Chapter 133

The Ishiate who followed the way of nature frowned as they saw the two steampunk beastkin approach, but one of the elders spoke up.

“We can’t focus on old conflicts anymore. If our kin is to survive we must work together,” he said, but couldn’t help himself from continuing. “The universe has shown us the right path, and I’m sure the lost ones will return into the fold soon enough.”

Zac sort of understood the old druid meant. The two camps of the Ishiate, in essence, fought over the issue of Nature versus Technology, and it was pretty clear which of the two camps the System sided with. He actually felt a bit bad for the technologically inclined Ishiate, as their situation wasn’t very optimistic.

Of course, it was possible to become a powerful force in this new environment with the aid of technology. The Technocrats was one of the strongest forces in the multi-verse and still lived well even though multiple forces were gunning for them. However, the technocrats were approaching the limits of technology, having the means to travel the universe and unleashing terrifying weapons.

These Ishiate were no Technocrats, and had barely started on the path of technology. Their progress was a few hundred years behind humanity, and their weapons were probably already approaching obsolescence against the increasingly durable beasts. Zac guessed they would perish unless they turned back to the more simple ways. 

“Progress is the basic path of life. To stick to the old ways is to perish. That hasn’t changed with the System, it has only been reinforced,” one of the two Ishiate retorted with a glare.

“Human, is what you said true? There is truly a town with those flags close to your town?” the other ishiate asked.

“Yeah, our scouts found them a few days ago,” Zac simply answered.

It wasn’t really any secret information, and he could very much sympathize with these people. He understood what it was like to desperately search for his home in an endlessly large new world.

“Please let us come with you when you leave. That is Cogstown, our hometown,” they asked with hope in their eyes.

Zac mulled it over for a bit. He felt it wasn’t too problematic to bring a few people with him through the teleporter. Besides, bringing these two should make forming an alliance considerably easier when they made first contact. 

“Our town is extremely remote. In fact, it’s not on the mainland. It’s not sure that you can get back without using our teleporter. Do you still wish to go?” He said.

“Yes,” both of them answered without hesitation, and Zac only nod.

“Talk with my companion over there, the human. He can make the arrangements,” Zac said as he pointed to Sap Trang, who was still speaking with Nigel.

Suddenly a couple of speakers crackled into life, playing the classical intermission sound.

“Seems the auction is starting, if you will excuse me. I need to gather up with my group,” Zac said as he moved away.

“It was nice meeting you, Zac,” Willow said with a smile. “We hope to see you again.” 

Soon he was back with the others. By this point Calrin had already returned, and soon he saw Ogras saunter over as well, holding a bottle of champagne he’d snagged somewhere.

“Not many interesting things happening so far, everyone is just sticking to their little groups, barely talking. The liquor wasn’t bad though, we should bring some bottles with us back home.” 

“Not sure how many there are left, I think a lot of people has turned to the bottle to calm their nerves over the past few months,” Zac said with a sigh. “But it doesn’t hurt to give it a try.”

Actually, he agreed with the demon. While he didn’t really like champagne he really wanted to bring some beer with him back to the island, but he felt that most of it would have been consumed after almost five months since the integration. 

“Then we simply get some brewers,” the demons said off-handedly, but the sentence sparked an idea in Zac as he turned to Sap Trang.

“Start thinking of a list of any type of occupation we’re currently lacking. Everything from chefs to sanitation workers to scientists.” 

He hadn’t really planned to start recruiting in earnest yet, but since he already had brought hundreds of refugees he might as well go all the way. Who knew if all the useful people would be snatched up if they kept holding off. It might be a bit unethical to start moving more people to the island even before the third wave was dealt with, but if worse came to worst he could just have people flee through the teleporter back to New Washington. 

The number of people in the venue was a clear indication that quite a few forces possessed a teleporter by this point. Zac knew that it wasn’t that people were extremely wealthy like him, rather his force was quite small compared to many towns. Taking New Washington for example, it held hundreds of thousands of citizens, and every person just had to contribute a handful of Nexus Coins for them to afford the Teleporter.

He needed to start thinking ahead if he was truly planning on creating a flourishing town. There might still be a window of opportunity where the other forces mainly looked for powerful warriors or rankers to join them, overlooking the long term benefits that non-combat classes could bring to an area.

Port Atwood on his island was quite a lot safer compared to most places on the mainland, which should allow him to focus more on recruiting and nurturing many people showing skill in craftsmanship. He already had an almost insane amount of raw materials for creating armors, now he just needed craftsmen to actually craft and inscribe them.

“Good, now you’re thinking in the big picture,” Ogras nodded. “I’m tired of living like a castaway.”

The group walked together and was ushered to a couple of seats near the front by an attendant who took a quick look at the ticket. It was clear that Zac’s rampage in Greenworth had left somewhat of an impression on the government, as they clearly sat in one of the best seats in the house. 

This was further confirmed when both the Marshalls and Billy were seated not far from them.

“Nigel told me the strong sits in the front. I knew you were smart, bald guy. But Billy is not only smart, Billy is also rich,” the giant said with a loud voice as he thumped down close to them, taking up two seats by himself. 

“I’m sure there are enough good things for the both of us,” Zac answered with a smile. 

He liked the giant so far, he seemed genuine enough. He’d take that kind of ally any day over calculating ones like the demon next to him. 

The Marshals seemed a bit surprised to see Zac’s group once again, and Zac saw the guardian whisper something in the ear of their attendant. He glanced at Zac’s group but only shook his head looking unsure.

“Hey girl, I hear you’re the strongest woman amongst the humans. We saw your jump in the Dao ladder a while back, did you find something good? Are you interested in selling it?” Ogras said with a toothy grin at the looked in Thea Marshall’s direction

“I am sorry about him. Different cultures and all,” Zac could only sigh.

“Weaklings often have big mouths to compensate. I’m more curious about you. What are you called?” she lightly said as she stared at Zac.

“Uh, people call me Monk,” Zac said, uncomfortable by the intense glare.

“She’s got a mouth on her,” Ogras said, not minding the insult. “You should kidnap her back to Port Atwood. You’d have strong babies.” 

The bodyguard frowned at the comment and prepared to move forward, but Thea lifted her hand to stop him. At the same time a spurt of blood erupted from Ogras’ throat, surprising both Zac and the demon. 

Even though Zac was looking at the exchange from the start he wasn’t quite sure what exactly cut him. At first he thought it might have been a Dao Field of the Seed of Sharpness, but he believed he would have sensed the familiar feeling if that was the case.

“Watch your mouth,” Thea said as he looked at the demon with loathing.

Shadows squirmed and covered the shallow wound, and soon the bleeding was quelled.

“An interesting attack. But be careful about starting things. You might be strong, but can the same be said of your companions?” the demon smiled, and Zac’s eyebrows rose in alarm.

But before Zac had time to stop anything the bodyguard grunted as a shadow spear pushed through one of his legs, almost making him fall over. Thea looked around in surprise, and a frown appeared on the old man.

“What do you think? Can you kill me before I kill your two companions?” Ogras said while grinning.

“Despicable,” the girl said, throwing scathing glares at not only Ogras but the whole party.

“Enough,” Zac said while glaring angrily at Ogras, already regretting bringing him. “What will you do if you get us thrown out before the auction even starts?”

“Relax, we’re just having some pre-auction fun,” Ogras said with a smile.

“I am sorry about him, this is a healing pill that will help with your friend’s recovery,” Zac said to the Marshals as he took out a small glass bottle and threw it toward them.

However, the bottle rebuffed in the air and shot straight back toward Zac through some unknown means. 

“The Marshall Clan is in no need of your little baubles,” Thea simply said as the trio sat down in their seat some distance away.

“Mama always says you should be nice to women, as being mean will bring you big trouble,” Billy muttered to himself, but with the giant’s standard volume it turned into an exclamation.

“She sounds like a wise woman,” Ogras only said to the giant, making him perk up happily.

He looked ready to say something but was distracted by the large curtains getting lifted on the stage and some musicians play classical music. It was beautiful, but it wasn’t what Zac came for, so he was happy to see that almost immediately a well-dressed man in a suit walked out on the stage and stood behind the podium.

“Welcome all to the first Grand Auction held by New World Government. It is an amazing sight to see so many coming from all corners of the world. It is truly a testament to humanity’s resilience in face of adversity. We’re also happy to see friends from other races joining us here today. I am hoping this is the start of a long and fruitful cooperation between our species.”

The man was clearly used to public speaking, and smoothly took command of the room.

“To make sure there’s no confusion in the event, I will go over the ground rules. This auction is a classical English-Style auction, and for those who are unsure of what that means, don’t worry, I will go over it with you. Beneath your chairs there are numbered paddles that you use to bid. Simply raise the paddle to make a bid. 

“The standard increase bid increase is based on the size, but generally around ten percent. For example, if the price is ten thousand Nexus coins, each standard bid will be a thousand nexus coins up to fifty thousand, at which point the standard bid changes to five thousand. 

“Of course, you can increase by a higher amount by shouting it out, but not by a lower,” the auctioneer said with a smile.

“If you are the highest bidder your number will be seen on the screen behind me. And don’t worry if you’re sitting in the back. I have three people all with scout classes and eyesight skills with me who will all help me in making sure that no bid is overlooked.”

“Payment accepted is World Government Credits, Nexus Coins or Nexus crystals valued at a 1:50 ratio. Be aware that no coercion, threats, or other disturbances are allowed during the auction. A first offense will result in a warning, but repeat offenders will be escorted out of the venue.” 

“With that I hope you will enjoy the auction and that you all find something that will help you in the fight against our foreign invaders. The first item for auction is a set of five E-Grade Nexus Crystals,” the auctioneer said as a cart was rolled in by a beautiful woman. 

On the cart was a briefcase, and when the showgirl opened it the light of five genuine E-Grade crystals radiated out. There was almost a collective intake of breath in the hall, and even Zac was interested.

The New World Government was clearly not holding back.