Pegasus? I'm actually a doctor!

Even Sato no Diamond was shining with excitement, utterly astonished.

The only racehorse girl in Japanese Derby history to carry a bow and arrow onto the track has arrived.

Platinum leisurely locked onto her outside gate. She strolled forward, letting the raindrops soak her fair skin, only enhancing her otherworldly beauty.

In the raging storm, she was like an assassin walking the city streets! Strolling casually through the dangerous center!

In many people's eyes, the current Platinum is probably...

[Teenage, just debuted, afraid of heavy tracks?]

Heavenly Horse smiled slightly, murmuring softly.

"...It's just a little rain."

55. Heavenly Horse Platinum's Hunt! The Derby Championship, as Always!

"It's raining."

Heavenly Horse uttered in an extremely calm tone, then walked into her gate.

This is... Gate 18.

An easy-to-understand, visually obvious super-outside gate!

If it were a European or American race with exorbitant entry fees, there would only be a handful of participating racehorse girls, so even an outside gate wouldn't have much impact.

But Japan is different, especially this Japanese Derby with as many as twenty participating racehorse girls!

Such an outside gate could almost crush any racehorse girl who specializes in leading and escaping.

But Platinum didn't care about the poor gate. A true powerhouse should master more than one running style and shouldn't have their victory or defeat manipulated by a random gate position!

Soon after, all the racehorse girls gradually entered their respective gates.

Platinum's opponents that she paid slightly more attention to, namely Jungle Pocket and Black Ship, were both in single-digit gates, closer to the inner track.

And the gates were gradually closing, one by one.

No one noticed that the blank quiver carried by the silver-white Heavenly Horse was gradually changing.

For every racehorse girl who entered a gate, an additional arrow appeared behind her.

When all the racehorse girls had entered the arena, except for the one corresponding to Platinum herself, there were as many as nineteen arrows in the quiver!

(Alright, time to get ready to see the "skin effects"!)

[Second favorite, Jungle Pocket, enters the gate!]

[Once considered the "second strongest" racehorse girl, a monster who once threatened Agnes Tachyon, will she be able to shake the unfavorably gated Heavenly Horse on the heavy track?]

[Third favorite is Black Ship, a genius racehorse girl who came all the way from America!]

[Using Black Ship as her racehorse girl name, she clearly hopes that she can change the times and drive the trend like the historical Black Ship Incident!]

[Come on, this world-renowned Japanese Derby... Who will be the ultimate winner?!]

[Countdown, it's coming!!]

At the same time, the commentator's voice spread throughout the huge stadium, announcing the arrival of the countdown.

The entire audience was immediately filled with anticipation and cheers, with the voices of the top three racehorse girls being the loudest.

[10!]

[9!]

[8!]

The numbers gradually began to decrease.

Even Jungle Pocket, who was in Gate 8, couldn't help but tremble slightly, completely excited.

She glanced at the outside one last time, looking at Black Ship in Gate 3, and Platinum in Gate 18, which was very far away.

(Black Ship is a monster from America, and she may not be able to adapt to the 2400-meter race, let alone the Japanese Derby on a heavy track.)

(As for Platinum... this monster who can look back at the moon and win by a large margin can never be easily defeated by a mere heavy track.)

(So, my real opponent must be this Heavenly Horse. I must not relax my vigilance just because she's in the outermost gate!)

Having already lost once in the Satsuki Sho, Jungle Pocket was filled with the desire to avenge Agnes Tachyon, preparing to break out of the gate.

That long-suppressed anger was about to be completely vented in this Japanese Derby! It would not be extinguished by this heavy rain!

(If I can't defeat Tachyon, then I'll defeat Platinum. She'll be a good substitute!)

[3!]

[2!]

The liver-chestnut racehorse girl Jungle Pocket became completely serious.

[1!]

In the next moment, she reacted extremely quickly, rushing out of the gate in one fell swoop.

Without the slightest hesitation, without a moment's delay, living up to her name as a genius.

It's worth noting that Jungle Pocket isn't moving towards the inner track at all!

In most situations, except for racehorses on the far outside who struggle to cut in, the regular racehorses will inevitably try to squeeze onto the inner track as soon as possible.

But right now, it's an extremely unusual situation. From Jungle Pocket to the other racehorses around her, and even Black Ship, who started from gate three and is very close to the inner track, none of them are vying for the inside!

The inner track offers a considerable advantage when turning, allowing for a faster pace. This is why many racehorses are willing to risk being boxed in and having their path blocked by others, just to stick close to the inside.

But on this heavy track, everything is completely different.

Raindrops will eventually gather on the innermost part of the track, making the inner track the muddiest and most difficult area to navigate, putting the greatest strain on strength.

Trading a slightly faster turn for a muddy track that tests strength and drains stamina is a bad deal no matter how you look at it.

Only a racehorse with immense strength, capable of completely mastering the muddy sections of the heavy track's inner lane, and with stamina that far exceeds that level, would consider taking the inner track.

Obviously, those conditions are too demanding, so neither Jungle Pocket nor Black Ship chose to occupy the inner track.

After only a short while, Jungle Pocket easily secured the position she wanted, slightly ahead of the mid-pack and a little behind the leading group.

(Good, this position... is excellent!)

She can switch to either group at any time by choosing to accelerate or slow down slightly, but Jungle Pocket doesn't seem to be immediately committing to a particular running style.

Is this indecisiveness?

Is she hesitating about which running style to adopt because of the heavy track?

No, Jungle Pocket is not a weak herbivore. On the contrary, she is a fierce beast through and through, the type that latches onto its prey and never lets go!

(Come on, Platinum! Let me see your choice!)

(Are you going to accelerate to the lead from the outside, just like you used to...)

(Or will you lurk in the middle of the pack, waiting for your chance as a late-running closer?)

Jungle Pocket is waiting for Platinum to make her move. She will change her tactics based on Platinum's running style!

In the stands!

"Eh, is no one going for the inner track?"

Kitasan Black widened her eyes, watching the race just after the start.

"Miss Jungle Pocket, is she neither leading nor closing?"

Sato no Diamond pondered the information she had on this favorite to win, also slightly puzzled.

"Isn't she best at running mid-pack?"

"Could it be that she's considering switching her running style because of the heavy track?"

The next moment, a clear and cheerful female voice rang out around the two young fillies.

"That's not it. She's... targeting Platinum."

"What a ruthless little filly. That desire to win is terrifyingly intense."

Sato no Diamond and Kitasan Black immediately turned their heads in the direction of the voice and saw a stylish girl wearing a small top hat and sunglasses in the row behind them.

The two young horse girls were instantly stunned when the stylish girl took off her sunglasses and revealed her true face.

"Miss Chimei Representative?!"

"The legendary Miss CB?!"

Chimei Representative, one of the most outstanding Triple Crown racehorses in Japanese history, whose popularity once topped the charts in Japan!

Unfortunately, the year after she achieved the Triple Crown, an undefeated Triple Crown racehorse who surpassed ordinary Triple Crown winners was born... Emperor Symbol of Rudolf!

Plagued by injuries, Chimei Representative was repeatedly defeated in their duels, thus establishing Symboli Rudolf's supreme, all-time greatest title.

But no one would ever question that Chimei Representative was too weak; rather, she was just unlucky to have encountered the strongest racehorse in nearly a century in Japan.

After retiring, Chimei Representative did not become a student council member and manage the academy like Symboli Rudolf. This Triple Crown racehorse, who pursued freedom in both her running style and personality, chose to travel around Japan and even abroad!

Who would have thought that this Triple Crown racehorse would temporarily return to watch the race?

"Miss Chimei Representative, what do you mean by 'targeting Platinum'?"

The current Sato no Diamond still prefers and admires Heavenly Horse Platinum, who is attempting the so-called impossible Triple Crown of Transformation, more than this retired Triple Crown senior!

Therefore, when it came to the tense topic involving her idol Platinum, Sato no Diamond immediately pressed for an explanation.

Chimei Representative smiled calmly, stretched her delicate body slightly, and then replied.

"Platinum has previously used a strategy of constantly accelerating from an outside gate to take the lead."

"Jungle Pocket, positioned in the middle of the pack, is waiting for Platinum's leading strategy."

"If she does, then she can start accelerating slightly to block Platinum's diagonal acceleration, forcing her to completely exhaust her stamina and start her full effort early, or cut off Platinum's intention to lead."

Diagonal movement is not allowed to affect the surrounding racehorses. So, as soon as Jungle Pocket sees Platinum gradually speeding up, she will start accelerating, which will limit Platinum's position!

In order to avoid the rule of diagonal movement obstructing opponents and thus reducing their ranking, Platinum will then have to choose to accelerate early on the outside track and move far away from Jungle Pocket before cutting to the midfield!

"Jungle Pocket, lying in wait like a predator, trying to bite the prey's throat in one fell swoop, is truly a ferocious beast, waiting for Platinum to make her choice!"

"Either her rhythm will be completely disrupted, forcing her to accelerate early on the outside, or she'll obediently stay in the mid-pack, switching to a running style she's never used before."

"I'm curious, what will Platinum choose?"

Chimei Representative said, and at the end, she couldn't help but gaze at the silver-white figure on the far outside.

Every mistake and choice on this heavy track will be infinitely magnified by the heavy, muddy ground.

Therefore, if Platinum accelerates early and disrupts her own rhythm... that would be bad, as she'll face the possibility of losing speed.

As for the other option, staying behind on a heavy track might not be a good choice.

The grass on the heavy track is no longer firm. The soft turf trampled by the front runners and pace-setting racehorses will become uneven, and less experienced racehorses will be affected to some extent.

Therefore, staying behind will severely test Platinum's adaptability and experience. A slight miscalculation could lead to accelerating too late or too early.

So, the quick-witted and decisive Jungle Pocket is waiting for that Heavenly Horse to make her choice, not allowing Platinum to replicate her previous running style of accelerating diagonally to the lead from the far outside!

That astonishing desire to win and determination at all costs are worthy of a monster that can threaten Agnes Tachyon.

Hearing this, Sato no Diamond and Kitasan Black felt their hearts leap into their throats.

"This... this is the so-called bloodiest Japanese Derby?"

"It's too cruel, too terrifying!"

At this moment, dark clouds filled the high sky, announcing that a downpour was sealing off the entire city.

On that muddy, heavy grass, several racehorses were already feeling strained, their strength insufficient to adapt.