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

Thinking this way, the Emperor of the East China Sea gently reached out his hand and stroked his ankle, which was still burning hot...

"Emperor, I will definitely, definitely, definitely, definitely not lose again this time."

Chapter 278 Emperor: Darkened, Do Not Disturb

Tokyo Racecourse.

May 5th, the day of the 26th Neon Derby.

Distance 2400m, track type grass.

Weather conditions... heavy rain.

(This kind of weather somehow makes me feel that it is very suitable for today's decisive battle.)

The Emperor of the East China Sea, wearing a raincoat over his winning suit, stood at the edge of the contestant entrance on the east side of the racecourse.

She raised her head to look at the dark clouded sky and stretched out her hand to catch the raindrops falling from the sky.

For a whole month, I have been practicing diligently following the symbol of Rudolph... The results will be tested today.

As long as I close my eyes, I can seem to recall the scene when I was thrown six horse lengths away by the stardust illusion during the Gaoyue Appreciation.

During this month, this scene would reappear again and again even in his dreams, tightly entangling the Emperor of the East China Sea like a nightmare.

However, she was not defeated by this situation.

On the contrary, this constantly recurring memory of failure became her most powerful motivation during this month, pushing the emperor step by step towards a more powerful realm.

"Today will be the emperor's revenge."

The Emperor of the East China Sea clenched his right fist and crushed all the water in his hand into pieces. He turned around and walked inside without looking back.

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"Alright, alright, Xiao Bairen, you have to cheer up."

Maruzenski gently patted his junior's shoulder to relieve her stress.

Behind Maruzenski, all members of Team Rigil came here under the leadership of Tojo Hana to cheer for Narita Shirahito who was about to compete.

Today's Neon Derby will be an extremely fierce battle, and it can even be said to be a game beyond everyone's imagination. Anyone who knows the contestants will understand this.

No one knows better than them how much effort Shirahito Narita has put in for this derby.

Therefore, they sincerely hope that Narita Shirahito can achieve the final victory in this war.

"kindness……"

Hearing Narita Shirahito's slightly dull answer, Maruzenski and Daishu Express suddenly reached out, lifted her up from the left and right, and pulled her into the group of horse racing girls.

The seniors and peers who were on her team all smiled, and everyone put their arms around the shoulders of the people around them, forming a big circle at the entrance. Even Tojo Hana was not spared.

In this circle, everyone can look at each other.

"Xiao Bairen, you are a strong player who even defeated us in the training match." Maruzenski encouraged.

"It's OK! You can do it!" Big Tree Express gave a thumbs up.

"I wish you good luck in military affairs." Cao Shangfei gave his blessing in the most formal tone.

All the players present gave their encouragements one by one, and then Tojo Hana concluded:

"Our Team Rigil is the strongest team in the entire academy. This is beyond doubt and everyone must admit it. And you, Narita Shirahito, are the strongest runner of the current generation in the team."

“So, you just need to recognize this.”

Tojo Hana leaned down slightly, looked around at every smiling face, and finally fixed his gaze on Narita Shirahito:

"Today, you are not here to compete with your opponent... You are here to defeat your opponent with your strength!"

-------

"You seem to be in a good mood. Are you looking forward to the next game?"

After sending Stardust Illusion into the west contestant channel, Toyama Scarlet raised his umbrella and looked at Stardust Illusion who was about to walk in, and asked casually.

"Hahaha - that's one of the reasons, right? But the more important thing is..."

Stardust Illusion grinned, waved his hand and said goodbye to Toyama Scarlet with a bright smile:

“I am happy that… Uma Musume is a sport that will never be stopped or the time will be changed even if it is pouring rain.”

The moment he saw the stadium again, Stardust Illusion felt that the air at this competition venue, which had become cold but extremely tense because of the game, was quietly flowing into his body.

The Emperor of the East China Sea, the East Business Reform, Narita Bairen, the Sky Shrine... How strong have these opponents become who haven't been seen for a month?

Just by imagining the upcoming game, Stardust Illusion couldn't help but tremble slightly all over.

Looking back, the first time I touched the power of the domain, it was raining like this. I guess the runway must have been similarly soft, right?

In the initial match with Zhuo Fu, Wang Zu and others, I was still full of weaknesses and was almost defeated to the point of giving up the game...

"but now……"

Stardust Illusion lowered his head and looked at the tight and explosive muscles on his hands and feet, as well as the winning suit on his body that symbolized the glory of the winner.

She deeply understood this point: she is no longer the weak person she used to be.

Standing on this field, I am undoubtedly the most popular and also the strongest runner...

In other words, victory is a matter of course, and no mistakes are allowed...

(Will Oguruma watch this game?)

He turned his head, his eyes penetrating the thick wall of the contestant passage in front of him, as if he wanted to look through it to the entire audience for the familiar reed-haired figure.

The Neon Derby was a competition that Oguruma had wanted to participate in very much but could not see. It was also one of the three crowns that the Emperor of the East China Sea vowed to win. It was also the place where the East China Merchants’ Declaration of Change would be realized [the magic of the game].

It is precisely because of various reasons and regrets that people want to take victory back even more.

Although I once chose to give up in the competition and failed...

(However, those things had already been overcome at the Gaoyue Award.)

Beside him, the red figure that was burning like a phoenix also agreed with Stardust Illusion's idea.

Stardust Illusion deeply understood that as a horse girl, she truly desired victory in this sport that required nothing more than running and was pure and unmixed with anything else.

Win and shine.

(So ​​in today's game, I want to... defeat everyone, and even more so, defeat myself!)

"Then I will go in."

Stardust Illusion waved his hand without even turning his head, saying goodbye to Toyama Scarlet behind him.

Behind me, I could hear the trainer's malicious laughter and her last words of advice:

"Stardust Illusion, all the results of your training have been demonstrated on you, so in the end... you just need to remember this!"

"what?"

"You are not here to defeat the enemy."

"Instead, I came here as an overlord, as a monster, to fight to kill them!"

----------

"The Emperor of the East Sea, the East Merchant Reform, and Narita Bairen have all been analyzed."

Sky God was sitting in the lounge, typing on the keyboard of the computer in front of him at such a speed that his hands almost left afterimages.

"The only problem is you, Stardust Vision."

On the computer screen, a photo of Gao Yue rushing into the finish line at this year's Stardust Illusion was clearly visible. It was her figure leaping forward with the power of the sprint.

Just by looking at this figure, you can understand how great this runner's desire for victory is.

With the help of the intelligence collected from the last competition, Sky Palace has been analyzing with the AI ​​program Parcae during these days, looking for countermeasures that can defeat these players, besides training.

This program was specially designed by her to assist in analyzing data to provide training suggestions and simulate game results.

But, the only problem now is the stardust illusion.

She was like the unknown X in a math problem. No matter how Parcae and I analyzed her information, we couldn't accurately grasp the data and draw effective conclusions.

"No matter what...Neon Derby is my biggest battlefield."

The sound of typing on the keyboard in the room suddenly increased. The Sky Palace derived all the conclusions and memorized them silently in his mind.

Then, in her deserted personal lounge, she picked up the glass bottle filled with white flakes beside her, opened the bottle mouth directly, raised her head and poured the liquid into her mouth.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

The sound of chewing echoed so loudly that it made one's ears sore. The Sky God Palace chewed all the pills poured into his mouth into pieces and then swallowed them mixed with saliva.

Feeling the sudden surge of strength in her body, she sat quietly.

Then, he smiled at the computer screen.

--------

"Wow! Look, mom! There are so many people here! Everyone is discussing the matter of Overlord Stardust Illusion!"

"Hold your mother's hand tightly and don't get lost."

In order to avoid being separated by the crowded crowd, the little orange-haired girl quickly stretched out her left hand and grabbed her mother's hand.

She hid under the big umbrella held up by her mother, her tone full of excitement, and she was looking forward to the next game.

Even the little good opera, which had never been authentically adapted, couldn't help but get excited after witnessing such a grand occasion.

The still young Overlord already knew it.

She knew that her heart was so pounding, which meant that what was coming next would be the climax of the Stardust Illusion battle!

It can be said that the highest stage of the Neon Uma Musume classic year...Neon Derby will be held here today.

"Master Stardust Illusion, we will definitely win today!"

After finally arriving at a suitable position for watching the game, Good Opera immediately raised his hands high, clung to the railing and looked at the runway below.

Since there is still some time before the start of the competition, the contestants have not entered the venue yet.

Yet even looking at the now empty grass track, good opera can feel a thrill that goes beyond the excitement of the moment.

What does it feel like?

Good opera has yet to discover the source of this feeling.

But all in all, she could feel the sudden thought in her mind that perhaps there would be some extraordinary scenes to be seen in this game.

That will be a scene that she will never forget in her life!

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[To all the fans who love Umamusume! It’s finally here! This moment!!!]

[On the track of Tokyo Racecourse, this year's grand finale - the ultimate celebration of horse racing ladies!!!]

[The G1 Grand Prize Race, the Neon Derby will be held here! Tokyo Racecourse Grass Track, 2400m! The king of middle distance, the king of derby competition!!!]

[Today's attendance was so great that even in the heavy rain, more than 18 people entered the venue, so we had to limit the number of visitors.]

【Considering that many fans were unable to attend the race due to the limited attendance or heavy rain, Tokyo Racecourse has put today's event online and live broadcast it to the world! 】

[A total of 20 horse girls participated in today's race. They were all so excited to compete for the second round of the classic triple crown and to win the highest achievement called "Neon Derby". So who will win the first place in today's race? ! ]

"It's finally about to begin. This competition to decide the king... You have to record it carefully and don't miss any scenes. Do you understand? Sato!!!"

At this moment, veteran reporter Kawashima was standing in the photography and recording area specially designated for reporters on the sidelines, giving his disciples careful instructions.

Sato, who was standing behind him and carrying a huge camera steadily on his shoulder, also nodded quickly. At the same time, in front of the trainee reporter, there was another small sports camera fixed with a bracket.

"It seems that the number of spectators present today has exceeded the capacity of the entire racecourse?"

Although Sato is still a little immature in his professionalism, his physical fitness is impeccable. Even when carrying a camera, he can look around effortlessly.