Polaris Glare, delayed.
If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, most people wouldn't have believed it.
"Huh? Why? Isn't Polaris Glare a Horse Girl who uses a front-running strategy?"
"She's always had such quick starts, why was she delayed this time? And she's still at the very back..."
Similar comments kept sounding, and the audience, besides being surprised, also felt uneasy.
What was wrong with the powerful Polaris Glare today?
On the track, Rainbow Chaser clearly froze for a moment when she realized the blue-haired figure wasn't leading the pack:
【Where is she? Polaris, where are you?!】
It was only after the commentator's broadcast sounded that she reacted:
【She's at the very back? What's going on! Get up there and lead!】
She had prepared herself to face Hanxue again, but this was the outcome?
And in fact, it wasn't just her; every Horse Girl who had specifically learned about Polaris Glare before the race, including Guoyu Turan, was surprised.
In the stands, Kumi Trainer was undoubtedly the most worried person.
If the Young Lady hadn't given her a heads-up before the race, telling her to stay calm no matter what happened during the competition, she might have even considered applying for a race termination.
Head Maid, on the other hand, was fine; she inexplicably believed that the Young Lady must have her reasons for doing this.
Yuu Mai, meanwhile, fell into thought, recalling Polaris's incredibly powerful last burst during their last parallel run.
【Is she trying something? An attack from the rear...】
Everyone's thoughts were varied, but Polaris Absolute Speed, on her end, showed no signs of urgency.
Staying at the back of the Horse Girl pack, she was consciously searching for a target that interested her:
【Because I wanted to run from the back, I was a step slow out of the gate. It's such an incredible feeling.】
If it had been before, seeing so many Horse Girls blocking her way, she would have probably been furious, wishing she could immediately accelerate and leave everyone far behind.
But now, she had the presence of mind to appreciate and scrutinize the running styles of these Horse Girls, occasionally muttering to herself:
【This one won't do... Her steps aren't powerful enough...】
【This one... also won't do, the swing of her arms is too small...】
【This one... doesn't have much momentum, does she lack confidence in winning?】
From back to front, every Horse Girl she deemed uninteresting after observing was overtaken from the outside.
Her position and ranking moved forward accordingly, slowly reaching seventh place.
And the audience, realizing she had started to accelerate, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief:
"What's this, she's perfectly fine. The delay was just a pure accident, wasn't it?"
"Good! Push forward like that, and reclaim the leading position!"
"Go!"
However, people soon noticed that the blue-haired figure stopped accelerating, simply staying in seventh place.
The reason was...
【Found her! The dark horse in this race!】
Polaris Absolute Speed ran on the outside, her gaze locked tightly on a certain Horse Girl on the inside, golden pupils continuously flickering with fire.
On the inside, Petosky, who was originally observing her position, suddenly felt an extremely strong gaze lock onto her.
The accompanying burning sensation, like flames, made her shiver involuntarily:
"?!
"
【What? Who is it? Who is marking me? This strong presence...】
Just then, the commentator's broadcast came through:
"Currently, in sixth place on the inside is Petosky, and on her outside, Polaris Absolute Speed is tightly marking her."
"It must be said, this is truly rare; even Polaris Glare has the idea of marking other opponents."
Polaris Glare? Polaris Absolute Speed?
Suddenly, Petosky sharply turned her attention to the outside, and sure enough, she saw the blue-haired figure staring at her.
Seeing that she noticed, the smile on her lips even curved up slightly...
【!!!】
【Why? Why is this girl staring at me?! Isn't she going to deal with Rainbow Chaser and Guoyu Turan up front?!】
Even though her mind was full of questions, Petosky still withdrew her attention, refocusing on observing and adjusting her position.
【No matter what, I just need to run forward, perform my best, and win!】
Thinking so, she seized the opportunity when a gap appeared ahead, quickening her pace to rush to a more forward position.
Seeing this, Polaris Absolute Speed silently followed from the outside, with no intention of letting her go.
Among the Horse Girls she currently recognized, the most forward was Guoyu Turan, in third place.
Rainbow Chaser was about half a length behind the former, slightly to the outside.
This race actually had a Horse Girl employing a runaway tactic; her pace was faster than usual, and she had already opened up a gap of nearly six lengths from the second-place runner.
However, her stamina didn't seem very good; clear signs of fatigue were already visible on her face, and she would probably lose speed soon.
The other Horse Girls were not in a hurry, steadily advancing through the race.