She had failed to seize the lead, yet before the uphill section had even ended, she had forcefully accelerated and shattered the rhythm of the entire pack. Wasn't that far too reckless?
Granted, disrupting an opponent's rhythm and plans was a technique every outstanding horse girl ought to master and wield skillfully, but still…
Was Xingyun Liuge really that confident? What if she lost speed before the finish? She was being chased by the entire field, and more than a few of them were standouts of this generation!
"What a decisive choice—could this be the sharp judgment of a Triple Crown winner? Even after only a brief run-up on the flat section, she's already pushed herself to the highest speed she can control before the downhill! But still! They can't catch her! None of the other horse girls can catch her at all! They can only stare helplessly at her back!"
The guest commentator shouted, "First-place Xingyun Liuge is ten lengths ahead of second-place Iron King! Ten lengths—it's a gulf of despair! That distant, unreachable figure seems to be casting a cold, merciless line into the wind: your era is over!"
What he had actually wanted to say was Britain's era, but considering how inflammatory that would have been, he dared not. He was British himself, after all, and the horse girls he supported were British too.
Yet Xingyun Liuge had already entered the famed Tattenham Corner, and the spectators in the front rows could practically count the flying strands of her silver hair one by one.
The thunderous cheering rolling over the course seemed capable of shaking the ground itself. Tattenham Corner's terrain was certainly dangerous, but one could not dismiss the effect of the audience on the horse girls either. When that vast roar came crashing down, how many horse girls could truly shut out the disturbance and keep running in perfect focus?
Even among the celebrated British Triple Crown winners, not every one of them could have ignored it on this course, at this moment. Imagine it: the entire crowd is flushed with excitement because of you, screaming themselves hoarse, each of them straining with all their might for a single glance from your eyes—even if it lasts less than a second, even if you never truly see them at all.
This was no mere race. It was a triumphal procession for maidens, even a coronation ceremony. Who could resist embracing such cheers? Who could resist pausing, even for the briefest instant, in their mind for those spectators burning with fervor?
It would only be a fleeting shift of attention in the mind, after all. It need not affect reality. It might not even be enough to make a runner slow down.
And yet at a place like this, at a time like this, Xingyun Liuge's stride showed not the slightest hesitation. The crowd's cheers seemed wholly incapable of moving her. She was almost cold enough to ignore every expectation being poured onto her.
She only went forward, and forward again.
Was this the composure of a Triple Crown winner?
Should it be called a heart as calm as still water?
It was terrifying—terrifying enough to drive one into despair.
The dreadful gap showed no sign of shrinking. If anything, it was only growing larger.
Iron King, still in second place, was already drenched in sweat. Salty beads ran down her forehead, nearly obscuring her vision. From the very beginning, she had never imagined that Xingyun Liuge would choose such an outrageous course of action. More absurd still, there was still no sign of her slowing down—she was maintaining that terrifying speed all the way downhill.
Iron King could not understand it.
Did the terrain simply have no effect on that girl at all?
How was she maintaining her balance while holding such speed?
Wind speed, wind direction, centrifugal force, friction, her own running speed, even the disturbance of the roaring crowd—every one of these could affect a horse girl's sprint. Any tiny, unforeseen variable in any link of the chain could shatter that fragile balance and make the runner swallow the bitterness of defeat.
So why was Xingyun Liuge able to charge forward with such certainty, such stability? Was she not afraid of an accident at all?
Iron King had considered accelerating further. Even if she could not go up and directly interfere with Xingyun Liuge, surely she at least could not allow this race to become a one-woman show? As an outstanding British horse girl, she ought to defend Britain's glory on Britain's turf.
Even those Americans who loved rolling around in the dirt had managed it; they had not let a single race become Xingyun Liuge's solo performance. Britain had to do the same. Britain's history was far older than America's, and it carried far more honor.
But she could not do it.
The moment she tried to force herself to accelerate again, it was not only Britain's wind and grass that resisted her—her own body did too. Countless overlapping voices coldly declared: No. You can't do it. A blind sprint will only bring terrible consequences. No one is waiting for that kind of ending.
And the answer, after she tried, was immediate: Iron King nearly stumbled and went sprawling, only barely managing to steady herself in time. Otherwise, a crimson flower of blood would have bloomed on the grounds of Epsom.
Iron King gasped for breath, her thoughts growing tangled and agitated.
Damn it! Weren't there several American horse girls who had managed to catch up with her mid-race? So why can't I? Move! Move already! I can't let the gap get any bigger!
There was probably already a gap of more than twenty, maybe even thirty lengths between them. If things kept going like this, Britain's glory would end up under Xingyun Liuge's heel. That was absolutely unacceptable. So move—move!
But neither her resolve nor her pleading summoned any miracle.
The distance between them remained exactly as it was, without shrinking in the slightest.
It was enough to drive one to a despairing thought:
Maybe the only miracle happening right now is that the gap isn't getting any bigger.
But if that were true, then wasn't it unbearably cruel?
That girl had simply crushed all of their plans through sheer raw stats, leaving them completely helpless?
The guest commentator let out a smile of resignation.
"Xingyun Liuge has led the entire way! Ever since she accelerated on the uphill, her pace has been astonishingly stable. The descent at Tattenham Corner appears to have had absolutely no effect on her. The gap between her and the chasing pack has already grown to a full thirty lengths. Could this be a replay of the Belmont Stakes? At this point, only the final uphill seems capable of slowing her down even a little."
He desperately wanted to ask:
Where is Britain's savior?
Surely she wasn't really going to open up a thirty-length gap in one breath?
The key was that even in the Belmont Stakes, Xingyun Liuge had fought a prolonged battle with the others before eventually shaking them off. She had only broken away after a grueling struggle.
But here?
Here, she had nearly begun blowing them apart from the middle stages onward!
That was absurd to the point of being outrageous. If this kept up, casual spectators might start drawing the equation America's horse girls > Britain's horse girls.
And if that really happened, every Brit in the stands would probably end up clutching their heads and crying out in agony.
Fortunately, just when everyone was craning their necks in hope, a miracle appeared with six hundred meters left.
Two lithe figures suddenly burst from the very back of the pack and, within the span of only a few breaths, surged all the way up to Iron King's position.
Iron King stared at the pair in utter shock.
"You two are…?"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
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Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 165)
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TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
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I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter250)
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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
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Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
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From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
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Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 230
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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
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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
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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
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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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