Uma Musume: To The Top!!

The dark-skinned girl's thoughts raced.

In that instant, it was as if a bolt of lightning had split the layers of fog. Triptych's pupils snapped tight.

She's guarding against me!

She's guarding against me!

She knew I would change my running style and try to pin her behind me, so before I could do it, she predicted my prediction?

On the track, the dark-skinned girl kept her head lowered.

The cute little white cap perched by her right ear cast a shadow beneath the sunlight, hiding most of her expression. From the outside, no one could see the storm raging inside her.

But at that moment, up in the grandstand—

Dancing Brave abruptly shot to her feet.

Her pupils trembled violently, disbelief written all over her face.

Right now, only the exact same thought as Triptych's on the track filled her mind.

Why?

How!

But in the next instant, her gaze fell on the young man standing not far away by the floor-to-ceiling window, hands in his pockets, his expression still as calm as water.

A chill surged up her spine, nearly freezing her body and mind solid.

"…"

Stiffly, she sat back down, clenched her teeth, and stared hard at the scene unfolding on the track below.

At that moment, the two leaders had already entered the first corner.

Triptych was forced to cling tightly behind Mejiro McQueen, who had taken the lead.

And at this pace, the second pack behind them had already been thrown nearly three lengths away.

This is bad… Trip…

Dancing Brave's heart sank little by little.

Triptych's plan had always been a dangerous gamble.

There had been a certain all-or-nothing edge to it.

She had exploded in the opening stage with an extreme form almost equal to a full-strength final kick, aside from her [Domain].

Her goal had been to fight for an ideal Pace Chaser position before McQueen could react.

If she had secured it, everything would have been fine.

After all, this race was only a 2,000-meter medium-distance event.

The stamina she spent in the opening would not be enough to affect her medium-distance speed in the final leg.

In fact, because she would have successfully taken position, whether she blocked or launched afterward, the rhythm of the race would have been dictated by Triptych herself.

That was the enormous reward if the plan succeeded.

But if it failed like this?

If the plan failed…

Dancing Brave pressed her lips together.

If it failed, Triptych would not only have wasted the precious stamina she spent on that explosive start.

She would also be forced into a passive position while already being at a relative disadvantage in stamina compared to McQueen.

And what was even more fatal—

Because she had been forced to abandon the wide field of vision and late-mover advantage that came with her original central Late Surger style, every move she made from here on would fall clearly under McQueen's control ahead of her.

Nothing else even needed to be said.

In the final sprint, if she had remained a Late Surger, she could have preserved her stamina and freely chosen a route to break through.

But now, as a trailing Pace Chaser, every route available to her would instead be tightly restricted by McQueen's positioning.

Yet Triptych was already riding a tiger she could not dismount.

There was no way she could voluntarily slow down and return to the main pack as a Late Surger now.

First, the stamina she had spent in the opening was already like water thrown from a basin. There was no taking it back.

Giving up her position now would be the same as tossing that stamina straight into the trash.

Second—

Her extraordinary opening battle with McQueen had already far surpassed the reaction speed and running speed of the other Umamusume.

As a result, the two major groups had become severely disconnected.

If she fell back now, it would be the same as choosing to sever herself from the contenders.

There would be no difference between that and conceding defeat.

"Fine…"

On the track, Triptych felt the vast power still remaining inside her.

She slowly raised her head and silently looked at the elegant figure ahead of her, woven in pure white and violet.

The smile on her face had vanished completely.

Every calculation she had made before the race, every tactical plan, had now been reduced to nothing.

At this point, there was nowhere left for her to retreat.

All she could do was stake every last hope on the final straight.

Stake it on the absolute strength she was so proud of!

The crimson electricity scattered from her pupils.

Triptych slowly adjusted her breathing, bit by bit smoothing out the ragged rhythm that had been thrown into disorder by her mad dash.

She let the tsunami of cheers from the entire audience brush past her ears.

Above the racecourse, the commentator was equally stunned by this insane opening.

"Unbelievable! This is an absolutely incredible opening development!"

"The top favorite, Mejiro McQueen, has actually abandoned the stability of Pace Chaser and actively chosen a Front Runner tactic!"

"Triptych has also clashed head-on with McQueen in an epic opening duel!"

"These two Umamusume have completely thrown off the main group by the first corner and formed a two-person lead pack!"

"This Irish Champion Stakes has already entered a white-hot phase from the tenth second!"

…

The wind roared past her ears.

At the very front of the storm, McQueen slightly turned her head and glanced from the corner of her eye at the dark-skinned figure behind her, still gritting her teeth as she ran.

The corners of her lips lifted faintly.

Just as expected…

Everything is exactly as Trainer predicted.

Once again, McQueen's mind filled with Kuroha's words from the prep room before the race.

Change your tactic to Front Runner.

At the instant the gates open, explode with everything you have and seize the position before Triptych can contest it.

If Triptych did not run the way he predicted, that would not matter. Once McQueen claimed the inside lane, she only needed to slow down in time and control the race.

The tiny amount of stamina spent in the opening was nothing at all compared to her current, terrifying endurance reserves.

But…

If Triptych truly did move exactly as he expected, and tried to attack her in the opening—

Then the moment the fight for position after the start ended, McQueen had already won half the race.

On the track, as McQueen listened to Triptych's slightly heavy, restless breathing behind her, her eyes grew colder and colder.

"Too bad…"

She whispered softly into the wind.

Behind her, Triptych locked herself onto McQueen's tail and drew her gaze back.

Her breathing steadied. Her body shifted subtly as she advanced across the racecourse with firm, controlled strides, heading steadily toward the finish line.

(End of Chapter)

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