After the third turn!
"[Armor—on]!"
In the next instant, the golden-haired maiden knight shining at the very front had her white coat transform into a set of gleaming knight's armor, its cold steel brilliantly colored under the blazing high sun.
And behind Nearl, under the glow of her risen luminous wings, her aura soared to the pinnacle of all Uma Musume as her domain unfolded. She had become like a dazzling sun too brilliant to behold!
Even more… she was like an invincible golden Pegasus, overwhelmingly powerful!
Flightline, who had been pushing with all her might, burning everything in a desperate front-running dash, was effortlessly caught up by Nearl's serious acceleration, bringing her right to Flightline's side.
In an instant, the two Uma Musume were running neck and neck!
This scene was immediately captured in a close-up by the quick-reacting broadcast team.
The screen showed Nearl's golden long hair and cape flowing wildly, snapping in the wind, as she stood opposed to Flightline right beside her, poised for a direct, face-to-face showdown!
A one-on-one duel was about to erupt!
[Cause right before the sunrise]
[I can see the fear in your eyes]
[You thought I'd disappear for good now]
As the music continued!
In the same close-up shot, the sweat dripping down Flightline's forehead was clearly visible!
[Pegasus Nearl, with her luminous wings deployed, has finally unleashed her signature domain and begun her flight!]
[Flightline, who broke convention by setting a blistering pace from the start, has not only failed to shake off Nearl but has been completely caught up to instead!]
[Two monsters, both renowned for their exceptional power, explosiveness, speed, and stamina in every aspect—are they really about to enter their final life-and-death struggle right after the third turn, just before the final stretch? Who will emerge victorious?!]
[No! It's not just them! The Giant Killer from behind, Prove Out, has also activated her final sprint acceleration, straining to close the gap opened by the two front-running Uma Musume.]
[Nearl VS Flightline VS Prove Out! Is a three-way battle for supremacy about to begin?!]
As the commentator's voice, now completely boiling over with peak excitement, faded, the stadium's unprecedentedly fervent cheers and support reached their zenith.
Countless spectators in the stands and in front of televisions—a number potentially breaking all previous viewing records—from this moment on, watched the final stage of the race with tense, rapt attention, afraid of missing a single detail.
"So… so fast! Truly a clash between legendary Uma Musume."
"It was worth coming!"
"Just being able to witness such an intense and thrilling race makes the ticket price worth it, even if I die!"
"Go Nearl!! Go Nearl!! Go Nearl!!"
Simultaneously, this also signaled that this super race destined to go down in history had entered its final, most intense showdown moment ahead of schedule!
--+--
Third turn, third position.
Prove Out, hailed by countless onlookers as the [Killer] or [Super Dark Horse], was already giving her all!
The aura around this killer maiden, who originally didn't stand out much, was continuously rising, transforming into a formidable domain.
--+--
[(Giant Killer): Does not trigger when the user is the strongest in the race. Targets the strongest Uma Musume in the race, slightly draining their stamina and explosiveness, and slightly reducing the pressure from their aura.]
[(God-Slayer): Locks onto one Uma Musume. The greater the distance gap between them…]
[(Fighting Spirit Awakening): …]
[(Hour of the Hunt): …]
--+--
This keen-nosed, ruthless killer lady excelled at marking and hunting her opponents! And in Prove Out's view, if she didn't accelerate now, she would have no chance of overtaking.
Her powerful legs pounded heavily against the ground, her exquisitely beautiful face gradually contorting fiercely under the strain of her full exertion.
"So strong. Both Nearl and Flightline are far more powerful than I imagined."
"That's exactly what makes them worth it. I want to shine just like them!!"
The supreme domain within her ignited with a blazing, competitive flame.
Driven solely by the desire to fully display her own excellence, to catch up to and even surpass those two figures and complete the hunt, this hall-of-fame killer unleashed her full power without reservation.
Without a doubt, [Dark Horse] was a compliment, a rare and special term of praise.
But if… a popular, world-renowned Uma Musume like the Pegasus Platinum or The Radiant Knight Nearl were to win, even if they were praised with a hundred, a thousand, even ten thousand different laudatory terms, "Dark Horse" would definitely not be among them!
To some extent, this was an evaluation only given to Uma Musume with low popularity, not expected to win by the outside world.
Given the choice, who would want to be a dark horse instead of a superstar?!
But even though Prove Out's performance was highly unstable—reaching levels that could surpass even ordinary historical-grade Uma Musume when facing extremely strong opponents, yet sometimes barely maintaining world-class level against weaker competition—her ability to meet external expectations was low.
Just as fans might start to like her, she'd lose in the next mere G2 race. That was why her popularity never really took off.
But… in Prove Out's view, as long as she created enough iconic moments and defeated enough hall-of-fame Uma Musume, it didn't matter if her losses far outnumbered her wins.
She could still carve her name into the history books!
That's why, in this race, she had to fight with everything she had for victory!
In an instant, Prove Out's speed reached its absolute peak—almost matching the speed of top-tier Uma Musume sprinting in the final stretch of a conventional major race!
She had to run alongside the two legends at the very front!
'Huff… I must catch up to them! I can't have come all this way for nothing.'
'I've even defeated the likes of Riva Ridge and Secretariat's sister. The possibility of surpassing Nearl and Flightline can't be 0%!!'
Driven by this immense determination, Prove Out, launching her peak charge at full power, began to pull away from the pack behind her. It seemed she could finally start closing in on the two front-running figures!
--+--
In the stands.
The Big Red Monster in the front row cast a cool glance towards the third-place runner, behind the two front-runners.
Prove Out! The one who had once defeated her when she was off-form, only to be utterly surpassed and defeated by a refocused, abstinent Secretariat later.
"This one truly excels tremendously in terms of [Domain]."
Secretariat wasn't so arrogant as to completely ignore all other Uma Musume.
So besides studying The Radiant Knight Nearl, she had also watched races of Flightline and Prove Out.
"I suspect her power increases based on the average strength of the field, or the presence of stronger Uma Musume?"
"But… Nearl isn't that simple."
"Hiding behind and making a move later… trying to surpass front-runners of that caliber is hardly a wise choice."
From the perspective of the outside spectators, launching her final sprint acceleration as early as the third turn might seem too hasty, too rushed for Prove Out.
But in Secretariat's view… it was already somewhat late!
Could an assassin, a killer, accomplish what even the Armorless Union struggled to do—take down a Pegasus knight of House Nearl?
--+--
[At the very front, it's truly unbelievable!]
[Flightline, who rarely engages in such a reckless front-running dash, has been locked in a one-on-one duel with Nearl nearby for over half the race now.]
[They are already nearly halfway through the section after the third turn, not far from the final stretch.]
[And Prove Out, in third place behind them, even after activating her domain and starting her final sprint… has barely closed the gap?]
[Thirteen lengths! Twelve lengths! Eleven lengths! The killer, giving her all, is finally closing in to within a 'large margin'.]
[But—it's still far from enough?! It's not that she's too slow, but those two legendary front-runners are just frighteningly fast!!]
As the commentator's exclamation rang out.
Prove Out, gritting her silver teeth, widened her eyes.
This killer lady could faintly sense that even using nearly all her strength, she could only slowly reduce the margin. Forget overtaking, even drawing level seemed nearly impossible??
Her legs were already taut.
Her entire body was drenched in far more than just sweat.
But it wasn't enough. Just like this… before two legends like Flightline and The Radiant Knight Nearl, she could barely offer resistance.
Prove Out's gritted teeth and desperately racing feet finally reached their limit. She could only maintain her current speed, unable to produce any more effective acceleration!
[Prove Out's charge has stabilized. It's not that she's slow, but rather that Nearl is just too fast!]
[The super favorite, the legendary Radiant Knight, and Flightline are about to reach the final stretch!]
[It's a contest of grit, a death duel between legends. Who will be the final victor?!!]
--+--
On the eve of the final stretch!
The fourth turn!
The golden-haired maiden knight was like a golden thunderbolt… no! More accurately, she had become a storm, sweeping forward with immense force!
The shining luminous wings on her back and the cape snapping loudly in the extreme speed captivated the gaze of tens of thousands of spectator fans in the stadium.
Nearl's fighting spirit was thoroughly ignited.
A unique brilliance sparkled in the orange eyes of the golden-haired maiden knight.
Since her debut, this was the most excellent opponent she had ever faced. Truly worthy of being recognized as a legend by the outside world. In terms of talent and potential, perhaps few in the history of dirt racing could compare.
Therefore… only by fighting seriously could she show the greatest respect to Flightline, and give this extremely rare race and powerful rival the regard they deserved.
To that end, whether in attitude, in running, in her Pegasus form, or in her domain, The Radiant Knight would showcase her most radiant self!
--+--
[(Unbrilliant Glory): …]
[(Nod of the Blazing Sun): …]
[(Supreme Art): …]
[(Twilight): …]
--+--
In an instant, an unprecedented radiance burst forth from the golden form of the maiden knight Nearl—an ultimate, overwhelming aura!
Forged from nothing but effort and sweat!
Even though she had already activated her domain skill earlier!
Now, Nearl activated several new, distinctly different, and intensely powerful skills. As a Great Escapee, she completely overturned conventional wisdom.
As a Great Escapee Uma Musume… being able to unleash an accelerating [final sprint] in the homestretch—what a breathtaking sight!
And… this was happening just before the final stretch, after she and another legendary Uma Musume, Flightline, had set a brutally fast pace that left some in the rear pack struggling to the point of near-deceleration, almost losing their closing speed!
Yet Nearl, one of the architects of this pace, was displaying an even more astonishing final sprint acceleration than the chasing pack behind her.
With this, she finally left the literary-girl type who was stubbornly clinging on at her side, pulling away majestically and alone towards the very front!
[Acceleration! The entire field is starting their final acceleration! But Flightline, who pushed the pace so hard she seemingly can't use her final sprint, has already opened a significant gap on the main pack behind.]
[However, the greatest crisis! The final answer! Isn't in the pack!]
[Right beside her, the Pegasus with luminous wings has reached the final stretch first and begun a visibly clear acceleration!]
[A front-runner surpassing a front-runner! After maintaining a pace faster than a conventional front-runner's, she can still display a final sprint? Just what kind of monster is Nearl?!]
[In just an instant, Nearl overtook Flightline and raced alone towards the finish line at the very front. Can anyone possibly catch her now?]
The commentator's declaration, the stands' eruption!
Everything, without exception, proclaimed that this race had reached its final moment.
--+--
On the final stretch.
The figure of the golden-haired maiden knight had moved from Flightline's side to a position ahead of her.
The luminous wings, previously only seen in glimpses, could now be clearly seen in their full glory.
But given the choice… Flightline wouldn't want to see even a glimpse, let alone the full view from behind!
The front-running Flightline, her pupils suddenly constricting at some point, roared the name of her opponent in a low, unwilling snarl within her heart.
"Nearl!!!!"
She was running so fast it was like flying! She possessed inherently superior explosiveness! She was the senior Uma Musume who had debuted earlier!
Yet, the one who had slightly taken the lead, securing the sole top spot a distance before the finish line, was… The Radiant Knight, the Pegasus Nearl!!
Could it be? Was the flight that cut through the sky… about to crash here?
"Absolutely not!"
The sweat-drenched, utterly unwilling Flightline gathered her focus once more. With the most powerful strides her legs had ever mustered, she pounded the dirt track, straining to chase the figure ahead, trying to erase the still relatively small gap.
But right in the next moment—
It was like dominoes falling. After that mere half-length gap, which Flightline wouldn't usually fret over, was born, the difference began to widen!
Then, step by step, Nearl expanded her lead to one length, two lengths… and it kept growing!
Three lengths!
The margin was expanding dramatically.
In other words, Nearl still had stamina left, still possessed a final sprint. Even as a front-runner, she could still perform a flying dance!!
Four lengths!
Five lengths!
The margin effortlessly reached a 'Daiwa Scarlet' level of dominance.
Nearl's overwhelmingly powerful final sprint—how could she still command such a fearsome kick after setting such a blistering pace from the front?
'This…?!'
Flightline, left trailing behind, could only watch helplessly as the gap grew larger and larger. Her gaze fell upon Nearl's cape, fluttering incessantly from the intense speed, and those dazzlingly bright luminous wings, plunging her into profound silence.
The seemingly catchable gap had long since become insurmountably distant. Was she really competing against a [Legend]?
A thought suddenly struck Flightline…
'Am I really… racing against an "Uma Musume"?'
'It's like… competing against a goddess!'
--+--
The soaring shouts and cheers from the countless spectators in the stadium reached a fever pitch.
Seven lengths!
Eight lengths!
Nine lengths!
The margin continued to expand seemingly without limit. Even the so-called Giant Killer, Prove Out, could only close in on Flightline's position.
But facing the foremost Nearl, she felt utterly powerless, only able to watch from afar!
An endless wave of boiling excitement erupted from the sea of people in the stands.
Without a doubt, this would become a famous race in American, even world, history. With a field consisting entirely of renowned top-tier Uma Musume, only one queen would be crowned!
The stadium's roaring cheers proclaimed that one Uma Musume had created an immense advantage and was about to reach the final finish line!
[Finally—!!!]
A Golden Pegasus Knight, vast, brilliant, and dazzling, her cape snapping sharply behind her, crossed the finish line first with a visibly enormous lead!
[Rejoice! The first to cross the line, bathed in the glory of defeating a dirt legend, becoming a legend herself is… Margaret Nearl!!]
[Nearl wins by a massive eleven-length margin!!!]
[It's as if she transcended the realm of legend, like… the Three Goddesses themselves were running!]
[Tell me! What should you call a legend who defeats another legend?!]
The title of the strongest, rightfully earned!
Here and now, claimed by Nearl!
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
There should be... around 70+ advanced chapters?
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.