Aegon had read kingdom-building novels before, and they often described constructing things based on historical designs or modern innovations, but they never went into much detail.

It was understandable since too much explanation would become boring, but those books still gave him ideas to use.

The second method he thought of using was something he had read about in one of the books in his grandpa's library. It had been used by farmers for a long time, so he thought it would be practical for them here as well.

And making it was very easy.

In no time, a sweep arm made of wood was placed at the midsection where the steps ended. It would have been better at the bottom, but it would be quite problematic to transfer it elsewhere whenever the water level changed.

A gear connected it with the turning wheel, so when the arm was rotated horizontally by bulls or some other animal, it rotated the vertical gears of the turning wheel and pushed the water-filled bamboos upwards.

'I'm sure this existed back on Earth too, but I don't know the name. Well, whatever. As long as it works, everything's good.'

Aegon stared at the sweep arm and smiled. Now that it was installed, it was time for testing. Even though they didn't have any animals with them, there were better options.

"Miguel," Aegon called out as a towering, flickering shadow slid before him. He pointed at the wooden arm and said, "Make it spin!"

The giant shadow seemed to nod in understanding and moved toward the arm.

Miguel stared at the wooden arm for a moment before he slapped it. The impact made the arm spin rapidly in circles before it snapped in half. The momentum sent the wooden piece shooting through the air.

The broken wooden arm landed in the clear waters of the river and drifted away with its flow.

Aegon was speechless.

Everyone was speechless.

He took a deep breath to make sure he didn't explode and asked calmly, "Are you all allergic to control? Why can't you ever control your strength except when you're blacksmithing?"

The nearby shadows stepped back, as if afraid his anger would be targeted at them next. Only Hecte stayed calmly at his side.

"Umm, Boss, it was very soft?" Miguel said with uncertainty.

"You're the one who made it," Aegon rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Make another and then make it spin."

"Uhh, okay," Miguel muttered before the shadows surrounding him engulfed the broken arm. The next second, they retreated, revealing a brand-new wooden sweep arm no different from the one before.

Sadly, the wheel had also broken, so he had to repair that too.

This time he was more careful and slowly spun the arm, making the wheel turn fast as the bamboos filled with water were pushed upwards and began pouring into the stone basin.

"YES!!!" Aegon exclaimed, making a fist with an excited grin on his face. "Two successful ones. Now only the third remains."

"It's wonderful, Boss," Hecte said in a slightly dazed voice, showing her admiration toward her young leader.

"Umu!" Aegon nodded in excitement. "This alone will be enough for many, but let's make the third one anyway."

"Before we make that, Boss, I have a question," Hecte asked. "What about the land? I don't see much of a difference here, but is this also affected by whatever is ruining the farms?"

"I don't think so," Aegon shook his head and replied. "Don't ask why. I just have that gut feeling."

He had the perfect sixth sense, so he trusted it a lot. He had sensed something amiss when he visited the farms, but not with these slopes.

"They likely only attacked the farmlands and the most obvious locations for farming," Aegon smiled. "They didn't think we could build our farms here. Anyways, let's go and make the third one. Miguel! You're on!"

Miguel might be slow in other aspects, but his performance in blacksmithing was marvelous. Although there were a few errors at times, Aegon explained to him what he wanted, and it didn't take long before the giant shadow handed him the finished item.

Aegon glanced toward the eastern side and sensed that the sun wasn't far from the horizon. In a few minutes, the world would be lit up in its warmth.

'It's probably because of my physique that I'm so sensitive to it.'

He shook his head and climbed down the slope to enter the cool waters of the river. Then, he placed his third invention in the shallow waters.

It was a giant wooden wheel, twice his height, with many fan-like internal wings shaped in a slightly twisted way. As the water slammed against the wings, it pushed them away, making the inner wheel spin rapidly.

Aegon then connected two gears, one in the giant wheel and one in the turning wheel, with a tight rope. When the giant wheel spun from the water's flow, it forced the gear to spin as well, essentially making the turning wheel rotate too.

As he admired his work, Aegon grinned widely, seeing the bamboos filled with water being lifted up steadily because of the spin.

"This is genius!" Hecte muttered in surprise and shock. "Why did no one think of this?"

"Simple! It's a world of magic, so people are more focused on that." Aegon shrugged in response. "The geniuses go on to pursue the secrets of magic, and mundane people never really needed these since canals and channels did the work."

A smile formed on his lips as he said, "An invention only comes to life either through a curious soul or through desperation and need."

Hecte turned toward him, wondering how a fifteen-year-old could speak like that.

As she mulled over his words, she realized he was absolutely right. It wasn't that no one could have thought of this before, it was simply that nobody ever bothered to research this side of things.

Aegon could understand it too. There was no need for electricity in this world of magic, and most other things could be accomplished through magical means, so why would anyone bother with hydraulic inventions?

'Even though water is such a useful source. I might understand it even better if I continue pursuing magic.'

"Anyways, let's finish this up. It's ready to be sho—"

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