Chapter 1958: with translation of chapter title

~10 min read 1,935 words

NO. 578：The earth trembled!

Just like that, a few of those in the rear units could hardly hold back their laughter.

How could there be such a farce?

Even among them were star‑chasing juniors like the Gold Master, and diligent scholars like Dazhenhan, model 'honor students' versed in books and reason; they all knew something about the 'triangular story' of the era's only two stars and the ace who charged headlong into them.

But the moment this question popped into their minds,

their purity fell.

From chasing the lost throne to chasing the era's new king, how much has Qianming representative given?

And while the pursuit of the throne's target was unattainable, challenging to the end actually blew up not only the target but also the Ludaofu Xiangzheng symbol together with the Gechengwangpai; yet in reality their eyes held only the figure of the Qianming representative, lamenting the battlefield's lack of continuation, they thus dimly fell—

It ended with the Ludaofu Xiangzheng's ever more lonely pilgrimage.

Although to many spectators it was a remarkably splendid glorious era, the era's ending was truly not good.

Fans inevitably felt that prolonged, empty regret; what must the three parties involved be thinking?

This nearly decade‑long problem is enough to bring an answer to the hearts of countless fans who have witnessed this scene.

"If we do this, winning will be hard, right?"

When excitement is within reach, choosing to wait isn't necessarily patience; it could be greed for play.

Xiao Lu classmate is just such an example.

Moreover, he wasn't alone; the next second, Neihai Jiang classmate chimed in: "Ah? Shouldn't we be accelerating now?"

"There's no way around it—it's like the people behind are charging forward with bombs; if we don't speed up, we'll all be drained of stamina and easily have our running state affected," Mann, who only appears on the voice channel, explained, "Using stamina for acceleration to avoid the double drain of falling behind makes sense, right?"

Although Aomo appears here infrequently, he is indeed the most enthusiastic member of horse racing and betting in the entire Edge Runners Agency. He comes to the venue far less often than David, who often gets tickets from Aomo, but when it comes to off‑track commentary he is knowledgeable.

Of course, this is based on the premise that Aomo remains silent.

Aomo isn't just silent; he practically wanted to scold those few, but before he could speak, someone took over the job as his mouth:

"Don't chat about unrelated topics on the combat channel," complained Officer Mukure, mixing in grumbling, "Even if you're not in the front lines, shouldn't you open another channel for this?"

"Huh?" said the rarely present Xigua, suddenly realizing, "So you guys don't have another channel?"

One sentence left people somewhat puzzled, but some of the older guys picked up the signal.

Zhong Yue: "Indeed, it was so quiet before that I thought you'd already opened another channel."

"Now it's open, big brother," Ling said, "and Aomo just opened it."

"Three seconds ago," Shuyi said, "shouldn't Aomo say something? Even a scolding would do."

"This isn't important, right?" Niantang interjected, "Either wait for the battle to start or watch the race; there's no need to distract yourself with other things now."

It's not that we can't, but there's no need to show that attitude.

Right now this big chat room has Kamen Riders, aliens, net detectives and super agents; everyone is present, keeping quiet in a peaceful‑times guise, but if you open your mouth, you'll likely witness a cafeteria‑level uproar.

At the same time it will draw the attention of those who were originally focused.

Every word of a team leader is this important; the key point is just as the words and deeds of a public figure must be cautious and meticulous, and even the simplest solution is the same—maintain silence.

What needs to be said can be spoken through others, just as Officer Mukure Thirteen and Ling are doing now, and as Xin Tiaoqi and Holuhaiya etc. will speak later.

Thus, some discuss current tactics, some talk about the race's direction, and the ladies seated beside Aomo also each speak, but clearly they reached consensus via another channel.

Speaking is speaking, but none of it means they want him to answer.

A consensus of "Do not disturb Aomo Lindun" is mysteriously forming and expanding, yet he obviously acquiesces to this development, feeling a long‑lost sense of familiarity.

The Qianming representative chasing the Ludaofu Xiangzheng symbol.

The Gechengwangpai briefly surpassed the Qianming representative.

The undisturbed, quiet spectator stands.

What year is tonight?

The Sirius symbol, likewise chasing the Ludaofu Xiangzheng, is naturally conspicuous enough that Aomo couldn't utter that remark; at a glance it's nothing but an overly familiar figure that shouldn't be on the same track, which not only shatters nostalgics' immersion but also brings a fresh thrill.

It will probably become a legendary race scene worthy of being called a divine episode, right?

Just that chase scene just now is already a highlight; it made the whole venue's atmosphere joyful for a full eight seconds.

Eight seconds later, everyone witnessed a miracle.

They witnessed the Sirius symbol, Qianming representative, and Gechengwangpai, stubbornly enduring the red skill's turmoil, turning into the horn of adversity, piercing each other's extreme and chaotic emotional techniques into the vanguard!

In other words, all three of them caught up.

Although their pursuit targets differed, the scene now looks just like the Three Heroes vs. Lu Bu—under the Ludaofu Xiangzheng's feet a dark‑red circle was instantly drawn, layer after layer deepening, while behind her the three fiercely contending strides chased past at even greater speed.

It also brought the steady‑accelerating Noble Lady and Fuji Odd Stone, whose speed increase had not yet fluctuated.

Thus, the vanguard ultimately could not escape.

Although everyone maintained their lead by several horse lengths, even ten or more horse lengths—almost the limit where common sense says the red skill could take effect—

but everyone, being horse girls who trample common sense, also highlighted the abnormality of each other's red skill.

In the clash of these abnormalities, ultimately it was the obsession, blazing like flames that scorch everything, that burst forth with the most breath‑taking brilliance.

"They've slowed down! After the vanguard were suddenly dragged into this chaotic red‑gate battle, they all show varying degrees of speed fluctuation! Nobody can be completely exempt! And just as they'd already grown accustomed to this burden from earlier fights, the Sirius symbol and Gechengwangpai are actually accelerating further! They now threaten Maruzen Suky's and the opera's advantage!"

"That's reckless, but maybe it's unavoidable—stamina consumption is just too high."

"Then we must force everyone to accelerate! Can the sports car and the overlord remain stable? Those with no red skill at all can only react passively! Meanwhile, the Gold Master and Dazhenhan, who have been running steadily in the rear, surge forward together!!"

"Perhaps they were stimulated by the developments ahead?"

"I don't get it! But the tyrant and the eclipse just exerted force after the fifth bend of the mid‑race! Don't they plan to stop? Do they intend to plunge into that mire, that blizzard of blades cutting into them?!!"

What kind of problem is that, anyway?

One gentle‑natured girl, and another who usually hides her personality behind a mask—yet on this racecourse they reveal the despairing aspect of a demon lord and tyrant.

In the violent, powerful sonic boom created by those two, the Qianming representative at the rear of the leading group was overtaken in an instant!

And at that same moment, red light flashed!

A new red skill! It is actually a completely new swamp and blades that are updating the front‑end environment with danger! Wanshan Siji begins to lose speed! Can the red sports car's engine still continue? Can it still recover its state? She succeeded! Although there were still some minor fluctuations, she temporarily stabilized her acceleration, but in this process—before being overtaken by Jidong's ace! The golden‑colored tyrant has already seized the forefront showdown!

Truly, new situations keep occurring one after another—I'm almost forgetting that this is only the middle stage!

But it's already past halfway through the middle stage! The tough turf that the racecourse relies on can no longer bear the runners' steps, and the reinforced function of the racecourse for the track has thus been applied for the first time!!

Here, it also begins to test the athletes' physical fitness. As everyone knows, horse girls from the Ancient Horse Year easily hit the speed limit, and that limit ultimately stems from the limit of their bodies' ability to withstand strain.

They will begin to find it hard to breathe.

It will become even harder to step forward with their feet.

They will begin to loathe running, and will want to stop right there to avoid that excruciating torment.

—When a horse girl runs too fast on the track, it's easy to end up with the aforementioned sensations.

Their lungs feel as if they're breaking, and the soles of their feet feel a pain like being torn apart; the horse girls once called 'glass foot' always collapse at this point, shortening the lifespan of their racing careers and choosing to retire early.

People will even say that's a good thing, because it preserves their best performance, unlike some famous and strong horse girls who instead end up suffering a painful retirement.

And on this racecourse endowed with the concept of dreams, both aforementioned types of horse girls have existed.

Those who retired early, those who stubbornly refused to retire yet still met a miserable end, and even those who are currently stubbornly holding on.

It seems they are all merely proving one thing.

Horse girls cannot give up running.

No matter what choices they have made, as long as they get a chance and step onto the stage again, they flock in like moths to a flame.

For themselves, for others, for everything, they offer the ultimate of running, like burning themselves.

Well, now a fine opera is ahead! The Golden Master pursues closely, then Wanshan Siji and Gechengwangpai run neck and neck! And only a horse's length behind is the Sirius Symbol! After that, one horse length back are the Rudolf Symbol, the noble lady, and Chengtian Bai Ren!

About to enter the final stretch, in this final stretch where everyone has a known finishing kick, the horse girls who continue to fall behind will probably find it hard to win.

That's exactly why! Qianming's representative and the fusion suddenly accelerated! Those who chose the outermost lane have nothing ahead blocking them! But is this really okay?

The outermost lane is indeed the most stamina‑draining and strength‑requiring track, but the combination of Qianming's representative and the outermost lane is truly nostalgic.

Exactly so.

In the quiet stands where everyone had been holding their breath for a long time, suddenly a vast expanse of people standing up abruptly appeared.

Although the few movements of cheering that could not be held back could not be conveyed far away, some demon's heart still felt a resonant empathy.

I recalled some words, and also recalled some scenes.

The pre‑race words blended with the interview words from back then, and the pre‑race and training scenes blurred with the current track scenes and the past track scenes.

And amidst this surging emotion, he instead spoke up cleanly and decisively over the channel:

Prepare for action.