The commentator's cry was practically heart-rending.
He was a loyal Xingyun Liuge fan, but even so—
if another horse girl managed to challenge this undefeated queen on the racetrack, or even defeat her, then he would still offer that girl his most heartfelt, most passionate cheers.
The people here longed to see Xingyun Liuge break the great racing houses' domination over the Twinkle Series. But if Oguri Cap managed to overthrow Xingyun Liuge's rule over the Tokai region, they would just as sincerely feel proud of both girls.
Kasamatsu was small, and the Tokai region was small too—too small to let these two horse girls fully unleash their brilliance.
But at the same time, this tiny place—the NAR local circuit—was also vast enough to wave the flags for both of them at once.
No matter which one of them went on to rampage across Central turf, they would support her with all their hearts.
So what if the win rate of local horse girls moving up to Central was only nine percent?
So what if that percentage plunged even lower when you counted only graded races?
Who the hell cared about that?!
Marching to the capital with blade in hand—that ambition was etched into every Japanese person's DNA.
They wanted to see the classic story of the weak defeating the strong!
For a time, the cries of "Oguri Cap!" and "Xingyun Liuge!" intertwined, each voice folding into the other.
Oguri Cap drew in a deep breath. Absolute, unshakable determination churned in her blue eyes, and only a single voice remained in her mind:
Just a little more! Sprint! Sprint!!!
Even Symboli Rudolf in the grandstand had clenched her fists.
This was only a small local race, and yet the scene had stirred her blood so much that she almost wanted to jump down and run in it herself.
If there really was such a thing as a horse spirit, then hers would surely be roaring without restraint right now.
Even Maruzensky was starting to have trouble sitting still. She glanced at Symboli Rudolf beside her, noticed that rare little crack in the student council president's composure, and laughed softly.
"It looks like the Twinkle Series won't be lonely anymore~"
She very much wanted to see these two horse girls galloping across Central turf.
It might not be the nicest thought, but she truly found herself thinking, Come on, give the Central girls a little taste of what local horse girls can do.
She was looking forward to it immensely.
The final hundred meters!
Her racing outfit was soaked through, clinging tightly to Oguri Cap's body with an unpleasant sticky sensation. But not a shred of her focus wavered. Her eyes saw only what lay ahead—only the finish line.
Even as the salty sweat poured down her face in little streams, leaving distinct tracks across her cheeks—
Even as it gathered at her chin into perfect droplets, only to be caught by the rushing wind and flung high into the air, refracting the sunlight into rainbow-colored halos—
Oguri Cap did not lose focus for even an instant.
There was only one thing she wanted to do:
Win.
Xingyun Liuge did not look back, but she could clearly sense the sorry, single-minded figure Oguri Cap cut at this moment. The winds roaming the sky were an extension of her senses. Not only could she feel Oguri Cap herself, she could even sense the weight of that rounded droplet of sweat flying upward, and smell its salty tang.
So this was youth.
So this was dreams.
How wonderful.
The courage to keep fighting for one's dream, the faith to never give up—and most importantly, that incredible purity. In Oguri Cap's eyes there was only victory, only the summit of this generation.
Xingyun Liuge felt that she was starting to like Oguri Cap a little.
At that thought, the corners of her lips rose.
There was only one length left between them now.
Could Oguri Cap catch her?
Xingyun Liuge gave a soft sigh.
"I don't think so."
She had been holding back the whole way. It was about time she put some real strength into it—otherwise the gap would not open properly.
The girl's slender foot landed lightly on the turf, and at once the gale sweeping across the track gave a sharp rippling cry like torn silk. Her silver-white hair flew high behind her, like a white bird spreading its wings.
Whoosh!
The air compressed in an instant and transformed into a terrifying thrust that drove Xingyun Liuge forward.
That seemingly ordinary step widened the gap between them to two lengths—
then three.
At the same time, the aftershock of the wind pressure lent something almost magical to aerodynamics. Oguri Cap felt as if she had suddenly been thrust into a headwind, no longer able to accelerate with her full strength.
At that moment, the passive effect that ignored the laws of physics finally bared its fangs.
Which way was the wind blowing?
Janna decided that.
But no one discovered that secret. Even Oguri Cap herself could not make sense of it, and simply assumed Xingyun Liuge's domain had flared up again.
"She can't catch her!" the commentator practically screamed himself hoarse. "Oguri Cap has given it everything she has, but she still can't catch up! In the final stretch, Xingyun Liuge accelerates again, and in the blink of an eye the gap has widened to three lengths—and it's still growing! Too strong! Unbelievably strong! Who is left? Who can challenge this strength?!"
Xingyun Liuge crossed the finish line first.
In the end, the distance between her and Oguri Cap settled at five lengths.
The crowd roared for the victor's appearance, but they had also been deeply moved by Oguri Cap's spirit of drawing her blade against the impossible. All around the stadium, people shouted both Xingyun Liuge's and Oguri Cap's names.
Xingyun Liuge had broken the Tokai region's record again, but since this was not the first time, the crowd's reaction to that part was not especially intense.
What truly mattered was that Oguri Cap, the one chasing Xingyun Liuge, had also broken the record.
That was something truly rare.
Their Tokai region had suddenly produced two dazzling stars at once, and they had just clashed in a race at Chukyo that left everyone's blood boiling.
How could that not excite people?
The crowd's fervor simply would not die down, to the point that it even affected the schedule of the later races.
But all of that had nothing to do with the two girls themselves, nor with their trainers.
Xingyun Liuge and Oguri Cap had no control over such things, while the two trainers had been invited away by Symboli Rudolf the very moment the race ended.
Maruzensky, meanwhile, remained seated where she had been watching, gently swinging her legs and murmuring with a smile,
"That explosive surge in the final stretch… and imposing pressure on the opponent at the same time… hehe♪ It's just like… that Emperor."
That discovery had nearly made Symboli Rudolf lose her composure on the spot.
How should one put it? When you saw, within someone else's territory, an ability that resembled the unfolding of your own domain, it was bound to leave you feeling a little complicated no matter what.
And on top of that, Xingyun Liuge seemed to have produced this while groping toward an understanding of domain power on her own.
If things continued this way, she might one day surpass Symboli Rudolf herself.
For now, Xingyun Liuge might perhaps be called a little Rudolf.
But once she truly made her name in the world…
Would people not start saying things like, Symboli Rudolf? She's nothing more than a little Xingyun Liuge?
The thought made Maruzensky laugh out loud.
At almost the same moment, Symboli Rudolf smiled at the two trainers.
"My apologies. Then I won't take up any more of your time. I would like to scout both Xingyun Liuge and Oguri Cap into the Central circuit. May I ask what you two think of that?"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
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