The first to flee out front was Seiun Sky.
The instant the gates sprang open, Seiun Sky launched herself forward and completed her skill activation at high speed.
With the support of that skill, Seiun Sky steadily took the lead, charging alone at the very front of the pack. And from the look of it, she did not seem to intend to end things there.
Seiun Sky did not choose to stabilize her state. Instead, she continued sprinting forward. Although this was clearly a 3,000-meter long-distance race, she chose to run at full power from the early stage. The running style she was displaying now was precisely Silence Suzuka's specialty: the Great Runner style.
Yes, Seiun Sky had also brought out this running style.
The previous lessons from Silence Suzuka and El Condor Pasa had already shown that even Great Runner tactics could not deal with King Halo. But Seiun Sky did not have many methods she could choose from. As a Runner, the tactics available to her were only those few. Unless she chose to give up, the only choice she had left now was to risk everything.
"The race has begun! No runner has failed to start. Everyone is out of the gates smoothly. The first to rush out is Seiun Sky. What a gorgeous start! She has already thrown second place far behind her!"
"Wait, Seiun Sky's current posture... could it be? Could it be Great Runner?! This is truly astonishing. Seiun Sky has actually decided to use the Great Runner style in this race! Remember, this is the 3,000-meter Kikka Sho. Is this decision reckless or brave? Currently in second is runner number three..."
The commentator was clearly startled by Seiun Sky's decision as well.
"To decide to use Great Runner in this race... what a bold tactic. Was this her Trainer's instruction?"
In the stands, Nishizaki Ryuya watched the scene in surprise.
He did not think Seiun Sky and her Trainer were fools. So what basis did they have for daring to use Great Runner in this race? Had Seiun Sky's stamina truly been trained enough for her to open Great Runner at this distance? No, that was impossible. Even an umamusume at El Condor Pasa's level could not do such a thing.
Great Runner was not something that could be accomplished just by one person charging ahead. The strength of the opponents was also key. If one could not obtain a large enough advantage in the early stage, then it was not Great Runner at all.
Therefore, for runners who used Great Runner, the stronger the opponents were, the lower the probability of completing it. The burden they needed to bear and the stamina consumption would also multiply.
For example, in a race between an A-rank and C-rank opponent, perhaps only 600 stamina would be enough to accomplish Great Runner in a long-distance race. But if it was A-rank versus A-rank, that stamina requirement might double. This was the flaw of the Great Runner style. The longer the course and the stronger the opponents, the harder it was for Great Runner's advantages to appear. Was Silence Suzuka truly unable to run the Kikka Sho due to insufficient stamina? No. It was simply that if Silence Suzuka ran the Kikka Sho, the result would already be decided before the start.
Even if Seiun Sky's stamina was stronger than Silence Suzuka's, how much stronger could it be? Seiun Sky's strength was still one tier below Silence Suzuka's. Even if her stamina was somewhat higher, her weaker areas meant her consumption could not possibly match Silence Suzuka's. Nishizaki did not believe Seiun Sky could successfully run Great Runner all the way to the end. He felt this runner definitely had some other idea.
"Is that Suzuka-san's running style?"
From behind, Special Week watched Seiun Sky's back.
She was slightly surprised.
But she quickly recovered and focused on King Halo, who was currently ahead to her left. Although she did not understand that much theoretical knowledge, her intuition was very sharp. She knew clearly that Seiun Sky was not her threat in this race.
From the beginning, her opponent had only ever been King Halo.
"I will never fail again!"
"I will definitely win this race!"
Special Week's aura surged.
Quite a few runners around her felt uncomfortable.
Although Special Week did not have disruption skills, the aura of ZONE naturally possessed a certain degree of striking power. It was like a rabbit being frightened by the aura of a lion. In a certain sense, an umamusume who had awakened ZONE was a higher-level existence.
"She's really strong!"
The surrounding runners looked at Special Week and King Halo in shock. Originally, they had thought the [Golden Generation] people talked about online was merely an official promotional phrase. But when they truly raced alongside these geniuses, they could clearly feel the pressure radiating from them. Just the leakage of their aura was enough to know that they were not on the same level. The sensation was that clear.
Even so, no runner wanted to admit defeat.
"They have passed the first lap's corner and are now entering the first straight of the second lap. Seiun Sky is still in the lead. King Halo, the favorite, is currently here in seventh. Special Week, the second favorite, is a little farther back, currently in ninth!"
Coming out of the corner, Seiun Sky's expression changed.
"Now!"
A dazzling rainbow light bloomed beneath everyone's astonished gazes. After entering the middle phase, Seiun Sky not only did not hold back, she even opened a Flash Skill and charged. The race had only passed around 700 meters, with more than 2,000 meters still remaining. Activating a Flash Skill at this point... had she gone mad?
"Foolish!"
"Was that a mistake?"
"So this is one of the [Golden Generation] geniuses said to be on par with Special Week? She doesn't live up to the name at all."
"Is there some scheme? But..."
The runners watched Seiun Sky's sprint with different thoughts.
No one chose to follow her at this moment.
Even knowing that if they let Seiun Sky escape like this, the later gap would stretch to a truly terrifying distance, no runner was willing to accompany Seiun Sky in her madness. Using a Flash Skill now was simply too absurd.
They had only just entered the middle phase of the race.
And this was a 3,000-meter long-distance course.
Bursting this early could only be explained as a mistake.
King Halo watched the scene, her expression unchanged.
She was the only one present who could break Seiun Sky's tactic.
But she had no intention of stopping it.
Because there was no need.
Special Week did want to chase forward.
But as long as the speed of the main group did not change, she would have to use a skill if she wanted to rush out. Each skill could only be used once in a race. After thinking about it, she chose to give up.
This point was indeed unsuitable.
If it had been the latter half of the middle phase, she would not have hesitated.
But they had only just entered the middle phase. The timing was too early.
In the stands, Nishizaki, who had been watching Special Week, broke into a cold sweat when he saw her instinctive movement. He had truly been worried that Special Week would act impulsively.
He also could not understand Seiun Sky's move.
But for Special Week, it was clearly not yet time to burst. She had to endure here.
Fortunately, Special Week did not act rashly.
"Thank goodness."
Nishizaki let out a breath.
But his expression did not relax much.
He frowned seriously.
"Still, the development of this race is making it hard for me to understand. What exactly is Seiun Sky trying to do? If she is trying to lure other runners into taking the bait, this timing is obviously too early. And she doesn't look like that's her intention either."
Seiun Sky was an intellectual runner.
That was no secret.
Anyone who had watched a few of Seiun Sky's races could see that she liked using pseudo-Great Runner tactical deception to trick opponents into using their skills. But that method tested timing control to an extreme degree.
And what Seiun Sky had just done clearly could not deceive her opponents.
Could it be that she truly had not been fishing just now?
Was she genuinely planning to run away all the way to the end like this?
Impossible.
Again, Seiun Sky could not possibly possess that kind of strength.
Nishizaki watched the race, unable to make sense of it no matter how much he thought.
Elsewhere, El Condor Pasa also watched Seiun Sky's performance in confusion.
What was she doing?
Was this self-abandonment?
If she kept running like this, her stamina clearly would not last.
Hana Tojo watched the changing numbers around Seiun Sky thoughtfully. She knew very well that Seiun Sky did not want to keep using Great Runner forever.
Seiun Sky was definitely holding back some nasty trick.
"This is astonishing. Seiun Sky's current gap to those behind is far too large. Can she really escape all the way to the end? And the runners behind are very calm, showing no sign of rushing to chase her!"
The commentator also noticed that something was off.
Although he said this, he did not think Seiun Sky could escape to the finish line either. This runner was definitely laying a plan.
He simply could not guess what kind of plan.
And did laying a plan truly require using a Flash Skill?
The cost she had sunk into it was far too great.
A Flash Skill was power capable of deciding victory or defeat. Even if Seiun Sky had now comprehended multiple Flash Skills, losing one was still a very serious price.
Because skills not only had usage limits.
They also consumed energy.
"They have passed the first straight!"
The race reached the first corner of the second lap.
Seiun Sky still showed no intention of stopping.
She was releasing skills.
Blue and gold light flashed over her body from time to time.
Her gap to second place had already reached fourteen lengths.
The race had only just passed 1,200 meters.
Seiun Sky was already dozens of meters ahead of those behind.
This was because the other runners had not used many skills, while Seiun Sky was bursting forward without regard for anything.
A gap of fourteen lengths looked absurd.
But in reality, this advantage was not worth much right now. A bursting umamusume and a normal-state umamusume could not be compared at all. In a burst state, an umamusume could easily throw normal-state opponents of equal strength ten or twenty lengths behind. But in a race, every runner would burst. Before victory was secured, a slight advantage meant nothing.
Seiun Sky's current advantage seemed large.
But once she ran out of stamina in the later stage, her opponents could catch her easily. If she wanted to decide victory early while knowing she would slow down later, she would at the very least have to hold on until before the final 400 meters and open a gap of more than twenty lengths. After all, this was not an era without widespread skills. Now that skills had become common, a gap within 100 meters was truly short. The amplification brought by skills was simply too great.
In the past, relying on her skill advantage, Mejiro McQueen had thrown Symboli Rudolf, whose stats averaged S-rank, far behind despite being several tiers lower in stats, and Symboli Rudolf had even mastered the power of ZONE. That showed just how great skill amplification could be.
Therefore, unless Seiun Sky could trick her opponents into using their skills, her current behavior had no meaning whatsoever.
And Seiun Sky herself knew this very well.
"Hah... hah..."
She had only just come out of the second corner, and the race had not yet reached the final phase, but she already felt that she could barely hold on.
"As expected, this is so hard. But it's enough. Next, you should be unable to hold back, right? Then at this point, let me catch my breath first."
The starlight of a recovery skill lit up. As Seiun Sky came out of the corner, her speed began to decline slowly.
"She can't hold on anymore!"
Everyone noticed Seiun Sky's movement.
The moment they saw Seiun Sky's speed drop, everyone guessed the truth. Seiun Sky had already used up her strength.
As Seiun Sky slowed, the pack behind began to catch up gradually. But even at this moment, no runner stuck her head out, because it was still not time. The race had only passed around 1,800 meters, with nearly another 1,000 meters remaining. Combined with the previous stamina consumption, bursting at this point was clearly not a good idea. Most runners' stamina had not reached S-rank.
And Seiun Sky was not surprised.
Because the trap she had set was not for now.
However, just as everyone intended to wait a little longer, a figure suddenly began accelerating from the rear of the pack.
Seeing that figure rush out, everyone was stunned.
It was King Halo.
Having already broken through Seiun Sky's tactic, she had no intention of letting Seiun Sky complete her setup. Seiun Sky wanted to use a recovery skill at this moment to catch her breath? Then King Halo would break that lucky hope. This race did not have only one strategist.
"Damn it! Is her stamina really that strong?!"
"King Halo!"
"We can't wait anymore!"
The instant King Halo began sprinting, no runner could remain calm. King Halo's past record had shown one thing beyond doubt: once she was given the chance to rush out, she would definitely win.
So at that moment, every runner began to burst.
Ahead, Seiun Sky felt the change in the auras behind her and could not help looking back. Her originally confident expression changed at that instant. She could not understand why these people would burst at this time. Had there been a flaw in her previous performance?
"No... is it because of you, Halo-chan?"
Seiun Sky, understanding at last, wore a somewhat bitter expression.
At this point, she truly had no moves left.
Even after using a recovery skill, her stamina could not instantly recover to a state where she could burst. She needed time.
Originally, she had that time. If not for King Halo's move, the other runners would not have seen through her tactic and would not have activated at this moment. If they had only begun bursting after she recovered, the gap she currently held would have been enough to guarantee her lead, and once they reached the final straight, she would have burst again.
With that, she would have had a certain chance of victory.
Yes, even after calculating so much, all Seiun Sky had wanted was to scrape out the tiniest chance of victory in front of King Halo.
But now, King Halo had seen through her tactic.
She had not left Seiun Sky even the slightest opportunity.
Whether in strength...
Or in strategy...
At this moment, Seiun Sky had been completely defeated.
...
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