My Farming Domain Is Broken

More and more branches moved around the valley.

The pale vines rose from the fields and pointed toward Carlos and the regulator building.

Kaia quickly stood in front of him.

"Don’t attack," Carlos ordered.

Cosmic looked at all the moving plants. "They are surrounding us, bro."

"They haven’t left their fields."

The vines were moving but none came closer to the group. The trees were the same too.

Carlos stepped around Kaia and moved toward the closest vine. He touched its dry leaf and it folded around two of his fingers.

It didn’t hurt him.

--

[Compatible Domain detected]

[Agriculture Domain recognized]

[Abandoned Cultivation District is requesting restoration]

[Current district functions are too damaged to establish communication]

[Restore limited irrigation: Incomplete]

--

The leaf opened and released his fingers. The other plants went down again but they were still facing him.

"They know what you are," Cosmic said after reading the notifications in front of Carlos.

"Yeah, they recognized the agricultural domain."

"Same thing."

Carlos went back to the regulator.

The roots were a part of the district, so they couldn’t just cut them away. It would damage the place and might even kill the crops.

There had to be another reason why they were holding the wheel.

Carlos and Brann removed the broken tiles from the reservoir floor. A round stone cover appeared under them and some damp air came out from its sides.

Brann lifted the cover.

There was a deep shaft under it and Carlos could see water at the bottom. Thick pale roots had formed a knot over the water as if they were protecting it.

--

[Emergency Water Reserve]

[Remaining capacity: 8%]

[Regulator Root has sealed reserve to prevent total evaporation]

[Restoration requirement: Prove functional water flow without exhausting reserve]

--

"So the root isn’t stopping the water for no reason," Carlos muttered. "It is saving what is left."

If they forced the wheel to move, the final water reserve would be used. The trees might recover for a little while but they would die again when it ended.

"The reasoning is awfully smart coming from trees"

Cosmic looked at One.

"Can the slime fill it?"

"Are you deadass? Water Shot is an attack. It doesn’t create enough water to fill this reservoir."

Even if One used Water Shot many times, it would only waste its energy.

Carlos went outside and looked at the aqueduct again. Many parts were broken but the upper channel still continued past the valley.

If there was water in any section, they only needed to bring it here.

Nessa checked the aqueduct and returned with some wet soil on her glove.

"There is moisture after the third standing arch."

Carlos climbed with Kaia and the two Lizardmen. Brann passed the broken stones to them from below while Cosmic helped him.

At the top, Carlos finally saw a small amount of water flowing through the channel. It disappeared inside a collapsed area filled with red roots.

"We remove the roots and repair the broken part," Carlos said.

Cosmic looked at the large gap. "With what?"

Carlos unwrapped the Warden Chain from his arm.

The black links floated toward the gap and stretched from one side to another.

Kaia understood what he wanted to do.

"Using the chain to hold the stones. Thats smart, my lord"

Carlos nodded.

The chain itself couldn’t carry the water but it was strong enough to support the broken channel stones.

For the next two hours, everyone worked.

Brann carried the largest stones. The Lizardmen removed the roots and Nessa gathered long vines that they could use to hold the smaller pieces together.

Carlos confirmed with Cosmic many times if something could hapen to their territories while they were here and he declined. Nothing could happen when they were here but Carlos wasn’t sure so he wanted this to be done as soon as possible.

The work was slow because one wrong stone could fall into the lower channel and block it again. Kaia checked every piece before Brann placed another one over it.

Carlos had to keep the Warden Chain in the same position throughout it. The chain followed his will but holding it over a large distance was different from moving it for a few seconds.

His head started hurting after the first hour.

Cosmic noticed him closing his eyes and passed him some water.

"Drink."

"The chain might move."

"Then drink with one hand and control it with the other. I am not asking you to sleep, bro."

Carlos took the container and drank without arguing. Cosmic had already learned that asking politely gave Carlos enough time to refuse.

Cosmic pushed wet soil between every opening. Carlos tried to take another stone from him but Cosmic moved it away.

"You brought six troops with you. Use them instead man..."

"I am using them."

"Then stop trying to do the work of us all on your own."

He gave the stone to Kaia instead and she took it without saying anything.

"Traitor..." Carlos muttered.

"Commander," Kaia corrected.

Cosmic laughed while Carlos went back to controlling the chain.

When they were finally done, the broken stones formed a rough channel over the black links. It didn’t look good but it only needed to carry the water.

Carlos inspected the repair but the system didn’t give it a name or grade. It wasn’t a real building and would probably become unstable when the Warden Chain was removed.

They only needed it to hold until water reached the regulator and opened the roots. After that, Carlos could remove the chain, but they would need a permanent support before using the aqueduct again.

Brann removed the roots blocking the upper channel and suddenly, water rushed forward.

The first wave almost removed all the wet soil they had placed. Carlos forced the chain upward while Cosmic and the Lizardmen quickly closed the openings again.

The water crossed the broken part and entered the district.

It carried dirt and dry leaves toward the regulator before falling inside the reservoir.

The pale roots around the stone wheel slowly moved away when they sensed the water.

Brann jumped down and grabbed the wheel.

"Turn it!" Carlos shouted.

The wheel moved and a loud sound came from under the valley.

Water filled the reservoir before entering the first auxiliary channel. The grey soil became dark wherever it went.

--

[Limited irrigation restored]

[Auxiliary channels: 1 of 12 functional]

[Temporary claim established]

[Claim Holder: Carlos Goldwin]

[Registered companions may interact with district functions]

[Unregistered removal of rooted district crops prohibited]

--

Small pieces of green started appearing under the bark of the closest trees.

Carlos climbed down but his arms were shaking after controlling the Warden Chain for so long. His foot slipped on the last stone and Cosmic quickly grabbed him.

Once the regulator closed, Carlos pulled the Warden Chain out from under the stones. The rough channel remained in place but some wet soil immediately fell from its bottom.

"You can stop now. The system accepted it."

"Bro, are you sure you don’t want to be the owner? You worked as hard as me" Carlos spoke but Cosmic only shook his head.

"I don’t have the skills to use it, but with you as the owner, I would use it as well."

Carlos nodded to that but felt like he would talk about this later too. He looked at the temporary channel.

"It needs another support."

"Don’t worry, we will make one after you eat something."

Before Carlos could refuse, Nessa whistled from the southern wall.

Five Lords had entered the valley with eight troops. They carried shields, axes and large gathering bags.

The man in front looked at the flowing water before opening the district information.

His face changed when he saw Carlos’s name.

"We followed the aqueduct for three hours," he said. "You can’t be telling me you own everything inside this valley now. Is that right, Carlos Goldwin?"

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