Chapter 74: Blinders
Atlan observed all the Canzers in the arena and he could see their eyes start to register the humans. With every bark, every purr, and every roar, these Canzers spoke out their inner thoughts without reserve. And without a doubt, all Canzers displayed hostility to everyone.
'Attack…human…'
Atlan heard the snort of one of the Canzers with a bull's head and a horse's torso. And just as it said, it charged toward the brown-haired Olympian girl with its horns ready to pierce through her.
"You look fast enough. You'll serve me well," the brown-haired Olympian muttered as she backflipped just before the bull-horse Canzer landed its horns on her chest.
'Where…human…'
The bull-horse skidded on the ground, creating dust underneath. It looked around, when it should have looked up. If it did, it would have seen the brown-haired girl glow a bright white light on her palms.
"Oh! I know her! She's Sola! I heard that she's an A class blessed by Apollo himself! I think she could go for the top 3!"
Sola ignored all the cheers towards her and focused on the Canzer below her.
"Brightest Day!" she shouted as she activated her LifeSkill.
Soon enough, a bright light beamed down and targeted the bull-horse's eyes. It tried to close its eyes, but it couldn't escape from the blinding effect of Sola's LifeSkill.
'Gah!...hate…humans…kill!'
It flailed its horns around as it jumped up and down and rotated in a circle. This would have deterred most attackers from approaching, but not Sola.
She landed on the side and quickly used her acrobatic skills to jump and somersault, twisting her body two times in the air. Surprisingly, this skill allowed her to swiftly dodge the bull's wild horns.
Sola landed on the bull's torso and straddled it with her legs locked in its underbelly.
The Canzer exaggeratedly jumped its body to the side in an attempt to get rid of its attacker, but her grip allowed her to keep still.
At least, for a little while.
So, she activated her LifeSkill again, manifesting burning hot light from her palms. Then, she started a flurry of slaps toward the bull's head. With each hit, the bull's skin got seared and burned from the hotness of the light produced from her palms.
The bull-horse roared in pain.
'Hot!...no…human…kill!'
With no regard for its safety, the Canzer rushed towards the edge of the arena. It ran at top speeds, intending to crash into the wall and squish the puny human riding its body.
But before it could even reach the wall, Sola took out something from her pockets made out of thin strips of leather and two rectangular cups.
It was horse blinders!
But this didn't seem to be ordinary blinders as it had cybernetic lines glowing from the two cups.
Sola quickly and skillfully attached the blinders on the bull-horse's head.
'No…human…no…enslavement…'
And as soon as it clicked in place, the Canzer suddenly stopped running and skidded in place. It stood eerily still. It no longer had its wild and ferocious temperament that hated humans to the core.
'...'
Atlan was surprised to hear nothing but silence from the Canzer. Those blinders can control the minds of Canzers?
Those horse blinders were an integral part of the competition. According to Obek, they were specifically made by Operators to control those Centaur Canzers into being a steed for a chariot. Without it, the contestants can't expect them to run in the race.
Atlan was once again impressed by the handiwork of Operators. They always created equipment that made the impossible possible.
"Wow! Even if I don't want to root for her, Sola's really impressive! She's the first one to subdue a Canzer."
"As expected from someone in Mount Olympus. They truly are a different breed."
Sola pulled the reins on the blinders and guided her new mount towards the exit. The walls suddenly submerged underground, letting her exit the arena.
Everyone watched as she picked the first chariot in line.
Being the first one to subdue a Canzer had its perks as she was able to choose the golden chariot with the best durability out of everything in line. The next one would choose the silver chariot and the next would choose the bronze. The worst one was only made out of wood.
She fixed the reins before quickly whipping the Canzer's back. The bull-horse pulled the chariot out of the arena and onto the race track that led to the outskirts of the City. With a big lead, she has a chance to cross the finish line first.
"Come on, Genesians! What are you doing?!"
"You guys can do it!"
"I wonder which of them will be the first to join Sola. Our only hope is Yasmine…"
The rest of the competitors, mostly the Saviors from Genesis City, had bad luck when it came to subduing the Canzers. There were a lot of skittish ones escaping the moment a Savior approached them. But some stronger and more resilient Canzers were too wild to put the blinders on properly.
The Olympians on the other hand showed their training and skill as they were able to struggle against their targets with much more success. If a Canzer was too wild, then they would use their LifeSkills to injure them and hinder their escape. And if it tried to attack them, they would dodge at the very last second with graceful movements that could only be attained through years of practice.
"Yes! Go, Yasmine! She's finally showing off her LifeSkill!"
The rest of the Genesians in the crowd cheered once they saw Yasmine unsheathe her sword.
She put the sword in front of her and closed her eyes for a second. And with a big breath, she muttered;
"Draconic Inferno of Swords, heed my will."
Her sword erupted into a billowing fire that soon morphed into a swirling fire dragon that embraced her sword.
She then faced her target, a Canzerous Horse that was made out of nothing but white bones. With one slash, the dragon roared out of her sword and flew towards the Canzer.
'Strange power…human…dangerous'
The Canzer leaped forward to dodge her attack, with the dragon's flames barely grazing its bony tail.
But how could it have expected ten more dragons coming towards it?
Yasmine didn't hold back her LifeSkill powers anymore as she assailed her target with a myriad of sword slashes, each launching a flaming dragon that left embers behind its wake.