The moment the Eternal Worm lodged its protest, the surroundings fell silent. Cheating was generally rare in the Artificer Challenge, but whenever it did occur, the Artificer Guild's punishment was often severe—from point deductions to expulsion from the artificer profession.
However, since the Artificer Challenge itself placed few restrictions on equipment, contestants' gear was rarely inspected—there were no taboos to begin with, so there was naturally no need for inspections.
But this situation was somewhat special. Everyone had witnessed the abnormal performance of Fang Heng's Clockwork Sprite, which was completely unlike its clumsy showing in the first half.
Even if he had been hiding his strength, that incomprehensible spin maneuver was difficult to explain—it was simply not something a Tier 2 Combat Artificer could achieve through "personal ability."
Yet the gnome judges did not realize their suspicions were already very close to the truth. They merely gathered together and whispered among themselves.
"Could it be someone competing for him from outside?"
"That's impossible." The head judge stroked his pointed beard and decisively shook his head. "We provided the Clockwork Sprites. The person linked to the Core Crystal could only be the contestant himself. You and I both verified it. There's no way anything slipped through."
"What if he falsified his level?" another asked in a shrill voice.
"That's even less likely. Have you forgotten what was special about tonight?"
"Now that you mention it, yes. Those tall folk also tested the contestants' levels, so there's even less chance of an error—"
"But there has to be an explanation, doesn't there?" All the gnomes frowned.
In the end, the experienced head judge lowered his hand from his beard and said, "Why not ask for his opinion?"
The gnomes immediately ran to the table and bombarded Fang Heng with questions. "Contestant D12, Contestant B3 wishes to inspect your personal tools. What is your response?"
Why even ask? If others saw what was inside his gloves, that would be disastrous. Only one intact Silver Rail remained inside now. There had been two before, but onlookers would not care about such details.
Using one Silver Rail to control two Clockwork Sprites was practically a fantasy. If word got out, Fang Heng did not need to think twice to know he would be done for tonight.
So he decisively shook his head. "No."
The gnome judges had actually expected that answer. There was no precedent for inspecting an alchemist's tools in the Artificer Challenge, because the competition itself did not restrict what tools Combat Artificers could use. The claim that Fang Heng had cheated with his tools did not really hold up.
Yet such an answer could not dispel the doubts in everyone's hearts, nor could it silence the crowd.
So the gnomes turned back to look at the head judge.
The head judge found himself in a difficult position. He hesitated before saying, "Although there is no precedent for inspecting an alchemist's tools in the Artificer Challenge, Contestant D12, you must at least explain what happened earlier, mustn't you?"
Fang Heng scratched his head. How was he supposed to explain it? He did not even know the principle himself. Even if he did, it would not match his level or status panel. Should he honestly say that he was a Dragon Knight? A Tier 1 Dragon Knight? Never mind whether anyone would believe him—he might as well hand over his gloves honestly.
The atmosphere in the arena became awkward for a moment.
At that moment, the Eternal Worm said in a strange, affected tone, "Since Contestant D12 is unwilling to explain himself, I will not force him. But I request that Contestant D12 replace his control gloves when competing against me. That is not unreasonable, is it?"
The crowd erupted in uproar at the suggestion—how was that not unreasonable?
Even the judges looked troubled. Most Combat Artificers modified their control tools themselves, which was precisely why artificer competitions generally did not inspect alchemists' tools—trade secrets were involved.
And once a contestant switched out tools they had grown accustomed to, their strength would undoubtedly be greatly affected. The Eternal Worm's malicious intentions were as plain as day.
Everyone looked toward Fang Heng, wanting to see what choice the young man would make.
But unlike what they expected, Fang Heng stared wide-eyed at the Eternal Worm and asked in disbelief, "You really want me to change gloves? Are you sure?"
Seeing his expression, the Eternal Worm thought he had succeeded and sneered, "Ha ha, scared now that you've lost your greatest reliance? It's all right. If you're afraid, I'll give you a chance to forfeit. You won't have to embarrass yourself on the stage."
"Contestant B3, watch your words," a judge quickly said. "Threatening and intimidating contestants is prohibited."
Fang Heng was nearly angered into laughter by the man.
The young man might have been somewhat naive, but he was not a saint. This dead fatso had repeatedly hovered around him, targeting him for no apparent reason. Even a clay Buddha would have some temper.
He shook his head and kindly warned him, "I only hope you won't regret it."
"Me?" The Eternal Worm nearly laughed aloud. "Regret it?"
Everyone was stunned. They had not expected the young man to agree—he was still too young! Even those who had doubted him the most could not help shaking their heads, not to mention Hudi, who was stomping his feet and beating his chest nearby.
The judges were equally surprised and repeatedly confirmed, "Are you truly certain, Contestant D12?"
"I'm sure." Fang Heng scratched his head, though a different matter was bothering him. "But I don't have a spare control tool."
"Pfft—" The Eternal Worm sprayed out a mouthful of water. "Ha ha, this is killing me. You really are birds of a feather with that Mr. Junk. Are you really that pathetic? Want me to lend you one?"
Fang Heng ground his teeth as he looked at the universally hated fellow.
Yet the crowd could not help laughing either. Alchemists might not be rich enough to rival nations, but as a Life Profession, they had truly never seen one down this badly.
Only Azure Sky clenched her silver teeth in fury, wishing she could go up and argue with them herself. But she had only taken one step before the elven girl grabbed her and pulled her back, shooting her a fierce glare.
Thus, the French girl could only give up resentfully.
The judges did not know whether to laugh or cry. The gnome head judge stroked his pointed beard again and said, "In that case, we can make an exception and provide tools from the competition—"
But before he could finish, the Eternal Worm interrupted him. "Wait, Judge. As I recall, the rules state that contestants may not use equipment other than their own."
The gnome head judge choked on his words. This dead fatso had disrupted things again and again, and it was truly irritating. He could not help looking at him impatiently. "Then what do you propose?"
"It is not about what I propose." The Eternal Worm had been waiting for this. "Contestant D12 must use his own equipment. That is the rule."
"His own and his team's equipment," Hudi corrected as he walked over.
The Eternal Worm was not in a hurry. "Fine, I misspoke. But could it be that Mr. Junk is this 'friend's' teammate? Don't cheat now. The eyes of the people are sharp."
Hudi had indeed been considering that, but hearing the dead fatso's threat made him hesitate.
The crowd let out a low chorus of boos, but this time they were directed at the Eternal Worm. They were not blind; naturally, they could see that the fatso was making trouble for no reason.
But the Eternal Worm was thick-skinned and paid it no mind, wearing a smug expression instead.
Just as the situation reached a deadlock, an abrupt voice suddenly rang out. "I have gloves!"
Everyone turned around, especially Fang Heng, who was somewhat surprised. Only then did he realize that the person speaking was Luo Yu, standing behind Etila. The tall young man stepped forward and said again, "I am his teammate. We registered before entering the inn, so it can be verified. Then can... Shaya use my equipment?"
The head judge's eyes lit up. He looked toward Mazak in the distance, then hurriedly nodded after receiving confirmation. "If that is indeed the case, then naturally he may."
Everyone could not help looking toward the Eternal Worm. The fatso's face darkened. He clearly had not expected Fang Heng to be so destitute and still have teammates. But the rules were the rules, and he could not object. He could only nod.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Luo Yu opened his backpack and took out an ornate control glove.
The entire glove was golden and made of brass. Its upper half was a streamlined metal shield, while its lower half was densely packed with pipes and gears. Lush branches and leaves were etched across the casing in gilded openwork, each leaf raised in relief as they surrounded an empty dial. A line of small lettering on the dial read, "XII, Soar, 173, 1, 12," indicating the artificer's identity and the date of manufacture.
The whole glove looked like a work of craftsmanship straight out of the Victorian era.
"This is..." Hudi's eyes widened.
Someone in the crowd had already shouted it for him. "The Fourth Generation Universal Pointer from Kingfisher Workshop!" When the Eternal Worm saw the glove, even the fat on his face trembled.
Control gloves had undergone three generations of improvements. The previous generation had been the ancient rail-type control glove, but it had been obsolete for many years. The mainstream now was the Magic Buoy-type control glove, and Kingfisher Workshop's products were the finest among them. The Fourth Generation Universal Pointer was their newest model, and its price remained exorbitant on the market.
This kind of control glove controlled the posture of Flexible Constructs through the direction of Magic Buoys. It was reputed to be the most sensitive, the most complex, and the most precise control glove. Since Magic Buoys could point in vectors, it was called the Universal Pointer.
Luo Yu carefully held up the glove and handed it over.
Fang Heng looked at him curiously. "Luo Yu, how do you have an artificer's glove?"
But Luo Yu did not answer that question. He merely said softly, "Teach that obnoxious dead fatso a good lesson for me."
The two looked as though they were whispering to each other, yet Luo Yu enunciated every word with absolute clarity, allowing everyone nearby to hear him perfectly. Laughter rose from the spectators, while the Eternal Worm was nearly furious to death. "I protest! He insulted me!"
The gnome head judge raised an eyebrow. "Protest denied. He is not a contestant."
The laughter grew even louder.
The Eternal Worm's face turned green, then white. There was nothing he could do to Luo Yu, so he could only shoot Fang Heng a dark look.
Fang Heng was also taken aback. He had not expected the normally serious Luo Yu to have such a side to him. He glanced at the dead fatso, then nodded. "I promise, he will remember this glove for the rest of his life."
"What shameless boasting!" the Eternal Worm sneered.
Fang Heng took the glove, turned around, and looked at him.
"I'll ask you one last time, Contestant B3. Do you truly want me to change gloves and fight you?" As he spoke, the youthful air around him vanished, and he became as steady as a towering mountain.
If this had been Kapuka—
At that moment, those artificers would have known that someone was about to have a very bad time.
Everyone fell silent.
Luo Yu and Azure Sky also looked at Fang Heng in surprise.
Not to mention the Eternal Worm. He actually failed to answer at first. After finally coming to his senses, he wiped away a cold sweat and asked strangely, "Stop putting on an act. I'll make you embarrass yourself properly soon enough."
Fang Heng glanced at him, then merely nodded to the judges. "I'm ready, Judges."
The gnome head judge nodded back at him kindly.
Since too much time had already been wasted, the organizers no longer bothered with formalities. They had the little goblins hurriedly clear an open space, briefly announced the rules, and then sent the two contestants into the arena.
Whether by coincidence or not, the first match was precisely the duel between the Eternal Worm and Fang Heng.
The third round was the final round of the preliminary contest. This round would select two final winners from among those who had passed the first two rounds. These two winners would have the opportunity to compete on the same stage against the losers from the main event, and the victors of those matches could enter the final bracket of the Artificer Challenge.
But the chances of defeating a main-event contestant were far too slim, so the third preliminary match was generally considered the final round by default.
The venue was utterly silent as everyone waited for this grudge match. Fang Heng took his backpack from Miss Etila, nodded to her, and walked onto the field.
And in the cleared arena, that dead fatso, the Eternal Worm, had already been waiting for him.
The Eternal Worm had actually begun to sense that something was off—but he still forced himself to save face and delivered a few perfunctory remarks. "If I were you, I'd forfeit and leave now, so you won't humiliate yourself later—"
Fang Heng could not be bothered with him. He simply set down his backpack, untied the rope knot on it, and released his Walker.
The Eternal Worm had been curious about why the fellow had brought a backpack. But the instant he saw that "Walker," his eyes widened. It was not just him—the entire preliminary venue fell briefly quiet.
Then everyone burst into laughter.
Many people laughed until tears came out.
"God!" Azure Sky did not know much about Combat Artificers, but she could still tell whether a Flexible Construct was strong or weak. She had never seriously looked at Fang Heng's "Walker" before, and when she suddenly saw it now, she could not help covering her forehead. "Has Brother Ed lost his mind?"
"What's happening? What's happening?" the Paparal shouted anxiously from below. "Can someone pick me up!?"
But nobody paid him any attention.
Hudi stared dumbfoundedly at the scene, though they were still doing better than some.
After a moment of stunned silence, the Eternal Worm suddenly broke into wild laughter. Tears and snot ran together as he laughed so hard he nearly rolled on the ground.
Clutching his stomach, he wheezed at Fang Heng between laughs. "Th-this is your combat Flexible Construct? Ha ha... ha ha ha, a wooden... Walker... and it's so small? Ha ha... ha ha ha, don't joke around... ow, my stomach hurts so much... Are you trying to make me laugh to death so you can win the match? Ha ha ha!"
The crowd laughed even louder. Though most people did not agree with the Eternal Worm, Fang Heng's Walker was simply too ridiculous.
Really, they had never seen such an "adorable" Combat Artificer.
"This little thing is just too cute." Several female adventurers were even laughing so hard they doubled over.
But Fang Heng alone did not laugh.
And Mazak, watching from afar, did not laugh either—
The former finished adjusting his Walker and stood up.
He looked at the Eternal Worm in the distance and calmly said, "I hope you can still laugh in a moment."
Of course the Eternal Worm could still laugh. Seeing that Fang Heng had not even brought a Magic Furnace, he felt even more secure. He had been about to sneer at him again, but suddenly swallowed his words.
Because he saw Fang Heng extend his right hand downward at an angle. On the casing of the golden control glove, the dial lit up faintly. The Magic Buoys lit up one after another—one, two, three... all the way to twenty-four. They rotated once together clockwise, then returned to their respective positions.
The entire process was incomparably smooth.
Then the twenty-four Magic Buoys disappeared one after another, leaving only six pointing in different directions.
The Eternal Worm swallowed, rubbed his eyes, and nearly thought he was seeing things—but Fang Heng had already raised his hand and said softly, "Sword Plover, attack!"
Two streaks of silver light.
Startled, the Eternal Worm hurriedly stepped back. Then he remembered that the rules prohibited attacks on the contestants themselves, and only then did he stop, still shaken. But in that instant of hesitation, Sword Plover had already circled behind his Shield Bearer like a flash of silver.
He had never seen a Flexible Construct this agile—
In horror, he immediately ordered his Shield Bearer to strike back. A spear thrust out from behind its great shield, about to hit Fang Heng's Flexible Construct.
But at that very moment.
The Eternal Worm's mouth fell open, and utter shock appeared in his eyes.
It was not just him. Everyone around the arena held their breath at the same time.
Fang Heng raised his hand. The six Magic Buoys on the dial rotated upward from below, then shifted left and right, making seventeen or eighteen changes simultaneously in the blink of an eye—so fast that it was nearly dazzling.
Sword Plover seemed to come alive, lightly twisting aside to evade the spear. Then it leaped forward. Its six legs left the ground in succession, and it began spinning through the air like an octopus.
It grabbed onto the Shield Bearer's spear and climbed upward.
"Not good!" Only then did the Eternal Worm react. With a flick of his hand, the Shield Bearer raised and swung its spear, trying to throw it off.
But it was too late—
Fang Heng's Walker leaped forward like a poised wolf spider and landed atop the Shield Bearer's head. "Easier than Big Sis." He shook his head, raised his right hand, brought his five fingers together, and lightly swept them from left to right.
The Shield Bearer was a rather special type of heavy construct. Its giant shield was its primary defensive measure.
But its main body was nothing special.
A silver line flashed past.
The Shield Bearer sank downward, both knees hitting the ground at once as it knelt in the arena. A head spun high into the air, then landed on the ground before everyone's eyes with a bang.
Dust billowed.
The construct's headless body tipped forward and crashed heavily to the ground.
And so, in the arena—
Only the Eternal Worm, the Walker, and Fang Heng remained.
The young man raised his head, his hand still suspended in the air, and looked at his opponent.
His dark eyes were calm, while only his pupils expanded outward like flames.
"You lost."
From the first strike to the last.
It had taken nine seconds—
The entire venue fell deathly silent.
This chapter was 5,000 words because I wanted to finish the battle in one go.
A word about updates, the release schedule, and chapter breaks—sometimes there is really no way around the chapter-break issue. After all, 4,000-word chapters do not really suit my pacing.
But I hope everyone understands that during a new book's initial period, there are actually very few updates of 4,000 or 5,000 words per chapter, because that quickly ends the new-book period, which is very disadvantageous for a new book. Of course, I will compromise as much as possible and try to prioritize both my own pacing and everyone's reading experience, but this is all I can do. Since this involves the book's performance, the release date can only tentatively be set for March. Releasing earlier is basically impossible, because this new book has a buyout contract. You all would not want to see it get cut short due to poor performance, right?
I hope everyone can understand each other. I will do my best to ensure your reading experience. As for anything else, I dare not ask for much—just recommendations and bookmarks would be enough.
After it goes premium in March, I'll have another small burst of updates—I dare not promise too much, since I'm afraid it would affect the quality. Until then, I can only ask everyone to bear with me a little longer~
Before you continue