The Mech Touch novel Chapter 7193

Chapter 7193: The Oscillating Variable

If there was one undeniable fact, it was that the shadow of the Oscillating Fist loomed tall over the entire leadership challenge.

The RC negotiating team had done an excellent job of shaping the leadership challenge in a way that gave the Dark Apostle an option to take over the Phase Lord Department without needing to confront its true leader.

This was a masterstroke in negotiation. Perhaps the Ascended Giants themselves had not truly recognized the implications of these terms.

Well, Ves thought it was more likely that the Ascended GIants underestimated the challenger.

They initially thought of him as a mech designer who possessed no real fighting skills.

Well, they had certainly been proven wrong this time.

The Oscillating Fist definitely shouldn’t have been able to foresee how all three of his strategos eventually rolled over the challenger.

This should have thrown him off-balance, but this also made him even more unpredictable.

How would he react?

Would he accept the results?

Would he try to fight back in order to retrieve the Phase Lord Department back in his possession?

All of these questions and more lingered in the minds of the collies and even the Ascended Giants.

After the initial celebration subsided, the collies all grew serious as they awaited the start of the fourth and final duel.

Multiple think tanks ran through the data and came up with many different theories.

The Red Collective had come closer than ever to regaining control over the Phase Lord Department. They did not want to drop the ball at the last second because they overlooked a crucial variable.

At this moment, none of the variables caused as much consternation to them as the self-styled polemarchos of the Ascended Giants.

The opinions of the Ascended Giants had always painted him as a cut above the rest of their kind.

Before their progenitor came along, the Ascended Giants almost universally considered him to be the perfect member of their kind. He possessed both excellent fighting skills and a true body that could overcome any martial challenge.

Combined with his ambitious vision and his compelling leadership qualities, the Oscillating Fist had long served as the compass of the Ascended Giants.

Yet strangely enough, the Oscillating Fist had remained almost entirely absent since the Dark Apostle first tried to open a dialogue with the Phase Lord Department.

The strategoi led the personnel stationed in the headquarters. Many units and departments continued to do their jobs as if nothing had changed.

What was he thinking?

What was he doing?

What were his intentions?

Many questions remained unanswered, but Ves knew that the time had come for the veil to be cast aside.

"According to our monitoring of their headquarters, many Ascended Giants and human support personnel have mostly accepted the outcome of the three duels." Secret Keeper Zariel-775 spoke in an emotionless tone as usual. "They are all aware of the short version of the agreement and understand that they will soon answer to a different polemarchos. Overall, their resistance to this leadership transition is fairly low. They are sincerely convinced by the fighting ability and technological ingenuity of the so-called Dark Apostle. There are exceptions, but we have already marked them for reassignment or elimination."

The projection of Department Head Demetrius Sol Klavia nodded. "Thank you for your report. The situation has developed along one of our more optimistic tracks. However, this is no reason to let your guard down. The Ascended Giants have become a group of regressed tribalistic warriors. External influences have misguided and indoctrinated them to the point where they mistakenly believe they belong to a different race. We cannot rely on their honor or their duty to make good on their promises. A single powerful ’tribe leader’ can always come and smash our agreement to pieces by relying on brute force."

The Dark Apostle’s giant expression began to frown.

He clearly did not want this to happen, but when he thought about the virtues of himself and his fellow Ascended Giants, he had to admit that these fears were not entirely unfounded.

Blinky began to run his furry chin with his paw. "What is the probability that the Oscillating Fist will not accept the outcome of the leadership challenge?"

Everyone looked at Zariel-775.

The robed figure offered his response.

"Our diviners, ritualists and more mundane intelligence analysts have studied all of the relevant data that we have collected. I have to warn you that our data is not as complete as we like. We especially lack direct observation and access to more confidential records related to the Oscillating Fist. He has always resided in the center of the headquarters, which enjoys the greatest protection against physical and non-physical intrusion. Even if these safeguards have become dated by the current standards of the RC, their effectiveness is not in doubt."

After making all of this clear, the secret keeper finally moved on to the information that everyone wanted to know.

"With these caveats in mind, we estimate that there is a 78 percent chance that the Oscillating Fist will not surrender his leadership position. If that is the case, there is a 68 percent chance that he will force the Dark Apostle to accept a duel that will not end unless one of them dies. Winner takes all. Regardless of the terms of the leadership challenge, the Dark Apostle cannot formally take over the Ascended Giants if he is dead. This is what the Oscillating Fist likely rely upon to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. It suits him best as he has always prided himself on his excellent martial power."

"..."

"We can’t simply rely on overwhelming force to neutralize the Oscillating Force, is that correct?" Ves asked.

"If I had my way, I would force all of these stupid Ascended Giants to go back to school so that they can be recivilized." He said through Blinky. "However, I have a feeling that as soon as their phasewater concentration increases by a considerable margin, the heavenly authority of the Red Ocean will come and reprogram them. I fear that we have no other choice but to accept the savagery of the Ascended Giants and work around this fact."

"There are advantages to our ways." The Dark Apostle couldn’t help but stand up for his own kind. "We are not adept with technology. We are more reliant on external support to provide us with equipment and intelligence support. We are also more centralized. If you want to control them, you control their leaders. Our respect for hierarchy is strong. Individual Ascended Giants are not supposed to possess much initiative. They will not disobey their superiors unless they are truly driven to desperation."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify