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

The Emperor of the East China Sea, who was following the innermost lane, had been increasing her sprinting speed. Although this was still a curve, she was not the type who was not good at curves. On the contrary, her soft legs allowed her to almost treat the curves as a smooth road!

The excellent qualities behind it are now buried in the large force, looking for a chance to break through.

However, when she raised her head and looked forward, she saw that the two horse racing girls were still increasing their speed and chasing each other, and her brain felt a little confused again.

What on earth are these two guys doing?

There were still more than 500 meters left, and they were even at the final bend. Why did they have to start the final sprint now? !

Honestly speaking, her excellent quality had been somewhat weakened due to several mistakes. She had just been thinking in her mind that she might need to shorten the distance of the final sprint to prevent a complete failure.

But what is going on? The two people in front of her are starting to sprint now, so what about her?

She was sure of their excellent qualities. As long as the two of them didn't suddenly lose speed, she would definitely not be able to catch up. But she was unwilling to give up here.

What a mess they are!

Teng!

At this moment, something seemed to be completely ignited in her mind.

Why should I give up my debut battle at this time?

"My...excellent qualities are not a stepping stone!"

The girl suddenly sped up and stood out from the leading group!

——————————————————————————————

"She's going to stall." Rudolph commented, looking at the excellent quality of the sudden acceleration.

Even if he could unleash power beyond his limits now, it was still too early in the race.

The outstanding quality of the horse girl in the academy was not known for her endurance. At this moment, the two leaders disrupted her rhythm and caused her to explode prematurely. The final result that awaited her was obvious...

"Sure enough, we were not mistaken about the way he ran. It was the last leg of Oguruma." Qi Cao looked at the Stardust Illusion that was almost running side by side with the Emperor, his expression very solemn.

From the moment the horse girl Stardust Illusion started to sprint, she recognized at a glance that this was definitely the running style of Kuromakuni. The secondary acceleration running style that was unique to this grey-haired horse and used in the final sprint could even be said to be its more perfect posture.

But how is this possible?

This horse girl's physical fitness is not even as good as most of the GII-level players in the Central Academy, but how can she master such a perfect running method? Is she an apprentice of Oguruma or something like that?

In this case, the emperor’s situation... would be terrible!

The arena was already boiling with excitement, and all the spectators' attention was attracted by the three horse girls who had begun the competition: Excellent Quality, Stardust Illusion, and the genius East China Sea Emperor!

The excellent quality that they showed later even approached the two people who were chasing each other side by side. In this final bend, the intensity of the competition among the three was beyond everyone's imagination.

Even the host almost forgot that this was just a debut match for Umamusume that didn't even come with a big reward.

[Excellent quality is here! Excellent quality is here! The competitive spirit of excellent quality has unleashed extraordinary power at this moment. She is still accelerating. Who will win this battle at the final corner? ! ]

[One horse length, half a horse length! Excellent quality has caught up with...what?! ]

The commentator's passionate shouting came to an abrupt end, and the two horse girls tied for first place finally showed their true fangs when they saw the excellent qualities approaching.

At the same time...speed up!

Xingchen never expected that the Emperor of the East China Sea would make exactly the same choice as her at this moment.

Both of them seemed to be competing with all their might, but they both reserved their last bit of strength and burst out suddenly the moment they stepped into the final straight line, trying to get rid of each other in this way.

But what was left behind by this second acceleration were only excellent qualities.

"Damn it! Oysters...!"

The screams of Excellent Quality gradually faded away, but now the two people who were speeding up only had each other in their eyes. Stardust Illusion had squeezed out her last bit of strength with every step she took, and the slightly uphill road was the last obstacle in front of her.

There are only 400 meters left in the final straight. Even though I have obtained the golden finger and the inherent skills of Santa's chestnut hat, can I still not win?

Stop kidding, I want to...dump her!

boom!

The grass was stepped on by Stardust Illusion with great force, causing a circle of air waves to explode. Her figure suddenly swayed forward from slightly leaning back again, and the whole person forcibly opened up a distance of half a horse's length as if teleporting.

The two men who had been fighting for hundreds of meters finally decided the winner at this moment.

[It’s Stardust Illusion! Stardust Illusion has passed! In this final 200-meter sprint straight, Stardust Illusion is leading!!!]

The commentator immediately grabbed the microphone and shouted with all his might.

Oops, I can’t catch up with her…!

The Emperor of the East China Sea was gritting her teeth so hard that blood was oozing out. The final sprint that started ahead of time had greatly consumed her physical strength.

She had been able to handle the 1800-meter track with ease, but now her whole body began to wail, a sign that she was reaching her limit.

No matter how hard the emperor squeezed herself, she couldn't shorten the short gap of half a horse's length by even 0.1 meter. This was her limit.

How to do how to do!

Perhaps we can maintain the current state and see if the Stardust Illusion will stall due to exhaustion...

...to see if she stalled? Why would I have such an idea!?

Should I wait? No, I want to win!

This debut battle is the result of everyone's joint efforts for me. How can I give up now and leave everything to luck?

My goal is to win three championships without losing, how can I lose here!

The chest cavity was like a blower suddenly sucking in air. The Emperor of the East China Sea lowered her body, and the rhythm of her feet suddenly changed from heroic strides to quick steps. As she walked uphill, her eyes were completely locked on the finish line in front of her.

I want more...I want more...I can go even faster!!!

His legs were wailing, his blood was burning, and an overwhelming heat wave suddenly erupted from the body of the Emperor of the East China Sea.

At the moment when the distance between her and the stardust illusion in front of her was shortened, the genius known as "Emperor II" rushed out directly!

what? !

Stardust Illusion only had time to glance at the inner track with her peripheral vision, and saw the figure of the Emperor approaching her again!

[…Stardust Illusion maintains the lead! Stardust Illusion! Stardust Illusion—The Emperor of the East China Sea suddenly accelerates for the third time!]

The commentator's voice had reached the point of being hoarse, and he was completely immersed in the game. He held the microphone tightly in front of him with both hands and shouted loudly:

[The Emperor of the East Sea is starting to close the gap! The Emperor of the East Sea! The Emperor of the East Sea! The two horse girls are almost neck and neck! ]

[Stardust illusion! Stardust illusion! Stardust illusion! The Emperor of the East Sea...! ]

The two horse racing girls refused to give in to each other and chased each other on the final track. Even the commentator did not have time to explain in detail who was in the lead. He could only shout out the name of the person in the lead without breathing.

[Stardust illusion! Stardust illusion! The Emperor of the East China Sea! Stardust illusion! The Emperor of the East China Sea! The Emperor of the East China Sea! The Emperor of the East China Sea——!!!]

Stardust Illusion watched helplessly as the petite figure beside him gradually surpassed his own speed. She was running in strange small steps, and the sweat on her body was already evaporating, and a heat wave enveloped him.

Stardust Illusion could even see that the Emperor of the East China Sea was trembling all over because he was on the verge of his limit, but the emperor still had no intention of relaxing and surpassed her step by step.

The air waves rising from the sweat gradually gathered in the eyes of the Stardust Illusion and turned into a scarlet phoenix that soared towards the finish line!

[——Runner No. 2, the Emperor of the East Sea, one move!!!]

Chapter 10 The game is over

I…lost?

Even if there is a system, even if you combine the skills and experience given by the system to create a new way of running during the competition, or even have inherent skills of that level.

But, still lost?

The Stardust Illusion stood blankly on the grass field. The noisy cheers from the audience around her seemed to have nothing to do with her.

No, I didn’t lose.

I just got the second place, and I still got the prize I wanted. Wasn't the second place my goal from the beginning? How can I say I lost?

Yes, I didn’t lose, I already got the bounty…

The thoughts in Stardust Illusion's mind burst out one after another, and could not be controlled at all.

At the moment, she was in a very uncomfortable condition. Her legs felt like they were filled with lead and she couldn't move at all. Her lungs felt like two balls of fire were stuffed in them, tearing and burning with pain. Her whole body seemed no longer under her control.

His consciousness was constantly wandering. Sometimes it seemed as if everything was over, and sometimes it seemed as if he was still gritting his teeth and chasing the figure of the Emperor of the East China Sea on the field.

Lost.

No matter how she deceived herself, no matter how many times she repeated "I just want to be second", all the thoughts in Stardust Illusion's mind gradually turned into these two words.

Yes, she lost the competition with the Emperor of the East China Sea.

Stardust Illusion shook his head vigorously to block out all these complicated thoughts, wiped the sweat off his face, and staggered towards the contestant exit.

Behind him, the audience was cheering for the champion in unison:

"East! Sea! Emperor! King!"

"East! Sea! Emperor! King!"

A miracle racehorse, an undefeated genius, and also... an unyielding emperor. These titles can only be experienced after actually running for the race. She is indeed very strong!

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"You can only know it after you actually run it. It turns out that the Emperor is a little bit stronger."

The air slot walked beside the Rudolph symbol and said with a smile.

"Do you think the emperor won?" Rudolph symbolically walked in front of the gas tank half a body length ahead of her, so that no one could see her expression at the moment.

"She won, didn't she? It was clearly a win. Rudolf, you don't want to scold the emperor at this time, do you?"

When Qi Cao heard her tone, he was confused. What was going on with this deep voice? Wasn't the emperor satisfied with running like this? !

"No, the emperor has done well enough."

Rudolph shook his head.

Of course, she could not blame her most beloved child anymore. Rather, she was even amazed by his final outburst. This was an unprecedented achievement for the emperor and it could be said to have surpassed perfection.

But she was not satisfied.

Symbolized by Rudolph, the horse girl who is revered as the emperor and holds the legendary title of undefeated triple crown + seven crowns, she is dissatisfied with the final sprint.

The emperor’s outburst was impeccable, but what about the other one?

Stardust Illusion, from the very beginning Rudolph noticed that she seemed to be lacking in the desire to win.

At that time, Rudolf just thought that the horse racing girl behaved like that because she had never experienced a real race.

But in the final competition, she hesitated.

In a race of that intensity, any complicated thoughts should not exist. Both the Emperor and Stardust Illusion poured their whole hearts into the competition, but... why did they hesitate?

"Stardust illusion... She is still confused about why she is running." Rudolph expressed his thoughts.

“Confused?” Qi Cao repeated in surprise, “She ran to that extent, even using the running style of Ogururo. Is that really something a confused horse girl can do?!”

"I'm not wrong. I hope this defeat will make her truly awaken. A horse girl of that level really shouldn't end up like this."

Rudolph sighed. When only Qi Trough was around, she didn't speak as solemnly as usual.

However, having said that, it does not mean that Rudolf will give up his plan to recruit Stardust Illusion to the Central Academy. It is not surprising that an unskilled horse girl has any problems. What is important is how to educate her next.

She just... felt sorry for the situation.

"One horse leads the way, and all the others are silent... Stardust Illusion, if you understand this truth, how far can you go?"

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“Hiss… I can’t move a step…!” Stardust Illusion, whose muscles were being massaged by the staff, gasped in pain and complained.

At this moment, Stardust Illusion was lying on a massage bed in the player's lounge, and a masseur arranged by the racecourse was helping him relax his muscles and relieve the fatigue brought by the competition.