In October, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe began.
El Condor Pasa had confirmed her participation in this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Although El Condor Pasa's debut route in Japan had been extremely rocky, with King Halo ending her winning streak in the Japanese Derby and Silence Suzuka defeating her in the Takarazuka Kinen, she had not given up on the goal that had brought her to Japan in the first place. In the end, she still went overseas as this year's Japanese representative. After arriving in France, she recovered her form, won two races, earned the right to enter the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, and prepared to challenge for the title of world's strongest.
Today was the day of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
As the broadcast began, King Halo saw the popularity rankings on the electronic screen. Because El Condor Pasa's record in Japan had dragged her down, her popularity in this race had failed to climb into the top three.
But popularity polls could not represent true strength. El Condor Pasa's current stat panel was unquestionably world-class, and her skill panel had been perfected in every direction. There was no doubt about El Condor Pasa's strength. She was a well-rounded powerhouse.
"Let me see whether you can change history."
King Halo watched the broadcast expressionlessly.
At that very moment, far away in France, El Condor Pasa gazed at the arena before her, a competition ground hailed as the strongest stage in the world. Her blood boiled throughout her body, and a faintly scorching, fierce aura seeped from her. She had a premonition that in this race, she would grasp the ultimate power and seize the honor of world's strongest in one stroke. Today, she would achieve her goal here.
"Montjeu, may we ask what you think of today's race? What do you think of your opponents in this race?" Even though she had already reached the entrance to the venue, a large crowd of reporters still surrounded Montjeu. That queen-like figure was proud and confident. Unlike the other excited runners, her eyes looked incomparably calm.
Hearing the reporter's question, Montjeu answered calmly, "I will treat this race seriously, as I always do. At the same time, I hope my opponents this time will perform in a way that lets me enjoy myself a little more."
The race had clearly not even begun, yet Montjeu already looked like the victor. Seeing Montjeu like that, El Condor Pasa thought of King Halo far away in Japan. Their appearances and personalities were completely different, yet at this moment, looking at Montjeu, she felt that the two were alike in certain ways.
"This is my greatest opponent in this race."
El Condor Pasa's expression grew serious.
She looked up at the weather.
Thick dark clouds covered the sun. Because it had rained that morning, the condition of the track could only be described as terrible. El Condor Pasa did not believe the state of the track could affect her, but she knew very well that she did not possess a running style adapted to poor ground. She simply would not be affected by the conditions, which did not mean she was good at this kind of track. Montjeu, however, was different. She held the title of Queen of Heavy Going and was extremely skilled on such ground.
Montjeu's strength was already close to her own, and now the advantages of the track and weather both stood on Montjeu's side. El Condor Pasa's chance of victory had fallen considerably. But that was not a reason to lose. El Condor Pasa clenched her fists. Even if heaven had decreed that Montjeu would win this race, she would change that fate. She would do it with the pulse beating in her heart, with the power that was about to awaken.
A fierce fighting aura radiated from El Condor Pasa.
The surrounding runners all felt a wave of scorching heat. Today's temperature was clearly not high, yet now a wave of hot air spread through the venue as if it wanted to set the race ablaze. They turned toward the source of that aura and looked at the figure in the crimson coat. The dismissive feelings they had held changed into seriousness in that moment. This representative from Japan did not seem to be weak.
Montjeu freed herself from the reporters' interview, and the instant she entered the venue, she clearly sensed the aura coming from El Condor Pasa. The corners of her lips lifted gently, and a beautiful smile appeared on her face. She felt joy from the bottom of her heart. Even though El Condor Pasa's aura was so strong that Montjeu could not be completely certain of victory, that was precisely why she felt excited. This was exactly the kind of opponent she wanted.
"Hello."
Montjeu took the initiative to step forward and greet El Condor Pasa.
El Condor Pasa, who had still been thinking about how to take Montjeu down, froze. Then she frowned. Montjeu's friendly attitude made her feel inexplicably insulted. She had come to challenge Montjeu. This attitude meant Montjeu did not consider her challenge a threat. She really was being underestimated.
Sensing El Condor Pasa's anger and fighting spirit, Montjeu said, "You are called El Condor Pasa, yes? I hope you will display yourself to the fullest. I will remember your name."
"Then you'd better remember it properly, because it's the name of the one who will defeat you today!" El Condor Pasa said without the slightest courtesy.
Faced with El Condor Pasa like this, Montjeu merely showed an amused expression. She was not provoked by those words.
"Then I shall look forward to it."
After saying that, Montjeu turned and returned to her own position.
El Condor Pasa's emotions were high.
At that moment, music began to play, reminding all the runners that they should enter the gates. El Condor Pasa turned and stepped into her stall.
"Cloudy weather, 2,400 meters, Longchamp Racecourse, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. The race now officially begins..."
As the gates opened, a scarlet figure instantly burst out first with a ferocious posture. Faced with Montjeu, who held the advantage of the ground, El Condor Pasa had indeed chosen the tactic of taking the lead. With their strength nearly equal and the ground boosting Montjeu, El Condor Pasa was not confident in comparing late-race bursts with her. Starting early was the best choice. Fortunately, she had experience running as a front-runner from the Japanese Derby. This time, she would certainly do better.
"El Condor Pasa has chosen to run from the lead, while Montjeu, the favorite, has chosen to start with the Betweener running style..."
In the dormitory, Special Week watched the broadcast and said in surprise, "That runner called Montjeu is also good at the Betweener style? El won't lose, will she?"
It made her think of the Japanese Derby.
At present, in most people's understanding, the Betweener running style was generally considered a style used by the weak. But in reality, there were many powerful runners throughout history who had liked using the Betweener style. For example, the previous strongest in Japan, Symboli Rudolf, had shifted from Leader to Betweener at her peak. And the strongest of this generation in Japan, King Halo, had chosen the Betweener style from the very beginning. Did this mean the Betweener style truly had a very high ceiling?
Special Week did not think that deeply.
She simply felt that King Halo was strong.
So now, when she saw a famous runner using the Betweener style, the first person she thought of was King Halo.
Silence Suzuka shook her head. "Let's keep watching."
She did not know the result of this race either.
Even less could she predict the flow of a race at this level.
Montjeu's strength was indeed the strongest in France right now.
And Silence Suzuka also acknowledged El Condor Pasa's strength.
At the Takarazuka Kinen, if she had not already mastered ZONE, she probably could not have outrun El Condor Pasa. And El Condor Pasa's strength could not possibly have remained where it had been then. After several months of training in France, El Condor Pasa had very likely also opened that door.
But Montjeu had probably opened that door as well.
Under these circumstances, Silence Suzuka truly did not know who would win.
In the early stage of the race, El Condor Pasa wanted to claim an absolute advantage as she had in the Japanese Derby. But she was thinking too simply. The reason her tactic had worked in the Japanese Derby was that in that race, aside from King Halo, every other runner had been a full tier below her in strength. Under those conditions, even King Halo, who had started as a Betweener, could not stop her Great Runner strategy. But this race was the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
El Condor Pasa wanted to make a great escape, but the runners behind followed her burst tightly. She failed to open much of a gap, while Montjeu guarded the rear of the pack in excellent condition.
El Condor Pasa's Trainer, Hana Tojo, sensed that something was wrong.
"Damn it. I still underestimated opponents at this level too much!"
She had originally thought that with El Condor Pasa's current strength, even in a race at the level of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, she could successfully execute a Great Runner tactic. But the current result was extremely bad. El Condor Pasa's lead-running tactic had failed to achieve the imagined result. Montjeu had successfully kept up.
"What a pity, El Condor Pasa."
From behind, Montjeu watched El Condor Pasa's back.
A powerful aura radiated from Montjeu. Although she had not yet entered ZONE, her waves and aura had already opened. In fact, in this race, the vast majority of runners had already entered that state. This was the greatest reason El Condor Pasa had failed to open a gap. El Condor Pasa, who had not fully awakened ZONE, might have raised her stat panel to Montjeu's level, but between her and the true world-class runners, there was still the gap of a single door.
Without awakening ZONE, there was no hope of marching onto the world stage.
That statement was not a joke.
In truth, when Symboli Rudolf heard that El Condor Pasa had not awakened ZONE, she had already stopped being especially optimistic about El Condor Pasa's race today. She admitted that El Condor Pasa was a genius who appeared once in ten years. But being only a genius was not enough. To challenge the world, one had to surpass genius. El Condor Pasa, however, was still confined by her own talent.
ZONE was the true threshold of world-class competition.
In front of the television, Symboli Rudolf said in a heavy voice, "Let me see how high those wings of yours can fly, El Condor Pasa. Now is the time to show everything you have!"
"This is bad!"
El Condor Pasa sensed the auras behind her.
"This is bad!"
Her heart pounded rapidly. She had never been this tense in any race. Even in the race against King Halo, she had only felt suffocated in the instant she was passed at the end. But in today's race, her mind was tense from beginning to end. She felt as if she could not breathe smoothly. She was even a little dizzy.
Yet in this state, her performance was flawless. Her continuous skill releases, her rhythm control, and her control of the track were all executed to perfection. Without question, she had brought out everything she had learned in this race, even breaking past her former limits. But even after doing all that, she still clearly understood one fact:
It was not enough.
Even an extraordinary performance from her was not enough to win this race.
Her opponents' strength had exceeded expectations.
It was not only Montjeu who was strong. Every opponent was strong. She wanted to dominate the flow of the race as she had before, but such a thing was simply impossible. Or perhaps no one could do something like that at all? The moment she thought this, King Halo's image suddenly flashed through El Condor Pasa's mind. Perhaps only that girl could possibly accomplish such a thing. But the one challenging this race now was El Condor Pasa. She had to find her own chance of victory within the race.
"And my chance of victory is already clearly visible!"
El Condor Pasa's pupils scattered for an instant, turning into deep hollows. A flash of lightning sparked, and her crimson aura surged violently from her body. Wrapped in red arcs of electricity, she began to sprint.
A powerful gale swept past like the Eagle King striking.
ZONE awakened!
El Condor Pasa entered that realm naturally.
"This is bad! The current me is seriously dangerous!"
Powerful strength surged from within her.
What could possibly defeat her now that she possessed this power? With this power, she would definitely win.
Her speed broke past its limit in an instant.
El Condor Pasa's footsteps exploded forward.
The runners behind stared in shock.
What kind of monster was this? She dared to open ZONE after leading the entire race? Did she really not need to rest? Even though they had awakened ZONE as well, under the current pace of the race, they had no confidence that they could maintain ZONE to the end. And the strongest runner in this race was not El Condor Pasa at all. Montjeu was their greatest enemy.
"Ha! Interesting. Then I shall accompany you!"
Footsteps from the rear thundered like lightning. Montjeu's ZONE also carried an electric-arc effect, and in an instant she charged out from the rear. Her terrifying power did not even require her to change lanes. The shockwave of her sprint alone forced the runners ahead to make a lane for her. This was Montjeu, France's strongest active runner.
A true power-type competitor.
Her ZONE possessed a breakthrough effect. Runners weaker than her in power simply could not stand in front of her.
Charging out with forceful momentum, Montjeu soon arrived behind El Condor Pasa. The two of them had clearly separated themselves from the other runners. Everyone could see that victory would likely be decided between those two. But compared with El Condor Pasa's consumption, Montjeu's condition was obviously much better. She had the boost of the ground and had preserved her stamina in the early stage. By contrast, El Condor Pasa had led the entire race and now carried the consumption of ZONE as well. Her consumption was far too great.
In front of the television, King Halo saw this and had already calculated the end of the race. She shook her head. "As expected, you can't do it."
Although El Condor Pasa still had the advantage right now, King Halo knew very clearly that El Condor Pasa's stamina was about to hit bottom. At a time like this, if her Guts were high enough, she might still have some chance of winning. But the problem was that in this world, El Condor Pasa's only weakness was Guts. There was no hope of victory.
"What a pity. You still haven't seen through it. Unless you possess an absolutely invincible talent, talent itself has no meaning. What you need to stand at the summit is absolute power. Being merely a genius is not enough. It is nowhere near enough!" Just as El Condor Pasa could not understand King Halo, King Halo also found El Condor Pasa's thinking laughable.
If one's talent was not the strongest, then becoming complacent in one's talent was suicide, because there would always be a genius with stronger talent.
Besides, did King Halo not understand the ceiling of talent?
Among them, McQueen's talent could only be considered average. But what was the result? Those with powerful talent, such as Tokai Teio, Rice Shower, and Kitasan Black, had still been suppressed by McQueen without the slightest chance.
Even a McQueen like that researched and studied knowledge in every field. What reason did King Halo have not to learn from McQueen's methods?
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