More than half of October passed quickly, and the time had directly arrived for the Japan Cup.
Ling, who spoke English, naturally had no trouble communicating with the Uma Musume from abroad. The key, however, was her uncharacteristically different statements during the pre-race trash-talking interviews, which can be said to have caused a stir.
"One more race, and then I'm coming to your place. Just wait."
"One more race" referred to the Arima Kinen. This declaration was as if she had already secured the Japan Cup trophy. "Then I'm coming to your place" naturally meant going abroad to compete, and "Just wait" implied she didn't take them seriously.
Later, when asked by reporters which races she would participate in after going abroad, she suddenly became humble, saying, "But for now, I still have to 'take' the Japan Cup," as if her previous arrogant and disdainful remarks were false.
The word "take" in this sentence was particularly clever, as she was last year's Japan Cup champion. Although each year's champion trophy is specially made and not recycled, the meaning of this sentence clearly implied that she would retain the championship.
However, all of this would only be revealed after the race. Even though she had already won 16 G1 trophies, some people still didn't favor her, believing that her small stature put her at a natural disadvantage against the taller Uma Musume.
As a result, Ling's performance in this Japan Cup was even more extreme.
If her performance at the Tenno Sho was like a wild beast, this race was like a dragon with bared fangs.
Uma Musume, more or less, possess some supernatural abilities that can cause changes in their surroundings. This saying has been passed down for a long time, but due to its rare occurrence, it was mostly forgotten until it was recalled during this year's Tenno Sho.
And this time, Ling, who appeared extremely fierce on race day, can be said to have startled everyone.
[Well, after all, in her original form, she was often underestimated due to her size~]
In her original form, in a world without cheats like the Three Goddesses and the System, her small stature was indeed not suitable for confrontation, and she was often criticized for it.
But her repeated victories, accompanied by an undefeated record even when competing abroad, completely silenced those criticisms.
However, even so, she still held a grudge against those tall European and American horses, especially when their jockeys trash-talked, saying things like she was so small she'd surely fall with a slight bump, to mock her.
As a result, this grudge was directly etched into her DNA, which is why her aura and pressure in the Japan Cup were less suppressed than usual.
Her aura, after a friendly exchange with her parallel-world self a while ago, also took on a bit of the other's domineering presence. She even deliberately used the other's running style, a style that seemed to stomp on the opponents' hearts with every step, making the Emperor's eye twitch a little.
To be honest, watching Ling furiously block people gave her a bit of PTSD. Her performance worsened after going abroad also because she suffered from a lot of interference skills, and now, being a bit older, she couldn't handle such torment.
However, she had already promised to fight, so she would naturally not back down. She would still give her all in the race, and even if it was a destined loss, she would run to the very end and applaud her opponent at the finish line—this was the Emperor's way.
And the participating Uma Musume were even more miserable. Although she still held back a little, she adopted a deep-closing running style in this race, staying at the very back of the pack, and unleashed interference skills as if they were free. As a result, the middle section of the 2400m race ended up feeling like the final 4000m.
Then, with 800m remaining, she directly accelerated and charged all the way to the finish, creating a massive gap of over twenty horse lengths from the second-place runner. After crossing the finish line, she didn't even break a sweat, completely shattering the confidence of the other Uma Musume.
However... "So cool!"
"From now on, I'm your fan!"
"Ohhhh!!"
Perhaps it was a matter of cultural customs, but instead of being dejected by Ling's merciless and unapologetic defeat of them, they became even more excited, and each of them joined her fan club.
"It was already evident in last year's Japan Cup; it feels like Z-chan really dislikes those Uma Musume. This time it was particularly excessive..." Maruzensky's voice was trembling a little at this point, as she was a repatriated child, and in some sense, similar to the Uma Musume on the track.
"No, I don't think that's the reason..." At this moment, the Emperor suddenly understood something and realized the crucial point.
"?"
"Last year, at this time, she was just an Uma Musume with 'decent performance,' so no one specifically targeted her before the race. But this time, her reputation is at an all-time high, so she was 'targeted' by everyone."
"Targeted?"
"Yes, think about what those Uma Musume said when they were trash-talking."
"Let me think... Ah..."
Height, physique.
Good heavens, so it was because these opponents kept stepping on the same landmine, and they stepped on the same one, that she was so ruthless? Yes, the main reason Ling was so fierce today was because she was mocked for her physique, triggering a landmine, and this scenario perfectly matched a past life experience, triggering a double switch.
With that, the Japan Cup concluded under a heavy cloud.
Yes, a heavy cloud, which Ling had pulled over. This also explains why everyone had the impression that Uma Musume possessed supernatural abilities.
The weather observatory clearly stated that today would be a clear day with normal wind speeds, but as soon as the race began, dark clouds suddenly gathered, and a strong wind picked up. It was hard not to draw a connection.
However, the most frightened ones were probably Narita Brian and Tamamo Cross. They weren't particularly brave to begin with, and Ling suddenly becoming so fierce today really scared them.
Fortunately, by the time she reached the winner's stage, she had returned to her usual self, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
It was cool, but honestly, their hearts couldn't take it.
Meanwhile, at Spica, after Gold Ship guessed the reason for Ling's fierce demeanor today, everyone prioritized the rule: "Do not continuously tease Ling about her height and build."
She probably wouldn't beat them up, but being targeted like that would be truly deadly.
A normal Uma Musume's speed for 1000 meters is usually around 57 seconds, but the Uma Musume who was in the lead for the Escape in this race took a full 1 minute and 13 seconds for 1000 meters. You can imagine how badly she was interfered with.
At the same time, Ling also received her second Winning Robe—[Gale of Counterwind].
The overall design was a modification and addition based on her first Winning Robe. The added metal parts looked like sections of armor when worn, and the short jacket + skirt style was directly changed into a trench coat, but it wasn't worn on her body. Instead, it was draped over her like a cape, secured by fasteners.
The inner shirt of the upper body adopted a sleeveless style, but it also came with arm guards made of pure metal. The arm guards on her two arms were a contrasting black and white, while her gloves were both black.
The lower body, with the skirt removed and replaced by shorts, perfectly accentuated her curves. The leg guards on her two thighs became heavier, while the matching white long boots appeared even more elegant.
With this Winning Robe, Ling let down the silver side hair that she usually tied up. Also, because this Winning Robe significantly reduced the white parts from the first Winning Robe, the eerie feeling was that no one would find it strange if she suddenly punched an opponent during a race while wearing her second Winning Robe.
This was a very strange Winning Robe that seemed to exhibit various contradictions yet felt absolutely fitting, quite in line with its name, [Gale of Counterwind].
"You're next, Rudolph." At the celebration banquet, Ling declared war on Rudolph.
"Ah, I've been waiting for this moment for a long time too," the Emperor replied with a smile.
If last year's Ling seemed a bit green because she didn't know about domains, then this year, after mastering domains, her progress has left many behind. She was also curious about Ling's current strength and wanted to experience it firsthand.
At worst, she could just run behind her and gate her. Since returning from her expedition, she had also practiced a bunch of interference skills.
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