Chapter 7316: Giant Speech The most crucial phase of the battle was about to commence. Ves could feel it. Others could deduce it as well. He accelerated his information gathering activities and rapidly absorbed a lot of data. From the conditions of all of the mech units to the efficiency of replenishing spent supplies, Ves gained a much more thorough understanding of the conditions in the field. He particularly understood how extensively the voribugs strained the logistics of the defenders. For example, the Rubarthans had only recently begun to proliferate shield link technology. Support link technology used to be exclusive to the RA and the RF, but after the Terrans and Rubarthans declared independence, the latter no longer abided by this rule. The implementation of shield link technology across many different mech models should have extended the lifespan of Rubarthan mechs to a significant degree. When employed against the native aliens, the survivability of all mechs and warships that made use of shield link technology should have tripled or quadrupled! However, shield link technology proved much less useful against the mutated voribugs than expected. Shield link technology did not magically create shields or reinforce faltering ones for free. It merely granted combat assets the ability to share shield power with each other. Multiple shielded units were therefore able to pool together their resources and enjoy much better protection as a result! This normally worked well against conventional enemies. So long as their firepower was not high enough to instantly demolish a target, a shield-linked unit always enjoyed constant protection. However, the mutated voribugs were different because they generally did not employ such strategies. There were simply too many voribugs. So long as a swarm managed to engulf an entire force of shield-linked units, they would all suffer so much combined damage at the same time that shield link technology practically lost meaning. More importantly than that, the mutated voribugs developed enough of a familiarity with shield link technology to deliberately block the linkages. Even if a single bug was not powerful and resilient enough to block a shield link for more than a second before getting vaporized, a huge number of bugs could definitely maintain a sustained blockade! The enemy had grown wise enough to develop special voribug subspecies that possess an unusually high capacity for energy absorption. Not only were they able to resist laser beams and plasma bolts with great effectiveness, they also happen to be extremely effective at blocking shield links! In short, the voribugs were so effective at countering support link technology that it was not able to give the Rubarthan the decisive advantage they sought. This further damaged human morale. Their vaunted high technology did not avail them against the weak and primitive cannon fodder bugs. If not for the fact that the Goliath Hive was about to run out of voribugs at this rate, everyone’s confidence would have dipped even further. "It is time." Jovy spoke up. "The Incubator has begun to accelerate. Its emissions are growing. The organic battle moon’s surface is shifting. We have not yet determined the reason for this activity, but our analysts are doing their best to decipher its secrets." "Have the enemy’s Goliaths begun to move as well?" "We are not quite sure, Ves. We are not able to observe them directly. They are still hiding in the middle of the densest swarms. However, all of the swarms are advancing forward in waves. If the Goliaths are matching pace, then they will likely enter into engagement range in the next 10 to 30 minutes." "Understood. My services as a mech designer are no longer needed. I think it is time for my other self to come out. Let’s see if it is possible for us to demolish the enemy battle moon. Teleport me over to the Armitage." "Got it. Oh, one more thing." "What is it, Jovy?" "If you and your Ascended Giants are unable to destroy the Voribug Organic Battle Moon before it has spawned a hypothetical Level 8 Goliath..." Ves turned back to stare at Jovy. "Despite our superdimensional arms and armament, you know as well as I do that there is a mismatch in equipment. I cannot make any promises. The VOBM is bizarre. Depending on how many Goliaths are thrown in our direction, we may not have the muscle and manpower necessary to take down the organic megaconstruct. If that turns out to be the case, what will you guys do? Don’t tell me you’re going to resort to weapons of mass destruction." "That decision is not up to the Bluejay Fleet." Jovy grimly responded. "The Rubarthans started to weigh this decision shortly after the discovery of the VOBM. As far as I know, they have yet to make up their minds, but that is because the situation is not desperate enough to demand an immediate answer. If the enemy battle moon’s performance is too dominant, then the Rubarthan commander may decide that they do not have a choice in the matter. It is best not to drive them to this point." Ves nodded in agreement. Although the current scope of warfare was already dangerous enough, he did not want each side to throw superweapons at each other as if there was no tomorrow. Once all sides adapted to this destructive mode of warfare, the battlefield would become extremely hostile against ordinary troops! As a mech designer, Ves did not want to see superweapons turn mechs into an afterthought. It was in his best interest for every side to restrict their firepower and play by the rules. Only then would mechs and mech pilots continue to maintain their relevancy in the new frontier. Therefore, Ves had no reason to disagree with Jovy. It appeared that his alter ego and his band of Ascended Giants needed to work extra hard to defeat the Goliath Hive. "Wish us luck." "We will." A short time later, the Dark Apostle emerged fully equipped from the bowels of the Armitage. Ves had already retreated to Blinky. The fluffy companion spirit granted him a means to stay awake and keep an eye on what his phase lord self was doing. It also granted him a medium to participate in the upcoming fight, if only in an assisting capacity. While Ves felt tempted to speak up or take charge, he did his best to suppress his control freak tendencies and allow the Dark Apostle to exercise his authority. Ves and the Dark Apostle had already made an agreement where the latter could do as he wished so long as he did not betray red humanity. In any case, the Dark Apostle walked forward while clad in his full superdimensional gear. The Superdimensional Giant Regalia might not be as promising as his planned Polymetal mech, but it still offered an excellent degree of protection. In fact, the Dark Apostle would never be able to deploy onto a dangerous battlefield if his protection was not as good. As for armaments, the human phase lord already mounted a handful of exploding spears onto his back. In order to make them a little more interesting, Ves had slightly tweaked their designs. The minor experimentation should hopefully yield a lot of interesting data once thrown. Aside from that, he also carried 2 main weapons. He already mounted the Rubarthan plasma halberd on his back while simultaneously holding the Withering Sting in one of his hands. Although Ves believed that his partially failed experimental product may still be incredibly effective against the mutated voribugs, his phase lord self could still switch to the plasma halberd if his calculations ended up wrong. The Dark Apostle felt very confident in all of his arms. He might not agree with Ves on everything, but he greatly respected the latter’s craftsmanship. Though Ves very clearly regarded the Withering Sting as a failed experimental product that fell short of his expectations, the Dark Apostle considered the superdimensional spear to be a qualitative evolution. What failed product? It was clearly better than the shoddy weapons that he wielded during the leadership challenge! With this weapon, the Dark Apostle felt confident in his ability to withstand any challenge from his fellow Ascended Giants. He did not believe that they were strong enough to withstand the withering curse cast with the help of the upgraded weapon. His lips curled into a grin as he stood before his fellow giants. They had all changed into their own equipment. 15 Ur-Titans stood tall and conveyed an aura of absolute strength. At 2.5x scale, their hull-grade superdimensional raiments made them appear like immovable walls. They all understood that they were about to face difficult enemies, but none of them lost their courage. Any human phase lord candidate that possessed more fear than guts had already been weeded out a long time ago. The individuals who managed to pass the Phase Lord Department’s stringent tests naturally possessed greater courage, so there was no reason to doubt their willingness to fight. The Faceless Giants looked like a mixed bag in comparison. With a uniform height that measured only 1.5x, the Faceless Giants initially looked like a squad of oversized mechs. It was only when people bothered to study them seriously that their nature as Ascended Giants became clear. The difference in scale clearly emphasized that the Faceless Giants were on trial this time. They had already lost two of their compatriots. The probability was great that more of their members would disappear in the giant creature’s stomach. "Ur-Titans. Faceless Giants. I see that everyone has already assembled here. As you know, excluding the previous battle where we attempted to pry the secrets of the Incubator, we are about to embark on our first true battle. We, the Ascended Giants, shall become fully exposed to the public." The giants all looked serious. None of them felt particularly eager about being monitored so closely. The Dark Apostle stared at the Ur-Titans for a moment before switching his gaze to the smaller but still formidable Faceless Giants. "As challengers, my expectations for you are not too high. Even if you can do little more than take a beating, you can still make yourselves useful in this battle. The Goliath Hive is dispatching many different megavoribugs. These alien champions are extremely difficult to eradicate. The Rubarthan defenders do not have enough champions to block all of these aliens while simultaneously leaving enough manpower to confront the VOBM." Without their presence, it would have been way harder for the Rubarthans to persist up to this point. The entire Rubarthan defensive strategy may have turned much more desperate if not for the presence of so many Ascended Giants. The Dark Apostle’s expression sharpened. "Fight within your means. We are all lesser phase lords here. If the Incubator manages to spawn a Level 8 or Level 9 Goliath, then you must focus on withdrawal as the only way to defeat these powerful foes is to deploy multiple senior ace mechs." Even that may not be enough in certain cases! The unknown presented many terrifying possibilities. Nobody knew what a Level 8 or 9 Goliath was like, but it was probably exponentially more dangerous! This was why everyone constantly tried to remind the Ascended Giants to rein in their arrogance and curb their appetite. The Dark Apostle gripped his spear tighter in anger as he watched the projection of the Incubator. "Giants!" He called. "The Incubator remains our primary target! As the cause behind the Divine Wheel and the Divine Aporia’s demise, we must do our best to destroy it by relying on our own means. Let the Incubator choke on giant blood! No matter what foul creature it is attempting to nurture, we must teach it to never covet our flesh and bones! Only by fighting back to the greatest extent will we be able to deter the enemies of our race! For victory!" "For victory!" "For the Ascended Giants!" "For the polemarchos!" The Ascended Giants all sounded enthusiastic enough. After issuing a few more instructions, the Dark Apostle chose to let them loose onto the battlefield!