Uma Musume, do I have to tell you that I know how to use the Santa Hat special move?

"If you had participated at that time... you would have understood how powerful the Emperor of the East Sea was, and that Tai Tiantong would probably not be so confident."

After saying that, Stardust Illusion hurriedly ran into the bathroom, leaving Victory Red Leaf standing alone in the corridor, looking thoughtful.

—————————————————————

[The sun is shining brightly again today, and the sixteen horse racing girls present have begun to enter the gates one after another. ]

[There are a total of 8 contestants participating in this competition. The most popular contestant is called a giant before his debut, number Umamusume Daita Tendo. ”

The second most popular contestant was the horse girl who had previously displayed her miraculous running skills, but unfortunately lost to the Emperor of the East China Sea by half a length, her number was 7 Stardust Illusion.

The third most popular contestant...】

On the field, the commentator's high-pitched voice echoed in everyone's ears. Stardust Illusion stood in his own gate, closed his eyes slightly, and concentrated his mind.

"So you lost to the Emperor of the East Sea? No wonder you brag about that little kid so much."

Beside her at Gate No. 8, Da Tai Tiantong was grinning grimly, revealing a mouth full of shark teeth.

"What a shame! You're going to lose two games in a row. And it's not just a loss... No matter what special skills you have, you're just an ordinary person running."

"I want to let you, the defeated general of the East China Sea Emperor, see what the innate gap is!"

Having said that, Ota Tendou looked at the Stardust Illusion, whose body was trembling slightly, eyes were closed tightly and it didn't talk to her at all.

Guessing that the other party was too scared to answer, he couldn't help but become even more proud:

"When you find yourself being easily caught up by me no matter how hard you try, will you understand that you have no chance of winning this game from the beginning?"

"I'll tell you, little guy—"

"In the sport of running, long legs are an absolute advantage!"

All the noise around was completely invisible to Stardust Illusion's ears.

At this moment, she has concentrated her whole body and mind on one point, completely eliminating any external interference, feeling the familiar track and the atmosphere of the stadium, and her whole body can't help but tremble slightly with excitement.

The only thing she was waiting for was that voice...

--beep.

The race begins and the floodgates open!

boom!

Sixteen horse girls galloped out at the same time—

[Skill: Concentration], activated.

[Skill: Non-standard distance o], activate.

[Skill: Counterclockwise o], activate.

The Stardust Illusion took the first step and suddenly opened his eyes. The grass under his feet exploded, and dirt and broken grass flew everywhere!

[Skill: Earth Solid], activate!

Chapter 21: Let the flowers bloom!

The evening before, in the cafeteria of the training ground.

"How are we going to run in tomorrow's race? You shouldn't be worried to this extent, right?"

Old Man Liuping looked at the Stardust Illusion that asked him a question with a strange expression.

Seeing the shy look on the horse racing girl's face, he suddenly realized something and laughed loudly as he replied:

“Ah, are you starting to get scared that your second debut will also fail? Hahahahaha!”

"Hey old man! What's so funny about this? Isn't it normal for horse girls to seek strategies from their trainers!?"

Stardust Illusion also felt that she was a little too worried, but she was also worried that if something went wrong, if she really failed the second time, it would very likely delay her journey to the Triple Crown stage.

After all, these G1 events require accumulated bounty amounts and complete pre-match rankings before participation, and the first of the Triple Crowns, the Gaoyue Sho, and its pre-requisite G2 competitions, such as the G2 Wakaba Championship, all require registration to begin in February.

This means that if she waits until January next year to start her debut, it will be difficult for her to accumulate enough bounty to register for the Gaoyue Award threshold competition on time, and by then everything will be over.

"Hahaha, I just thought of something happy." Old Man Liuping waved his hand, then looked at the Stardust Illusion sitting next to him and asked:

"Stardust Illusion, what do you think is the most important thing in a race? Physical advantage? Running style? Or some other hard condition?"

"Overall physical fitness."

Stardust Illusion answered based on his experience playing mobile games in his previous life.

After all, no matter what style of horse girl training you use, it requires support from basic attributes, and this is the initial element that constitutes the conditions for victory.

"Do you already know the importance of basic qualities?" Liu Ping nodded with some satisfaction. "That's right. Unless the two runners are evenly matched, otherwise-"

"In the sport of running, a high level of basic quality is an absolute advantage!"

"Don't worry too much about the Stardust Illusion. Just choose the running method that's most comfortable for you when the time comes."

————————————————————

"Choose the running method that is most comfortable for you?"

The Stardust Illusion that suddenly rushed out turned its attention back to the game. The huge figure behind him was able to narrow the distance between them every time he took a step with his long legs.

Just as Daita Tendou said, the advantage brought by long legs is enormous, just like using the move [Shrinking the Earth] all the time, being able to force an absolute advantage by relying on stride length with each stride.

Provided that……

"Different, completely different!"

Stardust Illusion felt the pressure coming from the horse girl chasing him from behind, and an expression of excitement unconsciously appeared on his face.

She seemed to be able to feel the heat from the East Sea Emperor behind her, but... it was no longer the East Sea Emperor who was chasing her. Instead, he was roaring and crossing the distance step by step, trying to catch up with his own Tai Tiantong again.

"You and the Emperor of the East Sea are simply...runners from two different worlds!!!"

[Skill: Shrinking the Earth], activate!

[The chase is over! Number 7, Stardust Illusion used that unique running method! She left the giant behind her and took the lead! ]

The commentary sounded at the right moment, and Stardust Illusion felt the strong wind blowing on her face. Every powerful step she took provided a constant source of power for her acceleration.

It's not just about taking the lead. The moment he stepped out of the gate, Stardust Illusion had already decided how he would announce his appearance as a challenger this time.

[…The various echelons of Uma Musume have been initially formed. Leading the way is number 7, Stardust Illusion, followed by…

No, Stardust Illusion is still accelerating! Stardust Illusion, which has already taken the lead, is still widening the gap with the horse girl behind it! 】

[Two horse lengths, three horse lengths... five horse lengths! ]

[Stardust Illusion’s goal is not to lead, but to escape. Stardust Illusion chose to escape from the beginning of this competition!!!]

As the commentator suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, the audience also started to make noises in excitement.

Immediately afterwards, thunderous applause and cheers resounded throughout the racecourse.

[Lead and Escape], which is ranked alongside [16 Moves and Chase] as the two most popular ways of winning for Umamusume fans, is now presented to all the spectators in the stadium.

The host who commented on the debut match of Stardust Illusion last time was also very excited at this time, and continued to shout while holding the microphone:

[He is in the lead with high spirits! Stardust Illusion No. 7, who adopted the strategy of escaping, has left all the other horse girls behind by more than 8 horse lengths! ]

[Fast, too fast. Without the competition from the Emperor of the East China Sea, she is like a gust of wind at this moment! ]

On the field, Stardust Illusion was well aware that this was her fastest run since training.

Her running career was not very long. Before this competition, she had been competing with strong men like the Emperor of the East China Sea and Oguruma, which made Stardust Illusion misjudge her own strength.

In his debut match, he was defeated by the Emperor of the East China Sea because of his desire to win?

The record against Oguri has reached 871 losses and 0 wins?

So what? Stardust Illusion’s opponent at the moment is not these powerful runners, but the remaining 15 horse girls in this race.

Now she was completely immersed in running. She could not see any obstacles around her, nor could she feel any trace of pursuers behind her. It was just like the countless times she had run in the past 17 days.

Stardust Illusion accelerated with every step he took, feeling the seemingly endless flow of strength in his body.

This is the biggest reason why she was able to choose to escape - her basic qualities are far superior to those of other contestants present.

The horseshoe-hoofed running shoes kept hitting the grass, and the series of bang-bang-bang footsteps enveloped all the horse racing girls behind them.

It sounds like... a death-defying drumbeat.

"This game is over."

On the stands, a petite figure wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses that mostly covered her face made this judgment.

"Ah? Didn't the game just enter the second half?"

The ordinary uncle who was standing not far from her and watching the game felt very confused when he heard this declaration.

"No, that's not what I meant by the outcome being decided. Look at those horse girls behind the stardust illusion."

The uncle looked over when he heard this and found that the horse racing girls who fell behind the fugitives had all shown varying degrees of relaxation.

Even the giant horse girl who had just been gritting her teeth to chase the stardust illusion, was now just running mechanically...

"They are..."

"In a race, as long as your opponent is afraid of you, then you are sure to win."

The petite figure who was explaining the event raised her head, looked at the Stardust Illusion that was leading the race alone with a smile on her face, and continued to mutter to herself:

"Stardust Illusion, you are indeed an opponent worthy of respect... But do you want to stop me in the Classic Triple Crown? But I will, like the president, sweep away all opponents including you and win the achievement of the Undefeated Triple Crown!"

"Ah!!! You are the Emperor of the East Sea——"

As the girl revealed the lower half of her face, the uncle suddenly remembered the identity of the person in front of him and almost exclaimed.

"Please, please, uncle, don't reveal my identity."

Hearing this, he quickly covered his mouth in time.

Looking at the adorable emperor who smiled apologetically at him, the Hermès uncle also consciously covered for the emperor who obviously did not want to reveal his identity.

At this moment, the game on the field has come to an end:

[…Number 7 Stardust Illusion, one move! ]

[On the track of the Zhongjing Racecourse, the storm of revenge swept back. Stardust Illusion took a 10-length advantage and led the team to the end, winning the race! ]

【All the audience present, if your blood is ignited by this dance, then please give your cheers and applause to our champion today, her name is——

——Star! Dust! Illusion!】

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

Chapter 22: Aftermath

Stardust Illusion, who had just finished the race, was now in his own runners' lounge, talking on the phone:

"Stardust, I heard that you won the championship, right? Congratulations!"

The sister on the other end of the phone sounded happy and relieved.

It was obvious that she didn't completely believe that Stardust Illusion could get first place as she had said before, but she just didn't want her worries to affect her state.

"This is nothing to be proud of." Stardust Illusion said seriously while holding his phone, "I've only experienced this twice since my debut. I'm already far behind her."

"She?" The sister on the other end of the phone was stunned for a moment, then she understood what Stardust Illusion meant, and said in astonishment:

"Are you talking about the Emperor of the East Sea?"

"Yes, it is the emperor."

"this--"

The sister on the other end of the phone was speechless for a moment. These days, she also learned some knowledge about horse racing girls and roughly understood the classification among horse racing girls.

Of course, he also understood how big the gap was between the genius-level star horse girl, the Emperor of the East Sea, who was respected as the "Second Emperor", and his sister.