Chapter 7142: Intelligence Support Ves felt he had boarded a pirate ship. The worst part of it was that he did so voluntarily. He was supposed to be a mech designer, yet agreed to ’initiate’ a leadership challenge against the highest-ranking officers of the Phase Lord Department. Those four leaders also happened to be among the most powerful fighters of that very same department, or it was not possible for them to maintain their ranks. The prospect of fighting against them instilled his heart with fear. What if the gap in strength was too big? What if they pulled off a killing blow before he could issue his surrender? What if the Ascended Giants did not respect the rules? There were many uncertainties surrounding the leadership challenge. Ves felt as if his mind would explode if he tried to deliberate over them all. There were way too many breaking points! Fortunately, he was not alone in this. Demetrius Sol Klavia noticed Ves’ growing distress and tried to pull him back to sanity. "You are not alone in this." He said. "You have the broad support of the Red Collective behind you. Our resources, our expertise and our backing is yours. No matter whether you win or lose, we will not let you suffer unjustly as you are one of our own. Your loyalty and commitment to the cause is much greater than that of the Ascended Giants. That makes you far more valuable than these body cultivators gone rogue." His words helped to ease Ves’ rational as well as irrational concerns. Ves closed his eyes for a moment. "If we are about to do this, then I first need to know what I am dealing with. I have only read descriptions of the polemarchos and the strategoi, but that doesn’t tell me nearly enough how they fight." "We are already preparing information packages that contain footage of their characteristic fighting styles before and after they have transformed into human phase lords." The department head promised. "The encrypted data that your cat had retrieved from their headquarters is continuing to reveal its secrets as we unlock them. This effort has already borne fruit as we have obtained scattered footage of training sessions, ability testing and instruction classes. The human phase lords are all enthused about their rapidly growing strength and capabilities. They cannot resist the urge to show off their power." Ves could understand the sentiment. Unlike him, they were all professional soldiers and warriors. They had long been relatively powerless during the Age of Mechs. Their poor genetic aptitudes meant that they were unable to join the mech craze and could only get their fix by specializing in personal combat or serve the military in another capacity such as becoming a staff officer or serving on a carrier vessel. The Phase Lord Department completely remade them. They had turned from weak and puny humans into giants that could crush the average mech with their bare fists! The acquisition of so much power in a matter of months could cause any fighter’s ego to inflate! The indoctrination of the heavenly authority of the Red Ocean was insidious enough to feed these impulses. These Ascended Giants did not flirt with defection because they got brainwashed into becoming completely different people. Instead, the influence of the alien galaxy merely amplified their hidden but wildly ambitious thoughts! These heretical ideas should have remained buried in the depths of everyone’s minds, but the indoctrination merely brought it forward while almost completely removing any scent of stigma. How the hell was Ves supposed to reassert their loyalty to red humanity? The only answer was to perform convincingly enough in the leadership challenge that no one doubted his strength. To do that, he needed to know what he was dealing with. Intelligence was crucial for him to gain an edge. "Zariel-775 here is responsible for presenting our intelligence to you." The chief enforcer said as he gestured to the secret keeper. "He is also responsible for conveying your intelligence demands to us. Do not be afraid of asking him questions. One of the reasons why he is assigned to you is because he was one of the secret keepers tasked with monitoring the Phase Lord Department. He possesses greater insights into their thinking than others." Secret Keeper Zariel-775 stepped forward. "An important development has occurred. The additional data that we have decrypted from the data cores has yielded a large amount of miscellaneous information. Not much of it is immediately relevant to you, but we have obtained a number of blueprints of raiments, weapon systems and other gear. Their completeness is not high, but they should give you a better idea of the equipment that you are expected to face." That was incredibly valuable information. Ves was able to make much better use of such detailed technical information on account of being a mech designer. He could design his gear with greater certainty that they would counter whatever his enemies carried into battle. Of course, who knew whether the polemarchos and the strategoi prepared a secret set of equipment that was different or much more powerful than usual. Ves could not assume that every piece of intelligence was reliable. "What about their phasewater organs?" Ves asked. "We can indirectly piece together a number of phasewater organs that they have integrated into their true body." The secret keeper responded. "We do not have direct access to medical records or other intelligence that can help us gain a more complete overview of their phasewater organs. That data is locked within more secure data cores, as it should." That made a lot of sense. This was disappointing news. Ves knew that there were phasewater organs that could do a lot of weird stuff. It would be nice for him to know what he was dealing with beforehand. He may even be able to build a special gadget that could counter a specific function. "That said, we are not completely reliant on the data core to glean enemy intelligence. Your formation master may be able to supply more answers." The Farseer who had remained quiet all of this time finally stepped forward. "The headquarters of the Phase Lord Department is quite secure and is meant to block any intrusion, no matter whether it is physical or through other means. However, the defenses and countermeasures of the base built on the surface of Jotunheim have not been updated in months. In contrast, my scrying methods are constantly growing. My methods are also more effective with more intelligent support." "Oh?" "Scrying becomes easier when you have a fairly complete and up-to-date map of the headquarters. It also becomes easier if you have access to images and footage of the interior as well as the personnel residing within. You can think of every packet of information as a partial coordinate. Collect one of them, and I narrow the range and precision of my scrying by a noticeable margin. Collect enough of them to complete the coordinates, and I can lock onto specific individuals and locations with a higher degree of precision." That made scrying a lot more practical and useful. Ves could think of many ways to make good use of the intelligence gathered through remote viewing. "Wait." Ves suddenly frowned. "Does this work against us as well?" The Farseer nodded. "Yes, but there are methods to protect against it. We are constantly developing new wards, qi formations and other countermeasures that can block against it. You do not have to worry about the Tarrasque or most other vessels in the Bluejay Fleet. We have already been working together with the Red Association and the Red Fleet to implement numerous safeguards. The flagship is especially well-protected due to housing you and your family. However, you should not put your absolute trust in our countermeasures as there are cultivators who are constantly developing better ways to spy on others." The intelligence game used to center around the development of technology. Spying gadgets and technological countermeasures had been locked in an arms race for multiple millenia. From the start of the Age of Dawn, red humanity expanded this competition to encompass the endless possibilities of systematic cultivation. In order to show Ves what she could do with intelligence support, the Farseer brought forth her iconic Astral Mirror. The surface of the proto-high-level artifact flickered and shimmered until it displayed a large and cavernous training area. Around a dozen Ascended Giants were milling about. Ves recognized two of them sparring and exchanging words in the large and shielded sparring ring. "...we can finally see our progenitor in action..." "...do not expect much from him... just a mech designer..." "...no one can defeat our polemarchos, not even the progenitor..." "...don’t underestimate the Divine Harpoon... he hasn’t shown off his power in a long time..." The scattered conversations already provided Ves with a better understanding of the Phase Lord Department. Of course, all of this hearsay may not be completely reliable, but they could be used to verify intelligence gathered from other sources such as the data cores. What Ves found important was the conversation taking place between the two sparring Ascended Giants in the center. The strategos and the champion of the Flesh Chopper Phalanx initiated a fierce exchange of blows with practice axes. These axes were smaller than Ves expected, but that also enabled the Ascended Giants to wield them deftly and with greater speed and precision. It was fascinating to see them dance around each other. They preferred to evade rather than block. Their speed was also quite amazing even when considering their modest scale of 2 times the height of a mech. "Lend me your borrowed plasma axe." Fasia Meledor spoke. "The mass allowance allows me to carry an extra weapon. I need to carry yours as backup and in order to prepare for what is necessary." Arkade Andrulewicz, otherwise known as the Plasma Axe, furrowed his large brows after hearing this request. "You never had any desire to borrow my plasma axe in the past. It handles quite differently from your fiery axe. It is not made to wield in your palms." "That is okay. I do not intend to rely on it to defeat our progenitor. I intend to rely on it to land a killing blow in case he proves to be too disappointing. I know that the lethality of your plasma axe is higher than my own weapon if I briefly overload its plasma edge. I will never let a weakling lead our race." "Even if he is the reason for our existence?" "Let him become remembered for his contribution to our race." The female Ascended Giant spoke with conviction. " There is no way a mech designer of all people is a serious martial contender. Mark my words. He will shame our race by putting on a pathetic performance. Rather than let him disgrace our race further, I will honor his memory by ending his life by my own hands. Let me cut off his existence so that he will not live long enough to disappoint our race." The Plasma Axe’s expression remained neutral. "I cannot say whether I would make the same decision as you, but you will have my plasma axe if that is what you need. How do you ensure you can kill our progenitor before he surrenders?" "With my latest phasewater organ." The Fiery Axe smirked. "You know what it is capable of. My strength has soared since it settled into my body. I will hold myself back and keep it in reserve until the time has come. I do not think I will need to rely on it to defeat our progenitor anyhow. He is not a fighter." "..." Ves and the others quietly listened to the conversations that the Astral Mirror magically conveyed through an unknown method. "This Fiery Axe wants to kill me if I don’t put up a good fight." Ves flatly said. "What a pleasant woman. I thought she was a more moderate Ascended Giant from the information I received before, but it appears she is just as crazy as the others."