Before the bend exit, rainwater puddles churned into waves of mud beneath the pounding hooves.
Toho Lone Wolf and Tenka Yuiitsu's Victory Outfits and tails were almost intertwined, while the mud and Grass Clippings kicked up beneath their feet traced crisscrossing arcs through the air.
Their taut backs and powerful rear kicks made it abundantly clear that this contest was far from over.
Likewise, Lofty Ambition and Adroit Labyrinth were locked together in the Outer Lane. As Koushou Hayate searched for an opening, she "collided" with Clear Sky, who had caught up from behind.
Amid that chaotic expanse of dark brown, Kitasan Black's crimson eyes suddenly blazed with searing light.
Sweat and droplets of muddy water ran down her cheek, yet they did nothing to dull her sharp gaze as it fixed upon an opening.
The instincts honed through Chase Training awakened at that moment. As the vortex of competition ahead and the bend exit revealed a fleeting gap, she captured it with precision.
Now...!
As she cried out inwardly, every muscle in her body tensed in an instant. She abruptly switched her sprinting foot, her body tilting toward the Inner Lane at an astonishing angle.
Mud exploded beneath her feet like a cloud of brown smoke covering her breakout.
Shielded by that cloud, she shot through the fleeting gap on the Inner Lane in an almost right-angled zigzag, like an arrow that had long been drawn and ready to fly.
Her sudden change in direction instantly opened up an empty strip in the previously chaotic, fierce race.
Toho Lone Wolf, the closest to her, turned her head in shock, only to glimpse a streak of black gold trailing an afterimage.
Mud and Grass Clippings splashed beside her widened eyes, obscuring the figure rapidly pulling away.
"Kitasan Black! She... she's