Uma Musume: To The Top!!

Above the racecourse, the commentator's impassioned voice instantly set the entire venue ablaze.

"A beautiful start!"

"None of the competitors made any mistakes or showed any delay at the start. It seems every one of them has prepared thoroughly for this race!"

"Now the race officially enters the early battle for position. Who will be the first to seize that perfect leading spot?"

However, before the commentator could even finish speaking, the situation on the track had already changed.

On the track.

The instant Suave burst out of the gate, a dazzling flash of red-gold light exploded in her eyes.

Veins bulged across her tempered, tight thighs.

In that instant, a terrifying aura that seemed ready to devour anyone in its path erupted with her at the center.

Several Umamusume in the neighboring gates were startled so badly that they instinctively flinched, forced to deviate slightly from their lines and cut a sorry figure as they opened a path for her.

Boom—!

The green turf was instantly stamped into a visible pit by that terrifying leg strength, sending dirt flying.

The dark-skinned girl abruptly tore through the headwind. Her entire body became a phantom-like afterimage.

Carrying a violent, unstoppable momentum, she sped toward the very front.

…

Several days earlier.

"Pace-chasing style?"

Dancing Brave sat on a bench, her brows tightly furrowed and her face full of surprise.

"Yes!"

The dark-skinned girl put away her usual playful grin, her expression becoming incomparably serious.

"Based on what I've observed during this period, McQueen's main racing style in her past races has been front-running or pace-chasing."

"But races where she truly escapes out front are actually extremely rare."

"Her instinctive habit, and the tactic she adapts to best, is pace-chasing!"

"So what you mean is…"

Dancing Brave raised an eyebrow, seeming to have guessed something.

Suave's eyes turned cold and sharp as she said in a low voice, "I'll explode early in the opening phase and seize the best pace-chasing position before she does!"

"As long as I can box her in during the middle phase's acceleration point, even if I only affect her for a short while, I'll be able to take the absolute initiative in the final phase."

"During that parallel running session, I kept forcing myself to get used to the feeling of being beside her."

"The time was very short."

"But I believe that in the real race, I'll definitely be able to seize the chance and restrain her stride at the most crucial moment!"

"I see…"

Dancing Brave's eyes narrowed slightly. Then she looked at Suave with a trace of worry.

"But all your previous races have mainly used a late-surging strategy, then decided the outcome with your final kick."

"You've never used a pace-chasing style in an actual race. Are you sure you can adapt to a completely different rhythm?"

"Hee hee~"

Hearing that, Suave raised a huge smile.

"Don't worry, Dancing Brave-nee. If it were front-running or end-closing, I might really not be confident. But pace-chasing…"

The dark-skinned girl paused. Then a devious, scheming smile abruptly appeared on her face.

"That's the top-secret trump card I've been hiding all this time!"

…

The focus returned to the racecourse.

Whoosh—!

In the instant she burst forward, the whistling wind sliced against Suave's lovely face, but her smile only grew wilder and more unrestrained.

"McQueen!"

"No matter how flawlessly your Trainer calculates, there's no way he could have predicted that I'd abandon my best racing style and clash with you head-on right from the opening!"

"Now, prepare to meet your en—!"

However, just as the pride in her heart had begun to rise—

Boom—!

Beside her ear, the violent sound of a footstep like a collapsing mountain suddenly rang out.

Suave turned her head in shock.

There, at her side—

The purple-haired Umamusume in white had transformed into a blade at almost the same instant as Suave, slicing the crowd apart.

In fact, the boiling white light in her eyes was even more blazing than Suave's.

What was going on?

Why was she accelerating at this timing?!

Everything happened in an instant.

Suave had no time to understand what had happened.

But her powerful physical instincts responded subconsciously.

The lightning bursting from Suave's pupils shone even brighter. She squeezed her muscles again, unleashing even more terrifying strength as she sprinted forward.

Even if it meant completely overtaking every front-running and pace-chasing Umamusume, so be it.

Boom—! Boom—!

Two gusts of wind tearing through the air exploded across the track.

No one had expected that these two invincible rulers, whom every spectator had placed such high hopes on before the race, would suddenly have their very first clash like this.

The two monster-class Umamusume crushed forward with unstoppable force, leaving the entire main pack far behind.

In the opening phase of the race, they had already broken out of the crowd alone and begun a fierce struggle.

But victory and defeat were often decided in a single instant.

At the start, McQueen had invested greater leg strength, and she already possessed an incredibly perfect starting rhythm and understanding of the lead position.

In the end, with a slight advantage of half a length, she cut into the inner lane first.

She firmly took the lead position at the very front of the entire group.

Why?!

After losing that brief exchange, Suave's originally confident face showed an instant of ferocity and confusion.

A front-running tactic she had almost never used before, deployed so abruptly today.

She had even completely released the first step of her Domain's power in the opening phase, all to guarantee that she would reach the lead position.

This way of running was almost as if…

She was deliberately preventing someone from taking that position ahead of her.

(End of Chapter)

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