The way Uma Musume looks at me is so scary!

"How could one not be drenched in sweat when facing such an enemy?!"

Just as Starman was somewhat shaken by Narita Shirahito's overwhelming momentum, the commentator's voice came through the rain once again. Unlike the young commentator before, this time it seemed to be a composed middle-aged man.

Kentaro Sugiki looked at the names on the file and addressed the entire Kyoto Racecourse.

From Europe to Japan, from world-renowned to obscure, even the most glorious achievements will eventually be eroded by time. After many years, when these northern surnames once again set foot on G1, can they reclaim their past glory?

"Next up is contestant number five, Northern Star Dream."

Kentaro Sugiki's tone carried a rare hint of confusion. Even though he wanted to believe in Hideyuki, the gap between them was still too great compared to the strength that Shirahito Narita had displayed.

He had prepared a passionate introduction, intending to start with the past glory of the Northern family and transition to Xiu Xingmeng, ending with the usual high hopes, but as soon as he spoke, he involuntarily became pessimistic.

The main reason is that Kentaro Sugiki has such a deep-rooted attachment to the word "Northern." When the Northern team, which he hasn't seen for many years, and Narita Shirahito, the strongest player of his generation, both stepped onto the field, how could he not feel confused after struggling between emotion and reason for so long?

However, this sense of bewilderment was destined to be experienced only by Kentaro Sugiki, because apart from him, no one in the audience cared about the so-called North.

The glorious days of the Hokujo clan are too far removed from today's young viewers, and there were so many powerful Uma Musume girls during the Hokujo clan's heyday that even the most experienced viewers have a Uma Musume girl they admire even more than Hokujo.

If it weren't for the fact that their childhood encounter was so amazing, perhaps Kentaro Sugiki wouldn't be in so much pain.

If he hadn't had any expectations, he could have cheered for Narita Shirahito just like the general public. It's just a pity that the words "northern" evoked such precious memories for him.

The audience remained silent about Hideyuki's appearance. Even knowing she was a descendant of a prestigious family, and some even knowing she had won the Kobe Shimbun Cup, what did it matter? Was there any racehorse girl in this generation who could defeat Narita Shirahito?

Only Kentaro Sugiki in the explanation room slowly closed his eyes, put down the documents in his hand, and prayed in his heart once again.

"If gods truly exist, please allow me to witness the glory of the North once more."

But his trembling hands said it all. He himself didn't believe in this so-called prayer. The victory in the Kobe Shimbun Cup was already a miracle. Could a miracle happen a second time?

There's no such thing as a miracle that's so cheap.

Amidst the indifference of the audience, the prayers of Kentaro Sugiki, and the trembling of all the race girls in the face of Shirohito Narita's imposing presence, Yume Hidehoshi, who had been preparing in the racer's tunnel for some time, adjusted the decorations on her chest, tied the red ribbon behind her hair, and strode forward into the rain.

Chapter 154 The Great Escape from the Past

As she walked out of the racer tunnel, Xiuxing Meng did not show her brilliance. Under the intimidating aura of Narita Shirahito, she was inconspicuous, just like another ordinary racehorse girl destined to become a background figure for the Triple Crown.

In the past, she had often unconsciously revealed her sharpness because she was looking forward to strong opponents, but today was different. Today, Xiu Xingmeng did not want to compete with anyone or look for anything on the field.

All she wanted was victory in the chrysanthemum appreciation competition.

All she wanted was to complete the main quest.

Having completed this scripted world, returning to that ward with the ribbon given to her by her mother—that was all that Xiu Xingmeng felt at that moment.

She silently polished the demon sword named Murasame in her heart, preparing for the moment when it was drawn.

However, Starlight Knight misunderstood her indifference to her surroundings. She stared blankly at Embroidered Star Dream, who was silently disappearing into the rain, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Why did the terrifying Xiuxing Dream from the Kobe News Cup turn out like this? Was she also forced to run away by Narita Shirahito's imposing presence?!

Starman opened his mouth, but before he could take a step, he slowly withdrew his foot.

She wanted to say something, but what right did she have to encourage Xiu Xingmeng? She had just been drenched in sweat from being frightened by Narita Shirahito's beast-like aura.

Starlight Knight looked at the blurry image of Embroidered Star Dream in the rain and could only shake his head in silence.

Perhaps no one in this generation can ultimately challenge Narita Shirahito.

Fujino Mark Wang is no good, the thank-you stage is no good, he himself is no good, and even Xiuxing Dream... he can't do it.

In the suffocating silence of the racetrack, Kentaro Sugiki, along with another commentator, finally finished introducing the names of all the racehorse girls who had appeared. They exchanged a glance and then spoke together.

"The final title of the classic triple crown, the Chrysanthemum Festival, is about to begin!"

"All players, please take your positions!"

Upon hearing the commentator's voice outside the racetrack, the female racehorses finally dragged their already stiff bodies, step by step, as if going to their execution, toward their own gate.

For them, who already knew who would win the championship, there was no suspense in this competition.

The only winner will be Narita Shirahito.

The audience thought so too, but since they didn't have to bear the immense pressure from Narita Shirahito, they still watched the competition with anticipation, wanting to witness the birth of the triple crown winner.

"Will you win?"

Amidst the increasingly restless crowd, Fujino Marko and the stage manager watched the arena nervously, unconsciously gripping each other's hands tightly.

"Will you win?"

While he was verbally engaging in conversation with his colleagues, Kentaro Sugiki's mind was already on the field. He gazed at the red of Namu through the rain through a glass screen and silently prayed.

"Will you win?"

Starlight Knight breathed heavily inside the gate. The time she had to wait for the game to start felt so long and suffocating. To keep her mind focused, she could only ask herself these questions again and again.

"It will win."

Narita Shirahito stared sharply at the lawn outside the gate; the road to victory had opened before her.

This time in the Chrysanthemum Festival, she will not hold back; she will declare war on the previous generation of racehorse girls with an absolute advantage.

Whether people are excited or bewildered, absent-minded or confident of victory, time flows on in the same way. The moment the gates open, everything will come to an end with the dust kicked up by the racehorses as they run.

What Xiu Xingmeng was waiting for was just one moment.

The moment the gates opened, time seemed to freeze, and raindrops seemed to freeze in mid-air, reflecting the suddenly contracted pupils and bewildered faces of the racehorse girls.

Although their bodies had clearly sensed danger and instinctively sent warnings to their brains, many racehorse girls still couldn't understand what had happened. Why did the world seem to have been suddenly altered the moment the gates opened, with a blood-red hue suddenly appearing in the originally gray rain?

Before they could even comprehend it, a buzzing sound, like a sword being drawn from its sheath, resounded throughout the arena. Accompanied by scorching air and boiling rain, the demonic sword named Murasame was unsheathed.

The racehorse girls, already overwhelmed by Narita Shirahito's imposing presence, even experienced the illusion that the world had been split in two. A blinding red streak of light tore through the rain like a blade, and the raindrops, now cut in half, streaked past their eyes, severing their reason along with the deadly blade.

"A...a mass escape?!"

Outside the stadium, Kentaro Sugiki stared in disbelief at the red streak of light that tore through the rain like a shooting star, and spoke into the microphone.

He wasn't the only one stunned and bewildered; everyone in the stands was captivated by the crimson streak of light. They stared in disbelief as Xiu Xingmeng overtook the racehorse girls at incredible speed, leaving even their previously favored Narita Shirahito far behind.

Some spectators who were new to Uma Musume (horse racers) looked around in bewilderment, asking questions.

"This... this must be a great escape tactic, right? Can this kind of tactic still be used on a 3,000-meter stretch of chrysanthemum?"

For those viewers who had done some research, what they saw was even more unbelievable. After hearing the beginner's question, a middle-aged man wearing glasses subconsciously responded.

"Impossible! I've watched so many competitions over the years and I've never seen a runaway in the Chrysanthemum Appreciation!"

In fact, it's not just chrysanthemum viewing; on grassy fields, where the final sprint is more favorable, it's already quite rare to see racehorses using a runaway tactic in middle- and long-distance races.

While everyone was bewildered, an elderly man wearing a trainer's hat squinted at the red streak that had almost left everyone else behind, and recalled in a deep voice.

"I remember there was a time when I won the Chrysanthemum Award by escaping a great battle."

His words immediately drew everyone's attention, and they all turned to look at the old man with expectant eyes.

The old man pondered for a moment before speaking.

"But that was when I was young, several decades ago, and I can't remember it anymore. I never thought that after so many years, there would still be a racehorse girl who would choose to use the escape tactic in the Chrysanthemum Sho."

Just when everyone was feeling a bit disappointed, one of the audience members suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said something hesitantly.

"I remember when this racehorse girl was introduced, it was mentioned that she came from a once-prominent but now-declining family?"

"Is there any possibility..."

"Her family elders won the Chrysanthemum Award in this way, and now she wants to use a method from the past to reclaim the glory for her family?"

Chapter 155 Numerous Difficulties

The sharpness of the rain felt like a blade cutting through my limbs, the scorching rain felt like blood streaming down my face, and my strength was rapidly draining away in this perilous world. With each step forward, my body was giving me a frantic warning, as if what lay ahead was not a race track but an abyss.

Narita Shirahito's golden eyes, like those of a wild beast, were fixed on the red streak of light ahead. Her heart was pounding wildly, and her body trembled instinctively from the overwhelming sense of danger. Yet, in this situation, Narita Shirahito suddenly smiled.

It was a smile like that of a hungry beast that had suddenly smelled blood. Under Xiu Xingmeng's captivating aura, she felt no fear, but rather excitement.

"That's right."

"This is the real arena."

Narita Shirahito muttered to herself in the rain, "I've been looking forward to this smell of blood for far too long."

The previous races were too bland and boring. Surpassing those racehorse girls who posed no threat at all could not satisfy Narita Shirahito's desire for an opponent.

But now, she has finally met someone like herself on the field.

A fellow human being, equally fraught with danger, capable of posing a threat, and truly willing to fight to the death.

Narita Shirahito was neither in a hurry nor flustered by Xiu Xingmeng's escape. As a lone wolf in the wilderness, her greatest strength was patience, and now was far from the time to bare her fangs and tear each other apart.

Although it was the first time she had encountered someone of her own kind, her instincts, like those of a seasoned hunter, made Narita Shirahito suppress his urge to fight.

She lay in wait among the racehorse girls, using them as cover to conceal her presence, her eyes fixed on the red light in the rain, searching for its weakness, and finally, delivering a fatal blow.

The more dangerous the realm of Embroidered Star Dream became, the more excited Narita Shirahito became. She enjoyed the overwhelming sense of oppression while quietly waiting for the final moment when fangs and blades would be revealed.

"Currently leading, number ten, Northern Star Dream, has entered the second bend! The gap between her and second place is five horse lengths. Can she maintain this advantage until the end?!"

"What do you think, Professor Sugimoto?"

His partner's words made Kentaro Sugiki instinctively flinch and bring his attention back to the game. After glancing at the situation on the field, he immediately began to provide commentary for the audience based on his years of professional experience.

"The Chrysanthemum Sho race course has three turns, and the second turn is the longest of them, with the largest arc, almost a semicircle. Running through such a turn in the rain is a great test of the strength and balance of the racehorse girls."

"However, what I'm most worried about for the Northern Star Dream driver isn't this corner, but the straightaway after that."

Upon hearing this, his partner immediately and skillfully followed up with another question.

"Oh? Why? Generally speaking, aren't long, sharp bends like these the biggest test of a horse's escape tactics?"

"Don't many female racehorses that choose the escape tactic lose because they can't accelerate smoothly on the curves and get pulled closer, thus failing to accumulate enough advantage?"

As a commentator who can step onto the G1 stage, Kentaro Sugiki's partner is far more than just someone who can shout and yell. He immediately sensed what his partner wanted to say and then began to speak fluently.

After hearing his words, Kentaro Sugiki nodded subconsciously before speaking.

“That’s true, that’s true for a normal race, but the Chrysanthemum Viewing at Kyoto Racecourse is different.”

"why?"

Kentaro Sugiki glanced at the gray racetrack outside the window, and only spoke slowly after seeing that the red streak of light was about to exit the second bend.

"Because the straight section between the second and third bends of the chrysanthemum viewing area is an extremely long uphill straight section!"

"The escape tactic already requires a lot of endurance, and now they have to run uphill, which is known for its endurance, which will undoubtedly accelerate the rate at which the Northern Star Dream athletes lose their stamina."

Kentaro Sugiki sounded very anxious. After the initial shock of seeing Xiuxing Yume's escape, his rationality had gradually returned.

The reason why the last record of winning the Chrysanthemum Prize with the escape tactic was decades ago is simply because the race schedule here is too unfriendly to the escape tactic.

The three-thousand-meter race was already very strenuous, and to maintain the lead and navigate a semi-circular bend and climb an uphill section, Kentaro Sugiki had never seen a racehorse girl withstand such intensity.

"and……"

Kentaro Sugiki squinted at the red streak of light rushing across the track outside the window and said with difficulty.

"After clearing the uphill straight, there's immediately the last bend. Will she really have the stamina to accelerate on the final straight of the 400-meter stretch?"

His words echoed through the loudspeakers at the Kyoto Racecourse, prompting some of the audience members who were still reeling from the dramatic escape of the embroidered star to begin to think.

"Brother Sugimoto's insights are spot on. I was wondering why I'd never heard of a Great Escape Horse Girl winning the Kikuka Sho. Turns out there's a reason for that."

The young man, who looked like a student, nodded in sudden understanding after hearing the explanation.

"Based on this, Narita Shirai still has a great chance. Being in the middle of the pack, she can conserve more energy, which will allow her to sprint in the final straight and win the championship."

"That's right. It seems that Hokuho Hoshino's escape was just a last-ditch effort. After this battle, the Hokuho family's name will return to the racetrack. However, the champion of this Chrysanthemum Prize will ultimately be Narita Shirahito."

The more the group discussed it, the more certain they became of Hideyuki Hoshino's defeat. After all, she was going to face the strongest player of the generation, Narita Shirahito. Wouldn't Narita Shirahito, who had won the Classic Triple Crown twice, be more trustworthy than Hideyuki Hoshino, who had only won the Kobe Shimbun Cup once?

"As a professional spectator, I can already make my judgment. The champion of this Chrysanthemum Award will undoubtedly be Narita Shirahito. As for Hokuho Shinmei, he's just there to add another exciting backdrop to the crowning of a triple crown!"

One of the seemingly confident spectators brought the discussion to a close with his own conclusion, while a short-haired racehorse girl in the crowd, who seemed not yet fully authentic, was so angry upon hearing this that she turned her ears away.

"What a bunch of boring adults! Why can't we win the Chrysanthemum Prize in the Great Escape?"

Xingyun Tiankong, who was deeply moved by Xiuxingmeng's performance, clenched her fists silently. In her opinion, these adults who only looked at data and performance but had never actually stepped onto the field simply did not understand the competition.

"Go for it! Let these idiots know the power of a great escape!"

Outraged, Xingyun Tiankong simply used his hands as megaphones and shouted into the crowd.

Whether it was an illusion or not, after she shouted those words, Xiu Xingmeng, who had stepped onto the uphill straight road, seemed to actually accelerate again.

Chapter 156 Manipulating the Arena