Gathering Wives with a System Chapter 165: Controlling The Field From Behind The Scenes, "Innocent" Emily

Naga Base

The underground base of the Nagas stank of stale air and dried blood.

Clusters of families huddled together near weak torchlight.

Their bodies were pressed close for warmth and protection.

The wounded moaned quietly in their sleep, and thin children whimpered softly against their mothers’ chests.

None of them looked strong anymore. Not even the warriors.

A woman sat near the wall.

Her arms were wrapped tightly around her two weeping children. She whispered with a forced smile, "Shh... don’t cry. Everything will be okay. Once the God wakes up... everything will be happy again."

Her voice was thin, and desperate.

A deep voice cut through the moment like a blade.

"Shut your damn mouths!"

The speaker was a broad-shouldered naga warrior.

His scales were dulled from starvation, but his presence still made others flinch.

He stormed forward, glaring at the cluster of families.

"First Kael-Zar and Virela run off to a human city and die like idiots, and now you all are just making it worse!" he snapped. "Do you think we enjoy this? Protecting you, starving next to you, dying for you? If you can’t help, then at least don’t cry in our faces!"

He spat on the ground. "You’re killing our morale."

The woman shrank back, holding her children tighter. Her hands trembled. She didn’t say a word.

Then, a soft voice echoed through the base, almost like it drifted on the stale air itself.

"Hmm... that one seems like a good target. Kill him."

The warrior frowned and turned, confused.

A moment later, he screamed.

He dropped to the floor.

His body contorted in agony as his insides twisted.

Blood poured from his mouth, and then his eyes, and then his scales began to blacken.

He clawed at the ground, shrieking until his voice failed. Then, he lay still.

Everyone turned toward the voice.

At the edge of the torchlight, stepping through a narrow corridor, came an old man and a young human male.

The old man’s steps were slow, and deliberate. His black hair was streaked with silver, and he wore a long coat that shimmered faintly under the firelight.

Governor Marcellus Dane. Leader of Fortified City 50, a city under humans’ control.

Beside him, Vale Rae moved like a shadow. His eyes swept across the frightened Nagas.

The Governor stopped near the weeping woman and her children.

He crouched down slightly, enough to meet her gaze, though she didn’t dare lift her eyes to his face.

"He shouted at you, didn’t he? When you’re in this state," the Governor said softly. "I’m sorry you had to go through that."

The woman didn’t respond. Her whole body trembled from fear.

Marcellus straightened. He smiled faintly as he turned to the crowd.

"Since we are allies, I only wanted to protect you from the abuse."

Then, from beyond a thick curtain of torn cloth, another figure emerged.

His scaled armor was cracked in places, and his expression was a mixture of fury and resignation.

The Naga leader.

His gaze landed on the corpse of the warrior, and his lips tightened.

For a moment, anger burned in his eyes.

But then he saw Vale Rae behind the Governor and forced himself still. He gave a short nod.

Marcellus inclined his head politely.

The leader signaled two of his strongest warriors, and the group moved into a large tent tucked in the corner of the base.

Once inside, silence pressed down like a weight. The air was thick with tension.

The Naga leader didn’t ask about the dead warrior. He didn’t question why they killed him. That silence said more than words.

He knew who held the leash.

The Governor adjusted his coat slightly and spoke first. "I came to discuss the breach in our contract."

The Naga leader clenched his jaw.

"You remember our deal, don’t you?" Marcellus asked.

The leader nodded slowly.

"We hold back all three human factions from claiming this city. In return, once your faction returns, you take control of Fortified City 89 and let us live here," the leader said in a low, bitter voice.

The shame choked him.

A proud mid-tier species was bowing to humans. It was something he could never have imagined before the ’disaster’.

The memory of that day still haunted him.

Their settlement had been wiped out overnight.

The Disaster had come like a storm, tearing through their defenses.

Their Overlord-rank awakeners—their strongest—were the first to fall.

Then their Champions followed. What few Champions survived had been so gravely injured they could barely move.

At the end, only a few hundred Nagas escaped.

That escape had only been possible because of the sacrifice of those powerful awakeners.

And before their last Shaman—a revered Overlord-rank—perished, she gave them a prophecy.

"Go to the land where our God sleeps. And He will take you under His wings."

Her dying words led them here.

After months of hiding and searching, they found the N’theris Serpent—the God she had spoken of. A creature of Hell, powerful and eternal. As long as they woke Him, He would protect them.

Everything had been going well... until humans began to explore the city.

Wounded as they were, the Nagas laid traps, struck from the shadows, drove the humans back.

They refused to let anyone else have this city. It was going to be their new home.

But then, Marcellus Dane arrived with Vale Rae.

No one knew how he found their base. But he had. And when he did, no one could stop him.

The Nagas should’ve died then, killed at the hands of Vale Rae who was the Governor’s dog.

Instead, the Governor offered them a deal.

Delay the human factions, sabotage their progress, and in return, they’d be spared, at least until his own faction returned from the Mourning Frost Mountains.

After that, he would let them live along in his ’new’ city.

The nagas knew he was lying.

But they had no choice.

Vale Rae began visiting every few days, bringing information about the factions, strategies to handle them.

His constant appearance was also a warning. It was a reminder of who held the blade above their necks.

They cooperated.

But secretly, they worked to awaken the N’theris Serpent. That was their only true hope.

"If you understand the agreement," Marcellus continued, "then I’d like to know why you broke it."

The leader remained silent.

"You sent two assassins to my city," the Governor said with a gentle smile. "They murdered a diplomat from another human city. Then they tried to recruit the Farmer I had my eyes on."

The Naga leader trembled.

Marcellus’s smile disappeared.

He clicked his tongue and looked toward Vale Rae. "They need to be punished. Two should be enough."

Vale nodded.

The two warriors standing behind the leader let out a sudden, ragged gasp. They convulsed. Their limbs flailed briefly, then curled inward. Within moments, they collapsed.

Dead.

The leader stared in horror.

"Why?" he whispered. "Why them?"

The Governor turned back with a soft smile. "Well... what’s done is done, yes? Let’s not dwell on the past. I trust you won’t make the same mistake again."

He paused, then added, "Also, don’t fail again like with the Metavore incident. The human factions must be kept from exploring deeper. Understood?"

The Governor turned to leave.

Vale followed.

A young female Naga—barely out of her youth—rushed into the tent. Her face was red with fury.

"Father!" she cried. "Why are we listening to them? If they’re going to kill us, then let’s fight them! We’ll die like warriors!"

The leader’s throat tightened. He raised a hand and gently placed it on his daughter’s head.

"I know," he said. "But not yet."

He couldn’t let his daughter die, nor the children of the fallen warriors who gave their life to protect the naga settlement.

He would protect them even if he had to lick the dirt from his enemy’s shoe.

Outside, the Governor and Vale Rae were walking back through the tunnels.

Marcellus groaned slightly. "Walking here and back every time... My old bones aren’t built for this anymore."

Vale looked over.

"I understand," he said. "I’ll make sure they behave, so you won’t have to come to this filthy place again."

The Governor stopped and glanced at him.

He had sidestepped the real message.

He had been asking about his sister, Celia Rae, who could use teleportation ability. The Governor was starting to get impatient because he couldn’t get his hands on her.

He smiled, but the warmth didn’t reach his eyes.

Still, he didn’t press the issue.

"If you say so."

And with that, they walked on through the dark corridors of the dying race’s final refuge.

...

Isaac POV

Isaac reached home late at night. He handled the farm and trudged into his room.

His body was tense and his mind was a mess.

Two days had passed since he’d last been intimate, and the frustration was eating at him, especially after the incident with Alice at her house.

Her honest longing for him, the heat between them. All of it had left him on edge. His dragon instincts weren’t helping.

’Come back home quickly, Alice,’ he thought wryly. ’Or I don’t know what I’ll do with you if you return late.’

He pushed open the door to the room, expecting to find Emily waiting for him, but instead, he was met with silence.

Emily lay on the bed, curled up and fast asleep.

Isaac blinked, surprised.

She was out already? It made sense, though. Professor Catherine always went hard on training, and since only Emily was present today, she must’ve been extra hard on her. The exhaustion must’ve claimed Emily.

Still, Isaac didn’t move.

His eyes wandered over her. Her one-piece dress had ridden up slightly, revealing the smooth, milky white skin of her thighs.

Her face was peaceful, innocent, with a faint smile that made her look almost too cute.

The sight stirred him. A dark urge rose inside him and told him to mess up that sweet expression until she was crying his name. He stepped closer. His body hovered over hers, and his breath was uneven.

’She wouldn’t mind, right?’ he thought, his mind racing. ’She’s done it to me plenty of times while I was asleep.’

He recalled waking up to Emily’s mouth on him. Her "practice" sessions were always bold and unapologetic, leaving him dazed and wanting more.

"Emily, are you awake?" he whispered, brushing back the strands of hair on her ear.

She didn’t move. Her breathing remained steady and soft.

Isaac stared at her, torn between desire and restraint.

Looking at her was torture. His body screamed for release. His arousal was so intense it felt like he might burst if he didn’t act, and her tempting innocent expression wasn’t helping.

He leaned closer, his hand hovering over her thigh, but after a long moment, he sighed heavily and rolled over, collapsing onto the bed beside her.

He couldn’t do it, not until he asked for her permission.

Shutting his eyes, he decided to sleep, and ignore the fire raging inside him.

Isaac thought sleep would elude him, but exhaustion hit fast. Within moments, he was in dreamland.

In the dream, he was on a couch, watching TV. Someone sat between his legs. Her back was nestled against him, and his arms wrapped around her waist. The warmth of their body, and the closeness felt real, too real.

’Who is she?’ he wondered, though his thoughts were muddled by the dream’s haze.

She wasn’t Emily or Alice, that much he knew, but her presence was familiar, like a memory just out of reach.

’Am I so pent up I’m dreaming about random girls now?’ the thought was both amusing and displeasing, but he didn’t pull away. If anything, he tightened his hold, drawing her closer.

"Isaac?"

Her voice was teasing, mature, and achingly familiar, but his dream-fogged mind couldn’t recall the identity of the owner of the voice.

The scent of her hit him next. It was an alluring mix that acted like an aphrodisiac. Combined with his dragon instincts, it sent his mind spinning. Desire clouded everything.

She froze, her body tensing as she felt his hardness press against her through their clothes.

Isaac’s breath grew heavy. His lips brushed her ear.

"Hey," he whispered, his voice rough. "Should we..."

He trailed off, as a strange sensation cut through the dream. Lowering his head, he saw blood dripping from his nose.

The dream shattered, and Isaac woke with a start, gasping for air. His heart pounded, and his body slick with sweat.

"What the hell was that?" he muttered, sitting up. "Who was that woman?"

Her voice, her scent. They felt so familiar, but her face was a blur, slipping away the more he tried to recall it.

Frustrated, he clicked his tongue and glanced around the room.

Emily was gone. The bed beside him was empty. He checked his device, the screen showing the time. Only five minutes had passed since he’d fallen asleep.

Five minutes? That dream had felt like hours.

Isaac ran a hand through his hair, trying to shake off the lingering heat of the dream.

His body was still tense. The frustration from earlier was now mixed with confusion. Who was she? Why did she feel so familiar?

He thought of Selene, and Celia, but it wasn’t them. The voice was different.

He groaned, lying back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Get it together," he told himself.

The room was quiet. Isaac wondered where Emily had gone. Maybe she’d woken up and wandered to the kitchen or stepped outside for fresh air. He considered going to find her but decided against it.

He closed his eyes, trying to calm his racing thoughts, but the heat in his veins wouldn’t subside.

A cold shower might help, he thought. He needed something to douse the fire.

He stood, heading to the bathroom, and opened the door.

The sound of running water hit him first, followed by the sight of Emily’s naked figure under the showerhead. Her hands were raised as she washed her hair.

The steam blurred the air, but her silhouette was clear.

Her curves were soft and inviting. Before he realized it, Isaac was across the room, pressing her back against the tiled wall, his lips capturing hers in a hungry kiss.

"Isaac, did I wake you—mhmm" she started, her voice muffled by his kiss. "Wait— mhmm at least let me clean myself— mhmm"

His fingers moved instinctively, sliding between her folds, finding her already wet. A low moan escaped her lips, vibrating against his mouth.

Isaac paused, a thought cutting through the haze. Why was she already wet?

Another question followed, one he’d overlooked earlier. Why had Emily been asleep before him?

Given her personality, she should have stayed awake, waiting for him.

The image of her sleeping defenselessly with her dress hiked up flashed in his mind. Was it deliberate?

’No way,’ he thought, suspicion growing.

Still kissing her, he pulled back just enough to speak.

Emily’s hands remained wrapped around his neck, their bodies pressing closer.

"Were you awake when I got back?" he asked

"No," she replied, her voice shaky as their kisses continued, but her tone lacked conviction.

Isaac didn’t buy it.

’Inspect,’ he thought.

[Status 1: Wondering why you didn’t pounce on her when she was faking sleep.]

[Status 2: Alice told her it was the perfect way to entice you while letting you dominate her, spicing up the romance. Her heart was pounding with expectation, but you chose to be a gentleman and didn’t touch her. She’s sulking, so she came to bathe and cool herself, but stared to touch herself thinking about you.]

[Status 3: Wondering if she should send Alice a video of you two having sex, even though Alice’s advice didn’t work. She thinks she should, since it was Alice’s payment, but part of her hesitates.]

’What the hell?’ Isaac thought, stunned.

It took a moment for him to process everything. Alice had coached Emily to fake sleep, to lure him into taking advantage of her defenseless form, all to spark some fiery romance.

When did Alice become such a schemer? No, she had always been like that. The question should be when did she corrupt Emily to become like her?

Alice and Professor Catherine were both a bad influence on the innocent Emily.

And a video? Why did Alice want that?

His mind was filled with questions, but Emily’s moans brought him back while her body trembled under his touch.

He kissed her again.

"You sure you were asleep?" His voice was teasing, but there was an edge to it.

Emily moaned, nodding her head. "Yes."

Isaac’s lips twitched. If she wanted him to pounce, she’d get it.

He pulled his fingers out, turned her around, and grabbed her wrists with one hand, pinning them against the wall.

With his other hand, he guided her hips, positioning her ass toward him. Her body arched, ready, and he didn’t hold back.

’She wants me to take her? She’s gonna get it,’ he thought.

He entered her forcefully with a deep and relentless angle.

Emily gasped. Her breasts dangled briefly before Isaac’s thrusts pushed her tighter against the wall, flattening her chest against the wall.

The water cascaded over them, mixing with their heat.

She bent her waist further, enticing him.

His hand kept her wrists pinned, ensuring she couldn’t move, while his other gripped her waist, pulling her into each thrust. Her gasps and moans filled the room.

The noise of flesh slapping against flesh rang.

"Isaac," she called out in a trembling as her body shuddered under his hold.

"What?" he replied.

"Harder, please. Be more rough," she pleaded, her words broken by moans.