Mejiro McQueen realized that her early acceleration hadn't created any distance between them; Tokai Teio was right behind her, and she couldn't shake her off no matter what she did.
This made Mejiro McQueen increasingly anxious. When she reached the last bend, she stomped heavily on the grass and suddenly sped up.
At this moment, Sakura Baimu, Kitasan Black, and Satono Diamond were not the only ones paying attention to the match between Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio.
Many Umamusumes training in the arena, especially the newly enrolled Umamusumes who had just joined Tracen Academy, stopped what they were doing with shining eyes after seeing the speed of Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen.
"Too fast! These two truly deserve the title of the strongest active Umamusume; they are incredibly fast!"
Many new Umamusume students stared at Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio running with dazzling eyes.
Meanwhile, some of the long-time Umamusume students all wore expressions of unspeakable shock.
"Just now...didn't Teio and McQueen already have a race? How come after only a few minutes of rest, they ran even faster in the second race than in the first?"
Gold Ship was puzzled. She pointed at Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen and asked Special Week who was also watching the two.
"I...I don't know either! Their stamina is just too good!"
Special Week was also surprised, and quickly took a couple of bites of carrot to calm herself down.
Although this wasn't an official competition, everyone knew that Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio, these two rivals, would give it their all and wouldn't hold back during the match.
So many people couldn't understand why these two who had already given it their all in the first competition were able to run even faster in the second competition than in the first.
After passing the final bend, Mejiro McQueen took the lead on a very gentle downhill slope and began running towards the steep hill ahead.
Mejiro McQueen noticed the gap widening between her and Teio, but she didn't let her guard down.
After all, she knew that Tokai Teio would only unleash her full power when the final straight line was reached.
Mejiro McQueen hadn't run far when she heard a loud thud behind her as a foot slammed into the ground, and her heart skipped a beat.
Teio erupted.
Mejiro McQueen's speed was already making many long-time students like Umamusume hesitate, but as she listened to the increasingly loud and close footsteps behind her, she knew that the gap between her and Teio had been narrowed once again.
She wanted to speed up, but found she couldn't.
The acceleration in the middle game caused her to expend too much energy.
At this moment, she was even struggling to maintain her current speed, and any further acceleration was simply a pipe dream.
Moreover, the last acceleration was not Mejiro McQueen's forte.
Mejiro McQueen forced herself to clear her mind of all distractions, looked at the increasingly close uphill slope in front of her, gritted her teeth, and stepped onto it.
The familiar, overwhelming pressure surged into her heart once more.
It was even more intense than in the previous simulated match.
Her stride became noticeably erratic, and this time the slowdown was even more severe than during her first simulated run.
Before Mejiro McQueen could even panic about her obvious slowdown, she heard a sudden, heavy footstep behind her.
This meant that Tokai Teio had also stepped onto the grass on this steep slope.
Mejiro McQueen tried desperately to run faster, but her legs felt like they were made of lead, making it difficult to accelerate further, and the pressure on her lungs and heart made her feel increasingly uncomfortable.
The next moment.
Just as Mejiro McQueen's line of sight reached the top of the hill, she saw a figure dart past her like an arrow.
This was the same scene that Tokai Teio imitated Mejiro McQueen's acceleration overtaking of Tannhauser on the ramp at Tenno Sho (Spring) yesterday.
Tokai Teio's speed didn't decrease much, but Mejiro McQueen's speed did decrease significantly.
Not only that, Mejiro McQueen also noticed that Tokai Teio, who had overtaken her, was positioned very low, rushing past her in a crouching position.
Tokai Teio crouched very low, her chest almost level with the ground, yet her climbing efficiency was surprisingly high.
"Oh no~ (I can't take it anymore)"
Such a thought arose in Mejiro McQueen's mind.
She hadn't felt this kind of helplessness in a very, very long time.
Even on the day of the freshman orientation not long ago, when she competed against Tokai Teio, she had never felt such a strong sense of powerlessness.
This time, she truly realized that she could no longer catch up with Tokai Teio.
She couldn't even narrow the gap anymore.
She could only watch helplessly as Tokai Teio widened the gap between the two of them.
Tokai Teio's heart was also under pressure, but the excitement of surpassing Mejiro McQueen and the joy of finding that her climbing speed had significantly increased completely overshadowed the distress in her chest.
"Truly worthy of being a trainer, Trainer-san! This method of running uphill is incredibly efficient. I really don't know how she does it."
Tokai Teio thought to herself, a smile already playing on her lips.
She stepped onto the top of the slope, then stomped heavily on the grass and soil, unleashing a fierce final kick.
"Crossed the finish line! Tokai Teio is the winner!"
Sakura Baimu waved her flag, announcing Tokai Teio's victory.
About a second after Sakura Baimu finished speaking, Mejiro McQueen crossed the finish line.
"The difference is estimated to be more than 6 Lengths."
Sakura Baimu loudly announced the results to Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen.
In the previous round, the gap between Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio was not large, only about one nose apart.
Tokai Teio, who used the Sakura Baimu climbing method this time, opened up a gap of more than 6 lengths with Mejiro McQueen on her first attempt.
It could be described as an overwhelming victory for Tokai Teio.
As Sakura Baimu waved the flag, she pressed the timer again and smiled at the two Umamusumes who were panting heavily there.
"Teio's second simulation was more than two seconds faster than the first. Although McQueen lost, she was still less than a second faster than in the previous simulation."
She walked up to Mejiro McQueen and patted her on the shoulder.
"Do you still think my uphill running method is useless and ineffective?"
As Sakura Baimu spoke, she handed the stack of booklets to Mejiro McQueen.
Along with the booklet, Mejiro McQueen was also given a glass of green liquid.
"Come on, McQueen, drink this delicious green juice and let's get back to training."