Chapter 7592 Organ Deficiency

When the Dark Apostle entered the Armitage and met up with the surviving giants, he became surprised by their reaction.

He expected them to feel disappointed or defeated at their latest showing. Though they had managed to kill numerous enemy phase lords, they suffered a disproportionate amount of losses in the process.

Comrades had died. Both the Flesh Choppers and Ur-Titans gained more vacancies in their roster. Friends and teammates who previously guarded their backs had met an early and unfortunate end on the battlefield.

Yet despite this painful outcome, the mood among the giants was not as bad as the Dark Apostle feared.

Though the exhausted human phase lords did not exchange many words with each other, their low voices betrayed a certain degree of excitement and satisfaction.

The strategos of the Flesh Chopper approached the Dark Apostle's side. "This is the life of a soldier in a time of war. Just because we have become giants does not mean we have forgotten the lessons we have learned when we were still human. To us, death is not an intolerable result. What matters more to us is whether those who have fought and died for a worthy cause. Although we do not know exactly what is going on with the deathborn and that planetary temple complex, we can still figure out that we have inflicted a massive setback to our enemies with our assistance. We were the ones who managed to kill half-a-dozen enemy phase lords. We also managed to endure the onslaught of two well-equipped greater phase lords who hail directly from the Red Cabal. These are all accomplishments that we can feel proud about."

She made a good point. The two squads of Ascended Giants had confronted some of the best units that the native aliens of the Red Ocean could throw at them. The fact that the giants did not collapse throughout the fight was proof that the Phase Lord Department was on the right track!

Still, the battle managed to expose many faults and shortcomings.

"Just because we fought decently against the elite phase lords of the Red Cabal does not mean we can afford to be complacent." The Fiery Axe warned as she gripped the handle of her iconic weapon. "The short-lived campaign against the mutated voribugs already exposed some of our weaknesses. This latest battle has enabled us to make direct comparisons between ourselves and our alien counterparts. If we assume the alien phase lords are just as capable of catching up with us in terms of superdimensional arms and armor, our remaining advantages are not decisive enough to crush our enemies."

The Dark Apostle nodded. "I agree with your assessment. There is always room for improvement."

"We have more work ahead of us. There is no need for us to fight any further. Our greater priority is to return with all of the precious footage and data that we have collected and figure out how we can do better next time."

"Do you have any ideas about this subject? You look like you have already formed a few conclusions."

The female giant nodded and smiled. "Our greatest shortcoming is that we do not have anything comparable to greater phase lords as of yet. That is not a gap that we can close in the short term, so I would rather prefer to address more immediate issues. One of them is the low quality and quantity of our phasewater organs. If there is one benefit to fighting against the representatives of the Red Cabal, it is that we have managed to harvest their high-quality phasewater organs. Even the more common and familiar ones such as the basic three are much more optimized than the regular versions."

The Dark Apostle's eyes lit up after hearing this. As the future sole owner of Ves' true body, he had a vested interest in acquiring as many high-quality phasewater organs as possible!

Even if the capacity of his true body could not possibly fit so many phasewater organs, the ability to pick and choose from a wide range of fantastic options was a huge benefit!

"Implanting these native alien phasewater organs directly into our bodies is wasteful. We should hand them all over to the Red Collective so that the human eggheads can decipher them and develop giant versions that are perfectly adapted to our biologies."

The Fiery Axe actually looked reluctant. "I… do not entirely agree, sir. Your suggestion will definitely benefit our giant race the most, but only in the medium and long term. It will not help us in the present as it will take at least a few years for the research to bear fruit. We still need strength. You especially need more strength. We all acknowledge you as our leader because you have proven it with your strength. Others can do the same. Do not assume that each of us have permanently submitted to you. Any of us have the right to challenge you, remember? Some of us plan to do so at each annual event just to keep you on your toes. If you are not properly prepared, then there is a chance that you will suffer an unexpected defeat."

Both Ves and the Dark Apostle grew upset after hearing that. They had indeed made such a promise, as the giants were very much obsessed with the principle that 'might makes right'.

It was this kind of primitive pageantry that Ves was more than happy to abandon his identity as a human phase lord. As far as he was concerned, the Dark Apostle was more than welcome to wrangle these unruly manchildren!

That said, Ves still valued the power and influence associated with control over the Phase Lord Department. He did not want to see his other self lose the authority he currently enjoyed among hundreds of formidable giants.

Yet… the thought of directly implanting organs originally developed for other species such as orvens, nunsers and phase whales made him feel a little sick.

"We do not need to rely too much on the power of phasewater organs to defeat any challenges." He said through Blinky's form. "Our true body is larger and denser than that of any other giant. Also, our gear is much better than anyone else's. Even if we do not make use of superdimensional equipment in our duels, my knowledge and craftsmanship will ensure that we will always hold the edge in this aspect."

The Fiery Axe shook her head in disapproval. "You are not wrong in your assessment, but you also sound like a spoiled scion. Being further ahead in your progression as a phase lord does not give you a decisive edge, especially when your personal combat experience and your battlefield judgment falls short. The same goes for your superior equipment. In certain ways, you are like a child with the strength of an adult. You are still far from truly mastering your current strength and means. Now that I have fought alongside you and seen you in action, I am confident that I can defeat you on a good day."

"Do you truly mean that, woman?" The Dark Apostle almost bristled at the implied challenge.

The strategos grinned in response. Her posture exuded confidence.

"I am not disrespecting you, Dark Apostle. You are still my leader. I am merely being honest. Do not expect me to hold back or take it easy on you in our upcoming leadership challenge. If I am able to defeat you despite your current advantages, then that proves that you are no longer deserving of your crown. I will happily take it over if that happens. If you want to avoid this outcome, then I advise you to take your development more seriously. None of us want to be led by a giant that is not doing his utmost to become stronger. We are counting on you to not only serve as an example of our race, but also prove that you are better than our alien rivals."

This was the disadvantage of a strength-based society.

A leader constantly needed to develop his strength regardless of his responsibilities.

It would have been a lot more convenient if the leader of the giant relied on his brains rather than his brawn to hold his position.

Unfortunately, the Ascended Giants had not yet developed a society that could accept such a principal!

In fact, red humanity was not much better off. In times of existential crisis, too many red humans actually supported the ascendancy of god pilots.

The ignorant masses had largely forgotten about galactic mech councilors, who had once been elevated to the top of the Mech Trade Association with the explicit mandate of representing the average citizens of human civilization.

Rule by strength had made a comeback. Ves was quite clear that it was not going away anytime soon.

"I think… I will examine the list of collected phasewater organs later." The Dark Apostle slowly said after a moment of thought. "If there are any particularly interesting or powerful organs, I will think about implanting them into my true body if they are not too tattered. There should still be room for a couple of them I think. If there is one lesson that I have learned after dueling against the Blackwater Summoner, it is that I need a killer solution if I want to dominate my enemies. I need my own trump card that is inherent to me and my race. I need my own 'blackwater'."

"I will do my best to help you with that." Ves voiced his support.

The Dark Apostle did not want to acquire the power to manipulate a substance as anomalous as blackwater.

What he truly wanted was to gain the ability to wield strength comparable to the trump card of the Blackwater Summoner.

Relying on the basics was not enough. True powerhouses always counted on an absolute advantage in order to rise above their lesser peers. The Dark Apostle still needed to develop his own one if he wanted to secure his seat at the top of the Phase Lord Department.

"It is too bad we let the Blackwater Summoner get away." The Dark Apostle lamented. "If we managed to kill him and secure his carcass, then even if we couldn't salvage his best organs, the rest shouldn't be too bad either. I bet his body contains plenty more unique organs."