Chapter 7148: Shared Goals There was not enough time for Ves to dedicate his time towards designing and fabricating 4 sets of equipment. As much as he wanted to do everything in person, it was unrealistic to do so when the leadership challenge was scheduled to take place in a matter of days. Ves therefore talked it over with the Dark Apostle and the Patient Builder. The latter agreed to mobilize the RC’s vast resources and manpower to develop and construct 4 sets of raiments that complied with the rules set by both sides. Demetrius Sol Klavia felt honored by the trust he received. "We shall endeavor to fulfill your expectations. Winning the leadership challenge is paramount to stabilizing this source of uncertainty and converting the human phase lords into a helpful addition to our armed forces. As we speak, the defenses of dozens of star systems in the Rubarthan Pact have succumbed against the voribug onslaught. We urgently need you to encourage the Phase Lord Department to mobilize against one of the war fronts so that we can free up more forces to slow down the new threat." The mention of the mutated voribug elicited a disgusted reaction from the Dark Apostle. "These space insects are foul and unnatural." Ves’ alter ego snarled. "They are a plague upon the dwarf galaxy. They have no redeeming quality that can convince Ascended Giants that they have a place among the stars. They worship no god aside from their mysterious queen, who prefers to lead her battles from behind rather than the front. Honor is completely alien to this menace. That reason alone is enough to condemn this detestable race to extinction." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦 If that was how all phase leaders thought about the mutated voribug threat, then that would hopefully lead to the native aliens redirecting more forces to the new warfront. ...Who was he kidding. Ves did not think that the Red Cabal could let go of their hatred against red humanity long enough to tackle the greater threat first. While many people got distracted by the voribugs assailing the Rubarthan flank, the native aliens had quietly increased their troop buildup and tempo at the Terran front. With all of the changes that took place inside human space, the native aliens correctly recognized that the entire Terran Alliance was only protected by a single god pilot! As fast as the Light of Sol may be, even he could not cover all of the border systems by himself! Amidst all of the crises assailing red humanity, it became utterly ridiculous that the most powerful troops of the Red Collective had been sitting on their thumbs for so many months! Other than an early showing, the Oscillating Fist had commanded many of his underlings to spread out and hide in all kinds of hidey holes. This showed that the Ascended Giants already started to treat red humanity as an enemy rather than their brothers and sisters. The lack of action from the Phase Lord Department had caused incalculable damage to the Red Collective. Their other cultivator troops were quite special and interesting in their own way, but they were sorely lacking in hard power. In contrast, the 361 human lesser phase lords represented a significant force, especially if they were deployed in larger groups! The RC invested so much phasewater and other resources in them that could have been spent on building up lots of other forces. If Ves and the Dark Apostle were able to gain control over the Ascended Giants, then neither of them intended to keep them idle. Ves was motivated by the need to save red humanity. There were too many disasters unfolding at the same time. If he could help his civilization deal with one of them, then that would go a long way into turning everyone’s fortunes around. The Dark Apostle wanted to earn glory and turn his Ascended Giants into a force to be feared and respected across the Red Ocean. While his attachment to red humanity was not as strong, he had no interest in letting the mutated voribugs devour every planet of life, thereby ultimately turning the dwarf galaxy completely barren! "Everything hinges on this upcoming leadership challenge." Ves spoke while continuing to possess Blinky. "To that end, I will personally design and fabricate four sets of melee weapons. I may not be as good as Ketis, but I have my own tricks. Just give me access to your workshops and strategic materials reserve." The department head of the Enforcement Department paused for a few seconds. "I shall make sure you will get most of what you want. Unfortunately, our strategic materials reserve is strictly guarded. Not only that, but many of the resources stored inside are already claimed or reserved by other members of the Red Collective. Furthermore, there are several classes of special exotics and hypers that are so rare and exceptional that even I am not authorized to withdraw them. Our reserve is a collective pool that many different parties have contributed to. That also grants them all a measure of control over it. The rules are especially formulated to deny any single individual or party sole access." That was unfortunately right. Ves once again got screwed by his own layout. The Red Collective was too fractured and divided. Even if Demetrius Sol Klavia was one of the most powerful executives of the Red Collective, he had to rely on his relations with other department heads to drum up so much support for the current initiative! Perhaps it was for the best. The same rules that prevented the chief enforcer from mobilizing all of the resources of the RC also hindered him from abusing his authority. It was impossible for a figure like the Polymath to take over the Red Collective in a single sweep! In any case, Ves could not ask the RC for more considering that it was shouldering so many different responsibilities. He felt grateful enough that the department head of the Enforcement Department suspended his busy schedule in order to address this issue in person. "I need to get to work." He said through Blinky. "While I appreciate that I have been able to talk to you, Dark Apostle, I need to regain control over my body in order to design the new weapons that will hopefully deliver enough victories in a few days." The human phase lord clearly felt reluctant to give up control over their shared true body, but he understood that this was the mech designer’s time to shine. "Fine. I shall relinquish control over this divine body for now. Do not forget our agreement, and do not attempt to challenge the Ascended Giants by yourself. From today onwards, there is no need for you to fumble around during combat. I am the superior warrior. I shall fight your enemies on your behalf, because I do not trust you to keep this shared body safe against the foes that you always seem to provoke." "Gee. Thanks." "You are welcome, weakling." The human phase lord did what he said and voluntarily withdrew by shrinking his true body. Ves soon felt his consciousness getting drawn back to his human-scaled body where it belonged. His nanosuit automatically adjusted and returned to a thick but comfortable form. "Please mobilize the tech and resources as soon as possible." Ves reminded the chief enforcer. "I won’t be able to work with all tech and materials, but I am sure I can make selective use out of a handful of good stuff." After discussing the details with Demetrius Sol Klavia for a moment, Ves finally exited the ritual chamber before teleporting back to the Tarrasque. Just before Ves was about to head into his design lab in order to design the new set of armaments for his phase lord personality, he made sure to drop by his wife and children and briefly inform them of what he planned. The children looked confused and worried. "Are you sure that your ’other personality’ is trustworthy, papa?" Aurelia asked with concern. "Your deal with him mainly worked because he was surrounded by unfriendly mechs and other forces. Once we have left Yernstall, he can surround himself with dozens of Ascended Giants and forcibly break through any potential blockage. What stops him from getting away?" "We are still working on it, to be honest. I like to think that for all that he comes across as different, he still shares a few traits in common with me. One of them is my hatred of traitors and insistence on adhering to contracts. My other self must know that if he breaks his word once, I will never trust him again. My future dealings with him will be a lot more coercive. Neither of us wants our relationship to devolve to such a deplorable situation." "You are gambling on whether this ’Dark Apostle’ is rational enough to recognize that it is in his best interest to abide by the current agreement." His daughter noted. "From what I have heard from you, none of the Ascended Giants are entirely rational. Their norms and values have changed to the point where some of them see little problem with defecting to the Red Cabal." Ves smiled and reached out to pat his eldest girl’s head. "That doesn’t necessarily mean they are irrational, honey. Their logic may be twisted, but it is still logic. The biggest reason why they think so weird is because of the central assumption that they are no longer human anymore. They call themselves Ascended Giants as if they are convinced they have become a new and arguably superior race. It is like the difference between regular whale-like species that have evolved from planets such as Old Earth or other places and the phase whale race. The latter is so much more superior than anything similar that they deserve to exist in their own category." "Ohhh." Aurelia looked intrigued as she thought of all of the implications. Meanwhile, Gloriana still looked extremely concerned about letting her husband fight four elite warriors. "Since it has come to this, I will not question your motivations or cast doubt on your chances." She slowly said. "I do not even care whether you can win. I just want you to prioritize your survival above all else. It is not shameful for a mech designer to admit defeat in a duel against a champion. It is outrageous that these so-called Giants wish to test you on your martial prowess as opposed to your actual strengths. In my opinion, you only need to show up and display just enough courage to avoid being seen as a coward. Everything else is unnecessary and life-threatening." Ves responded with a wry smile. "It is not that simple, dear. The Ascended Giants are sharp enough to recognize if I am fighting half-heartedly. Besides, I am not the one doing the fighting. It will be the Dark Apostle as he calls himself for weird reasons. He is much closer in nature to the Ascended Giants, so you can be assured that he is bound by honor and pride to make an earnest attempt in every duel." "...Do you need my assistance to develop the weapons? Or would you like me to assist with the development of the raiments? I can help turn them into masterworks." Ves shook his head. "Don’t bother. They won’t make use of archetech and there is too little time to refine their designs to the point where they turn into masterworks, especially at their projected scale and level of complexity. The RC and I can take care of ourselves. This is an internal matter as far as we are concerned. You should continue to spend your time on finalizing the Riot Mark III Project." "What is the point of trying to finish it within a week when you will just end up injured and crippled to the point where you cannot take part in the fabrication run?" She questioned. "Do not forget that your participation is vital if you want the Riot Mark III to turn into the chaotic mech of your dreams. I have little interest and knowledge in the ’special techniques’ that you have recently acquired." "Then we will just ask Venerable Rosa Orfan to wait a few more weeks." Ves dismissively waved his hand. "Besides, I am not too sure whether I will end up in that state. Hopefully I will be better off when I have completed the leadership challenge."