Britain, Surrey, near Esher — Sandown Park Racecourse.
Since Sandown Park was also located in Surrey and was relatively easy to reach, Xingyun Liuge and her group did not look for another place to stay. They continued living at Latifa's villa instead.
As for Elizabeth's side? They had, of course, declined politely.
Xingyun Liuge had asked the girl to help investigate the matter of the clothing, saying she felt bad about troubling her too much. What she did not know was that Elizabeth herself was the mastermind behind it all...
Elizabeth, meanwhile, did not know what Xingyun Liuge was thinking. She was preparing a surprise for her beloved elder sister, so she had not confessed. She wanted to save that revelation for the day Xingyun Liuge transferred to Britain.
Her thinking was simple: Big Sister loves running British races this much, so she must have been captivated by British culture and natural scenery, right? This time, the advantage was clearly hers!
Feeling rather pleased with her own foresight, she mobilized the Xingyun Liuge Supporters' Club she had established and brought a whole group of young noble ladies to Sandown Park to cheer Xingyun Liuge on.
The slogan "Only Love Xingyun Liuge" made Xingyun Liuge think of the obsessive idol fans of later generations, leaving her half amused and half exasperated.
Colorful banners fluttered. Balloons drifted through the air. Not even the sweltering heat could dampen the fans' enthusiasm. They waved their cheering goods with all their strength and cried out for the horse girl they supported.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the host passed the topic to the commentator.
"And now, once again, we welcome the opening of the Eclipse Stakes here at Sandown Park. The spectators' enthusiasm seems to far exceed previous years. Has Xingyun Liuge really inspired an entirely new wave of expectation?"
The commentator picked it up at once.
"I think so. After all, the newspapers have practically defected en masse. One might say they have completed their wholehearted surrender to the great Emperor Napoleon."
The two men exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.
Hearing that, the French aristocrats in the audience could only feel their fists harden. Making French jokes at a time like this—how very British indeed.
"Enough small talk. First to appear is the overwhelming favorite of the race. Should we call it expected or simply inevitable? Let us call out her name together. That's right—the one who has galloped here from the far reaches of the East—Xingyun Liuge!"
The entire racecourse seemed to erupt in cheers and screams. Even ordinary passersby who normally paid little attention to racing had been drawn over, curious to see just who had earned such fervent adoration.
And once they got here... well, they might as well buy one of those adorable plush dolls first.
The second favorite was Mtoto, a petite horse girl who looked almost as though she had not even fully matured yet.
But her impressive record was enough to make the crowd cheer for her from the heart. She had only recently defended her Prince of Wales's Stakes title, and today her goal was clear: defend the Eclipse Stakes as well.
If there was any horse girl who could give the crowd hope of defeating Xingyun Liuge, then she was the only one.
If not for the disruptive variable named Xingyun Liuge appearing this year, Mtoto would unquestionably have been the favorite here. She might well have cruised to a successful title defense.
The entire crowd was eagerly anticipating a direct showdown between the two.
Even Xingyun Liuge knew that Mtoto excelled at stalking and closing tactics. She normally conserved her strength in the first half of a race, then unleashed a terrifying finishing kick in the stretch to reverse the whole situation in a single charge.
That was why the commentator said, "The key point of this race will surely be the battle of finishing speed in the latter stages. However, Xingyun Liuge's pressure and intimidation are extraordinarily strong, so it would not be surprising if Mtoto were forced to make her move earlier than usual. And today she has drawn gate two, which is a very favorable position. That alone may become the key to her successful defense of the Eclipse Stakes."
As the horse girls filed into the gates, the crowd gradually quieted down. One by one, they widened their eyes, determined to engrave every second—even every frame—of this race into memory. They felt that if they missed even the slightest detail, they would regret it for life.
While the commentator chattered away, Mtoto herself, as one of the racers in question, naturally heard every single word.
Without changing her expression, she cast a glance toward Xingyun Liuge not far away and laughed inwardly.
That may be the running style everyone knows I usually use. But what if I take a completely different path today?
Though a horse girl's racing style was ordinarily fixed, and a sudden change would usually work against her, exceptions did exist.
For example, since the start of the year, she had been researching a new strategy specifically for the sake of defending this title.
As the signal flag rose, Mtoto slowly lowered her center of gravity and drew herself up into position.
Don't be too startled now.
The next instant, the red light switched to green, and the gates burst open.
Approximately 2000 meters — Eclipse Stakes, turf, sunny, good going.
Mtoto bared something close to a ferocious smile.
Come—cry out for the coming of the new age.
Wind howled. Grass flew.
Mtoto stamped hard against the ground and, in almost the blink of an eye, shot past the majority of the field.
The horse girls stared wide-eyed at the petite figure bursting forward.
Was this really the Mtoto they knew?
Why would she choose a pace-pushing style here—front-running, or at least pressing the lead? It was simply too unfamiliar, too utterly unlike her.
Compared to the shock among the British, French, and Irish horse girls, what Mtoto cared about more was Xingyun Liuge's reaction.
In her eyes, the winner of this race could only be one of the two of them. That was precisely why she had chosen to reveal this new tactic here.
The Eclipse Stakes course itself was somewhat unusual.
It opened with a long downhill straight, then led into a sharp turn, and after that came a long uphill straight all the way to the finish.
At first glance, it looked almost crudely simple. But in truth, it placed enormous emphasis on stamina distribution.
Because the final straight was uphill from start to finish, if you wasted too much energy early on, it was very easy to lose momentum on the climb. And losing momentum meant defeat.
But if you conserved your strength too much, then once a powerful rival pulled away, panic would set in. You might make a foolish move, and you also ran the risk of simply not being able to catch up.
In short, the Eclipse Stakes tested a horse girl's complete strength—body, mind, everything. If there was any weakness at all, defeat became highly likely.
Mtoto had wanted to see a flicker of surprise on Xingyun Liuge's face. If she could achieve that, she would be delighted. It would mean her tactic had scored its first success.
And yet what she saw instead was a smile full of interest.
That bright smile was so dazzling it seemed capable of making even the sun overhead lose its color.
Seeing such an expression, Mtoto—the one who had intended to shock the other—ended up being the one shocked instead. She felt a bead of cold sweat slide down the side of her forehead.
She's smiling? Why?
But the truly astonishing thing was still to come.
The two horse girls crossed paths with ease, and in that instant, the entire Sandown Park racecourse suddenly exploded with a roar that seemed capable of shaking heaven and earth itself.
Every spectator had seen it clearly:
Mtoto had passed Xingyun Liuge.
She had seized the lead.
But in that very same instant as they crossed, Mtoto heard Xingyun Liuge's voice with perfect clarity:
"Mtoto, your era is about to end. Before the elegy begins, exhaust your stamina, your intellect, your endurance—run."
Her soft laugh faded away into the wind.
Join here to read ahead.
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Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
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