he also strode forward, following closely behind Narita Shirahito, who was employing a great escape tactic.

For her, the initial strategy of following the Stardust Illusion to avoid being completely left behind was already a given, so the start didn't cause too much trouble.

The heavy rain and muddy lawn before her eyes were already part of the artificial intelligence's calculations. She had also practiced driving in the rain carefully using the Tokyo-style racetrack training ground at Treson Academy.

While it wouldn't be exactly like walking on flat ground, the impact would definitely be much smaller compared to other contestants.

The Sky Palace understood that even with a certain physical advantage, it couldn't maintain its position against the runners who had activated their domains. It was better to take the lead from the start and look for an opening to break through.

Her strength lies in gathering information from the entire field and finding weaknesses in her opponents.

Although I analyzed everyone's weaknesses before the race, blindly trusting data is something only second-rate runners do.

The Sky Palace had already decided to gather clear information on the field before taking action.

(Let's maintain this pace for now until after the second bend, then we'll make further plans...)

The reason for this choice is that the two consecutive curves that follow the first straight are usually used to help the riders maintain their advantage, and the influence of this heavy-weight racecourse will be further amplified there.

If anyone shows any obvious weakness, the Aerial Divine Palace can seize the opportunity to completely crush them in one fell swoop.

As the girl pondered this, she looked past Narita Shirahito in front of her and gazed at the very front of the track.

The race is currently on the first straight, plus two turns, for a total distance of 900m. In a race, position changes and offsides usually occur in the second half of the race, which means that the 900m mark can be a time when people can be careless.

(Start chasing from there, seizing that moment when everyone lets their guard down.)

Having made up his mind, the eyes of the Sky God Palace gleamed with a faint golden light, and his suddenly expanded field of vision took in all the contestants on his side and in front of him, and even a part of the area behind him.

[The Golden Skill, "The One Who Knows His Destiny," has been activated!]

The entire track seemed to transform into a simulated video on an electronic screen, forming in her mind.

Even without turning around, the Sky Palace can completely construct a model of the runners behind it and place it in the simulated race video simply by judging the air, sound, and even vibration.

However, just as she activated the skill, a pale purple, towering wave suddenly erupted in front of her!

"—?!"

The sudden surge was not just about the Sky Palace; the figure of the Eastern Merchant's sudden rise instantly became the focus of everyone's attention.

Narita Shirahito's gaze sharpened instantly, then became increasingly fierce and cold.

She also noticed the strange phenomenon of the Stardust Illusion, the kind of bizarre situation where it clearly wanted to rush forward and leave everyone else in the dust, but was unable to succeed because of some reason. Narita Shirahito pondered this for a moment.

However, Narita Shirahito thought that no matter what the reason was for Stardust Illusion not being able to fully unleash its best escape technique, it would not affect her at all. In fact, the slightly slower pace would be more advantageous for her.

As long as Stardust Illusion can't shake her off, Narita Shirahito is confident that he can catch up in the second half of the race, regain the lead, and compete for the crown of victory!

However, all these plans were shattered by the rapid changes and reforms of Dongshang!

As the third runner, he could have taken advantage of the runner's slipstream to conserve energy for the rest of the race.

However, Dongshang's move to seize a leading position means that I must also start to accelerate to keep up. Otherwise, if the Sky Palace behind me is affected and accelerates, I will be left behind to fourth place, or even further back.

If that happens, it will go against her initial plan and she will be surrounded by Uma Musume fans!

Therefore, Narita Shirahito's decision on what to do has already been made, no matter what.

That means chasing after them!

Before the other contestants in the Sky Palace could accelerate their pursuit, they secured their positional advantage ahead of them.

(No problem, everyone's stamina is fixed. Even if we speed up now, everyone will face the same stamina consumption...)

Now, the first 200m has been completely passed.

The first corner of the track is just around the corner. Although its arc is not too exaggerated, the mud underfoot will undoubtedly increase the difficulty of cornering.

If you don't want to do this maneuver on the curve, you'll have to make use of the next 125m!

[As expected! As expected! As expected! Under the influence of the Stardust Illusion! This Neon Derby was incredibly intense from the very beginning!!!]

Seemingly affected by the heavy rain, Stardust Illusion didn't accelerate as aggressively as usual after securing its position in the escape route. Meanwhile, East Merchant Reform seemed to have seized this opportunity and began to accelerate its pursuit!

[No, wait...! Narita Shirahito and Aerial Jingu, who were behind him, didn't hesitate either; the three of them started accelerating almost simultaneously!]

[The Stardust Illusion is no more than four horse lengths away from them! Extremely dangerous! Can they catch up?! The gap is starting to close; will these racehorse girls be able to stop the escape right from the start?!]

All the racehorse girls unconsciously quickened their pace, their strides increasing in speed. No one wanted to miss the chance to defeat the Stardust Illusion and escape.

They absolutely did not want to face a Stardust Illusion that was completely fleeing and entering the final battle for supremacy, so this was the moment when the first horn of the decisive battle would sound.

Narita Shirahito watched the approaching figure of the Stardust Illusion, sensing its slightly weaker fighting spirit than usual, and sighed inwardly:

(Although I don't know why you weren't in the best form today, I'm sorry, Stardust Illusion, that's just how the game is—don't blame us for being so unscrupulous!)

However, at this very moment...

(Varied--)

Before Narita Shirahito could even react, he was still wondering what had happened.

The girl running at the very front of the group.

His face, which had been hanging its head in silence as if he hadn't put any effort into the game, slowly lifted up, and his crimson eyes were now completely covered by a blue light.

"They've taken the bait."

At the very beginning of the race, several runners simultaneously launched an attack on themselves.

Stardust Illusion made such a declaration.

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Those Who Know Their Fate: Golden Vision skill, provides a wider field of vision when positioned in the back of the field during the match.

Chapter 283 Fighting the Witch

To be honest, Stardust Illusion, from the very beginning, was not a runner who used his brain to run.

This has been verified by countless trainers and countless racehorse girls. Not to mention studying the theory and analyzing the race situation, even memorizing the basic rules of racehorse girls took a lot of effort.

Logically speaking, she is the most typical instinctive runner, whose body makes judgments before her brain, completely disregarding rationality and logic, and completing the race in an absurd way that only she can accomplish.

For them, running is something they were born with, requiring no learning or systematic training.

Metaphorically speaking, such instinctive runners are like rough stones, natural diamonds created by the wondrous craftsmanship of nature.

So, is Stardust Illusion such a player?

The answer is no.

Until a year ago, she had never mastered the skills of running and was brutally beaten by the still unorthodox Dongshang Reform, so she could only become her apprentice to receive training.

After training, she failed to win her debut battle. Although the fact that her opponent was the Emperor of the East Sea was a factor, it also proved that Stardust Illusion's instincts were not good enough to be beyond description.