Volume Two: Life and Death at Speed in the Northern Realm - Race Segment Champion (Part 2)
"That's an absolutely reckless driving style! Ferruggio Silver Wolf took to the air and cut directly between Abidar and Noxar, creating a three-way standoff! The three cars are now extremely close together, with Noxar Team slightly in the lead, Abidar trailing by half a car's length, Ferruggio trailing by almost half a car's length!"
The commentator in the sky was so excited he was incoherent; such a spectacular scene was truly rare!
"However, with less than a kilometer to Arkham Town, who will emerge victorious? Let's wait and see! The draw for 'Which of the three teams will be first' is about to begin, so please participate enthusiastically in the final minute!"
At the very front of the queue, three race cars—red and yellow, silver and gray, and snow-white—speeded wildly, leaving the main force far behind. One raced Light Path, another was propelled by unseen fluctuations, and a third trailed a long tongue of fire; they were locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle!
The Arkham Town was just a few hundred meters away, and the black and white finish line and thousands of cheering fans could be seen in the distance. The residents of Arkham had been waiting outside the town since early morning to witness the stage winner.
The road was perfectly flat, with no side roads or forks; it was a straight sprint. Now it was all about pure speed!
"Spray again!!!"
With a powerful burst of Jet Point, Sirius, already maintaining a speed of over 300 Sirius, accelerated again, attempting to completely overtake Freya and the Earthwalker. Despite being on flat ground, the vehicle began to tremble slightly, and the various parts inside emitted faint groans!
"We can't speed it up any further, sister! Sirius won't be able to hold on!"
"I can do it! The key is, I absolutely cannot lose to that guy!!!"
Freya--
"Hey, hey, hey, is that girl crazy? She's going to speed up? Does she think she's driving a race car?"
"I can't understand it."
"Strange... something seems off between her and the Noxar Team? Do you think it's Amy... Amy?"
Accelerate!
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, you just finished talking about her and now you're speeding up too! Are you stupid? Freya's going to cry!"
"No way! No way! How could I lose to that idiot Ally in the very first stage?!"
Are you a three-year-old?!
"Calm down, Amy! We've already found the scoring points first, and we're way ahead of them! Stage champions are just empty titles!"
"So you want me to just give up? No way! Ally... Ally is my lifelong rival! I've already made up my mind that when it comes to competing against her, I will always give it my all!"
Inside the Earthwalker--
"Tsk! Is Ferruggio's little girl on some kind of adrenaline rush? Why is she working so hard?" Lewis smacked his lips.
"Rushing so aggressively isn't wise. Even if the race car is fine, she'll be exhausted from overusing her powers..." Luo Huan analyzed.
"Huh? Abidar's little bitches are speeding up too! Damn it! How can I let them leave me behind!" Lewis's eyes widened, and he turned up the power of the detonator.
"Lewis!? Don't be impulsive! The incendiary devices are running low on Psionic Brick, and our Earthwalker aren't much stronger than them—"
"What harm would it do to speed up a bit more?"
A voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Luo Huan's words.
"... Alba?"
"I know the Earthwalker's performance better than anyone. Don't worry, it's not that fragile. And although it's a bit of a stretch, the Psionic Brick should last until the end. More importantly..."
The thin, blond man narrowed his eyes, looking at Sirius on his left with a cold gaze.
"This girl needs to be taught a lesson about who's boss and who's not."
"Three hundred meters! Three hundred meters to go! The finish line is almost here, and all three cars are traveling at speeds far exceeding common sense!"
The commentator's voice echoed through the sky, and the fans outside Arkham Town cheered. The three cars were locked in a fierce battle, with no clear winner, but only the drivers knew how long they could last.
This is a race against time; those who persevere will win, and those who cannot will fail!
"Now Abidar is in the lead—ah, Ferruggio has overtaken— Noxar is making a strong comeback— Abidar is surging forward again—two hundred meters to the finish line—one hundred meters—fifty meters—"
"Elder sister!"
"Ally, are you alright?"
"I'm okay! Just this once, I have to win!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Ally roared, wanting to accelerate again--
"--Twenty meters--Ten meters--Stage champion, is born!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Pushing through the cheering crowd, the three beasts charged across the finish line together, and the black and white checkered flag was lowered, announcing the birth of the stage champion!
The winner of the first stage of the Northern Realm Rally Route 1) is --
The three cars stopped simultaneously, leaving long tire tracks on the ground. The cheers of the crowd abruptly ceased as they awaited the referee's verdict.
"--Noxal Noxar Team! They defeated Abidar and Ferruggio by a small margin!!!!"
Silence, and then--
"Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The air instantly ignited, and thousands of people at the scene cheered wildly, while supporters from all over the world who were following the Line 1 race were even more excited!
"Noxar! Noxar! Noxar! Noxar! Noxar! Noxxar! Noxar!"
Amidst cheers, the snow-white doors of the Earthwalker slowly opened, revealing three people—the dark-haired youth Lewis, the glamorous woman Luo Huan, and the blond middle-aged Alba —who, despite their fatigue, still beamed with smiles and waved to the fans.
As for the other two teams--
"Tch! They still overtook me. Did they arrive at the exact same time as Ally? Oh well, at least I didn't lose to her..." Emilia sighed, then slumped into Messiah's arms like a puppet with its strings cut.
"Hang in there, Amy, the fans are waiting to see you."
"Really... This is troublesome." Exhausted, Emilia gulped down a mouthful of Spiritual Medicine to temporarily replenish her strength, and with the help of the three, she stepped out of the car. They were greeted by the same enthusiastic cheers, but Emilia completely ignored the fans and turned to look at the silver-gray race car beside her.
The car door was open, Ally Sena stood beside it, her eyes vacant, seemingly muttering to herself. Her three teammates—one of whom was wearing a wide-brimmed hat that covered his face—were comforting her.
"We lost... we lost... we lost..."
Losing to her father's killer was a huge blow to Ally.
"Sister, don't cry, there's nothing we can do about it..."
"Yeah, Ally, take it easy, this is just the beginning."
"One must look forward; if you become discouraged, that's when you've truly lost."
Our three words of comfort seemed to have some effect; although Ally was still listless, her eyes regained some vitality.
"Ha, how does it feel, you little bitches?"
A piercing laugh rang out, and a black-haired youth walked over with a smug smile.
"It's you, Lewis... You're so happy just because you won by half a car's length?"
A familiar voice came from the side, and the red-haired beauty, Emilia, walked over, glaring fiercely at Lewis.
"Of course I'm happy! So what? You defeated opponent? Come and bite me!"
"You~~~~~~~~~! Hey, you idiot Ally, say something too!" Emilia glared angrily at Ally, but Ally seemed not to hear her, her eyes fixed on Lewis —or rather, the person behind Lewis.
I followed her gaze—
The blond, blue-eyed, brooding middle-aged man stared at us coldly for a long time before giving us a contemptuous smile and turning away.
Only a whispered but far-reaching statement remained.
"Ally, you're still far from good enough..."