The Mech Touch - Chapter 7212

The Fiery Axe did not look happy with the Dark Apostle’s surprisingly weak statement.

"" She openly said in the presence of humans. ""

She voiced a valid concern. The Ascended Giants not only grew in size, but also in ego. They had a natural tendency to regard themselves as gods, and did not take it kindly if mortal beings treated them as if they were on the same level.

Fortunately, Ves had done a lot of thinking on this problem. He had the distinct advantage of retaining his humanity while possessing a sort-of first-hand perspective on phase lord development.

He had already formulated a basic framework that should provide the Ascended Giants a way to serve red humanity without wounding their pride.

The Dark Apostle only had to adopt the plan devised by his alter ego in order to make this work.

He felt reluctant. A plan made by his other self did not necessarily represent his own vision.

Yet... the Dark Apostle could not think of anything better. He knew that if he sided too much with his fellow Ascended Giants, he would just make the relationship between humans and giants worse. That was bound to trigger unnecessary conflicts that would eventually result in red humans bringing the hammer down.

If he tried to overcompensate and adopt an overly servile attitude, then the Ascended Giants would continue to grow less happier by the day. The Fiery Axe’s prediction would come true as a large number of giants would eventually rebel and either set off on their own, or defect to the Red Cabal!

Suffice to say, neither outcome benefited the Dark Apostle. He needed to thread the needle and ensure that he could retain effective control over the Phase Lord Department in the coming years.

In order to fulfill this essential demand, the Dark Apostle was willing to show forbearance and restrain his more ambitious urges.

He hoped that he could persuade the other giants into following his head.

The Dark Apostle slowly rose from his dark throne. ""

Everyone listened carefully to him as his next words would define the Ascended Giants in the years to come.

His vision could literally affect the history of red humanity and all of the other civilizations in the Red Ocean!

"

Some giants accepted this directive more than others. The Divine Harpoon had no issue with this policy, but the Grapple King and the Fiery Axe looked like they did not entirely agree.

The Dark Apostle was not done, though.

""

Multiple giants frowned.

Emotionally, they could not bring themselves to accept their new leader’s brutal truth.

Intellectually, they knew that the Dark Apostle made a necessary point.

The giants were aware of this contradiction, but they had been doing their best to avoid thinking about it in order to preserve their fragile illusions.

The Dark Apostle could not allow these giants to indulge in these unrealistic fantasies. They could do real damage to his interests and the interests of their race if they tried to throw their weight around.

"" The Dark Apostle commanded his strategoi. ""

When he put it this way, his instructions sounded more acceptable.

The Dark Apostle did not deny the deification of Ascended Giants. He merely reframed it so that the giants did not receive their divinity on a silver platter. They fell short of what they truly desired, but they could still get what they wanted if they worked towards this ideal.

Of course, this journey would not be easy, but many giants possessed such a strong opinion of themselves that they did not think they would falter!

The Divine Harpoon raised his hand. ""

The Dark Apostle’s expression darkened. ""

That last part sounded more like an afterthought, but this was a barely acceptable arrangement.

The humans in the conference room certainly looked a little more comfortable. The second principle might not solve the fundamental problem that afflicted the Ascended Giants in a permanent fashion, but it should delay them for a long time.

Instead of worrying about giants demanding to be treated like gods tomorrow, red humanity would have to deal with this problem a few decades or a century later.

By then, red humanity should hopefully be in a better position. Their relations with the Ascended Giants may also be completely different. Perhaps no one would have a problem anymore with the true attitudes of the Ascended Giants.

The Dark Apostle continued to lay out his vision.

""

Both humans and giants looked fairly impressed.

It was difficult to figure out an acceptable way for giants to get along with humans.

The Dark Apostle simply took Ves’ idea of positioning the Ascended Giants as mercenaries and ran with it. By modulating the interaction between giants and humans through barter and trade, the Ascended Giants would effectively function as a de-facto client state of red humanity.

While there was no way to make this relationship completely equal, the giants should be able to stomach this reality so long as they were willing to abide by the first principle.

"" The Grapple King sounded happy enough as he extrapolated the Dark Apostle’s vision. ""

This was a scheme that would work pre- and post-independence. It might not go far enough to the radicals, but this was the best way to preserve harmony between giants and humans.

The Dark Apostle smiled. ""

Just like Ves, the Dark Apostle preferred to establish a win-win cooperation with red humanity.

A relationship based on mutual benefit was much more stable and a lot less problematic to everyone.

"" The Dark Apostle lowered himself on his dark throne again. ""

A short pause ensued. The Grapple King and the Fiery Axe looked at each other before the latter decided to speak.

"" She said.