Chapter 1369

The afternoon's creativity competition was also a highly anticipated event; every blacksmith, no matter how minor, had some innovative idea, and now that inscription conditions permitted it, what were they waiting for?

They immediately got to work.

"The competition begins now! All participating blacksmiths, create innovative items."

With the command given, the competition erupted into full swing—all blacksmiths on the field had already planned their intentional works, each lifting their small iron hammers to clang and clatter away, clearly forming a mass blacksmithing contest.

Having inscription ideas alone wasn't enough—you had to forge them, enchant them with inscriptions, and truly realize them.

Time passed second by second; two hours later, Lin Cheng's family had fallen asleep, heads leaning against each other.

Finally, one blacksmith below finished—he stood up and raised his hand excitedly.

This was a rule specially issued by Lin Cheng, fearing that blacksmiths who finished early might shout loudly and disturb others, so any blacksmith who completed their work must signal completion by raising their hand.

On the judging panel, Elder Zhai spotted the finished blacksmith at once, waved his hand, and ordered someone to bring the man and his creation forward.

Not long after, a dark, glossy, strange object—something between an animal and not quite—was carried before the judges.

Lin Cheng stared at the dark, glossy object, unable to fathom what it could possibly be; it barely had four pillars at the bottom, seemingly for balance.

"This must be a cow, right?"

As one elder spoke, Lin Cheng suddenly thought the object did resemble a cow—just a very ugly one.

"No, this is clearly a siege engine; look at its head—it has no trace of cow horns."

"Mm-hmm." Lin Cheng suddenly found that argument plausible—cow horns were curved, but this thing's horns pointed upward, sharp and conical, two of them.

"It does feel… like a siege engine. Look, four people are holding it below, and the top can block arrow attacks."

"But how could four people possibly suffice for a siege engine?"

"What if relevant siege-breaking inscriptions were added?"

"Even then, it wouldn't be enough—no matter how powerful the inscriptions, they couldn't match the strength of four men against forty soldiers."

Two elders with opposing views argued until their faces turned red, glaring at each other, neither willing to yield.

If not for mutual respect for face, they might have already fought.

"Why not just ask its creator?" Lin Cheng, tired of this meaningless bickering, spoke dryly.

"Brilliant idea!" Both elders lit up instantly, speaking in unison.

"No wonder you're Master Lin Cheng—you're far more decisive than we are."

"Uh…" Lin Cheng.

Isn't that common sense? Discussing whether it's a cow or a siege engine right in front of the blacksmith—who made it—what's the point?

"Tell us, what exactly is this?"

Five pairs of watchful eyes fixed instantly on the young blacksmith—he nearly wet himself.

Was it too late to say it was a hybrid of cow and siege engine?

"Speak up! What is this thing?"

Finally, the young blacksmith clenched his teeth and confessed.

"This is actually my newly developed metal dog."

"What?!"

The two elders who had just been arguing loudly froze in shock, their expressions darkening—this thing was a metal dog?

Lin Cheng studied it closely—now that he thought about it… it did bear a faint resemblance to a metal dog.

But it was entirely pitch-black; without being told it was a metal dog, you'd never guess.

"Explain your concept," Lin Cheng asked formally. "We'll score you based on your creativity."

"Yes, Master Lin Cheng…"

The young man quickly explained his reasoning.

His grandmother spent all day at home; though their family was well-off, no one was there to keep her company. He wanted to hire attendants, but feared they'd steal or be untrustworthy, so he decided to create a metal dog to keep her company.

His inspiration came from the pets of noble Young Ladies—though pets, they were often highly aggressive; every year, news spread of pets killing their elderly owners. Even pet merchants who guaranteed their animals wouldn't attack owners couldn't ease his worry—for an elderly person with limited mobility, it was better to fear the unlikely than to risk it.

So he set out to build a metal dog that could understand his grandmother's daily commands and would never (Qian Hao Zhao) attack her.

But it seemed he had failed.

The young man awkwardly scratched his head.

"Uh… young man, you can be a bit more confident—drop the 'seems.'"

Lin Cheng really wanted to say that, but he decided not to crush the youth's confidence—his intentions were good.

The finished product… was terrible.

"What do you all think?" Lin Cheng asked the other five judges.

"The concept is good, but what about its appearance—and can it even move?" Elder Zhai poked the so-called metal dog.

At that moment, the metal dog struggled to lift both front and hind legs simultaneously—but didn't move an inch from its spot.