Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 456 The Opportunity to Overtake

"The situation has suddenly changed! The struggle is extremely fierce!"

The commentator's speech quickened, each word seeming to burn with passion, igniting the enthusiasm of everyone in the audience.
"Dongbao Lone Wolf and Tianxia Weiyi were the first to start the competition, and the team was quickly stretched out by them!"
"The inner path is where the lofty ambitions rush forward, followed by the Satomi nobility and the clever labyrinth from the outside, and then the noble and elegant steeds from the inside!"
"In the middle section, the final shock of the red victory outfit, the inner side is the game that made him famous."

"Number 7, Lang Riqingtian, is also in this position. Is it more difficult for Lang Riqingtian? She did not choose to chase after him."

"Then good brings blessings, while heretics are the stones of victory."

"And there's Number 9, here, preparing to launch an assault on the world starting from Takarazuka..."

"Is the thunderous roar a sign of choosing to chase? Her position is very far back, is it a sign of choosing to chase?"
No!

"She accelerated! A very powerful acceleration, roaring forward to the middle, it seems she's still using the same running style!"
"Following behind them are Dabiao and Yamakatsu, the strongest, and Satomi Crown is also here!"

"At the very back is commentator number 13, Zhenzhen. As Zhenzhen gradually caught up, the team shortened again."

"And the much-anticipated Northern Black Steed... still firmly occupies the second and third positions!"

"That's right, the choice for this match is to lead the way, Northern Black Steed."

"She possesses formidable strength, capable of maintaining her position amidst shifts in rank. Let's wait and see if she can deliver an even more spectacular performance!"

The commentary, which was rapidly recounting the events, paused briefly before resuming:
"The race is already halfway through, and the team has reached the middle of the left bend, striving towards the exit of the second bend."

"The time for the first half of the 1000 meters was 63.7 seconds, which is a very conservative figure. It seems that the rainy track did have some impact on the speed of the athletes."

In the stands, the spectators cheered enthusiastically for the exciting race on the bend, their shouts rising higher and higher.

They cheered for their favorite racehorse, their flushed faces filled with fervor and anticipation.

Many people were thrilled by the consistent performance of the Northern Black Horse, pointing at the black and gold figure on the track and shouting her name.

Standing beside Yasui Makoto and the others, the East Sea Emperor and Megumi McQueen nodded repeatedly.

"Well, that was pretty good, that was how you handled it."

With a smile, the Emperor of the East Sea praised the emperor, but his tone trailed off with a barely perceptible hint of worry:

"I thought she would be awkward if she wasn't in the lead position."

She didn't mention a name, but Megumi McQueen and the others beside her, including Yasui Makoto, knew she was referring to Genkonojo.

Megumi McQueen easily sensed what his friend was worried about.

Indeed, for racehorse girls who are strong enough to a certain extent, the distinction between fleeing, leading, lagging, and chasing often becomes a limitation, and the choices made during the actual race are more varied and flexible.

However, the underlying biases cannot be ignored.

Just like macarons and puddings have different sugar content and tastes, even though they are both desserts, people who love desserts will have different preferences. It's impossible for them to have exactly the same taste.

In terms of competition, the Northern Black Horse is still best at leading. Even though there are many similarities in leading, many techniques require sufficient experience to execute.

What his friend was worried about was that this junior might lack experience.

As it happens, both she and I are skilled at horse racing girls who excel at first-time horse racing, so we are very familiar with this aspect.

Even disregarding his friend's specific thoughts, in his own opinion, the way the Northern Black Horse handled the competition when it just turned the corner was quite brilliant.

"Yes, Xiao Bei is really amazing to be able to maintain his position in such fierce competition."

Without saying much, Megumi McQueen simply nodded elegantly, smiled and offered a word of agreement, then looked at Yasui Makoto:

"Of course, it's also thanks to your guidance, Yasui." Yasui shook his head slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips, and explained simply:

"Fortunately, it's mainly the result of Xiao Bei's own hard work and special training."

Yet, he felt immensely gratified and irresistibly satisfied.

Being able to hold onto his leading position in that environment, even if he wanted to be humble, he felt that he had put in much more effort than before.

Others might not notice, but he saw it very clearly: the Northern Black Steed used the pursuit techniques they had trained together when it rounded the bend.

While the intensity of human-level extreme sports may not be very high for horse racing girls, the skills involved are quite extensive.

Although the Northern Black Steed has not fully mastered it, it is already able to perform very small-scale body movements more nimbly in a very short time than before.

However, more than feeling smug, Yasui Makoto was more concerned about the time taken for the first 1000 meters.

Indeed, the track is quite muddy after the rain, and it takes more stamina to run at the same speed as on a good track, which can easily slow you down.

Based on the current time taken, 63.7 seconds means a speed of 15.7 meters per second.

This speed, for a G1 race, or rather for a race of Uma Musume, is not even considered conservative, but rather... slow, very slow.

But this is exactly what Yasui Makoto wanted.

Extreme speed is not what the Northern Black Horse excels at, nor is its acceleration efficiency, yet this ability is often needed for mid-distance races.

Competition, such as when just turning a corner, does require a lot of skills, but essentially it's about who can reach top speed in the shortest amount of time.

If the Northern Black Horse were to compete with its rivals in this area, it would be a waste of too much energy.

In fact, that's exactly how I managed to stabilize my position; it was with the help of skill that I kept my physical exertion at an acceptable level.

However, once the pace slows down in the first half of the race, the cornering becomes no problem at all.

Because of its slow speed, the greatest advantage of the Northern Black Horse can be fully utilized.

In other words, physical strength, or more accurately, endurance.

This strategy was laid out unknowingly from the very beginning.

Abandoning the lead and choosing to take the lead in the first half avoids having to constantly speed up due to being targeted, thus slowing down the pace of the entire race and gaining abundant stamina in the second half.

This strategy is currently progressing quite smoothly. The next step is to find the opportunity to overtake the opponent and regain the lead they are best at.

"You'll find it, right, Xiao Bei? You... you'll definitely find it."

With his eyes fixed on the teams rushing towards the exit of the curve on the track, Yasui Makoto silently muttered to himself.

As if by telepathy, on the track, the Northern Black Steed was observing its surroundings, looking for an opportunity.

She could sense that the doubts she had about her new running style at the beginning of the race were gradually disappearing.

However, since her opponents have no longer focused their attention on her, it means that the entire strategy has been successfully implemented.

Just as the team was about to exit the bend, large clouds of mud billowed up in front of and beside her. Her pupils contracted sharply, but her body reacted even faster than her mind:

The opportunity is coming!

(End of this chapter)