Pegasus? Actually, I'm a doctor!

The girl Uma Musume named Kyoei March had taken the lead, maintaining her position at the front as an Escape Horse.

She was a standout in the Fillies' Triple Crown races, widely recognized as one of the few strong contenders who could rival Mejiro Dober.

Her explosive power was also exceptional, but her stamina wasn't strong. She lacked the confidence to maintain her final sprint and overtake on the rather long straight.

"I hope I can build up enough of a lead and not slow down!"

"There's still a chance, right?"

Kyoei March, who lacked the stamina to sustain a Great Escape, didn't notice the Follower group not far behind her...

A commotion erupted precisely because of a swift figure that had burst onto the scene!

The Heavenly Horse from behind was accelerating, reaching the sides of the leading Uma Musume group before even the halfway point of the race!

And without any hesitation or lingering, she overtook and pulled away from them one by one!

A storm, formed by the terrifying gallop of the Heavenly Horse Platinum, gradually swept across the vast racecourse.

"Oyster!!!"

"No, isn't Platinum a Mid-runner? Why is she going at the same speed as an Escape Horse?"

"When do you ever see someone change their racing style mid-race..."

"2400 meters, accelerating this early in such a long race?"

"We can't be reckless like this monster. Let's just maintain our speed and wait for her to slow down later."

Some Uma Musume were startled, while others remained calm and composed. Some even felt a surge of joy, happy to witness this scene unfold.

After all, the vast majority of Uma Musume who chose to challenge the Fillies' Triple Crown had insufficient stamina to begin with...

In their understanding, if they had excellent stamina, they would have competed in the Classic Triple Crown instead. Uma Musume who challenged the Fillies' Triple Crown were mostly known for their explosive power, with slightly lacking stamina.

With Agnes Tachyon almost retiring due to injury and withdrawing from the Japanese Derby, Platinum chose to compete in the Oaks instead of the Japanese Derby!

In the eyes of the public and even these participating Uma Musume, Platinum's stamina was definitely not outstanding!

Otherwise, why wouldn't Platinum, who had also entered the Japanese Derby, give up the Oaks and focus on preparing for the Japanese Derby?

Meanwhile, from the middle pack, Mejiro Dober, living up to her reputation as a distinguished honor student, gradually secured a more advantageous position with her keen judgment and surge.

Next, she just needed to wait for the right moment to unleash her power and accelerate.

Mejiro Dober's gaze fell upon Platinum, and a flicker of unexpected emotion flashed in her eyes.

Her surge... is still gradually increasing?

Wait a minute, Platinum's target wasn't the Follower Uma Musume, but the Escape Horse Uma Musume? Is she not going to stop until she takes first place?

Gazing at the silver-white figure, Mejiro Dober felt a slight sense of going beyond her calculations.

She didn't know if it was just her imagination!

Logically speaking, even with Platinum's exceptional talent, her Formalization should have only just begun!

Even if she was precocious and had excellent stamina...

The longest race she had challenged before this was only 2000 meters, she lacked race experience, and she had only rested for a mere two weeks!

Did she really have the confidence to continue galloping like this?

The Escape Horse Kyoei March at the very front... was she about to be overtaken by the Heavenly Horse before the third corner?!

But Mejiro Dober remained calm, her gaze fixed on Kyoei March's leading figure.

But Platinum... she's going to miscalculate!

Kyoei March, whose Formalization is completely finished, has fully mastered her Aura and can now use her skills!

A numerical monster, facing a mechanical monster, will have to concede defeat, right?!

Even if it's nowhere near the Domain level, for a young horse whose Formalization has only just begun, it's an overwhelming advantage.

It's time to teach this Heavenly Horse a lesson!

40. This Heavenly Horse is Super Strong But Overly Cautious

At the very front!

Kyoei March, who had taken a slight lead with the Escape Horse racing style, saw something unbelievable in the next moment.

In her peripheral vision, she saw a shining, petite silver-white figure rapidly approaching her!

When an Escape Horse can see other Uma Musume in their peripheral vision, there are only two possibilities.

The first is that the lead is extremely slim, with the Follower Uma Musume right on their heels.

The second is that there are other Escape Horse Uma Musume on the track, allowing her to see her "peers" beside her.

But it was clear that Heavenly Horse Platinum was neither a Follower Uma Musume nor an Escape Horse Uma Musume!

H-how is this possible?!

Didn't this little Heavenly Horse take the inside lane in the middle pack and wait for her chance as a Mid-runner?

(What's going on? Did it turn into an Escape Horse like last time?)

After the initial start, Kyoei March felt a surge of joy when she noticed Platinum occupying the inside lane and gradually being closed in on by other Mid-runner Uma Musume.

This meant no one would obstruct her Escape Horse racing style, and the Platinum and Mejiro Dober behind her might start their heated duel early.

In any case, as an Escape Horse, she should have been able to maintain her advantage and stay in first place until the final sprint straight.

Why so fast! Shouldn't the Mid-runner Uma Musume be gathered in one pack?

Astonished, Kyoei March realized she had very little time to hesitate. With Platinum's terrifying momentum... it wouldn't take long for her to catch up and even overtake her leading position.

She had to make a decision quickly!

She could either choose to accelerate early to prevent that little Heavenly Horse from surpassing her and engage in a direct confrontation...

Or she could yield the leading position and let Platinum continue to dash forward, perhaps replicating the Grand Prix race Platinum had won last time!

She had managed to lead from the outside on a 2000-meter Grand Prix race all the way to the finish line without any signs of slowing down!

(I observed her races. After winning the Great Escape, Platinum didn't show any signs of exhaustion or collapse after the race...)

(Although I hate to admit it, a monster that can overcome a 2000-meter Great Escape so easily must have more stamina than me, her senior!!)

(With my already poor stamina, once she overtakes me, there's no way I can catch up.)

After making her judgment, Kyoei March immediately made her only choice... which was to not back down, and not yield the view ahead or the first place to Miss Heavenly Horse beside her.

"Then come on!"

"Although as a senior, my stamina is inferior to my junior's..."

"But in terms of Aura, this is definitely the senior's home ground, so get a good look, Platinum!!"

"This is something only a king aiming for the Classic races, a favorite to win, can possess!"

The next moment, an astonishing Aura erupted from Kyoei March.

It was an Aura that only Classic year Uma Musume who had completed Formalization, or at least a large part of it, could possess.

Even though the current Platinum was participating in a Classic race, she would never be considered a Classic year Uma Musume; she was too young!

In such a short time, her Formalization had probably just begun, and she probably barely understood what Aura was.

And this... was one of the reasons Kyoei March was participating despite her insufficient stamina.

In Kyoei March's judgment, among the nearly twenty or so competitors, only she and Mejiro Dober could be strong enough to control Aura.

Even a genius like Platinum didn't have much racing experience.

"Platinum, you are the challenger!!"

With her decision made, Kyoei March's Aura covered half the track the next moment, forming a certain degree of dominance.

Uma Musume within that range would feel a suppressive force, like heavy shackles attached to their ankles!

This was the suppression brought by a powerful Aura, temporarily dominating the track and causing most of the Uma Musume behind her to show surprised expressions and slow their steps slightly.

[Quick Dash: Slightly accelerate forward in the middle of the race]

[Sleeping Lion: Makes leg strength less prone to fatigue in the middle of the race, slightly reducing stamina consumption.]

[Game Over!: When closely followed by Uma Musume behind, speed slightly increases]

[Unbending Spirit: Boosts fighting spirit and resolves to fight to the finish!]

Not only that, but Kyoei March's already fast figure also showed a swift acceleration the next moment!

And every move she made was observed by the silver-white figure not far behind.

Miss Assassin had locked onto the strong enemy ahead of her, and none of her actions were missed.

(The ones to watch out for in this race should be this Escape Horse, and Mejiro Dober behind her.)

(Wait a minute, why is her Aura so weak?)

Platinum felt the Aura from Kyoei March, the pre-race recognized favorite, and couldn't help but become vigilant.

She was already being chased to within less than a horse's length, with an extremely weak gap. Logically, an Escape Horse wouldn't easily give up the leading position. Why did the Aura she was using seem a bit weak?

(Or perhaps... the Escape Horse is very cunning, and she's showing weakness to lure the enemy?)

A few months ago, before she had transformed and while she was still in America.

At that time, the "Black-hearted Doctor" was carrying out a "long-term plan to catch a big fish" and had courted many obscure young foals in America.

Among those foals, Secretariat, Route, Dahlia, Bully, and the others were not even in their debut stages, let alone in their Classic or Newcomer years.

In the internal training races they held, each of them could use Aura, and the duration was very long.

At that time, the Black-hearted Doctor, who hadn't transformed yet and wasn't an Uma Musume, couldn't feel Aura, let alone distinguish between strong and weak.

Since even the "fodder" could do it, this must be the common [basic] thing, right?

And Big Red, who had the most terrifying Aura, had to challenge her debut race twice before she could debut. From this, it could be seen that this was not something precious.

Moreover, with her Formalization progress at only [5%] before, she could already control Aura at will, and she was far from reaching the limit of Formalization.

Therefore, the Aura suppression from Kyoei March left Platinum confused.

Even before I unleashed my Aura, I wasn't affected much by the suppression. She's a powerhouse from the Fillies' Triple Crown, so why is this suppression so weak?

Something's wrong!

(I can't let my guard down!)

(If I lose, I won't get the high prize money. This must be a feint.)

The cool assassin lady, her eyes sharp as lightning flashes, made a judgment based on her own understanding and perspective. This is a cunning and formidable enemy!

This Heavenly Horse is incredibly strong, yet excessively cautious!

(Is she trying to slow down the race pace?)

(Or is she waiting for me to take the lead, then unleash her true power and Aura from behind at the last moment to overtake me?)

Whichever it is...

One decisive burst, and there will be no problem!

No longer hesitating, the Heavenly Horse decided to accelerate and finally began to unleash her Aura.

In the very next moment, in the eyes of the Uma Musume—

The Aura that had originally covered half the track, coming from Kyoei March, was suddenly engulfed by a pitch-black darkness, like a city under siege by storm clouds, and it instantly spread across the entire track!!

It was as if, amidst the dark, deep ruins, a silver-white assassin capable of hunting anything stood tall!

"Gulp... What, what a terrifying Aura!"

"Oyster! I can't run at all. My stamina is draining too quickly. If this keeps up, I'm really going to lose speed!"

"No, with an Aura of this intensity, why didn't she participate in the Japanese Derby? Is she picking on us here?"