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

……

"In the early stages of the race, if it were me, I would fight to the bitter end without hesitation. Because the scenery ahead belongs exclusively to the most dazzling runner, and I don't want to give it to any other opponent, not even for a second."

Stardust Illusion, standing in the stands, murmured to himself as he watched the situation on the field.

"But Zofu... what will you do?"

Chapter 371 Zhuo Fu: We'll beat up Stardust like this then.

As the female racehorses competed fiercely on the track, the commentary never stopped.

[The second straight has come to an end! (Note 1) This race has shown a clear split from the start, with Haidu Star and Zhuo Fu vying for the lead, and Haidu Star is currently still in the lead!]

[Third Turn! Haidu Star has entered the third turn first! Zhuo Fu is close behind, will she seize this opportunity to overtake?!]

[Zhuo Fu didn't choose to fight for position here! She decisively changed her running position to the innermost lane, closely following Haidu Star. It seems Zhuo Fu is going to choose to run first in this race! Haidu Star has taken the lead!!!]

"Huh? What does this mean!?"

"Is Zhuo Fu going to give up right here?!"

"Oh no, in this heavy horse riding environment, Zhuo Fu has indeed been greatly affected."

"So, we have to give up on surpassing Haidu Star just because we're here?!"

In the stands, the two male spectators next to Stardust Illusion both looked anxious.

The two men, wearing rubber raincoats, let the raindrops fall from the sky, their eyes glued to the screen, exchanging words back and forth. Clearly, they hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

However, the Stardust Illusion standing to the side had a different opinion.

With her racehorse-girl perspective, she could clearly see the expression on Zhuo Fu's face through the rain. It was definitely not the kind of unwilling look that came from being "forced to give up the chase by the environment".

On the contrary, Zhuo Fu's face was full of confidence and focus, and she didn't care about the current ranking issue at all.

The main benefit of being in the lead in this race is having the perfect, uninterrupted track right at the front.

Furthermore, in the early to mid-game, it can continuously adjust its speed to disrupt the rhythm of the horse girls behind it, thereby depleting their stamina and wearing down their energy.

Zhuo Fu, who has adopted the first-run strategy, obviously needs to be careful not to be led astray by the rhythm of Haidu Star.

The trailing tactic relied upon by the leading runners was largely ineffective due to the heavy racecourse and rainy weather today. Even those closely following behind the runners in front could hardly benefit from the wind-breaking effect.

Furthermore, once the game enters the mid-game, the leading racehorse needs to seize the opportunity to accelerate and overtake the leading racehorse by bursting forward with its last sprint. It can be said that a lot of things need to be considered.

This is one reason why Stardust Illusion doesn't like to take the initiative – she's too lazy to think about all that. If she's in the lead, all the other party needs to do is figure out how to catch up with her, and then she can suppress their resistance to the chase.

"……Um?"

Staring at the stardust illusions of the two racehorse girls on the track, she blinked and slowly said, "No... Zhuo Fu doesn't just want to simply adopt the first-run strategy!"

The short man standing to the side was taken aback upon hearing this, then turned to look at the girl beside him, who was wrapped up tightly, with a hint of disbelief: "What do you mean? Didn't Zhuo Fu already choose to enter the same track as Haidu Star? This should be proof that she plans to enjoy the wake first, right?"

“But there’s absolutely no tailwind to enjoy in this match!” Stardust Illusion answered decisively, his eyes fixed on Zhuo Fu in the arena, his heart burning with excitement, wishing he could jump off the stands right now and join the battle.

"The reason why Zhuo Fu hasn't fully utilized the zero-gravity running technique from the beginning is definitely not because her legs were restricted by the track—she deliberately revealed her footsteps and movements here!"

“Look, those two racehorses are getting faster and faster—but if you look closely at their condition, you can see that it is actually Zoe who is using the acceleration from behind to constantly put pressure on the Star of the Sea ahead, forcing it to gradually speed up its pace without realizing it.”

"I see... So Zhuo Fu deliberately created the noise of running here, using her speed to forcibly lift the Sea City Star up?"

Stardust Illusion nodded and continued to explain, "That's right. Although I don't know what Zofu's next plan is, at least for now, she still controls the rhythm of this match!"

"She didn't take the setback on the first straight at the start to heart at all... While everyone was still upset about her being overtaken, Zhuo Fu had already laid out the formula for victory!"

--------

Raindrops lashed down on the faces of the galloping racehorses, but the star at the front, Ocean Star, remained unaffected, its gaze fixed on the track ahead like a still pond.

"Well……!"

At that moment, she felt a sense of urgency, as if a gun were pointed directly at her back. Her heart rate increased rapidly from the moment it started beating, and her breathing became increasingly difficult to maintain a steady pace.

(This is Zhuo Fu's tactic: abandoning the lead and instead applying pressure from behind, forcibly disrupting the running rhythm.)

(In other words, as long as I want to maintain my lead, I will be tactically forced into a disadvantageous position...)

Sensing the hurried footsteps behind him, Haidu Star's mind raced, gathering and analyzing all the information about the match.

Although she didn't know the exact level of Zhuo Fu's stamina, since the opponent had already taken the initiative, she had to assume that she could sustain the entire match and respond accordingly.

Footsteps, panting, the sound of wind breaking...

Zhuo Fu followed closely behind Haidu Star. The different sounds generated by their running were woven together, turning into a high-pitched battle song, declaring her challenge to Haidu Star once again.

Even though this track, which is so muddy that it has almost completely turned into mud, is a venue that is completely unfavorable to Zhuofu and favors Haidu Star, the extra physical exertion is still unavoidable.

(Changes are needed...)

Haidu Star knew very well that if it did not respond to Zhuo Fu's offensive here, it would likely find itself in an increasingly passive situation.

The race is only 1600m long. If she misses the best opportunity, it could affect her final acceleration if she tries to regain the rhythm.

Zhuo Fu, who is actively controlling the atmosphere of the game at this moment, can freely choose the timing of her final burst of energy.

With such a shift in momentum, even if Shanghai Star has full confidence in their final push, the worst-case scenario could still occur where they accelerate too late and lose the opportunity to compete.

The moment the third bend ends marks the end of the first 800 meters and the start of the second half of the race.

For Haidu Star, who is enjoying the benefits of the venue, this means that she has reached a distance where she can accelerate, which means that she can start her final sprint directly from there.

(This competition is the best place to prove that I am worthy of my sister's attention... I absolutely cannot lose to any opponent.)

Haidu Star's gaze swept across the track ahead; the track, shrouded in rain, offered no obstruction.

"I am... a colossal wave that overturns the heavens and earth..."

The girl wearing a bunny-ear knitted hat murmured, ending her thoughts. Red data flashed rapidly in her eyes, and she gritted her teeth and began to accelerate.

From this moment on, the most important battle begins!

Its fierce momentum surged and roared.

The entire track was already shrouded in a curtain of rain, but the moment the Ocean Star began to accelerate, the enormous, overwhelming waves were suddenly unleashed and pushed towards all the runners!

In an instant, all the racehorse girls felt as if they had been transformed into a small boat tossed about in a tsunami.

The mere churning of the wind and waves was enough to make them feel breathless.

Even their running hands and feet seemed to be no longer under their control, and could be overturned by the giant waves at any moment, sinking directly into the bottomless deep sea.

The sky was pitch black, and only the thunder and lightning that accompanied the roaring waves at their peak could provide them with a little light.

But this light doesn't bring any warmth that people can feel...

On the contrary, it is the instant lightning flashes across the sky.

The poor racehorse girls, completely locked in, can then discover what lies beneath the turbulent, dark depths of the sea.

A terrifying eye, as large as a football field, was faintly visible, staring intently at them as they drifted on the surface of the sea from the ocean floor!

What is that...?

What exactly are those eyes?!

The mere attempt to understand it gave these racehorse girls a splitting headache.

Countless ancient, cold, forbidden, macroscopic, and high-dimensional pieces of knowledge were churning wildly in their minds.

It transforms into an incomprehensible and indescribable bizarre way, constantly pouring in an excessive amount of information.

Completely captivated by this illusion, the racehorse girl could only vaguely sense that beneath the deep sea lurked an immeasurably terrifying monster.

Even just the tip of the iceberg that this monster has revealed is enough to make them feel utterly powerless against it!

"Ugh...!"

The flight attendant running behind the two couldn't help but let out a mournful cry.

The moment the Star of the Seas unleashed its domain, she sensed something amiss and simultaneously tried to unleash her own domain to counter it.

However, almost in the blink of an eye, before the flight attendant could even muster his own fighting spirit, he was completely swallowed up by this deep blue ocean-like domain.

The biting chill instantly spread throughout his body, and the flight attendant gritted his teeth, his face turning deathly pale.

The terror of the monsters beneath the deep sea amplified her previous sense of powerlessness when facing the stardust illusion.

Originally a runner skilled in long-distance running, she was forced to take the lead, which was already a helpless move. Her physical strength, proficiency, and running techniques were all greatly affected.

Now, they're even more trapped in this realm, finding it difficult to break free from the illusion...

The girl watched as the two runners ahead of her began to leave her far behind, and a sense of despondency washed over her.

What should we do now?

What should I do?

Should we speed things up and catch up here?

But under the influence of the domain, she could barely maintain her current speed...

No, I still have to keep up!

The girl pondered for a moment before making this decision.

The flight attendant pursed her lips tightly, and a sharp pain shot through her muscles, which actually woke her from the hallucination.

But the constraints from the domain still felt heavy on his hands and feet. Feeling so disadvantageous, the flight attendant could only shake his head and regroup.

The two runners in front of me were visibly far superior to me, but...

What she was looking at was not just the rankings, but something she, as a racehorse girl, had to value.

(Control your breathing, adjust your pace...)

There is only one chance to see the opportunity to win, and if you want to win this game, you have to keep running forward!

What about endurance distribution, what about running style selection...?

The flight attendant understood that, as the vulnerable woman, she had absolutely no choice.

If you're still hesitating now, the only outcome will be failure. If you still believe in yourself as a racehorse girl, then let go of everything and take a step forward!

They staked everything, everything, on their legs and feet.

The best approach for Uma Musume (the horse girl) is to... fight them to the death!