On the track, the tall Umamusume with silver-gray hair and a vivid red race outfit was like a storm, like a massive ship cleaving through wind and waves.
Wrapped in a golden tide, she kept advancing, kept overtaking.
Every step she drove down seemed ready to smash through the track itself, landing with a heavy, forceful sound.
That momentum came in waves, one after another, surging relentlessly toward the front.
Feeling that powerful pressure rolling in from behind, the resolve in the eyes of the Umamusume closest to Gold Ship began to erode without their realizing it.
Some of them bit down instinctively, expressions tightening into a mix of tension and grim determination.
Their leg muscles drew taut as they drove forward with all their strength, trying to hold their rhythm against the impact and keep from being swept away too easily by that crimson-and-gold tide.
Others found their breathing turning fast and heavy, their chests heaving violently as each breath spilled out in thick white vapor.
They stared wide-eyed at the course ahead, as if trying to see straight through it, searching desperately for even the smallest opening.
Their arms pumped wildly, driving their entire bodies onward, as though they meant to carve out a path for themselves through the pressure with sheer force alone.
There were also Umamusume whose movements remained light, whose eyes still shone with grit.
Faced with Gold Ship's ferocious charge, they showed not the slightest intention of backing down.
Instead, they adjusted their positions with quick precision, using every tiny shift in the course and the race situation to try to work around the others from the side, avoiding Gold Ship's thunderous frontal impact.
Their movements were swift and agile, like cheetahs darting through the mountains, hunting for their own chance amid the chaos.
Under Gold Ship's unstoppable advance, the atmosphere across the entire racecourse grew tighter and tighter.
The spectators' cries and cheers crashed together with the heavy thunder of running feet, echoing overhead like rolling thunder.
And the Umamusume at the front felt that grand, opening-night sort of atmosphere just as clearly.
From beginning to end, her attention had never left the very back of the field. The instant Gold Ship made her move, Lovely Day frowned slightly without realizing it.
With a hawk-like gaze, she swept her eyes across the track, trying to find an answer in the steadily worsening disorder.
She knew exactly how terrifying Gold Ship was, especially once it came time for the final charge.
If that rival caught her, opening the gap again would be almost impossible.
I have to raise the pace. I can't... let Gold Ship have her way!
The decision came in an instant. Fixing her full attention on the front, she tried to use her experience and her consistency to lock onto the path to victory.
Marialite noticed Gold Ship's move as well, and a flash of tension passed through her eyes.
The line ahead of her had loosened, but it was still blocking her. She had already been racking her brains over how to break through it, and Gold Ship's move only made the situation even more complicated.
She gritted her teeth, filled with frustration.
This race... I can't let Gold Ship throw the rhythm into chaos like this!
She warned herself inwardly, then forced herself calm at once.
She knew this was no time to panic. She had to stay calm and find her chance in this year-end spectacle she had worked so hard to reach.
Her ears pinned back, eyes fixed ahead, she fought to catch every shift in the rivals around her. Her leg muscles tensed as she drove hard into the turf, deciding to steady herself first and wait for the right opening.
Sounds of Earth, however, suddenly lit up.
She had been boxed in behind the two runners ahead of her, struggling to find any route forward.
Gold Ship's sudden acceleration instantly threw the entire field into turmoil.
Catching that opportunity with sharp instinct, she felt a surge of delight, and excitement flashed in her eyes.
A variation... now!
Without the slightest hesitation, she burst free of the encirclement in the brief confusion caused by Gold Ship's impact.
The instant she broke out, she adjusted her stride and surged forward.
Only now... does the true performance begin!
Her eyes locked on the very front, and the corners of her mouth lifted before she could stop them.
Feeling the presence from the rear drawing steadily closer, and the disorder it was causing, Gold Actor and Lia Fail both changed expression at the same time.
A wave of vexation rose in Gold Actor's heart.
She had always had her own rhythm, her own strategy in a race, and this Arima Kinen had been no different.
She had only just settled into form after the opening stages. From here, the plan had been to stay tight on Kitasan Black and look for a chance to overtake her.
Gold Ship's move had unquestionably disrupted that plan.
But alongside the frustration in her eyes was a stubborn refusal to yield.
Using the turn to steal a glance at Gold Ship from the corner of her eye, she bit down hard.
I absolutely can't... let her pass me just like this!
Making up her mind, she drew her gaze back and took a deep breath.
Then, after steadying her breathing, she abruptly quickened her pace.
And just as Gold Actor changed expression and accelerated, Lia Fail did the same, almost in unison.
Her heart was full of nerves and panic.
The shadow cast by Kitasan Black's eerily familiar overtake—so much like the Kikuka Sho—had not yet faded when Gold Ship, a senpai of that caliber, began her pursuit.
Her breathing turned ragged and chaotic beyond her control, and her mind went blank.
Her heart hammered violently in her chest, as if it were about to burst free, and the tide of panic and confusion nearly swallowed her whole.
And yet beneath all that turmoil, one thought stood rooted in her heart like an unshakable stone—
I have to... I have to win!
Driven by that immovable resolve, her legs accelerated again and again, every step a struggle against the fear inside her and the pressure outside.
As she poured on speed, she discovered with delight that the black-and-gold figure ahead... was closer.
Closer!
I'm beside her!
Astonished and delighted that she had actually caught Kitasan Black, she could not help turning her head for a look.
In the very next instant, she froze in shock.
At this moment, the entire field had fallen into chaos because of Gold Ship's move.
The uproar from behind, the overlapping footfalls, all of it had become a sea of confusion.
And the giant ship that had caused it all was bearing down with an irresistible force, like a tidal wave crashing in.
And yet at this very moment, Kitasan Black... radiated an extraordinary calm from head to toe.
Lia Fail was stunned.
She could not imagine how Kitasan Black was managing to stay this calm in the middle of such a savage race.
Whether it was Lia Fail herself successfully drawing even, or the sudden chaos erupting behind them, or Gold Ship—already like a golden storm—charging into the middle of the field... it was as if Kitasan Black had not noticed any of it at all. She simply kept running with everything she had.
Those crimson eyes were fixed straight ahead, steady and utterly focused.
Her stride was solid and powerful, every step planted with unwavering certainty, as if she were carrying out a mission decided long ago.
Her breathing was even, her rhythm smooth, without the slightest sign of panic.
Her expression was as calm as the surface of a lake, unruffled by even a single ripple.
Chaos pressing close before her, and yet not a flicker on her face...
The bearing of a great commander?
That thought rose slowly in Lia Fail's heart.
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T/N: heres ur updates :3 meeting the 4 chaps a week quota :3 do u think itd be better to do it earlier in the week to make u guys wait more for the bonus chapters
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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