Chapter 7188 An Alternate Proposition Two down, two to go. Ves and the Dark Apostle both had many reasons to feel happy. They had won two matches in a convincing if not entirely respectable fashion. Though people could quibble about the means that the challenger employed to achieve his victories, the fact that he won at all could not be disputed. The Ascended Giants should definitely gain a better impression of their possible new leader. The Dark Apostle had decisively proven that his performance in the first duel was not a fluke. He had just shown them all that he was able to handle the most offense-oriented Ascended Giant without suffering too many setbacks. So far, the leadership candidate showed that he possessed the strength to keep up with the best of their kind. That was already a good sign, especially since they knew that the Dark Apostle was not supposed to be good at fighting in the first place. Few if any of the Ascended Giants bothered to think why a mech designer was able to fight so well with a spear. Perhaps they chalked it up to growing up among mech pilots or choosing to learn fighting skills ever since he became a phase lord. Whatever the case, the Ascended Giants cared a lot more about being represented by a leader who possessed the strength to suppress his own kind. It would also be nice if he happened to be a renowned innovator who developed good relations with the major powers of red humanity. The Dark Apostle therefore presented a compelling package to these Ascended Giants. While he may sound a little too pro-red humanity for their tastes, they could still tolerate his leadership as long as he sought to put their own race first. As the Dark Apostle returned to the recovery area, the doctors did not have to work as hard to treat his injuries. The Fiery Axe hadn't been able to last long enough to inflict deeper and more serious wounds. The shallow cuts and burns made by her Fiery Axe could easily be treated with giant-sized editions of proven human treatments. What was more important was for Ves to replenish his energy and other reserves. He had exerted himself quite a bit during the last two matches, so he drank a standard cargo container's worth of diluted phasewater and took a bite out of a giant-sized nutrient bar. Yes, the Red Collective already developed special nutrient bars and nutrient packs for human phase lords. They were surprisingly filling and appetizing. The Dark Apostle could somehow feel his belly at work. He had confidence that he could return to peak condition as soon as he was able to fully digest this nutrient supplement. Near the end of the recovery period, the Dark Apostle adorned his next set of equipment. Against an Ascended Giant who earned his fame for being good at throwing harpoons, it sounded prudent to enter the dueling ground with a heavy defensive loadout this time. The combination of a heavy oval shield that was able to cover the head and torso and a serviceable raiment that provided stronger protection at the front should be able to deal with the threat. Of course, neither Ves nor the Dark Apostle thought the Divine Harpoon was that simple to counter. He wouldn't have been able to become the strategos of the Faceless Giant Phalanx if that was the case. The Dark Apostle's exploding spear trick was already strong enough to become known as his signature move as a phase lord. This implied that the Divine Harpoon's throwing ability might be comparable in power. That introduced a completely different dynamic in the third fight. The Dark Apostle could not afford to start the next fight assuming that he would get an easy ride. Of course, just because the Dark Apostle currently enjoyed a lot of frontal protection did not mean his attack ability was weak. Just before the bots handed over the shortened spear, Blinky commanded them to pause. "What are you doing?" "Arming you with the Dark Fang seems inadequate to me. We still have the Dark Tooth left over from the previous duel. Sure, it has gotten banged up, but it still works… mostly." "Are you suggesting that we enter the dueling ground with two spears instead of one? That will cut into our mass allowance." "Know, but we can still shave a bit of weight here and there. After witnessing the previous two duels, I have learned that it is better to stack lots of armor in places that need defending and much less protection in places that are less critical. Right now, there are armor sections that fall in between. In hindsight, I think it is better to slim them down as they do not offer worthwhile enough protection as strong enough attacks can always go through." "Will that be enough?" "Probably not, but you don't need to bring along the complete Dark Tooth. It is a good thing that I designed it in a segmented configuration, so it will be easy for us to shorten it to a more compact size." Since the Dark Apostle spawned from Ves' true body, he had a pretty good understanding of what the mech designer was thinking. "You want to give me an extra throwing option. Since I did not throw the Dark Tooth in the end, I may as well do it in the next duel. This way, I won't be forced to remain passive." Blinky nodded. "Yes, but in order to make it all fit within our mass budget, I need to slim down both the Dark Tooth and the Dark Bulwark. Hold on for a moment. I need to tell these technicians to make a few last-minute modifications." Time was short, but Ves had long noticed that the techs had access to excellent equipment. It took a bit of ingenuity and improvisation, but the techs successfully managed to shave off a few tons of armor here and there. Their workmanship was cruder than Ves would have liked, but the demonized heavy raiment successfully became a little slimmer than before. This gave the Dark Apostle enough of a window to carry a second short spear. The Dark Tooth was no longer as long and far-reaching as before. After removing multiple shaft segments, it had become even shorter than the Dark Fang, which was supposed to be the only main weapon. However, it was still good enough to be thrown. It just wouldn't produce as big of an explosion as it could have due to its reduced mass and volume. This would give the Dark Apostle a second opportunity to throw an exploding spear at the Divine Harpoon. Soon enough, it was time to start the third duel. As the Dark Apostle and the Divine Harpoon met each other in person for the first time, they calmly took each other's measure. Unlike the Unshakeable King and the Fiery Axe, the Divine Harpoon did not appear too remarkable on the surface. His raiment looked dull and lacked a powerful statement. It was as if he specifically commanded it to be as bland and devoid of any distinguishing marks. Ves learned that this was one of the characteristics of the Faceless Giants. It imposed a high degree of uniformity in order to maximize teamwork and prevent enemies from identifying and targeting specific talents. If not for the fact that the other phase lord attached multiple harpoons on his back, it would have been impossible to distinguish him from the other Faceless Giants! Another aspect about the man that separated him from ordinary Ascended GIants was his unique aura or temperament. The Divine Harpoon looked and carried himself like a man who had lived through half of the Age of Mechs and would not be fazed by any surprises anymore. This was an extremely steady soldier and commander who had lived through so many events that he had lost his youthful vigor. With age came experience. The man formerly known as Haroudi Molain had a well-deserved reputation for being a steady hand that could be entrusted to do his job well. Although he no longer possessed the energy and spontaneity of his younger peers, such qualities were not always desirable. This made him the perfect leader for the Faceless Giants, a lower-quality phalanx that was larger and therefore filled with a greater quantity of powerful and unruly Ascended Giants. Only a leader as steady as the Divine Harpoon would be able to turn them into proper soldiers in a very short amount of time. Ves and the Dark Apostle experienced first-hand the aura of an old commander who was able to command respect and obedience just by being in his presence. At this moment, it was clear that the Divine Harpoon was evaluating them both. "Well met, Dark Apostle. What a concerning name you have chosen for yourself. Regardless, we abide by different rules now. No matter whether you wield the power of light or darkness, you are a qualified leader as long as you are strong enough to stand up for our interests and responsible enough to care for your men. In the previous two duels, you have unquestionably proven the former. It is not strictly necessary for you to prove your martial prowess any further as far as I am concerned. What I am concerned about is that you have yet to prove the latter." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂 Both Blinky and the Dark Apostle frowned. "How do you propose to test us on whether we can be a responsible leader for the Ascended Giants?" Ves asked. The Divine Harpoon responded with a mild smile under his helmet. "I have prepared a proposition for you. In my opinion, there is little value to be gained by fighting a third duel under the current rules. I would like to amend them and decide the outcome of the duel by holding a more limited competition. We should step away from each other and take turns throwing our weapons at each other. The Ascended Giant that has suffered the greatest physical injuries at the end of this exchange will concede without bothering to contest the duel any further than is necessary. What do you think?" Ves and the Dark Apostle reacted with surprise. This alternative was a much cleaner way to determine the victor of the third duel. While it was not safe for either side, the violence would be restricted, so the chance of suffering accidents should be low. Now that Ves and the Dark Apostle were already halfway towards success, it became more crucial than ever to let the situation spin out of control! "That is… a generous arrangement, strategos." "I am not finished." The Divine Harpoon adopted a serious expression. "I will only agree to compete against you this way if you make a concession. I want you to impart the secrets on how to make those exploding spears and how to prime them to explode when wielding them in battle." "What?!" "If you want us to fight against the native aliens, our race needs powerful weapons that they can use to defeat alien gods on a reliable basis. Short of equipping us all with superdimensional arms and armor, we can slay many enemies of both red humanity and the Ascended Giants if we have access to the same means as you have employed to turn the previous two duels around. Think of how impressive it would be if all 240 Faceless Giants throw their exploding spears at the same time. No greater phase lord should be able to withstand the mass detonations." That would be an impressive sight, Ves admitted. However, was it truly wise to share one of his latest trump cards with the Phase Lord Department? Both Ves and the Dark Apostle immediately felt conflicted. On the one hand, there was no way they would voluntarily agree to share their trump card to the Phase Lord Department. This was especially when the probability of leaks was high! It shouldn't take too long for the Red Collective and maybe even the Red Cabal to master the secrets of throwing spears that could explode with the power of tactical weapons of mass destruction!