At that moment, Golden Tide believed this with all her heart:
The Winx Stakes was created to commemorate one of Australia's legendary horse girls. That means I have both the duty and the obligation to take this race back from a foreign runner. Isn't that only natural?
Right then, the commentator shouted:
"The final corner! Once they clear this, it'll be a straight run to the finish! Seiun Ryoka still looks as sharp as ever—will she maintain this form all the way to victory?"
"Or will the pack, now bunching together, attempt the ultimate regicide and strike down their king?"
This was a sprint, after all, and the weather was making everything worse. Rain had turned into sleet midway through, and for all anyone knew it might become snow at any moment. The final result was still shrouded in mist. Anything could happen.
There was no helping it. The freezing rain came mixed with tiny pellets of ice, while the wind howled and screamed, hurling rain and sleet against everyone's skin like a whip of needles. It stung like a thousand sharp pricks.
If someone were suddenly overwhelmed by the brutal weather and the placings changed because of it, no one would call that strange.
For Seiun Ryoka, this was a particularly unusual race.
As she entered the turn, the sleet slashed in from every impossible angle, nearly freezing into tiny crystals against her cheek.
Under the combined pull of centrifugal force and the raging wind, her silver hair flew high behind her, the droplets soaked into its ends stretching through the air like strands of silver thread. Any painter who witnessed this scene would probably want to capture it on canvas.
To fight the pull of the curve, Seiun Ryoka deliberately slowed a fraction, lowering her center of gravity with a slight lean of her body. Her feet landed precisely where the standing water was shallowest, minimizing the waste of stamina as much as possible.
It felt to her less like the soles of her shoes were fighting the slick turf and more like she herself was locked in a subtle contest with the soaked, treacherous ground.
Every footfall sent up a spray of water, the flung-off sleet and rain almost weaving a translucent curtain around her.
Through that curtain, one could see the taut line of the girl's profile and the unwavering focus in her eyes.
Golden Tide nearly forgot to breathe.
There was no other way to say it: Seiun Ryoka looked even more heroic like this. It was impossible not to be drawn in.
From high above, if one were looking down on the course, Seiun Ryoka's movement through the turn would have looked like a near-perfect drift. Her line through the bend was like a blade, cutting cleanly through the ideal racing path.
The hoofprints she left in the soft turf were proof enough. If a later runner happened to follow exactly in her wake, it might genuinely make the others jump.
But just as she began to straighten her body and prepare to leave the turn, another figure suddenly accelerated through the narrowing curtain of rain, nearly catching her.
The commentator exploded:
"Golden Tide! It's Golden Tide! She's surged at the final turn and closed the gap in one breath! She's only one length behind Seiun Ryoka now—no, wait, even less! Half a length! She may even overtake her!"
Golden Tide shouted inside her own mind:
That's right! I don't care if you're a Five-Crown champion or a world-class Horse Queen—I'm winning this race here and now! I'm taking it all!
Feeling the powerful thudding in her chest, her expression sharpened with even greater resolve.
To long for freedom in motion, to thirst for the baptism of glory—that was what it meant to be a horse girl.
Mud mixed with torn grass flew skyward under pounding hooves, tracing dirty arcs through the air that made the runners behind instinctively wary.
It was not that Golden Tide minded getting mud on her racing outfit. That was not the issue.
The issue was that her entire bearing had become more aggressive. More ferocious.
That invisible pressure was having an effect.
But once she truly launched her challenge against Seiun Ryoka, Golden Tide realized the situation was even harsher than she had imagined.
The freezing sleet lashed at her face without pause, seriously interfering with her vision. She had to blink again and again just to keep the course and Seiun Ryoka's figure in sight.
The greater danger, though, came from underfoot.
The turf, bloated with water, had turned unnaturally soft and slippery. Every time she pushed off, it felt as though half her force was being swallowed whole, like running across a giant sponge soaked to the brim. Her proud explosiveness simply refused to come out.
"...Hah... hah..."
The sound of ragged breathing echoed at her ears.
She could no longer tell whether it was her own breath or Seiun Ryoka's.
Sweat mingled with sleet and ran down her face. She had to grit her teeth and bear the discomfort with everything she had.
Golden Tide's every step landed hard and savage, splashing muddy water so fiercely that droplets even struck Seiun Ryoka's shoes and socks.
"They're coming, they're coming, they're coming!" the commentator cried. "The final straight is right ahead! Will Seiun Ryoka be crowned once more—or will Golden Tide create a brand-new miracle!"
The freezing water ran down into her collar, the cold gnawing steadily at her body heat. Her muscles, strained from constantly compensating for the slippery surface, screamed with growing soreness.
Golden Tide couldn't help thinking:
So this is the price of leading all the way?
This is brutal.
She's endured all of this and still kept going?
Even so, she clenched her teeth even harder.
A sharp light flashed in the girl's ice-blue eyes.
Give up?
That word would never exist in her dictionary—whether her opponent was a foreigner or one of Australia's own.
Seeing Golden Tide like that, Seiun Ryoka's focus sharpened in turn.
She made a subtle adjustment to her form, tipping her center of mass slightly forward to reduce the force of her push-offs while increasing her cadence at the same time.
Her foot angle at contact became more vertical, like a cat lightly touching down and springing away, minimizing the amount of time each step spent on the treacherous, slippery surface.
"They're here, they're here, they're here! Golden Tide and Seiun Ryoka are side by side! Two hundred meters left, and it's unbelievably tight! Who's going to be smiling at the finish?"
A number of the other runners had already visibly slowed, whether from poor stamina distribution early on or a failure to adapt to the worsening weather.
But Seiun Ryoka and Golden Tide were different.
They had broken completely clear, more than three lengths ahead of the horse girl in third.
Seiun Ryoka drew in one deep breath of the cold, wet air. A burning sensation spread through her lungs—but from somewhere deep within her body, a new strength rose to answer it.
It was the resolve that came only after a long stretch of patience and adjustment—now, finally, granted its moment to erupt.
She stopped holding back.
Every last ounce of power went into her legs.
She neither glanced aside nor looked back.
She only said, quietly:
"Not bad."
"...Huh?"
Golden Tide froze for a split second, not understanding why Seiun Ryoka had suddenly said that.
Then she understood.
Seiun Ryoka's cadence increased again.
The deadlock broke.
As Seiun Ryoka began to edge forward, Golden Tide felt as though she herself had been reduced to running in place.
She gritted her teeth and frantically tried to adjust her rhythm, to drag the race back into contention—but Seiun Ryoka kept advancing, step by unwavering step.
"AAAAAH!" Golden Tide roared.
But no matter how unwilling she was to accept it, she knew the truth.
It was useless.
At some point, the sleet had stopped.
Now, what fell from the sky were soft, drifting petals of pure white, delicate and crystal-clear.
The commentator's voice thundered over the course:
"The temperature has dropped even further! The sleet has finally eased, and the duel we've all been waiting for has reached its final act! Golden Tide has truly given everything she has—but Seiun Ryoka has shown us once again, with absolute authority, what it means to be the undefeated queen of victory!"
And so, the girl claimed yet another win.
join here to read ahead.
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 210)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl 285
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Completed)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Completed)
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa (Completed)
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 240
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 2/80
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer (Completed.)
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume5/8
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 135
Uma Musume: From Beginner 160
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 125
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 180
My Harem Is Indescribable 110
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 115
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 120
Still playing traditional Honk 105
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 120
What Should I Do After Switchi 70
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 140
Checking In in Demon Slayer 100
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 115
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 95
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 90
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel (Completed)
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 95
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 90
Why did they assign me to Uma 95
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 100
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 135
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 150
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 70
The Uma Musume Who Became 75
I'm Definitely Not the King of 130
After Maxing Out Every Class 135
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 120
I, the Elden Sword Saint 70
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 65
No One Knows Pokémon Better 65
From Trilobites to Titans 65
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 105
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 120
An Anime Heroine Darkened 60
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 80
Honkai: The Fire Devil 115
Honkai Transformation Cards Volume2/70
Age of Heroes, I'm Just a Back 85
Uma Musume Has No Weird Fan Le 80
At age 8, she co-starred with 80
Honkai: Schicksal Media 81
An Extremist in a Slice-of-Lif 80
Chainsaw Man, but I'm Aatrox 65
Honkai Apocrypha: Are the Valk 60
Morgan Shirou's Journey in Dan 43
DanMachi: Get to Work, Dimensi 80
Honkai: Star Rail—Kiana Cried! 63
Sakiko Togawa: A Blood-Soaked Cards Volume2/32
Detective Conan: My Whole 65
Honkai: Star Rail:Reincarnated 70
In the Nasuverse, but I Practice Scientific Cultivation 53
Honkai: Starting Out as a God of Luoxing 30
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin