The commentator shouted excitedly, "As expected of one of the strongest active horse girls, Mtoto has actually brought out a tactic she's never used before! And thanks to her familiarity with Sandown Park, she successfully stole the lead from Xingyun Liuge! The entire racecourse is cheering for her!"
The host chimed in a couple of times, looking just short of blurting out something like, "There has never been such a wonderful opening." The roar of the crowd rose and fell like crashing surf, wave after wave battering everyone's ears.
Because Mtoto had taken the lead from the one horse girl who always charged to the front—Xingyun Liuge.
This might just become the key to defeating her.
After all, some races were decided the moment the gates opened.
Watching that petite figure charge ahead without hesitation, the British spectators waved their flags wildly and screamed themselves hoarse, hoping she would defend her Eclipse Stakes title.
Some of the French spectators cheered for the French runner, of course, but they were also willing to shout for Xingyun Liuge. They liked Mtoto well enough, but wasn't the sight of an undefeated five-crown queen even more compelling than a successful title defense? Xingyun Liuge might not be French, but who could resist an unbeaten horse girl?
Flags snapped in the wind, and that sharp crack of cloth intertwined with the crowd's cheers and shouts until it nearly drowned out the support for Xingyun Liuge. Two different tides of sound clashed high above Sandown Park, booming like thunder.
Listening to the cries of the crowd, Mtoto drew a deep breath and charged resolutely toward the sharp bend at the end of the straight.
Now that she had secured the lead, she had to dictate the pace properly—pressure the others, unsettle them, wear down their stamina and endurance, and try to throw the whole field behind her from start to finish.
Especially Xingyun Liuge.
Sweat slid down Mtoto's forehead, and her body temperature crept steadily upward, but she thought, So you're really that confident? You think it doesn't matter even if I take the lead from you? Haha... what a thoroughgoing tyrant.
She did not dislike self-confident horse girls, nor did she find arrogance itself disgusting. As long as they had the strength to match it, that was enough.
She only held herself to harsh standards, pushed herself to run faster still, and used strength to crush those kinds of horse girls—to teach them there was always someone greater.
As a veteran making her second appearance on this course, Mtoto had a clear understanding of both her stamina and the state of the track. She knew exactly how to distribute her strength. With the aid of her domain as well, she knew how she was supposed to win this race and complete the defense.
In her eyes, if Xingyun Liuge had not entered, then defending her title would have been a certainty—something as easy and natural as eating and drinking.
But this variable had barged in without hesitation, almost casting a shadow over her defense.
Mtoto tried her hardest to watch what was happening beside her from the corner of her eye, but she could see nothing. All she could hear were Xingyun Liuge's footsteps, clear as if they were right next to her.
That horse girl seemed to be biting at her tail the whole way, keeping a distance that was neither too near nor too far.
And beyond that, Mtoto could hear nothing from the horses behind her. That meant the gap there was already large enough that they could be ignored for now.
Mtoto clicked her tongue inwardly. As expected of an unprecedented five-crown queen. This level of persistence is nothing like those patchwork champions.
And precisely because of that, she drove her iron hooves down hard and accelerated again without hesitation.
The scream of the wind sounded like silk being torn apart—not pleasant, perhaps, but enough to excite certain horse girls. Mtoto was one of them. She felt her body and spirit both grow lighter. This still was not her limit. She could run faster—faster than this.
Then came a sharp crackle.
A bright yet dangerous arc of electricity flashed at the tips of her hair. Not only that—similar flashes lit up in sequence at her elbows, knees, and ankles.
Mtoto told herself, Hold on a little longer. Just a little longer. At least until after the turn...
She had witnessed that savage lightning with her own eyes at both the UAE Derby and the Two Thousand Guineas. And because Xingyun Liuge's frame had still been somewhat petite at the time, she had taken it as a twist of fate that they might wield similar domains.
Perhaps smaller-framed horse girls just found it easier to awaken lightning-related domains?
Mtoto had long been looking forward to crossing paths with Xingyun Liuge. She had only thought the stage for it would be the Arc, not here.
She inhaled, and a strange smile flickered across her face, as if to say, Well, whatever. This works too.
She would treat this as taking Xingyun Liuge's measure ahead of time.
Watching the two horse girls blaze downhill at astonishing speed, the commentator yelled in rapid-fire bursts, "Mtoto is in front, but Xingyun Liuge is right behind her! The two are holding a gap of roughly one length, while the third horse girl is about seven lengths behind Xingyun Liuge. It looks as though the early pace of the race—she's accelerating again?!"
"Mtoto accelerates once more and instantly stretches the gap to three lengths! She's completed the first quarter-mile in just nineteen seconds! Isn't this early pace far too fast? The rest of the field can't even see the leaders anymore!"
Watching Mtoto keep her head down and run without saying a word, Xingyun Liuge did not blindly chase after her.
The bend in the Eclipse Stakes was sharp. Even with her domain activated, there was no way Mtoto could maintain this kind of speed through it. If she tried, she would slam straight into the rail.
So Xingyun Liuge maintained a pace that looked almost leisurely, waiting for Mtoto to slow before the turn.
What? Mtoto's domain power was already leaking outward, which meant she might explode in mid-race, unleash violent lightning across the course, and force her way around the turn at a speed ordinary people could not even imagine?
Impossible.
On the surface, domain power looked like something born purely from will, but in the end it still depended on reality. An ordinary horse girl could not rewrite the world with spirit alone.
Mtoto still had to obey the laws of physics.
And sure enough, as she neared the bend, Mtoto's speed visibly dropped. Even a powerful horse girl could not take a sharp turn at full speed with her domain active—unless she didn't care whether she lived or died.
Because he understood that, the commentator remained relatively calm when he saw Xingyun Liuge steadily eating back the gap. A normal horse girl simply could not take that corner at top speed. She would die.
But at that very moment, Xingyun Liuge lightly tapped down with her left foot and suddenly shot forward.
And in that instant, the corner of Mtoto's eye caught a blurred, towering figure.
Her eyes flew wide open, and she cried out involuntarily,
"How is that possible?!"
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 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 165)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter220)
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I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (This matter is completely finished.)
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Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 220
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 230
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 110
My Harem Is Indescribable 100
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 80
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 80
Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 75
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 85
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 75
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 100
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 60
The Uma Musume Who Became 60
I'm Definitely Not the King of 80
After Maxing Out Every Class 80
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 44
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 57
I, the Elden Sword Saint 50
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 43
No One Knows Pokémon Better 50
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 45
From Trilobites to Titans 45
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 55
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 60
An Anime Heroine Darkened 55
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