Chapter 7212: Guiding Principles The Fiery Axe did not look happy with the Dark Apostle’s surprisingly weak statement. "We want independence." She openly said in the presence of humans. "We are not their beasts of burden. We are not organic mechs. We are greater than them. Our pride demands dignity that befits our transcended status. If you do not feed into this desire, then the men and women under you will grow unhappy. While I will do my best to keep them in line, I can only treat the symptoms, not the cause. The more radical among our kind will not stay put for long." She voiced a valid concern. The Ascended Giants not only grew in size, but also in ego. They had a natural tendency to regard themselves as gods, and did not take it kindly if mortal beings treated them as if they were on the same level. Fortunately, Ves had done a lot of thinking on this problem. He had the distinct advantage of retaining his humanity while possessing a sort-of first-hand perspective on phase lord development. He had already formulated a basic framework that should provide the Ascended Giants a way to serve red humanity without wounding their pride. The Dark Apostle only had to adopt the plan devised by his alter ego in order to make this work. He felt reluctant. A plan made by his other self did not necessarily represent his own vision. Yet... the Dark Apostle could not think of anything better. He knew that if he sided too much with his fellow Ascended Giants, he would just make the relationship between humans and giants worse. That was bound to trigger unnecessary conflicts that would eventually result in red humans bringing the hammer down. If he tried to overcompensate and adopt an overly servile attitude, then the Ascended Giants would continue to grow less happier by the day. The Fiery Axe’s prediction would come true as a large number of giants would eventually rebel and either set off on their own, or defect to the Red Cabal! Suffice to say, neither outcome benefited the Dark Apostle. He needed to thread the needle and ensure that he could retain effective control over the Phase Lord Department in the coming years. In order to fulfill this essential demand, the Dark Apostle was willing to show forbearance and restrain his more ambitious urges. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮 He hoped that he could persuade the other giants into following his head. The Dark Apostle slowly rose from his dark throne. "As the first-generation polemarchos, the Oscillating Fist has set the foundation and the initial structure of our race. He is... a respectable leader, but his subsequent decisions are a mess. As the second-generation polemarchos, I will correct his mistakes and provide clarity where we need it the most. Let me describe our overall goal for the duration of my first 20-year term." Everyone listened carefully to him as his next words would define the Ascended Giants in the years to come. His vision could literally affect the history of red humanity and all of the other civilizations in the Red Ocean! "The first principle is forbearance. We must bide our time. Our potential is great, but we lack the numbers, territory and support to realize it all. The Unshakeable King made a mistake by trying to run before he could walk. We are too young and new to the scene. Even the least of the great powers of red humanity can chew us up like breakfast. It is foolish to believe in our illusions of godhood when the mortals have plenty of means to defeat us on the battlefield. I am not telling you that we are weak. We merely require time to ramp up and build up our infrastructure. So long as we acquire the same advantages that the humans have accrued, we can do more, but until that time has come, I expect each of you to rein in your pride." Some giants accepted this directive more than others. The Divine Harpoon had no issue with this policy, but the Grapple King and the Fiery Axe looked like they did not entirely agree. The Dark Apostle was not done, though. "Do not speak yet. Let me explain my full vision to you so that it all fits together. The second principle is earning your godhood. I know what we are like, but compared to most of you, I have a more human perspective on the matter. When we grow large enough, a voice appears in your head and convinces you that we are all gods. That voice... is a liar. What we believe does not reflect our reality. If you disagree, then you are free to challenge a god pilot." Multiple giants frowned. Emotionally, they could not bring themselves to accept their new leader’s brutal truth. Intellectually, they knew that the Dark Apostle made a necessary point. The giants were aware of this contradiction, but they had been doing their best to avoid thinking about it in order to preserve their fragile illusions. The Dark Apostle could not allow these giants to indulge in these unrealistic fantasies. They could do real damage to his interests and the interests of their race if they tried to throw their weight around. "I need you three to do your best to rid your subordinates of their illusions." The Dark Apostle commanded his strategoi. "The second principle that I have set can only be followed if we are willing to accept that we all start off flawed and far from the deities that we aspire to become. It is essential for us to recognize that we must prove our strength and worthiness through practical actions. These can entail undergoing diligent training, developing exclusive tactics, adopting advanced high-tech wargear and tempering ourselves on the battlefield. It may take decades or even centuries, but those who can survive and persist will eventually succeed in proving their godhood. Even the humans will have no choice but to acknowledge our actual worth." When he put it this way, his instructions sounded more acceptable. The Dark Apostle did not deny the deification of Ascended Giants. He merely reframed it so that the giants did not receive their divinity on a silver platter. They fell short of what they truly desired, but they could still get what they wanted if they worked towards this ideal. Of course, this journey would not be easy, but many giants possessed such a strong opinion of themselves that they did not think they would falter! The Divine Harpoon raised his hand. "We shall do our best to have our subordinates abide by your second principle, but not all will comply. There are individual giants that will lack the patience to work so hard and wait so long to obtain true acknowledgement of their divinity. I fear that they may behave improperly to the surrounding red humans." The Dark Apostle’s expression darkened. "I will tolerate no violations of our new principles. You can discuss and critique my vision, but I expect compliance from you all so long as I am in charge. If you disagree, then challenge me at the first available opportunity. That is the proper way to force a change according to our traditions. Outside of that, those who try to demand rights and privileges that they have yet to earn must be beaten down to their proper level. If their violations are more severe... then execute them. After a tribunal has established their guilt, of course." That last part sounded more like an afterthought, but this was a barely acceptable arrangement. The humans in the conference room certainly looked a little more comfortable. The second principle might not solve the fundamental problem that afflicted the Ascended Giants in a permanent fashion, but it should delay them for a long time. Instead of worrying about giants demanding to be treated like gods tomorrow, red humanity would have to deal with this problem a few decades or a century later. By then, red humanity should hopefully be in a better position. Their relations with the Ascended Giants may also be completely different. Perhaps no one would have a problem anymore with the true attitudes of the Ascended Giants. The Dark Apostle continued to lay out his vision. "The third principle is fair remuneration. What I mean by that is that we are not slaves or servants to red humanity. We are... sort-of independent contractors that are willing to fight their battles on their behalf... as long as the payment is fair enough. It is important that everything is defined in hard numbers rather than fuzzy words. Only numbers can make the transactions visible to us all. That said, I am not too interested in setting rigid standards. So long as we are not being scammed or exploited, then that is good enough for me. In no way must we ever allow red humanity to dictate which missions we should accept. At the same time, we must also refrain from taking their stuff when we have not earned it through the proper channels." Both humans and giants looked fairly impressed. It was difficult to figure out an acceptable way for giants to get along with humans. The Dark Apostle simply took Ves’ idea of positioning the Ascended Giants as mercenaries and ran with it. By modulating the interaction between giants and humans through barter and trade, the Ascended Giants would effectively function as a de-facto client state of red humanity. While there was no way to make this relationship completely equal, the giants should be able to stomach this reality so long as they were willing to abide by the first principle. "Clever." The Grapple King sounded happy enough as he extrapolated the Dark Apostle’s vision. "Making our relationship with red humans more transactional will allow us to preserve our pride and avoid bending the knee. Once we have earned our independence, we can still maintain cordial relations with red humanity by continuing our habit of transacting with the mortals. Nothing has to change." This was a scheme that would work pre- and post-independence. It might not go far enough to the radicals, but this was the best way to preserve harmony between giants and humans. The Dark Apostle smiled. "I think it is important for giants to interact with red humans through the medium of voluntary transactions because both of our races are too proud to admit our inferiority to each other. Rather than force one of us to bow our heads, it is best if we can both keep our backs straight while trading what we need from each other. We need funds, labor, tech and phasewater. The humans need strong fighters who can defend their territories and kill their enemies. We can both profit off each other." Just like Ves, the Dark Apostle preferred to establish a win-win cooperation with red humanity. A relationship based on mutual benefit was much more stable and a lot less problematic to everyone. "That is it for now." The Dark Apostle lowered himself on his dark throne again. "The three guiding principles that I have set forth will form the framework of my regime within this department. I expect each of you to change our policies and regulations to conform to my vision. It may not be grandiose enough for you, but the important part is that we can make it work, and that matters the most. We can always expand on my vision today or at a later date. I am open to suggestions, so if you think we should do more, then speak up. I cannot promise you that I will accept your proposal, but it doesn’t hurt to try." A short pause ensued. The Grapple King and the Fiery Axe looked at each other before the latter decided to speak. "Your guiding principles are... acceptable. They are different from the ones set by the Oscillating Fist, but... your changes are not great enough to provoke too much pushback. We would be happy to convince our subordinates to abide by your new vision." She said.