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

The stardust illusion fell silent, unable to resist recalling that final, wistful feeling.

Running on the final straight line, she faced the strong wind and had a panoramic view of the scenery ahead.

However, it wasn't as enjoyable as I had imagined.

He still had all his strength and stamina left, but there was no way to increase his speed any further.

The maximum speed limit was a very important component of the data from the initial Elysonic research.

If we convert this to the game from the previous life, we can assume that Stardust Illusion's current maximum speed has basically reached the maximum value of 1200.

This means that no matter how much she improves, she can only increase her value by a few dozen points on top of this upper limit. But if she wants to truly break through her limits, that's another story.

If it were before the Takarazuka Memorial, Stardust Mirage wouldn't have felt such a great sense of loss, because no matter who came, they would all say that Uma Musume Pretty Derby's limits are insurmountable, so they must strengthen other parts of their training to become stronger.

Breaking the destiny star means shattering the racehorse girl's innate fate, which naturally gives her the possibility of breaking through her limits again.

In that Takarazuka memorial event, Alice truly broke through the possibility called the "speed limit" right before her eyes, reaching a point beyond the speed of light—

I can do that too!

Stardust Illusion longed to shout like that.

But the truth is that she is stuck at the edge of the limit of the field, unable to find a direction to break through.

"I would be even happier if I had a stronger opponent."

A straightforward answer.

"Only pressure can make people stronger, and you, Cai Zhigao, should know that too."

The ultimate goal of Stardust Illusion is to travel from Japan to France, to compete against world-class runners, and to push their own limits once again.

"Whether it's you, Zhuo Fu, or even a prestigious family... the opponent I want to face is someone who can make my blood boil, make me suffer, make me breathless, or even shatter me to pieces on the field!"

Stardust Illusion raised its head, its eyes gleaming, imagining itself being overwhelmed by someone's unreasonable power on the field, its whole body trembling slightly with excitement—

"Haha, let's save that kind of weird talk for tonight and tell it to Zhuo Fu."

Cai Zhigao's voice continued to come, but she did not feel offended by being spoken to like that.

After all, it was clear from Stardust Illusion's words that they were what she truly thought, and the desire to compete with the strong was a common interest among the racehorse girls. Even she regarded Zofu, who was stronger than her, as a target for challenge.

Since that's the case, there's naturally no reason to protest against the Stardust Illusion, which would imply that the individual is too weak.

Cai Zhi shrugged, then quickly left the Stardust Illusion's side and walked forward on his own.

"Anyway, I'll come find you after the winner's stage—and then we'll go to Zoe's house together."

Hurry up.

His steps quickened, and Cai Zhigao felt inexplicably irritated.

As I just thought, the desire for a strong opponent is a natural instinct of racehorse girls, so the idea of ​​Stardust Illusion is certainly not wrong.

But why did I suddenly not want to continue the conversation?

I have accepted that I am not on the same level as these monsters at all, and I have sorted out my feelings and prepared to continue the challenge next time. This is by no means a self-deception to avoid failure.

It's just a matter of continuing to get stronger and facing your current level squarely.

That's it, just do better next time.

but……

His brisk pace turned into a jog as Cai Zhigao rushed into his private lounge and slammed the door shut.

After winning the debut-limited G1 race last year, he was hailed as a genius and once believed that he could become a world-class runner as great as Nobunaga.

However, after his friend Zofu officially began learning horse racing, Cai Zhigao realized just how big the gap was between himself and a true genius.

(The French treble... and that's how it ends.)

"Wow, time flies. It's only July now."

With a sigh, Cai Zhigao leaned against the door and slowly slid down to sit on the ground.

If only I could have...

Should we train harder?

Practice your basic skills more, and run alongside Zhuo Fu a few more times to learn her techniques.

She behaves more like a true French racehorse girl who can be compared to Zoeve.

Even if it's just pushing yourself to the limit during a match, you can still take one more step forward.

Can I...?

At least let that monster, Stardust Illusion, have a little more fun, right?

Before he knew it, tears were already streaming down his face. Cai Zhigao, who had trained himself to be big and strong for the competition, tried to wipe the tears from his cheeks, but he couldn't wipe them away.

All the hard work of the past year, the hopes and blessings of countless people for the French treble, were abruptly cut short at the very last step before the finish line.

"Sigh... I'm so unwilling to accept this."

With a long sigh, Cai Zhigao dusted himself off, stood up again, shook his head helplessly, and picked up a towel to wipe his face.

In France, there are about 1000 female racehorses who successfully debut each year, and if we expand this scope to the whole world, the number is probably at least tens of thousands.

After their debut, they need to overcome round after round of competitions to reach the highest level of competition in their own country, and finally take their steps towards the world.

If this were a novel, then I wouldn't be the protagonist; instead, I would become a stepping stone to highlight the power of the Stardust Illusion.

I'm afraid people would say this:

Do you know Stardust Illusion? It's that monster that utterly defeated near-triple crown contender J.J. Tseng at the Paris Grand Prix!

Whether it's her or Zoe, only one person will stand at the pinnacle of the world's best female racehorses this year, while she will be just an extra.

To become the green leaf that sets off the king's glory.

but……

"I want to keep striving like that too—to keep running!!!"

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

After the winners' stage, Stardust Illusion, who originally wanted to go directly to Zofu's house as a guest, was forced to stay by Scarlet Toyama to attend the G1-level event press conference.

"Stardust Illusion, we've noticed that you've employed the 'escape' tactic not only in these two matches in France, but also almost exclusively in Japan. Is there a reason for this? Will you have other tactical options for the upcoming matches?"

A reporter asked the question to the racehorse girl sitting in the center of the podium.

Hearing this, Toyama Scarlet raised an eyebrow, keenly sensing the trap hidden in the question, and directly spoke up, "Stardust Illusion does indeed prefer the escape route, but we will also consider other battle methods..."

"I will only use the Great Escape method in the upcoming matches up to the Arc de Triomphe."

Stardust Illusion directly interrupted Toyama Scarlet's smooth answer, and picked up the microphone herself, speaking firmly to the reporter.

"Will you be using the Great Escape from now on? Can I take that as a guarantee from Stardust Illusion players?!" A reporter continued to press the question with great surprise.

"Ah."

"But if you do that, won't you become an easier target in your upcoming matches?"

Stardust Illusion nodded and continued, "It doesn't matter if they target me. I'm never afraid of the pressure in a competition—if I want to be the only one, the strongest, I should be able to overcome any predicament."

Her last words were spoken with an expectant tone, which caused an uproar among the reporters in the audience.

Following his previous declaration of being the "only king," Stardust Illusion has once again expressed his desire to become the strongest, even publicly stating that he will continue to use the Great Escape and is not afraid of any challenge.

"In any case, today's race proves that she does indeed have the confidence to rely on," a person watching the spirited racehorse on the stage murmured.

"Not necessarily," another reporter suddenly interjected. "While such a result at the Paris competition is indeed quite remarkable, ultimately, only Caizhigao can be considered one of the top domestic players, right?"

"But a difference of seven horse lengths is still a crushing defeat; that's a Triple Crown contender for Talent High School!"

"High intelligence? It's only because Zhuo Fu didn't have time to participate in the Three Crowns that she was able to win against the mortals in the previous two matches."

Another young reporter retorted with a disdainful expression and a somewhat impatient tone, "Just watch, once Miss Zhuo Fu has recovered and rejoins the competition, she will continue her undefeated legend!"

"Yes, yes, if you say so, then it is..." Seeing that the young man was getting carried away, everyone quickly chimed in and changed the subject to end the conversation.

"We noticed that your current results in France are still some distance from the Arc de Triomphe threshold. We wonder which competition Stardust Illusion is scheduled to participate in next?" another reporter raised the microphone and continued to ask.

"I have already registered for the events I will be participating in next."

Stardust Illusion and Crimson Toyama exchanged a glance, and only after confirming that the news could be announced did they reply:

“I will be participating in the G1 Grand Prix in early August – the Rothschild Grand Prix.”

"The Rothschild Grand Prix?!" the reporter who had just asked the question exclaimed in surprise. "Isn't that the G1 race at Deauville Racecourse?"

"Is there a problem?" Stardust Illusion tilted its head and looked at the reporter, somewhat puzzled as to why he was acting so exaggeratedly.

It's just a G1-level match, there's no need to get so worked up, right?

"That's right, Stardust Illusion."

Upon hearing the question, the reporter decisively placed the microphone in front of him and revealed the information he knew:

"Some of the competitors for this year's Rothschild Grand Prix have already been confirmed, including the winner and runner-up of this year's French 1000 Guineas Grand Prix, Heart Dance and Queen Earth."

"But most importantly... Goldikova also announced this afternoon that he will be attending the match again."

"King Kong?" Stardust Illusion was completely baffled by these racehorse girls that had never appeared in the game, so she looked at the trainer beside her with questioning eyes.

"King Kong is currently the female horse with the most G1 wins among active European racehorses, and she is also a three-time winner of the Rothschild Grand Prix," explained Hiren Toyama, then looked at the reporters below.

"Is that right?"

"Yes, news broke at noon that she was confirmed to be challenging for a fourth consecutive Rothschild Grand Prix title, and by the afternoon, news had spread that several runners had announced their withdrawal from the race."

"So she's really strong?!" Stardust Illusion grabbed the microphone and asked eagerly.

“金刚威小姐去年刚刚还被评为了欧洲马王，目前战绩是26战16冠6亚3季，其中包括14场一级赛冠军。”

The reporter spoke with great pride, after all, this runner was also of French descent, and could be considered a true pride of France.

"So what does Stardust Illusion think? Will they want to avoid this match?"

"Of course not... no, rather I'm definitely going to this match!"

Stardust Illusion, his face beaming with excitement, slammed his fist on the podium and addressed all the reporters with unwavering resolve:

"Has Jin Gangwei won three consecutive championships in this tournament...? Well, let her wait, I will end her winning streak!!!"