Is this what world-class means? Setting aside the strength of their stats and skills, the adaptability is simply outrageous. She had observed Trêve too little in the other world and hadn't realized what "world-class" represented. But Demon King Ship didn't think it was her fault; ultimately, Trêve's previous performance was too weak, leading her to underestimate the weight of "world-class." Furthermore, unlike the Japan Cup, she wasn't using skills to interfere with opponents, not even acceleration skills. Given this premise, she had to admit that world-class runners did have something special. At the very least, she wasn't as versatile as these runners in terms of adaptability. Although she had recently increased her Dirt suitability, she had to admit that she couldn't run the lead position regarding running style suitability; running there made her feel lost.
Despite having Mejiro McQueen's experience, she thought she could also run the escape style. However, when she tried this in mock races, she found she still wasn't used to it. So, seeing the comprehensive running style adaptability of these world-class runners, she had to admit that she was defeated in this aspect. This was the first time she saw runners from the back row compete for the lead position at the start of a race, trying to hinder those who specialized in escaping. This made her eyes light up, but she quickly remembered Mejiro McQueen's exaggerated starting speed and immediately abandoned this inappropriate thought. Although Mejiro McQueen's running style was traditional, it didn't mean this method could stop that girl from escaping. If it were Mejiro McQueen, Demon King Ship was certain no one could compete with her for the lead.
The pace in the initial stage of the track was fast. Demon King Ship felt the difference compared to racing in Japan. Moreover, due to the softer ground, the undulations were harder to gauge. Coupled with the faster speed of her opponents, she did feel a slight pressure.
Before she could fully adapt to the venue, they entered the curve. At this moment, she activated her field-of-vision-broadening skill, gaining a clear view of the opponents' status and the track layout. Without hesitation, she sprinted to the outer lane and began to exert force and accelerate. Soon, she overtook the two unfamiliar closers ahead, catching up near Montjeu and Rigantona. The two runners ahead suddenly burst with a wave, breaking through the wind. A golden light flashed across the turf beneath their feet. Like sports cars suddenly hitting the accelerator, their speed instantly skyrocketed. Demon King Ship's eyes widened in surprise as she saw the advanced skills the two unleashed. She hadn't expected these two to have already mastered skills of this level.
At the same time, Demon King Ship noticed that the atmosphere on the track changed due to the pair's burst. The sound of Zone activation rang out repeatedly. Several auras simultaneously erupted in the front of the pack, and skill flashes blinked one after another. The atmosphere instantly became tense. Moreover, the two runners behind Demon King Ship also used gating skills on her. A speed-restricting skill and a mood-interfering skill directly interrupted Demon King Ship's acceleration. By the time she reacted, Montjeu and Rigantona had opened a gap of four or five body lengths from her, and the two runners behind had also caught up to her. Demon King Ship looked at the runners ahead with cold eyes. Although the situation seemed a little unfavorable, the development of the race was still within her expectations so far. She had anticipated being hit by gating skills before entering this race.
Rigantona and Montjeu, who had activated "Wave" (an advanced acceleration skill) and other advanced skills, now had a speed exceeding the 1200 maximum limit. The runners ahead, even with their own skill usage and Zone bursts, couldn't stop the two from closing the gap. Trêve, who was leading the pack, used a gating skill on the lead escape runner as she entered the curve, then took the lead position. The reason she chose to run in front was to let the runners behind her help block her master Montjeu's gating skills. Most gating skills require visual contact to activate; a skill like Demon King Ship's, which covers the entire field with a mere thought, was an anomaly. Trêve's tactic worked. To break through the pack and create distance from Rigantona, Montjeu was forced to use her gating skill on the runners blocking her path, rushing into second place on the downhill stretch.
Rigantona did not use any gating skills. She simply latched tightly onto Montjeu's slipstream, surging out of the pack. It was now clear that these three held an absolute advantage on the track. The popularization of skills had allowed them to evolve to a whole new realm, achieving an overtaking surge in the middle segment of the race.
Although Demon King Ship had fallen half a length behind, she quickly surged forward with astonishing explosive power.
Due to the evolution of her opponents, she was forced to break her prior restraint and use an acceleration skill.
The moment the seven-colored flash lit up, Demon King Ship unleashed a white aura without using her Zone, successfully breaking out of the pack behind Montjeu and Rigantona. The two runners ahead's skill duration had passed. Although their speed didn't appear to have slowed down due to the "Wave" effect, they no longer had the explosive speed from before. Just as Demon King Ship was about to close the gap in one go, a chill suddenly ran down her spine, and several gating skills simultaneously landed on her.
'Take that! Weren't you claiming to be the strongest?!'
'Arrogant brat! Don't underestimate the world!'
'We can't let you steal the honor of the world's strongest!'
Demon King Ship hadn't expected these guys to have held back a move against Montjeu and Rigantona, not to use in the final stage for a comeback, but to snipe her. Hit by several gating skills simultaneously, she felt a dizzy sensation in her head, nearly losing control and triggering her Zone. These idiots didn't realize that although she was affected by gating, her Zone would automatically activate when she was gated. After barely suppressing that impulse, Demon King Ship's red-glowing eyes looked at the distance between herself and the front.
*'A gap of five body lengths, huh...' *
In her cold state, Demon King Ship's aura surged dramatically. Although the Zone didn't trigger, her focus was highly concentrated in this state, and low-level gating skills couldn't hit her at all. Ultimately, these were things she had long since surpassed. A bunch of fools actually deluded themselves into challenging her with this kind of power. Two flashes and two golden lights shone simultaneously. Demon King Ship broke out of the gating lock range in an instant, crossing the five-body-length gap in the blink of an eye!
Rigantona heard the powerful footsteps from behind and couldn't help but frown. Montjeu's expression was even more serious. They both knew the Demon King was catching up. Although they hadn't been optimistic about the others' attempts initially, they hadn't expected the Demon King, who was targeted by other runners, to break through so easily. Montjeu was the first to activate her Zone, the golden aura allowing her to run with an afterimage in an instant, overtaking Trêve under her unwilling gaze. Rigantona followed closely, draped in a deep blue aura. For these two, entering the Zone was as simple as breathing.
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