Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 339 I've Seen Through Your Plan
When he caught a glimpse of the approaching figure out of the corner of his eye, he also clearly heard the soft sound of grass breaking.

It is unyielding true steel.

It was moving so fast that the wind made my ears snap over, and my ponytail snapped straight up in mid-air.

However, this opponent's breathing rhythm was extremely steady, even frighteningly so, indicating that the increase in speed at this moment was not a strain for her, but rather commonplace.

The evidence is that every time she pushes off the ground, she lands precisely near the theoretically most suitable point of force application.

"It came...faster than expected." As he let out a low groan, Rong Houzaijue felt the hairs on the back of his neck tremble slightly.

She looked away and stared straight ahead, but the image of Furou Zhen Gang's glance still lingered in her mind.

That was the look in the eyes of someone who had locked onto their prey after countless tactical simulations.

Those eyes clearly conveyed, "I've seen through your plan."

Unyielding Steel truly saw through the plan to postpone the decision.

More precisely, the opponent's current performance is exactly the same as what trainers and the team, including Yasui Makoto and the Air Tank, predicted:
"She's good at starting but not at leading, so it's almost impossible for her to take the lead."

"But this match has a rather unfavorable aspect for her."

"The one most likely to get a spot is Xiao Bei."

"You've trained with Xiao Bei and competed against him many times. With Xiao Bei setting the pace, you'll be running in a very comfortable range for most of the race."

"This is where it's disadvantageous for us to decide later, including all our opponents."

"They are not familiar with the pace of competition in Japan."

"In that case, those with the ability to take the lead will definitely consider how to counter it, such as California Shining, but we'll talk about the United States later."

"Let's decide later."

"She will definitely try to occupy the low-pressure zone behind the leading racehorse and hold it until the end as long as possible."

"We can't let her run so comfortably, at least not the whole time."

"Xiao Bei is a runaway horse, but her running style is another matter."

"Unyielding Steel and Thunderous Roar, you are both first-rate racehorses, and your usual winning tactic is to finish last."

"Indeed, your level of skill is world-class, even world-class, in my opinion."

"But we can decide on it later."

"You let her run too comfortably, and the two of you are on the final straight..."

"No, you've already lost a step before you even reached the final straight line."

The instructions he had received kept echoing in his mind. While secretly admiring them, Bu Nao Zhen Gang was also invigorated and vigilant.

What she secretly admired was that this situation was mainly proposed by Yasui Makoto.

The timing for acceleration will be decided later, taking advantage of the low-pressure zone gradually forming ahead to avoid being overtaken by the front row...

Everything the opponent did was exactly as the trainer had predicted.

It's not that other people don't have this idea.

Instead, Yasui Makoto explained things in much more detail. When he spoke, you couldn't tell that he was a newcomer who had only been in the industry for less than two years. Instead, he had the calm and experienced demeanor of someone with more than ten years of experience.

Furthermore, this composure and experience are different from the impression of older trainers. Those older trainers only give the impression of having rich experience in instruction.

The feeling that Yasui Makoto gives people is... as if he has personally run on the racetrack, competed against racehorses, or experienced many similar intense races.

At that time, besides being amazed, Bu Nao Zhen Gang also understood why the Northern Black Horse was so difficult to deal with and so hard to defeat on the racetrack.

Not only that friend, but also the opponent possessed great talent and strength.

Also because of her trainer, who also possesses great talent and strength.

When Bu Nao Zhen Gang realized this, he was actually quite worried, after all, Yasui Zhen and Bei Chu Gen Kou had only been in the Shining Series for a little over a year.

They're already this difficult to deal with now, what will happen when they grow even stronger...?
But now, running on the track, she felt more excited than worried.

Because she knew her opponent's movements almost as if she had foreseen them, she clearly felt that she... was suppressing her emotions and deciding to wait until later.

She was always one step ahead of her opponent, and with her opponent always lagging behind, she had no choice but to follow suit and move inward.

This allowed her to almost completely suppress her opponent, forcing her to be surrounded by the Northern Black Horse in front, the California Shining Star in front, and herself on the outside.

What was alarming was that she didn't notice any embarrassment on her face or body when she looked at her out of the corner of her eye.

The opponent exuded an aura of extraordinary composure.

Normally, when a female horse is sandwiched between opponents in the front row and on the outside, and forced to squeeze into the inside lane, any female horse will more or less show signs of panic.

They might tense their necks, breathe a little erratically, or deliberately quicken their pace but lose their rhythm.

However, in Yu Guangli's unyielding spirit, her back remained straight, her light brown, naturally curly, and meticulously styled hair drew elegant arcs in the wind. Her breathing, arm swings, and steps were equally steady and methodical.

His breathing was extremely regular, like a precise European grandfather clock, with each inhale and exhale perfectly matching the rhythm of running.

Her arms could only swing in a very small space, but she could easily dodge everything, whether it was a horse's tail swinging from the front or mud and grass flying from the outside.

The footsteps seem to be restricted to the edge of the inner lane, but they always manage to turn in a very rhythmic way just before touching the lane line.

With this posture, it was as if she wasn't competing, but rather dancing gracefully on a stage she had meticulously choreographed herself.

The composure revealed in this reached its peak when, after a moment of calm, the decision was made and the speaker turned back to look at the situation.

Those were a pair of icy blue eyes, showing no sign of panic, but rather a hint of inquisitiveness and appreciation.

The corners of her lips, perfectly matching her gaze, held a faint smile.

Such a look and smile seemed like a response, a response to the oppressive force that had just been tantamount to a provocation.

Unyielding steel's heart skipped a beat, but in an instant, she also managed a smile.

"...This was all expected, Xiao Bei. How exactly does your trainer usually teach you?"

She felt a silent sense of wonder and an even stronger sense of exhilaration.

This remains one of the possibilities that Makoto Yasui mentioned before the match.

European races and horse racing in Europe are very different from those in Japan. The latter are extremely skilled at teamwork, and while the competition is equally fierce, it is also much more complex.

This is true not only in Europe, but also in the United States, or rather, in overseas events.

In other words, whether it's herself, Northern Black Horse, or Thunderous Breeze, these female racehorses, who are used to fighting alone on the track, find it difficult to form the same teamwork as in European races, and therefore cannot put real pressure on them in the later rounds.

(End of this chapter)