Chapter 7214: Mission Board Giant Edition "I think we have created enough principles now to rewrite our organization charter." The Divine Harpoon said. "There is still room for more, but I think the four guiding principles that we have formulated today will take time and further thought to spell out and combine into a single narrative. Since we are still new and in the process of establishing ourselves, it is better to start small and expand our culture and traditions over time. Trying to implement too many changes in a short interval of time will generate too much confusion and possibly backlash." Eliza Mo Ragadan nodded in agreement. "You may have a point. The Ascended Giants need clarity. We should focus on introducing the core principles first and monitor the reactions of your subordinates over a span of several weeks or months. We can introduce targeted changes and additions in response to any problems or shortcomings that might occur." The Dark Apostle thought for a moment. The three guiding principles that he came up with already served as a strong basis. The fourth guiding principle introduced a strong ambition and locked the Ascended Giants into a permanent alliance with red humanity. That provided enough clarity and direction for the Ascended Giants. They had been spending way too many days without clear leadership and direction at the top. That had to change now that the Dark Apostle sought to convert them into a strong and reliable fighting force. "Alright." The new polemarchos said. "If no one else wants to add anything further to the organization charter, we can work with what we have and implement improvements later. This is a new start for everyone. The Ascended Giants must become a force to be reckoned with, but that cannot happen if they continue to isolate themselves. I do not want to copy the hermit habit of the alien phase whales. As soon as our new organization is up and running, I want us all to make a visible impact on the ongoing wars." He was eager to tackle the subject of military deployments because it was the most concrete way for him to exercise his newfound power. Being in charge of the Phase Lord Department meant that he had the final word on missions and deployments. "You have expressed a desire to frame the relationship between the Ascended Giants and red humanity in a more transactional light." The chief of staff said. "There are several approaches that you can choose from. One example would be to erect a mission board. You can permit the strategos or available squad leaders to browse the missions and accept the ones that have won them over. The missions will be based on commissions submitted by groups that have been vetted by the Red Collective." That sounded rather interesting. It sounded similar to the Missions offered by the Mission Hall of the Mech Designer System. "The greatest advantage of this approach is that it works on market dynamics." Formation Master Andrea Vos sounded interested. "The demand for strong protection will always exceed supply as enemy phase lords continue to exert great pressure on the frontlines. The states and organizations under threat will be forced to offer substantial rewards in order to borrow the strength of the Ascended Giants. You are able to offer a unique service. It is very difficult to freely hire warriors at this caliber, especially in greater numbers." The Grapple King frowned. "Mission boards? Seriously? This is not a virtual reality game. We are speaking of actual war. I am reluctant to extend too much autonomy to our underofficers. Adopting this mercenary approach to choosing missions is undignified. It is better to leave the acceptance of missions and allocation of giants to the leaders of every phalanx. We know our subordinates well and can send them to places where they can attain the most results. We can also handle missions according to a specific strategy." A more centralized and top-down approach had its own advantages. It would keep the giants in line and prevent them from becoming too independent. "I understand your concerns, Grapple King, but I think a mission board is exactly what we need." The Dark Apostle voiced his own thoughts. "We need to ease the hostility between giants and humans. By letting the former choose which humans to work for, they can develop acquaintances and friendships across species on their own initiative. We cannot force the giants to respect humans as their equals, but we can encourage this development if we set up the right conditions." "I see." The Grapple King fell into thought. "While it is debatable whether every human deserves to be treated with respect by our race, I can see what you are trying to do. I am not sure whether every giant will cooperate with your plan, but it is nonetheless a promising proposal to melt away the estrangement between our two races. However, if the giants become accustomed to working for one specific employer... their loyalty to you may degrade." "We can mitigate this development by mandating that the giants return to our headquarters after the conclusion of every mission." Eliza suggested. "You can also implement other measures such as mandating that every phasewater organ implantation or substantial wargear acquisitions take place here or in another major stronghold under our control. We need to establish a strong mental association between the Phase Lord Department and essential support. If they dare to cut ties with us, they will lose all of the generous and effective support that is completely tailored to their race." Any traitors and deserters would definitely turn into fugitives. The Dark Apostle had no intention of letting them go free. Before they turned into giants, each recruit signed important contracts and locked them into military service for a very long time. This was the price they needed to pay in order to undergo the extremely expensive transformations into human phase lords! This was one of the reasons why Ves and the Dark Apostle insisted on establishing fair remuneration into the second guiding principle of the Phase Lord Department. They wanted to strengthen the importance of contracts in giant culture. Ves especially hated it when people reneged on their agreements or openly violated their contracts. As far as he was concerned, this was a form of treachery that often ruined his plans and presented unexpected difficulties in his life. While the Dark Apostle initially possessed the same attitude towards written and verbal agreements as any Ascended Giant, he was still derived from Ves. He understood the logic of strengthening the meaning of contracts within the Phase Lord Department. The proposed mission board could make this happen. The more the giants accepted commissions and dealt with the complexities of contracts, they would eventually become used to working with them. Their attitudes towards agreements would eventually resemble the attitudes of the humans that paid them for their services. Everyone eventually came to a consensus on this subject. They would establish a mission board and appoint the right people to staff it. They would coordinate with the RC to help them solicit commissions among interested parties and filter out the unsuitable ones. Of course, the mission board would initially become available to the Ascended Giants on a trial basis. The Dark Apostle and the others still wanted to see whether it would work out as well as they hoped. If it somehow turned into a disaster, then they could quickly withdraw the mission board and go back to letting the officers in charge assign the missions. "Aside from letting our Ascended Giants freely accept missions, they must also be available to fulfill mandatory obligations that fall outside of the scope of the mission board." The Dark Apostle said. "I believe there is an ongoing commitment for the Phase Lord Department to contribute to the defense of our HQ as well as the rest of the Yernstall Central Star Node. Is this correct?" The Divine Harpoon nodded. "That is correct. If the old directives still hold, then we must always station at least 15 Ascended Giants in this central star node. In case of an enemy invasion, the stationed giants will fall under the command of the Enforcement Department so that they can fully coordinate their actions with the rest of the RC’s armed forces." Nobody really had a problem with that. The HQ needed to be defended, and it was important for the giants to contribute to the defense of Yernstall given its importance to the Red Three. "If this is the case, then I think it is best to continue on as before." The Dark Apostle decided. "The only thing I want to change is to clarify what we will get in exchange for this service. I am not demanding additional payment. We are already getting what we need from the RC such as phasewater, resources, trained personnel and so on. I just think it is best if we can tie all of this stuff together so that the giants will understand that we must earn everything we get from the Red Collective." In other words, he wanted to run the Phase Lord Department as if it was a for-profit mercenary organization. The Red Collective was willing to pay for all of the Phase Lord Department’s bills, but that was not sustainable in Ves and the Dark Apostle’s opinion. In order to improve the relationship between giants and humans, both needed to benefit from each other. The Ascended Giants clearly had little to no interest in logistics, R&D, intelligence gathering and all of that other boring stuff. By outsourcing these duties to red humans, the giants would hopefully see their helpers as partners as opposed to their mortal slaves. Red humanity on the other hand needed to appreciate the value of the protection offered by the Ascended Giants. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚 While ace mechs were undoubtedly stronger and more desirable, ace pilots were in constant short supply. It should be much easier for the Ascended Giants to sortie in larger numbers. They could make a massive difference in large strategically important battles due to all of the force multipliers they relied upon. The Dark Apostle wanted to have this power at his disposal as well. "I also need a contingent of giants under my direct command." The Dark Apostle said. "My alter ego and I have no intention of sitting behind a desk while so much fighting is taking place at the frontlines. Ves seeks inspiration. I seek to earn my godhood and temper myself in battle. Given how much more important we have become, it is best if I am accompanied by a strong force of Ascended Giants. It will have to consist of at least 2 squads of 15 Ascended Giants. They should alternate their deployments in battle whenever possible. Against more modest assault fleets, deploying 15 or less giants is already overkill I think." "You wish to turn 30 Ascended Giants or half an elite phalanx into your private army." Secret Keeper Zariel-775 spoke as if he knew exactly what the Dark Apostle had in mind. "All 359 surviving Ascended Giants are already de-facto members of my private army." The new polemarchos smirked. "I do not think it is productive if I transfer all of them to the Bluejay Fleet. I believe that 15 Ascended Giants are already enough to tackle most threats, but I intend to bring an additional squad to act as a reserve. You could never know if the enemy has prepared an ambush." Taking away 30 Ascended Giants for his own purposes might not be proper, but it was well within his right to do so as the effective controller of the Phase Lord Department. Besides, it was not as if Ves and the Dark Apostle intended to squander the combat power of 30 Ascended Giants. They would definitely confront a lot of enemies on the frontlines in the near future! "Will you extend the second guiding principle to this demand and offer fair remuneration for their services?" Eliza Mo Ragadan asked. "Do keep in mind that retaining the services of just a single Ascended Giant is already expensive. When you multiply this figure by 30, you will reach a horrifying sum." Ves may be rich, but he was no longer in a position where he could squander his wealth at will. "I am the polemarchos. You should find a way for us to reimburse all of these expenses."