Chapter 7140: Loss Mitigation Strategy Ves let out a sigh. He was willing to be a little more respectful in front of the head of the Enforcement Department, but that did not mean he was about to change his mind. "You are both asking for me to do something that I cannot fulfill. I am not a fighter. Neither is Sev for that matter, though he would protest heavily if you told that to his face. Whatever the case, what you are asking for simply can’t be done. Let alone winning three out of four duels, I do not think I can squeeze out a single win. I don’t know why you guys keep pushing me to undertake the leadership challenge." "Because only you can prevent the Phase Lord Department from turning traitor." Demetrius Sol Klavia directly stated to Ves with a serious expression. "We have calculated all of the options. My Enforcement Department is responsible for taking action and coordinating our partners in the event we need to employ any of the violent options. None of the projections look good. We have only tracked the coordinates of roughly half of the human phase lords, and that is because they are mostly stationed at known bases and starships. In order to stop them from running, we need to divert valuable ace mechs from the frontlines of many war theaters, thereby causing those regions of space to suffer increased losses, up to losing numerous strategically important locations." It was easy to overlook how difficult it was to defeat a phase lord, even one of the lesser variety. As long as an Ascended Giant did not allow an ace mech to get into close range, he or she could easily utilize his spatial abilities to warp away and leave a star system by relying on his own body alone. Once a phase lord reached the deep dark interstellar space, it was virtually impossible to track this rogue element down. It would be like finding a needle in a very large haystack. The Red Three simply couldn’t afford to divert so many precious resources just to capture a handful of treacherous human phase lords at most. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂 In fact, an Ascended Giant did not have to maintain a true body in order to get away. Unlike Ves, these fellows had embraced the offer of the heavenly authority of the Red Ocean, which meant that they had sincerely embraced their identities as ’gods’. Changing back to human form did not change anything because their personality would remain exactly the same! It was much easier to sneak away when an Ascended Giant could shrink and become visually indistinguishable from a regular human! Even Ves felt the onset of a headache when he thought about tracking all of them down. Perhaps there were prophets and other unusual cultivators that could trace their locations through mystical means, but there were far too many Ascended Giants out in the wild. Dozens of them would definitely slip through! Once these traitors reached the Red Cabal and formed an accord of sorts, the blow to red humanity would be devastating! The RC did not need to do much work to persuade Ves just how bad this scenario could be if the treachery went public. Red humanity had always managed to stick to its bottom line of uniting against its alien adversaries. Sure, the Cosmopolitan Movement very clearly did not play along, but they had been ostracized for such a long time that most people did not really treat them as humans anymore. It would be much more serious for a significant chunk of humans to defect to the slave civilization that the more ardent Ascended Giants dreamt of founding! Under the protection of the Red Cabal, traitors such as the Divine Arsenal and the Unshakeable King wanted to found a slave society where humans were reduced to worshiping laborers who toiled for their supposed gods! "I understand the necessity of stopping the Phase Lord Department from continuing on its disastrous course. You do not need to convince me that action needs to be taken." Ves told the head of the Enforcement Department. "What I am disputing is why I should be the one to take action. Sure, I will concede that all of your other plans are hardly ideal, but they are much more realistic than letting me take action in person. I will just get beat up if I challenge one of those professional fighters-turned-phase lords." The Patient Builder shook his head. "Do not put yourself down. You are more resourceful than you appear. Throughout your career, others have underestimated you time and time again. Whenever they sought to challenge you, they have often suffered setbacks because you have unveiled a hidden capability of three. You are more than a mech designer. You are the inheritor of the Five Scrolls Compact and a man who has received the favor of multiple Star Designers and god pilots. Do you know what our seers foretold when they cast their gaze at the future?" "No..." "They claim that you and your alter ego can present a worthy challenge to each of the leaders of the Phase Lord Department." "...I don’t believe you." Ves flatly said. "Everyone knows that prophecies are not absolute. How probable is it that I can beat all four of those guys?" "Less than 10 percent." Demitrius Sol Klavia honestly admitted. "However, there is around 30 percent chance that you can at least defeat 2 out of 4 human phase lords, which is enough to make this gambit worthwhile. Total victory is not necessary. What matters is that you earn their respect. If you can defeat just 2 Ascended Giants, you will have proven yourself to be a sufficiently strong peer. Your voice can sway the opinions of the compromised leaders and bring back a measure of sanity in their minds. As long as you can keep them loyal to red humanity, that is already a qualified victory." That actually sounded a bit more realistic. It did not sound as hard to squeeze out 2 victories, but then Ves recalled the enormous gap in fighting skills and combat literacy. "What is in it for me?" He asked. "You are asking a lot from me. I do not like to get beat up, you know. Besides, not all duels tend to end when one side taps out. What if the fighting goes too far? What if one of those crazy giants wants to earn the honor of slaying their own progenitor? I would not put it past those fanatics to claim my head if given the chance." The Patient Builder took a breath and faced Ves with as much sincerity as he could muster. "You may claim the Phase Lord Department for yourself as long as you gain at least partial control over it. As long as you can conquer the hearts of the Ascended Giants and take over leadership, we shall officially confer the position of department head onto you. My fellow department heads and I have already pre-signed a secret order that will confer the position of acting department head onto you. The councils will convene with haste and confirm your appointment within a week. After that, the Phase Lord Department is effectively yours." That was a massive concession! It sounded too good to be true to Ves. "Really?" He skeptically asked. "Are you willing to give total control over 361 Ascended Giants to a single mech designer?" "We are." The Patient Builder said with a completely serious expression. "We will put it all in writing if you doubt our intentions. We shall implement new rules, some of which are secret, which will reduce the ability for others to intervene in your management of your new fief. You may do with your powerful new troops as you will. Keep them in training and seclusion. Add them to your Bluejay Fleet in order to turn it into a super-strong combined arms force. Dispatch the phalanxes to the Terran Alliance or the Rubarthan Pact. Have them focus on conducting deep raids into alien territories. Use them to form a wall of flesh in an attempt to slow down the mutated voribug invasion." Ves blinked. "I can do anything I want with the Ascended Giants without anyone nagging me or ordering me to deploy them to specific warfronts?" "Yes." Demetrius Sol Klavia confirmed. "Look at it from our perspective. Right now, the Phase Lord Department is on the verge of becoming lost and may even defect to the Red Cabal by the end of the year. Any other outcome is much more preferable than that. Our hubris and our lack of caution has led to this crisis. We are willing to accept our punishment. If the Phase Lord Department is destined to slip from our fingers, we at least want it to fall into friendly hands as opposed to enemy ones. Having you take effective ownership over the Ascended Giants is still a better outcome than the alternatives. This is how we view this crisis." "...Are you serious?" "I am being completely honest with you. That is why I have come to meet with you myself. Trust me. As long as you accept our arrangement and fight to a satisfying conclusion, you will no longer serve the RC in the capacity as a chief councilor. You will have to resign from your current post, but you will become so much more. As a department head, you will occupy one of the highest executive positions within the Collective. You shall gain real power because you control one of the more powerful military forces of our civilization. No one should ever take you lightly again." "What stops you from going back on your word?" "It was difficult for us to come to a consensus, but we have eventually agreed to put our complete trust in you, Ves. Time and time again, you have proven your loyalty and duty towards our race through deeds. We have not ignored your sacrifices. We believe you are the right person for the job, far more than letting you languish as an absent chief councilor. If that is not enough to convince you, then let me inform you of one more fact. I carry with me a virtual document that contains the secret guarantee of the Evolution Witch. If anyone inside or outside of the Red Collective has any problem with takeover of the Phase Lord Department, the god pilot will intervene to protect your rights." The man finally gave Ves a clear and honest answer about what the RC was thinking. The collies were mainly concerned about loss mitigation. It took a lot of courage to admit that they could never retake total control over the Phase Lord Department. As long as they formed this idea, then letting Ves turn the Ascended Giants into his private army did not sound like a bad idea! At least Ves was a human phase lord that still remained staunch loyal to red humanity! The probability that he would turn traitor was nearly zero given that he possessed way too many connections to human society. Even if he would have second thoughts later on, one of the god pilots who he was acquainted with would definitely take action and set him straight! Ves had to admit that he felt incredibly greedy for a moment. Who didn’t want to have an army of 360 or so human phase lords at his beck and call? He believed in the chief enforcer’s promise that the RC would avoid trying to meddle with his control over the Phase Lord Department. If the man lied, Ves could always approach the Evolution Witch and have her sort out the dispute. If there was one thing high-ranking mech pilots and especially god pilots especially hated, it was people who broke their promises! However, Ves did not get blinded by the outrageous concept of turning the Phase Lord Department into his private army. "I am interested... but that does not mean I agree right away." Ves finally said. "I am not going to participate in this wild scheme of yours if it is too unrealistic. I want to see a game plan from you. I will wait for you to negotiate terms with the Phase Lord Department and see if the duels can be structured in a way that gives me a decent chance of winning. I don’t care what your discount prophets say about the future. I make my own judgments. I am giving you one chance." "That is all we are asking from you." The head of the Enforcement Department said as he smiled for the first time since this meeting.