Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 422: A single slide tackle took down Special Week in seconds.
In the arena, Yasui Makoto, just like in the previous round, was loosening his joints, his eyes fixed on Special Zhou, who was jumping around and loosening his ankles.

As if to encourage himself, after jumping around for a while, Zhou puffed out his cheeks, pressed his chest, and let out a long breath.

Then, with a look of surprise, she waved and grinned foolishly in their direction:

"Um... I'll be Yasui's opponent this round. I'll try my best to escape. Um... Yasui, good luck!"

"Thank you. I will."

As he answered with a smile, Yasui Makoto stopped what he was doing and his gaze quickly swept over Tekuro's entire body.

He immediately realized that, compared to the somewhat casual demeanor of Ennis Wind God just now, Zhou... was about to get serious.

After being greeted, the racehorse girl's posture and demeanor visibly changed.

Stretch your neck forward slightly, and slightly stagger your arms and legs one in front of the other, while lowering your upper body accordingly.

Its ears twitched every few seconds, and its tail wagged rhythmically.

This is the standard exit stance, and it's a stance commonly used by racehorses that excel at a first-race-second-race technique.

In his career races, his best running style is the first step.

"...Was he spurred on by his teammate's earlier defeat?" Adopting a starting stance more suited to humans, Yasui Makoto couldn't help but quickly think to himself:
"I can only say that she is a racehorse girl. In any race... no, I should say races related to speed, she is always thinking about how to win."

"But I don't want to lose either..."

While he was pondering, his peripheral vision subtly swept over the layout of the venue.

On the left is a balance beam, and on the right is a simple climbing wall, forming a natural angle between them, with three sets of uneven bars in the middle.

These are all obstacles for laymen.

However, for extreme stunt performers or WCT athletes, this is an excellent springboard for changing direction.

Just like in the previous round, he and Zhou both stood at the very edge of the center line, about 20 meters apart.

Even with a smooth start, it would still take more than two seconds for a human to cover this distance.

For the racehorse girl, it only takes a little over a second, or even just a second.

Then it still can't run in a straight line.

As this decision was made, a familiar countdown rang out in unison throughout the venue.

The moment the word "one" was uttered, Yasui Makoto suddenly rushed towards the left balance beam.

His strategy was clear: he could never catch up with Special Zhou by running in a straight line.

That requires anticipating where the opponent will run to and arriving in advance.

Before the countdown, he clearly saw that Zhou had placed his left foot at the back.

Based on training experience, the most comfortable running posture is actually to the right.

And to Zhou's left is his right.

Before reaching the balance beam, Yasui Makoto had already reached out his hand.

With a swift push off the log, he flipped sideways onto the climbing wall.

Like a cheetah hunting on a cliff, he stepped diagonally onto the support point of the climbing wall and used the reaction force to rush towards the uneven bars.

This series of actions bears a striking resemblance to the previous round's escape from the Wind God, Ennis.

But at the moment of starting, he deliberately lowered his body, so that when he rushed towards the uneven bars, he was almost touching the ground.

Once he got close to the uneven bars, he simply lay down on the ground.

The momentum from the impact hadn't subsided yet. Lying on the ground, he slid through the gap between the bottom metal bar of the uneven bars and the ground.

After passing through, the first thing he saw was a pair of feet that had just taken off. In the blink of an eye, the two feet had taken a huge stride over him.

Just then, a ponytail, pulled by inertia, swung in front of me.

Without hesitation, Yasui Makoto reached out and swiftly grabbed the ponytail with precision.

"Eh... Ah—!"

Amid a series of screams, Yasui Makoto scrambled to his feet, looked at the Special Week that had just crossed over him, and rushed forward about ten meters with another scream.

Then, the female racehorse stopped, covered her backside, turned around, looked at her with a surprised and uncertain expression, and shouted:
"I...I...I've been caught?!"

After she called out, her tail stood up like a cat that had been stepped on, and her ears twitched incessantly.

She covered her bottom and spun around in place several times as if chasing her own tail, screaming repeatedly:

"You're kidding, right?! This...this...this round has only just begun, how did I get caught...?"

After calling out in surprise and uncertainty, she looked at Yasui Makoto again, her pupils shrinking to pinpoints, and began to stammer as she gestured:

"And...and...we were just on the other side a moment ago, how did we suddenly...be at my feet?!"

While Zhou was still puzzled, the audience in the stands seemed to be put on pause, falling into a silence that lasted for more than ten seconds.

Like Special Week, everyone felt as if the game had just begun a second ago, but now it seemed... it was already over?

The silence was broken only when the microphone of the conspicuous eagle suddenly emitted a piercing static sound:

"My God! This is way too crazy! Especially Zhou... he was caught red-handed in no time?!"

"This... Mr. Yasui, are you... really human?"

After this less-than-professional explanation, the audience finally realized what was going on.

Amid exclamations of "Is this a lie?", "Is this for real?", and "What just happened?", Beifang Xuanju jumped up in surprise and delight on the challenger's side.

With a leap, she stood up, somewhat frantically stepping onto the stands, and waved vigorously towards the field:
"That's amazing! The trainer... he's absolutely incredible! 2 points! We already have 2 points!"

Her voice resonated throughout the entire venue, and alerted by it, the sharp-eyed eagle in the stands snapped out of its daze and quickly spoke into the microphone:
"That's right, although we don't understand exactly what happened... let's congratulate the challenger team on gaining another point and taking a 2-point lead!"

At this moment, Yasui Makoto, with his heart pounding, let out a long breath.

All the ideas were validated.

In terms of pursuit, this is WCT's strategic thinking.

While straight lines, curves, and climbing up and down can certainly close the distance with your opponent, other methods can also be used to close the gap.

However, these methods are too passive, especially when both sides are at roughly the same physical strength.

It's almost impossible to catch up, let alone since I'm human. And my opponent, Special Week, is not only a racehorse girl, but also a top-tier racehorse girl.

Predicting is much simpler.

Judging from Special Week's starting posture, she will definitely run along the edge of the track, trying to use her natural advantage to widen the distance.

If you rush straight towards what appears to be an obstacle, the other party will most likely not be able to react in time, and you can bump into them at just the right moment.

Of course, having a ponytail to hold is also a necessary factor.

He slid in, but the only places he could grab were Zhou's feet, legs, and ponytail.

Unless he wants to break a bone, grabbing a horse's tail is definitely safer than walking at 60 kilometers per hour.

"However, even with a ponytail..." Calming his breathing, Yasui Makoto smiled and walked towards Special Week, unconsciously rubbing his hands together.
"Getting thrown around at that speed really hurts... I can only say, as expected of Uma Musume."

(End of this chapter)