Even if this was only a training run, and perhaps not all that important to Xingyun Liuge—more like a simple opportunity to put a certain ill-mannered Agnes Tachyon in her place so she would learn some common sense—Agnes Tachyon herself was not relaxed in the slightest.
Before the training race began, she took meticulous measurements of the day's temperature, humidity, and her own body temperature. She even crouched down to get a proper feel for the turf itself.
If she had had the time and equipment, she would have dug up a bit of soil and clipped off a square of grass to experiment on.
In her eyes, a horse girl's race was not as simple as stepping onto the track and running with all one's might. It was a rigorous science.
Take Agnes Tachyon herself, for instance. In the race process she designed for herself, she would focus during training runs on observing the competitors she cared about most, then quantify crucial data such as stamina, endurance, and explosiveness through her own formulas, all so she could find a way to beat them.
She might have great confidence in her own strength, but she understood perfectly well that even a lion used its full strength to hunt a rabbit. No matter the race, she would never allow herself the slightest carelessness.
Especially not when her opponent this time was Xingyun Liuge—the legend she could not defeat no matter how desperately she thought about it.
If she did not go all out, then this training race would have no meaning at all.
Agnes Tachyon did not know what Xingyun Liuge thought of her. Perhaps, in Liuge's eyes, she was simply an ambitious, slightly interesting, but ultimately ordinary horse girl with no hope of winning this race.
Tachyon would have liked to calm herself and not care too much about the result, to focus instead on studying Xingyun Liuge and on finding ways to improve herself. The problem was: what horse girl could truly set aside her desire to win and genuinely not care about victory or defeat?
None.
Horse girls were born to run. For their entire lives, they chased the glory of victory.
No matter how much Agnes Tachyon tried to reassure herself, one thought kept surfacing in her mind, impossible to erase. She wanted to shout at Xingyun Liuge:
O tyrant of the heavens, have you ever beheld the magnificent sight of shattered stars?
At that thought, Agnes Tachyon pressed her tongue hard against the roof of her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud. Even she thought the idea was completely insane. Saying something like that was no different from declaring war on Xingyun Liuge.
But could she really win?
Agnes Tachyon was a practical horse girl. She had no interest in wasting energy on trash talk. She preferred a real, direct contest.
And then there was the most important point of all: this "tyrant" had indeed seen stars shatter before—and had personally caused it.
One could even say that every time Xingyun Liuge defeated Alysheba, it was a reenactment of that grand, devastating spectacle. Especially in the Belmont Stakes, the grand finale of the American leg, where that world-ending aurora had been so dazzling it left the heart yearning for more.
Agnes Tachyon wanted to see that scene again.
More than that—she wanted to be destroyed by it.
To her, a true researcher ought to have the resolve to stake her own body on the experiment. That was the bare minimum.
The "ambition" inside her swelled further and further, and the golden motes drifting around her blazed even brighter.
Seeing this, the British horse girls nearby began whispering among themselves.
At first, they had assumed she was some irrelevant nobody. Perhaps a Japanese support runner sent to help Xingyun Liuge. Perhaps a fangirl Liuge had picked up in America. Either way, she had seemed unimportant.
But after watching her fight Xingyun Liuge stride for stride for the lead and refuse to yield even while climbing the opening uphill section, they began to take her seriously. They suspected she was a genuinely strong horse girl brought here specifically to give Liuge special training.
Moreover, they had heard that in the past few days some Japanese horse girls would be arriving under the pretext of coming to watch the Epsom Derby and meeting up with Xingyun Liuge. That made her seem even more suspicious.
In their minds, the camp backing Kahyasi—upon whom they had pinned high hopes—would likely use group tactics to challenge Xingyun Liuge. In that kind of setup, the front-runner would naturally try to manipulate the pace and disrupt Liuge's judgment, just as this horse girl was doing now.
After all, Xingyun Liuge had only arrived at Epsom in race week. She had not had enough time or the right conditions to fully familiarize herself with the course and the turf. If the pace was controlled well enough, perhaps even this newly crowned queen could be affected.
Unless she was Nijinsky.
Dirt and turf were two entirely different worlds. That was Kahyasi's team's advantage.
If Xingyun Liuge became properly accustomed to the course thanks to help from other horse girls, the pressure on Kahyasi's side would increase enormously.
Shardari, however, did not think like that at all. She only wanted to face Xingyun Liuge at her absolute best, which was why she had been so willing to help her reserve Epsom Racecourse.
To Shardari, if you could not beat Xingyun Liuge at her strongest, then what was the value of winning the Derby at all? Even if others said nothing, you yourself would feel that the glory shone less brightly.
So in her heart, Shardari silently cheered Liuge on:
Get used to this turf as quickly as you can, Xingyun.
She did not spare a thought for Agnes Tachyon, nor did she ask herself why Agnes Tachyon was able to run this fast on the Epsom course.
Given her straightforward nature, even if she had thought about it, she probably would only have assumed Tachyon had received guidance from Maruzensky. After all, Maruzensky was Nijinsky's junior—and was part of the Japanese delegation this time.
That speedster from Japan had clearly come prepared.
Shardari was very clever, but the truth was nothing like that. Maruzensky had never actually raced on British turf and was not in any position to offer fitting advice. Her real role here was to serve as a bridge between Japan's Central Tracen and Britain's Central Tracen—and, while she was at it, to contact Xingyun Liuge and convey goodwill.
Meanwhile, Agnes Tachyon and Xingyun Liuge had already swept through the broad bend side by side and entered Tattenham Corner.
Here, horse girls had to deal with both centrifugal force and the demands of downhill running. It required tremendous balance and endurance, and it absolutely did not forgive any weakness in speed.
If you drifted carelessly here and happened to interfere with another horse girl, your placing could be voided on the spot.
Lose speed here, and defeat was almost certain. Fail to maintain pace, and the result might be no different.
Then there was the final uphill stretch—a nightmare that truly embodied the phrase the mountain that kills the horse. Lacking explosiveness there, or making even a single mistake, could destroy everything at the last moment.
Faced with the strain of centrifugal force and the side-on assault of the wind, Agnes Tachyon—running on British turf for the very first time—could not help but begin to lose ground.
And because of that, the look she cast toward Xingyun Liuge held an even deeper sense of awe and yearning.
What kind of horse girl could transition from dirt racing to Epsom, step onto this course for the first time, and adapt to it so perfectly?
Watching those silver-white strands of hair seeming to drift just in front of her nose, Agnes Tachyon could not help thinking:
Could this woman's turf aptitude actually be even more terrifying than her dirt aptitude?
She drove her legs as hard as she could, trying to squeeze every last bit of potential from her body. Yet all she could do was watch helplessly as the distance between them grew wider and wider.
And Xingyun Liuge, from start to finish, showed no sign of strain at all. It was as if she had simply crushed the course through raw stats alone.
"Ha... hahahaha."
Looking at Xingyun Liuge, already two lengths ahead and still steadily pulling away, Agnes Tachyon could not help laughing.
Then, in a voice that sounded almost like a dream, she murmured:
"Sure enough... no matter how I look at it, this really is the ultimate that I've always dreamed of."
Strange light flickered in her red eyes—so intense that it made anyone who looked at them feel a shiver down their spine. Agnes Tachyon herself noticed it, but she did not care.
She stretched one hand toward Xingyun Liuge's retreating back, then slowly curled her fingers into a fist, as though trying to grasp that figure in her palm.
Even when she eventually lost speed and failed to stay with Liuge to the end, Agnes Tachyon felt no disappointment at all.
On the contrary, she was utterly satisfied—thrilled beyond measure.
Because she had personally experienced Xingyun Liuge's strength.
And in doing so, the shape of the future she wanted had become sharper and clearer than ever before.
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)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter125)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter250)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
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 80
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 70
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 80
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 57
The Uma Musume Who Became 55
I'm Definitely Not the King of 60
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 35
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 34
I, the Elden Sword Saint 27
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 24
No One Knows Pokémon Better 18
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 20
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