Tokyo Racecourse.
"All Uma Musume, please prepare to enter the starting gates! The race is about to begin!"
The moment the commentator's voice rang out, the chants of "Barbatos" shouted in Chinese from the spectator stands died down. A few dozen voices lagged, but it didn't disrupt the overall atmosphere.
"For this race, Team Rigil is fielding seven legendary-class Uma Musume!"
"A perennial contender in the Dream Cup! The Emperor! Symboli Rudolf is in gate one!"
"The Queen of the Amazons! Hishi Amazon is in gate three!"
"The Phantom Triple Crown Uma Musume, Fuji Kiseki! Gate nine!"
"The Supercar! Maruzensky is in gate six!"
"The Centurial Overlord who dominated the end of an era with seven G1 victories—T.M. Opera O! Gate four!"
"The Empress! Air Groove! Gate five!"
"The Triple Crown Uma Musume! Narita Brian is in gate two!"
"The Gray Monster! Oguri Cap is gate eight!"
"And finally, the only non-legendary Uma Musume in history to qualify for the Winter Dream Cup! The Wind God—Barbatos!"
"She is in gate seven!"
As the commentator finished introducing the nine 'legendary' Uma Musume participating, a wave of synchronized applause rose from the stands—a cultural tradition unique to Japanese Uma Musume spectators.
It was a style completely different from professional League of Legends tournaments.
Without any need for staff guidance.
All the contestants walked into their respective starting gates on their own.
Barbatos glanced at the legendary Uma Musume on either side of her: the 'Empress' Air Groove and the 'Overlord' T.M. Opera O.
'This pressure is real. The Empress and the Overlord... In my past life, I could only look up to them, only watch them through a screen. And now, I'm standing on the same stage as them.'
'Still, who's next to me doesn't really matter. They're all legendary Uma Musume, opponents I'll have to pour every ounce of my strength and guts into to have a chance of beating!'
That's what ran through her mind.
The other legends all had their gaze fixed on the finish line. In their eyes, nothing existed but that endpoint.
No one was trash-talking. No one in the gates was trying to mess with anyone else's mentality. Because here stood legends who were at the pinnacle of Japan, even the world.
Their focus wouldn't waver over a few taunting words.
Barbatos had expected this. She'd considered bringing up the remedial exams to throw Amazon-senpai off, but she figured it wouldn't work. Better not to say anything, not poke at Amazon-senpai's sore spot.
"The stage is set!"
"The Winter Dream Cup!"
"Where the seat of glory belongs to just one!"
"Start!"
With the commentator's cry, the gates flung open instantly. The Uma Musume of the Dream Cup surged out, vying for the most advantageous positions.
"Maruzensky takes the lead! Going all out right from the start to seize the front-running position—truly a supercar!"
"Following in the lead pack are Fuji Kiseki, T.M. Opera O, and Air Groove!"
"The Emperor, Symboli Rudolf, is holding position in the middle of the pack."
"In the rear group are Narita Brian and Oguri Cap, both with monstrous closing speed."
"Bringing up the rear, Hishi Amazon and Barbatos are lying in wait at the very back."
"But this time, can Barbatos still display that dazzling late charge on the Dream Cup stage, against these legendary Uma Musume?"
Right now, Barbatos was completely focused on running, utterly unable to hear the commentator's words.
If she had heard, her answer would have been a definite 'no.'
Before, if she went all out, she could probably keep up with a legendary Uma Musume for a while. But once her skill's duration ran out, she'd be left in the dust, the distance ripped open by the legend's speed.
The duration of her skills wasn't something she could change. It wasn't a problem that could be solved just with ample stamina or guts.
All she could rely on were her base speed, her acceleration from passive skills!
She could run faster by pushing herself to the limit, but the gains from that 'limit' were minimal. It might work in other races, but here in the Winter Dream Cup, it would be negligible.
From her position at the very back, with only nine participants in the Dream Cup, she had a perfect view of the entire race's flow.
Maruzensky-senpai was so fast. And yet, even with her setting such a pace, the other legendary Uma Musume were able to hang on behind, waiting for their chance to overtake.
This level of strength was on a completely different plane from the Uma Musume she'd faced before.
Even when training with former champions like Tamamo Cross, their diminished physical condition couldn't possibly produce this kind of speed.
It was simply incomparable to legendary Uma Musume competing at their absolute peak.
There's a gap between closers and closers.
Especially a rookie closer and a G1-level closer.
The current Barbatos possessed strength no weaker than any G1-level Uma Musume, perhaps even surpassing them. She had the confidence and certainty to have won the previous Arima Kinen.
But even so, she could keenly feel the gap between herself and the legendary Uma Musume.
In past races, she could afford to conserve stamina early on. But now, she was practically running flat-out just to keep up with Amazon-senpai's pace as a closer.
Just to barely maintain her position at the tail end of the main pack, to avoid getting completely detached from the legends.
To think, she had once led races at the G3 level! Now, a stronger version of herself could only manage to stay at the very back, and at full effort?
It was even more terrifying than she'd imagined!
Especially since she couldn't 'molly' the other Uma Musume, and with the course being a middle-distance 2000 meters, her disadvantage was only magnified.
But, the race wasn't over yet!
"The race enters the third turn! 1000 meters to the finish, and Maruzensky is accelerating again!"
"The other Uma Musume in the rear are also starting to accelerate, preparing their chase!"
"They're going to clash here, even before reaching the final stretch of the fourth turn?!"
"Is this the power of legendary Uma Musume?!"
"Is Barbatos not making her move yet? She's starting to lose ground to Hishi Amazon! This should be within her closing range now!"
The commentator monitored the race's developments, a note of confusion in his voice as he observed Barbatos.
But the next moment—"Barbatos! Barbatos has now entered her closing sprint!"
On the track, a palpable pressure surged from behind Hishi Amazon.
A pressure of such intensity that even the 'Queen of the Amazons,' Hishi Amazon, was caught off guard for an instant. She's unleashing her 'Zone' at the third turn?!
In her peripheral vision, a streak of white lightning darted forward. The black-haired Barbatos descended upon the world like a thunder god!
[Sovereign's Domination] activated!
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T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.