Chapter 45

Sure enough, as Tang En had expected, when he returned to the manor, Fiona's anger had already subsided. Although she wasn't smiling, she wasn't about to draw her sword at him... Well, perhaps it was because she knew she couldn't beat Tang En, so she had resigned herself to it.

Tang En's gaze subconsciously swept over Fiona's chest, and just as the young girl's eyebrows started to rise, he hurriedly said, "I just remembered I have something to do. You guys eat, and don't call me for dinner tonight!"

Then he slipped back to his bedroom.

Fiona stomped her foot in anger, "Let you starve to death then!"

Of course, she also knew how difficult it would be to starve a mage with unfathomable power, so she ignored him.

That night, a theft occurred in the manor. A piece of bread, a piece of roasted meat, and a bottle of red wine were stolen.

The next day, after having breakfast, Tang En went to find Brian.

"Hey, Edgar, how's it going?"

"Lord, over a hundred farmers have already come to collect their farming tools, and more are expected to come today."

"Great, keep up the good work. I have high hopes for you."

"Thank you, Lord, for your trust!"

Tang En went to the back of the blacksmith's shop, where Brian was leisurely drinking. Seeing Tang En, he jumped up, "Brother, everything's done!"

"Great."

Tang En had already seen the water wheel parts piled up in the backyard. These parts, of course, needed to be assembled by the river. With a wave of his hand, all the parts were stored in his bag.

"Let's go."

Tang En estimated that the guards had already gathered, so he set off with Brian.

When they arrived at the Emerald River, they found that the guards had already assembled there. After receiving the gold coins from Tang En, their demeanor and spirits were clearly different. Compared to before, they stood straighter and their smiles were brighter. They all looked at Tang En with respect and admiration.

Elsa saluted Tang En, "Lord, everyone is here."

Tang En nodded, "I called you here today because there's an important task for you to do."

"Lord, just give the order. Even if it's to slay a dragon, we'll follow your command!"

"Right! Lord, please give the order!"

As the saying goes, money emboldens men. With the gold coins, their courage and bravery soared, which was both good and bad.

Tang En laughed, "Slay a dragon? You guys? I bet you'd wet your pants before you even got close to the dragon's lair."

Tang En waved his hand, "No joking. I called you here today to help assemble the water wheel."

"Water wheel?"

Their doubts were quickly resolved. With a wave of Tang En's hand, a pile of parts appeared on the ground.

Elsa and Brian knew that Tang En had a spatial item, but the guards didn't. Seeing this, they were all stunned.

"A miracle!"

"What miracle! I've heard bards say this is an incredibly valuable spatial item! They say even the most ordinary spatial item can be exchanged for a large territory!"

"Lord, you truly deserve it, to have a spatial item!"

However, because of their narrow horizons, they accepted this reality more easily. In their eyes, Lord was so powerful and kind that having a spatial item wasn't surprising—they didn't understand the true value of spatial items.

Elsa sighed, not interested in explaining further, and just waited for Tang En's instructions.

"Later, Brian and I will assemble the water wheel. Your task is to set up these supports on the riverbank. I'll show you how to assemble them. There's also a water channel to set up. Divide into two teams, one to set up the supports, the other to set up the water channel. Elsa, you go contact the nearby farmers and have them start digging ditches from the end of the water channel to connect to the fields."

"Understood!"

Elsa quickly took the order and left, and the others began assembling the supports under Tang En's guidance.

The water wheel was over ten meters tall. If this were on Earth, it would be difficult for these people to handle the work, but this was Plandar, a world where individual strength far exceeded that of Earth.

By the afternoon, the supports were assembled, and Tang En and Brian had also put together the wooden buckets and rollers. The main wheel was formed, and all that was left was to mount it on the supports and stand it up.

"Elsa, call everyone to lift this up."

Tang En pointed to the massive water wheel, which made Elsa look like a small dog next to an elephant.

"Lord, I can do it alone—"

"No."

Tang En shook his head.

Don't joke. Although Elsa was very strong, the riverbank's load-bearing capacity was weak. She would probably sink into the ground before she could lift it. Moreover, the iron materials in Plandar were not strong enough to withstand the weight of the entire water wheel. It would deform immediately.

Elsa's strength would be needed when standing up the water wheel.

A group of people lifted the water wheel onto the supports, and the rollers fit perfectly. Tang En was very satisfied.

"Secure the supports with ropes, then we'll divide into two sides to lift the water wheel."

Tang En directed them to tie the ropes, and he and Elsa each took a side. As Elsa started to exert force, the massive water wheel slowly stood up, and the others cheered.

However, it was Elsa's first time doing this, and she couldn't control her strength. After the water wheel stood up, it started to tip over toward the river!

Fortunately, Tang En was prepared. He instantly pulled the rope, preventing the water wheel from tipping over.

"Wow, Lord's strength is incredible!"

The guards were stunned. It was the first time they had seen Tang En's strength.

"Right! Lord's strength is probably not much less than Elsa's!"

"Only someone like Lord would be worthy of Elsa."

"Haha, right, if anyone else were with Elsa, they'd probably be slapped away in an argument, but Lord isn't afraid."

Danny's eyes sparkled, and he clenched his fists, "I must become as strong as Lord!"

"Dan, stop daydreaming. Just work hard. If Lord appreciates you, he'll promote you to a guard, and then you'll be impressive."

Tang En didn't pay attention to the discussions below. He was balancing his strength with Elsa's to keep the water wheel steady.

Once the water wheel was firmly in place, Tang En lightly stomped his foot, secretly casting a "Mud to Stone" spell to firmly anchor the water wheel to the riverbank.

"Done!"

Tang En waved to Elsa on the other side of the river, and she plopped into the water and swam back.

"Lord, will this really lift water to a higher place?"

Elsa wrung out her hair, looking curiously at the water wheel.

"We'll see in a moment."

Tang En waved, signaling the people above to remove the wooden boards blocking the river. The calm river water flowed again, and the water wheel started to turn.

"It's turning! It's turning!"

"The buckets are filling with water—up they go—ah! The water is pouring out!"

"Wow! This is like magic!"

The guards and a few farmers nearby were amazed. Without using any magic, the water was lifted to a higher place, which was incredible!

On the hillside, the water channels had been dug, and the water channel was assembled. As the water channel was set up, the water lifted by the water wheel smoothly flowed into the channel, heading toward the dry fields.

"Great! This is fantastic!"

The farmers were moved to tears. With this water wheel, they no longer had to worry about water shortages in the fields. They wouldn't have to carry water for irrigation every day, and they wouldn't have to work so hard!

"This is all thanks to Lord! Who else could have thought of such a miraculous solution?"

"Right! It's incredible, like magic... I still can't believe it!"

"Lord must be a messenger sent by the gods to save Ellington!"

The farmers became more and more excited and knelt down in unison before Tang En.

"Get up. Since you are my people, I will naturally find ways to make your lives better."

Tang En waved his hand, feeling a sense of accomplishment. "Like magic," this was the second time he had heard this phrase. It was as impressive as when Brian said, "By the beard of the hammer!" In a world with magic, had people forgotten how to use water and wind power? Did they rely solely on magic to solve their problems?

However, the mages might not care about such trivial matters...

Tang En was also helpless. In reality, whether it was the press or the water wheel, the key was still the power of magic. Without magic, he couldn't provide the power for the press, and without magic, he couldn't make the water wheel's bearings with the current technology.

To completely abandon magic and use industrial power to achieve everything would be extremely difficult. He wasn't an expert in mechanical engineering or advanced chemistry. Everything relied on the vague impressions in his mind and the convenience of magic.

But Tang En didn't think too much about it. He would do what he could. At least, he could make life better for the people of Ellington and make his own life more comfortable. For now, that was enough.

The appearance of the water wheel solved the impending drought problem, and the iron farming tools improved their work efficiency. These were issues related to the people's livelihood. With the hope of having enough food, his rule would be more stable. The next step was to address the long-neglected military strength.