Gathering Wives with a System Chapter 733 Challenging Florathi, Intervention Of The Spirit Of Machines

Selene was still happily hugging Isaac when a powerful shockwave of wind suddenly erupted behind him.

Isaac glanced over his shoulder and saw three figures approaching at high speed, with two of them sitting on the backs of enormous eagle-like monsters while the one in front flew through the air on his own. All three were Awakeners, and although their bodies were mostly mechanical, they possessed faint features that reminded Isaac of ants.

Thirty more ant-like Awakeners followed behind them, each equipped with boosters that allowed them to fly through the sky. It was obvious that they had not come simply to welcome the newcomers. The Awakener in front soon spoke, making their purpose clear.

"This is Florathi territory, and bringing a city-sized piece of land into our territory without warning will naturally be considered an act of aggression. We will inspect this Sky City first to make certain there is nothing harmful inside it, and until that inspection is complete, everyone currently on the city will have to remain here and cooperate with us."

Selene made an annoyed expression when she heard that, but she hid it quickly and returned to her usual calm smile. Clearly, she was irritated that someone had chosen this exact moment to interrupt her reunion with Isaac, especially after she had finally gotten the chance to see him again after being separated for so long.

Isaac did not immediately answer the Awakeners. Instead, he looked at Selene for a moment, and when he saw that she showed no trace of fear despite the situation, a smile appeared on his face. The three Awakeners in front of him were extremely powerful Overlords, and judging from their presence, they were likely from an Apex Rank species, while some of the Awakeners behind them seemed to be Champions of high-rank species or Overlords belonging to low-rank species.

Despite facing such a sizable force, Selene remained completely calm. Isaac could not help feeling pleased when he saw that reaction because it showed him just how much she had grown. She no longer needed him to protect her from every powerful existence that appeared in front of them, and seeing her confidence made him feel even happier about their reunion.

"Let's go on a date after we handle these people," Isaac said.

Selene's eyes immediately brightened, and her smile became much warmer than before. "Okay."

Only after that did Isaac finally turn his attention toward the Awakeners. The one in front flew forward slightly before introducing himself.

"I am D-01, and I apologize for the inconvenience, Lord Isaac, but I must ask you to stand down and cooperate with our inspection. There have been cases of monsters capable of mimicking another person's appearance or controlling their mind, so we need to detain you temporarily before we scour the Sky City and confirm that there is nothing dangerous inside."

Isaac chuckled lightly after hearing his explanation. These people clearly wanted to search the Sky City for resources, while the detention was probably intended to give them an opportunity to question him about how he had managed to control the city's trajectory and move such a massive structure through Florathi's territory.

He also found D-01's name somewhat interesting. Combined with his mechanical appearance, it made it obvious that he was a Vitaroid from the City of Steel, and Isaac remembered that X-019, the Vitaroid who had previously accompanied the Third Priest to his city, had also come from the same place.

'I suppose it makes sense that the Vitaroids were the first ones to arrive. Their city is technologically advanced, and their long-range detection equipment is probably much better than what most other cities possess. They must have detected the Sky City before anyone else,' Isaac thought.

Isaac had been speaking with Jasmine every few days recently, and although neither of them particularly liked the other, they understood that they were allies and had therefore continued sharing information. Jasmine had already explained the specialties of the different cities within the Florathi Kingdom to him, including information about their leaders, which made it easy for Isaac to identify where D-01 had come from.

D-01 raised one hand and waved it forward. The thirty Awakeners behind him immediately moved, spreading out as they approached the Sky City and clearly preparing to carry out the inspection whether Isaac agreed or not. Their movements were organized, and the formation suggested that they had dealt with situations like this before.

Isaac calmly raised his hand and activated Celia's Class skill, Fold Counter. A strange force spread outward from him, creating a large area where movement became increasingly difficult the closer someone came to his position.

Isaac strengthened the effect with his Evolved Aura, greatly expanding its original range. What had originally covered only a small area suddenly spread across fifteen hundred meters, completely encompassing the approaching Awakeners and leaving them struggling to move.

The soldiers froze in place. Their boosters continued operating, but their bodies could barely advance as the strange force suppressed their movements, and even the three Awakeners at the front were forced to slow down.

"Please do not resist, Lord Isaac. If you continue resisting, we will have no choice but to use force," D-01 said, his voice remaining calm despite the situation.

Isaac raised an eyebrow slightly. He had to admit that D-01 was surprisingly composed, because most people would have become nervous after realizing that their entire force had been immobilized so easily, yet the Vitaroid continued speaking as though the situation was still under his control.

Isaac did not bother answering him. Instead, he activated another one of Celia's skill, Vector Shift, causing the space around him to subtly distort as he extended its range with his Evolved Aura.

The skill allowed him to establish a spatial connection with something within its range and exchange positions with it. Isaac focused on D-01 and extended his hand forward as though he were reaching for something that existed in the empty air between them.

The spatial connection between them formed almost instantly. Isaac then used his Evolved Aura to halt the skill before the exchange could actually occur, leaving the spatial connection between himself and D-01 intact without completing the swap of positions.

Because the two of them were now connected spatially through the skill, the enormous distance between them no longer mattered. Isaac's hand suddenly reached through the distorted space and wrapped around D-01's neck before he pulled with almost no effort.

D-01's body was dragged through the spatial connection and appeared directly in front of Isaac. The Vitaroid was now suspended in Isaac's grasp while the other Awakeners remained frozen several hundred meters away, unable to intervene even if they wanted to.

"What is the meaning of this?" D-01 asked. His voice remained surprisingly calm despite Isaac's hand being wrapped around his neck, and there was only a slight trace of caution in his voice. "Do you realize what attacking me and holding me like this means, Lord Isaac?"

Isaac looked at him for a moment before giving him a faint smile.

"I should be the one asking you that. Do you realize what your actions mean? You just tried to invade my Sky City as if it belongs to you," Isaac replied, still holding D-01 by the neck.

"Sky Cities do not belong to anyone, Lord Isaac. In fact, considering the advantages they can bring, you should have brought it to us instead of trying to keep it for yourself. Do you realize that the Thousand Year Stampede is approaching? You should be sharing every piece of knowledge and every advantage you possess so that our civilization can survive."

"Who is 'we' here? Are you talking about you and me, or are you talking about you and your City?" Isaac asked.

That question finally caused D-01's expression to change. Although he was a machine, his face was still capable of showing certain emotions, and Isaac could clearly tell that the Vitaroid was becoming angry.

Isaac did not care.

He casually waved his hand, and the force behind the simple motion sent D-01 flying backward. The Vitaroid crashed into one of the flying ant-like Awakeners behind him before quickly regaining control of his body and stabilizing himself in the air.

"Go back to your City. This Sky City is mine, and if you try to enter it again, I won't respond with a just polite talk anymore," Isaac said.

His expression remained calm, but inwardly, Isaac was not nearly as relaxed as he appeared. He had already expected the different Cities of Florathi to eventually become interested in the Sky City, especially after they realized how much value it possessed, so he had prepared himself to scare them away without actually killing anyone.

The problem was that Isaac had suddenly sensed the presence of the Elemental Spirit of Machines. The feeling was extremely faint, but he knew it well enough to recognize what was happening, and he immediately realized that Selene seemed to be getting slightly impatient.

The longer they remained here, the longer their date would be delayed, after all.

And if the Spirit of Machines appeared, all the Vitaroids here would be wiped out, and that would lead to war. After all, as far as Isaac knew, the Mother of Crawling Steel, the leader of City of Steel, would happily use this as a pretext to fight him, and take ownership of him since the World Tree was interested in him.

'Don't worry. We will go on the date soon,' Isaac said through their connection.

Selene nodded, although a slightly confused expression appeared on her face as she looked at him. Isaac initially thought she was pretending not to understand what he meant, but he quickly dismissed that possibility because Selene was not the type to play such games with him.

Realizing that something was strange, Isaac asked her directly, 'Were you calling for the Spirit of Machines just now?'

'No,' Selene answered truthfully. After a short pause, she continued, 'Now that you mentioned it, it seems like she is angry. Her anger seems to be directed at these people.'

Isaac's expression became slightly more serious as he looked toward the Vitaroids. It seemed that the Spirit of Machines had been preparing to appear on her own, using the fact that Selene was supposedly in danger as a reason to intervene, even though there was almost no possibility of Selene actually being injured while Isaac was standing beside her.

'Strange.'

Isaac quietly put the matter aside for the moment. He could investigate the Spirit of Machines later, but dealing with the current situation was more important, especially since more Awakeners were probably already heading toward them from the other Cities.

He looked back toward D-01, who had recovered from the impact and was now staring at him with an increasingly serious expression. The other Awakeners remained nearby, but none of them attempted to move toward the Sky City again after seeing how easily Isaac had dealt with their leader.

"So, what will you do? Will you try to force your way into the City, join hands with the other Florathi Awakeners who are already coming from the other Cities, or will you quietly back down?" Isaac asked.