Uma Musume Girl, I'll tell you about my Santa Hat special move too?

She quickly adjusted her running posture, incorporating all the skills she had learned over the past week into the current race.

The swinging of his arms gradually became more regular. Although it hadn't reached the exaggerated standard of the Meipu Bourbon style, it was much better than a week ago.

Most importantly, the other racehorses were mostly planning to make a strong comeback in the second half of the race. When they realized that the two were using a runaway tactic, they panicked and sped up to catch up, which only consumed more of their energy and the pursuit was not very effective.

In any case, they now have a significant advantage. If they maintain this momentum, coupled with Stardust Illusion's still-replenished stamina, they will definitely be able to consolidate the advantage gained from the Great Escape and seize first place in one fell swoop.

However, at that moment, Stardust Illusion suddenly felt an imposing aura gradually approaching from behind!

Da da da—

The sound of running footsteps behind them grew clearer, as if pounding on the heart of the stardust illusion. The approaching racehorse girl, in a relaxed tone, raised her voice slightly and asked the two leaders:

"Howdy~ What are you saying? Let me hear it too!"

It's the Big Tree Express!

But how could that be?!

Upon hearing this lighthearted greeting, Stardust Illusion's face showed an expression of disbelief.

They had been running at full speed since they left the gate, reaching their top speed only during a sprint, and yet they've been overtaken?!

Although Stardust Illusion judged from the other party's voice that the Tree Express was still three to four horse lengths behind them, this was already a very serious situation.

If the "Great Escape" style of running, which uses explosive power at the beginning, fails to successfully shake off the opponent, then it will definitely lead to a tough battle!

As she pondered this, she wanted to turn around, but at that moment, the oppressive feeling behind her suddenly intensified and locked onto her back.

A chill ran through my body from where the oppressive feeling was concentrated, as if the person chasing me from behind was not a racehorse girl, but a hunter holding a revolver and aiming it at my back!

"Disrupting everyone's rhythm with a two-person escape is indeed a brilliant tactic—but it doesn't work on me!"

Although the sound of the Great Tree Express was also accompanied by panting, it was much better than that of Miura Bourbon, who was already swaying and about to collapse in front of the Stardust Illusion.

Her gait was different from Stardust Illusion or Bourbon. Although it was not uphill, Tree Express still used a running style similar to that of a mountaineer, running with only the balls of her feet on the ground.

Although she is considered tall for a racehorse girl, her stride is not very wide at this moment. Instead, her stride frequency is pulled up to an extremely fast rhythm, which is a burst-type running style unique to short distances.

This running style places extremely high demands on the athlete's glutes and thigh muscles, requiring the ability to unleash tremendous power in a short period of time. Stardust Illusion also tried it this week, but was unable to sustain it for the time being.

As for the Queen of Miles, just look at her toned thighs and you'll know she can completely master this special stride!

At the very beginning of the race, among the five race girls besides the leading duo, Daiki Kara was the first to realize that they were trying to disrupt the race's rhythm by making a runaway.

While escapes are still rare in mile races and short-distance tracks, Big Tree Express has encountered many such opponents, and after only a brief moment of thought, she found the right tactics.

The "Great Escape" style of running, while disrupting the rhythm of others, doesn't fare much better for the runner themselves, also putting them under immense pressure in terms of endurance. However, faced with the terrifying distance created by a Great Escape runner, most runners feel apprehensive due to their passive position.

How much further can the opponents pull away? Will they not lose speed in the final moments and instead conserve their energy for a final sprint?

These numerous and complicated thoughts will force them to accelerate and catch up in advance, in order to prevent themselves from falling into the hell of failure before they even begin to exert their efforts.

But what is the truth?

Big Tree Express clearly understands that not only the participants in the mass exodus, but also the exodus participants themselves are filled with anxiety:

Will I lose speed? Can I hold on until the very end of the race? Will a strong female racehorse catch up with me?

The more you pressure the escapees, the more disorganized they become, which allows you to turn the tables and seize the opportunity for victory.

Therefore, the call to counterattack began from this moment.

Big Tree Express pursed her lips tightly. At this moment, in order to keep up with the back of the two escapees, she was expending the most stamina among all the contestants. Even Narita Shirahito or Megumi McQueen had been left behind by the three of them.

Under this unreasonable exploitation, the blood and muscles throughout his body had already begun to groan, and his bones had started to creak. Big Tree Express could clearly feel that he was about to reach his limit.

But she succeeded in the end!

He maintained a relaxed expression, a perfect posture that ensured the two people in front of him wouldn't notice any flaws, even if it required extra effort. He even had room to greet them.

The Big Tree Express successfully overcame all the pressure brought by this escape tactic and returned it all to the two people ahead.

Looking at the stardust illusion that had been affected by her words, she suddenly lowered her head.

The Tree Express stomped its feet on the grass with all its might, like a raging American longhorn bison, and sped towards the backs of the two people in front of it.

Now... let me fire this bullet named "Tree Express"—

—I will personally penetrate you completely!

Chapter 46 The Two Runners Who Were Sinked!

As the large tree-shaped express car rapidly caught up, the tightly furrowed brows of the people in the spectator area relaxed slightly.

"It seems that someone has indeed started to deal with this kind of escape tactic."

Her slightly biased attitude at this moment was not due to any prejudice against a particular racehorse girl. Rather, as the vice president of the student council, she always hoped that more promising talents beyond the imagination of ordinary people would emerge.

However, trainer Hikari Toyama is different.

This girl had caused a lot of trouble in the academy because of her extreme and unscrupulous behavior, especially her training method which had no scientific basis whatsoever: four times a day on the slope, which caused many of the racehorse girls who were originally under her command to apply to the student council for a unilateral transfer.

In fact, Kiss knew that Toyama Hikari didn't want to destroy her racehorse girls.

Although her training methods are outrageous, there are also acceptable types like Miura Bourbon or Stardust Illusion. However, her unconventional behavior is inherently incompatible with the serious and responsible vice president, Qisuo.

She simply couldn't imagine how much negative impact her ruthless methods would have caused if the team exchanging and learning with the French team were Toyama Hikaru's Team Draco.

"Big Tree Express is indeed an experienced runner. She knows that the biggest fear for the Great Escape is that her tactics will not work. So she is willing to sacrifice a lot of endurance to stick to the opponent's back. This puts a lot of pressure on Stardust Illusion and Meipu Bourbon, forcing them to make irrational choices."

Rudolf nodded symbolically, agreeing with the gas tank's statement.

"Now the four behind can hardly affect these three leading horses. The winner of the race will probably be decided among Miura Bourbon, Stardust Illusion and Great Tree Express... No, Miura Bourbon probably won't last until the end either, so the key to the victory or defeat lies with that person."

“Stardust Illusion, what choice will she make next?” Rudolf symbolically changed his assessment after confirming with his eyes that Miura Bourbon was almost exhausted.

"There's no hope left. We're about to enter the final three waves of the season, which is exactly where Big Tree Express excels."

The air tank also chimed in with its own opinion. It knew the information on every single racehorse girl in the academy inside and out, and immediately began reciting it as if it were a treasure trove of knowledge:

"His terrifying speed, hailed by the media as the Victory Shot, is comparable to that of your friend Maru Zenki back in the day. He is definitely the last of the top runners!"

In Uma Musume Pretty Derby, the burst speed of the last leg is generally calculated based on the duration of the last three waves.

Generally speaking, a runner with a time of around 34 seconds for the last three waves (the last 600 meters) and an average speed of 17.64 m/s is already considered a strong finisher among active racehorses.

For example, Stardust Illusion's last three waves in training are generally around 38 seconds, and she often achieves times of 40 seconds. Even if Higanbana Totoyama were to evaluate her, it would only be considered mediocre. It can only be attributed to the fact that she is a competitive runner, which is why her training results are so ordinary.

And what is the best duration for the Tree Express, the champion of the mile race?

The answer is 33.0 seconds, with an average speed of 18.18 m/s!

----------------------

huh, huh, huh...

It felt as if a flame had been ignited inside my chest, and every breath burned my lungs with pain. My hands and feet were also filled with an unbearable soreness.

Narita Shirahito felt that every step he took and waved was a double torment to his body and mind.

However, she still raced behind McQueen, finishing in 5th place on the track.

In the early stages of the match, her newly adjusted state was completely disrupted by this unreasonable escape tactic. After that, even if she reacted and chased after him, she still could not close the distance between herself and the figure in front of her.

My energy is almost completely depleted, and it will be difficult to finish the race.

As an active runner, Narita Shirahito accurately assessed his current poor physical condition.

But there was no one to blame but Narita Shirahito, who knew all too well that the only reason for this situation was that he had underestimated the two runners.

Miura Bourbon and Stardust Illusion.

From the very beginning, Narita Shirahito had focused her competitive attention on Daiki Express and Mejiro McQueen, but she was completely wrong. The seemingly unremarkable leading duo destroyed everyone's rhythm with their desperate escape.

From the very beginning, they had completely pushed the game into an abyss, and Narita Shirahito was the one who slid the deepest.

She paid such a heavy price for her arrogance that she even entertained thoughts she shouldn't have:

It's just that the other side fled in panic, so it's not a loss at all; it's just that I didn't expect it...

The moment that thought popped into his head, Narita Shirahito shook his head violently to dispel it.

However, her physical exhaustion was unavoidable; at this moment, she was almost completely drained and had lost all possibility of continuing the fight.

...No, it's not that the possibility of fighting has been lost!

Although she was nearly exhausted at this moment, Narita Shirahito was by no means completely without accomplishing anything.

The fact that she was so close to the two people in the vanguard—Meishi McQueen and Big Tree Express—showed that she was definitely not lagging behind in anything.

And now... is the perfect time for her to unleash her true nature as a racehorse girl!

Once she reaches the next straight line, once she reaches the next straight track—she can absolutely unleash her full speed and completely cut off the chance of victory for the four people in front of her.

Once I reach that position, my body will definitely be able to hold on, and then this hungry wolf will be the one to win the match—

【The Monster in the Shadows】Narita Shirohito!!!

--boom!

"what?!"

A violent stomping sound jolted Bai Ren out of her thoughts. She felt a chill run down her spine, and her muscles tensed up involuntarily.

Time seemed to slow down to its absolute limit in that instant as she scanned all her opponents, trying to pinpoint the source of this unease.

The match was now entering its second half, and all seven players were completely disoriented from their desperate escape. But at that moment, Narita Shirahito seemed to see a flash of gunfire before his eyes—

That is……

That was the scene of the big tree express car running third ahead of her, choosing to sprint and burst forth at this moment!

In an instant, the chaotic atmosphere in the entire arena was completely swept away by this attack. The Great Tree's speed was like a bullet fired from a gun barrel, accurately locking onto the backs of the two fleeing figures in front of it and shooting straight out.

Those powerful and firm steps, that unwavering and steady posture, that calm and composed smile on the corner of her mouth...

Incredible!

Narita Shirahito could hardly believe his eyes. His teammate, Daiki Kage, could actually use such flawless cornering skills at a time like this?!

She actually chose to start her sprint and pursuit here? Has her stamina not yet run out?!

This is a shot aimed at victory.

The shot was clearly aimed at the back of the Stardust Illusion in front of them, but both Narita Shirahito and Megumi McQueen felt as if they had been directly hit in the chest.