Chapter 7147: Strategizing After securing the Dark Apostle’s cooperation, Ves was eager to move to the next step of the preparations. As a sign of goodwill, the collies had unlocked the shackles and removed the chains. That did not mean that they had disappeared. A pair of mechs continued to carry them around as they shadowed the human phase lord. The message was clear. If the Dark Apostle acted out in any way, he would get locked up before he could escape. In any case, despite his awful attitude, the Dark Apostle was not stupid enough to test his limits. So far, he remained civilized and tolerant to the humans around him. The fact of the matter was that he needed to rely on their help if he wanted to have any chance of success in the leadership challenge. Their tech, materials and other support could make a massive difference in the upcoming duels. Ves still utilized Blinky’s manifestation as a vehicle. It put a bit of a strain on him to maintain this particular form, but it was better than nothing. Department Head Demitrius Sol Klavia bravely entered the ritual chamber in order to present the initial game plan. "The two of you will be able to pass the leadership challenge so long as you win 3 out of 4 matches. This means that we only have to take three opponents into account at most. I do not think that any of you will mind if you concede the duel against the Oscillating Fist before it can begin." "I object." The Dark Apostle immediately spoke up. "The Ascended Giants want to take the measure of my strength. To evade a fourth duel when I am in a position to fight further is an act of cowardice. I want us to be ready to fight a fourth time if necessary. I do not have to win. I only need to last long enough while putting up a good enough performance to earn the respect of my men." "Won’t it be counterproductive if the current polemarchos smacks you around on the dueling grounds?" Ves countered. "It is true that I will not paint myself in a good light by losing against the Oscillating Fist, but at least I will have earned a decent measure of respect from him as well as the other Ascending Giants for mustering up the courage to make the attempt. A contract between us may compel the Oscillating Fist to step down if all of the strategoi have lost, but he will not be able to trust me completely if I have not yet exchanged blows with him. This is a necessity. As long as I have won him over, I will smoothly be able to take over the Ascended Giants." He raised a decent point. The Ascended Giants had become a lot more honorbound. They cared about their pride and honor so much that even the Dark Apostle wanted to seek a confrontation that was not strictly necessary. "Besides." The Dark Apostle grinned with Ves’ giant face. "If I ever lose two out of three matches, I need to win the final bout if I still want to remain eligible to take over the Ascended Giants. It is best if you take this matchup seriously." The chief enforcer nodded after hearing this. "Very well. We shall do so, but the probability of victory is still low no matter how much preparations we make. We should still pin our hopes on winning the duels against the 3 strategoi, of which 2 of them are more vulnerable than the remaining one." The department head waved his arm. Multiple projections came to life. They each depicted the last-known images of the phase lords in full battle regalia. These images had been taken from the decrypted data stolen from the data cores at the headquarters on Jotunheim. "Not all of these images are up to date, but they should give you a certain impression of what you can expect to encounter on the day of the leadership challenge. We know the least about the Oscillating Fist, but from the archival footage that we have retrieved, he is a close-ranged warrior that is fast, tough and hard-hitting. Countering him is nearly impossible because his fundamentals are too strong. His boxing skills remain impeccable and he possesses the best raiment built for the Phase Lord Department." Both Ves and the Dark Apostle felt intimidated by the depiction of the Oscillating Fist. This was truly a warrior beyond comparison. Perhaps the only way to defeat him was to rely on high mobility and ranged weapons to kite him around and whittle down his defenses over time, but the rules were not friendly towards this scumbag method. The Dark Apostle would never be able to win the respect of the Oscillating Fist and the Ascended Giants if he actively avoided close quarters combat! "If winning is out of the question, then it is better to emphasize defense over offense." Ves analyzed. "The goal is not to win the duel, but to exchange fists long enough with the Oscillating Fist to look impressive and prove your courage." "A defensive approach is not as effective against the Oscillating Fist." The Patient Builder warned. "He is named this way because he has mastered a fighting method that enables him to generate destructive oscillating shockwaves that can penetrate past most physical defenses. The fact that he is able to produce this effect with a naked fist is already impressive enough. When he is equipped with gauntlets that contain special amplifying tech, he is theoretically able to defeat a greater phase lord that has lost his spatial barrier." "Does that mean that the Oscillating Fist is not as good at tearing down energy defenses?" "Yes, but this is only relative. The Oscillating Fist will most definitely carry a space suppressor around that can weaken azure energy shields and spatial barriers. His raiment may be equipped with other weapon systems that are designed to counter energy defenses. These are necessary measures when fighting against alien phase leaders." The Oscillating Fist possessed too many advantages at close range. It was ridiculous to even think about gaining the upper hand against this adversary in a direct collision. Blinky swished his tail. "My original point still stands. Even if defenses are not as effective against the Oscillating Fist, they can still slow him down to an extent. We will lose in an instant if we neglect our defenses. That does not mean we can ignore our offense either. Given that his raiment is of such high quality, our weapons need to be absurdly powerful in order to have any chance of winning this match." "Do you have any suggestions, councilor?" "I do, but let us consider the other matchups first." Demetrius Sol Klavia nodded. "I understand. Since the rules state that we are allowed to choose the order of duels, it is necessary for us to settle this matter so that we can accurately formulate our plans. Of the three strategoi, the Unshakeable King is described as a stronger and more resilient Ascended Giant than the other phalanx leaders. The real question is whether you first wish to challenge the Fiery Axe or the Divine Harpoon." "Both of them are traitors, but the severity of their treachery is not as bad as it could have been." Ves said. "From what I have learned from the gathered intelligence, the Divine Harpoon is probably the only strong voice that still advocates for maintaining at least a loose relationship with red humanity. The Fiery Axe is a staunch proponent of independence. She also plans to kill us if we do not put up a good enough fight according to her judgment." That caused the Dark Apostle to scowl. "I care little for the Divine Harpoon’s weak sentiments, but the Fiery Axe cannot be allowed to survive! Anyone who seeks my head must be prepared to lose their own in return!" "Have you been listening to what I am saying!? We do not necessarily have to kill her! As long as we gear up with short-lasting but powerful combat gear, you can overwhelm her so much in the first minutes that she will never think of you as weak and unworthy. It is best if you can force her to admit defeat at that point, because once your weapons and gear have reached the limits of their tolerance, they will fall off hard." "Then I should make the best use of this time to cut off the Fiery Axe’s head." The Dark Apostle was way too quick to resort to killing as a solution. Ves hoped that he would mellow out or change his mind when the duel had begun. He was not hoping to spare the Fiery Axe. He simply believed that it was a waste to kill a precious human phase lord when she would no longer pose a threat once her future leader impressed her on the dueling ground. Besides, warriors tended to be at their most desperate when they were pushed to the brink of death. Who knew what kind of nasty surprises the Fiery Axe had in store when the Dark Apostle went all-out in trying to kill the leader of the Flesh Chopper Phalanx. Borrowing the plasma axe was probably just one of several solutions. Demetrius Sol Klavia voiced his own opinion. "The Phase Lord Department needs a culling in order to set it straight again. Removing an unreliable phalanx leader such as the Fiery Axe will give you the opportunity to appoint a more loyal and reliable Ascended Giant in her place. My suggestion is to be opportunistic. Make sure to arm yourself with a suitably lethal weapon and be ready to launch the killing blow if you see an opening." They discussed a bit more on what kind of weapons, raiment and strategy they should choose against this axe-wielding giant. Once they agreed on a specific configuration, they analyzed the other opponent. "The Divine Harpoon is rumored to be stronger than the Fiery Axe." The chief enforcer said. "There is no proof that this is the case, but it is best not to underestimate him. He is almost a century-and-a-half years old and possesses a wealth of experience. As his new name suggests, he is a master at throwing harpoons, but can fight well enough when wielding them as spears." How to fight against such an opponent? "If ’honor’ is not a priority, then it is best to adopt a fast loadout and maintain as much distance as possible." Ves suggested. "It becomes exponentially more difficult to land any hits against an increasingly distant opponent. A fairly accurate but fast-firing rifle should be able to whittle down the Divine Harpoon’s defenses while limiting our exposure to risk." "Unacceptable. I will not adopt the strategy of a coward." "This is not cowardice! This is winning! Everything can be excused so long as you win!" "Mortal, give me an alternative suggestion that satisfies my honor." "Aside from wielding a spear yourself, I believe that the combination of a sword and a physical shield fares quite well in this matchup if everything else is equal." "Acceptable." Ves did not quite agree, but it appeared that he had no choice but to accept this direction. "Hopefully, the Divine Harpoon will be the least threatening opponent we face in the leadership challenge. The intelligence paints him as sympathetic towards the RC and red humanity. This may give him a reason to not put his best into the fight, though he has to be careful not to be obvious about it. The Ascended Giants will not let him give up so easily. I suggest we fight against him first so that we can build up enough momentum and preemptively prove to the Fiery Axe that she does not need to kill us out of a misguided sense of pride." Demetrius Sol Klavia shook his head. "I do not agree with that, councilor. If the assumption that the Divine Harpoon is sympathetic towards us is correct, then we should not face him in the first duel, but rather the second or third one. No matter the score up until then, you can fight against the leader of the Faceless Giants at a lower intensity and earn your victory with less effort than before. This should give you another 3-hour window of valuable rest time to prepare for the next duel." That was a clever approach. Ves and the Dark Apostle both saw the necessity of making sure that they could maintain their condition as much as possible as they concluded one fight after another. A leadership challenge was never supposed to be easy or fair. The demand to fight once every 3 hours was meant to portray the strength and the perseverance of a potential leader. This was also why it was not strictly necessary for the Dark Apostle to win all 4 duels in order to take over as leader. Being able to topple the 3 strategoi without enjoying adequate rest in between already served as an adequate show of force. After fighting so much, there was no way that the Dark Apostle could fight the fourth and final duel in their peak condition. Losing became the expected outcome, which meant that they would not bear much shame if they got beat up by the Oscillating Fist. That was fine with Ves.