The Mech Touch novel Chapter 7211

Chapter 7211: The Giant in Charge

The Dark Apostle felt like a winner.

He won the leadership challenge and successfully took over the Phase Lord Department.

Granted, his victory was not as absolute as he liked. His weaker self collaborated with the collies who expected to spread their tentacles into his organization.

He knew better than to resist. Red humanity remained dominant, so the Dark Apostle had little choice but to play by the rules. He had learned his lesson several times already. Rather than put up a futile resistance, he was more interested in building up his power base and making sure that the Ascended Giants became strong enough to last in this brutal dwarf galaxy.

After the greeting ceremony came to an end, the Dark Apostle dismissed the crowd and organized a meeting with a number of familiar faces.

The Dark Apostle, the Grapple King, the Fiery Axe and the Divine Harpoon all entered the large and fairly secure mech-scaled meeting room in their current sizes.

The thought of scaling down their true bodies so that they became as small as humans did not even register in their minds. They were giants. It was essential to display their superior physical stature.

This made it relatively awkward when a number of humans attended the meeting as well.

The familiar team consisting of Formation Master Andrea Vox, Chief of Staff Eliza Mo Ragadan and Secret Keeper Zariel-775 all served vital purposes that made it unwise to exclude them from this gathering.

The current composition of this conference pretty much reflected the actual state of the Phase Lord Department that the Dark Apostle took over. It was dominated by giants, but could not function properly without the diligent work of tiny mortals.

The seating arrangements were unconventional to say the least. The conference room designed especially to accommodate these kinds of meetings relied on smart metal to dynamically generate and break down furniture that was appropriate for every occasion.

For example, a large amount of smart metal rose up from the floor and created a giant and rather domineering throne. It was the tallest and the most imposing seat of all, leaving no doubts about who was in charge.

The seats for the three interim strategoi were less impressive and more functional in appearance. Their thrones denoted their transcendent status, but their plain gunmetal gray exterior and lack of decorative elements conveyed the message that they had yet to earn a greater status.

As for the humans, each of them had no choice but to sit down in the most basic of square, angular metal chairs, ones that looked like they had been fabricated en masse using cheap recycled metals.

None of the seats offered much in the way of comfort. This was a deliberate choice on the Dark Apostle’s part. He had no interest in spending multiple hours on tedious discussions. He was a giant who preferred action over talking.

"Alright." The Dark Apostle began. "The real meeting starts now. What needs to be discussed?"

A short silence ensued before Eliza Mo Ragadan thoughtfully took charge of the agenda.

"A number of important decisions need to be made. Several are more time-sensitive than others. The first item on the agenda should be to clarify your thoughts regarding who should lead the three phalanxes of the Ascended Giants. The formal selection process should be much more elaborate in order to determine a candidate leader’s fit your agenda, but we cannot afford to leave the phalanxes rudderless for more than a day. The giants may decide to hold a brutal internal competition that can lead to mass injuries or even death. For now, it is sufficient to leave interim leaders in place. Are you content with current interim appointments?"

It looked rather weird for the giants to listen to a normal-sized human, but none of them complained about how improper it may be to let humans participate at all in this capacity.

The more radical giant supremacists among them were not present in this meeting.

The humans in the meeting also understood their positioning and did not try to convey any dominance despite their own belief in human supremacy.

The Dark Apostle had thought about this matter. He knew that there were advantages and disadvantages to shuffling the deck, especially when a new leader took over from the old one.

The Fiery Axe and the Divine Harpoon could be regarded as vestiges of the past. They had served as the trusted minions and confidantes of the Oscillating Fist. That meant that there was a possibility that they would still make decisions that aligned with the ideology of their deceased leader.

However, the Dark Apostle did not think this was the case. Giants were different from humans.

Sure, strong-willed fighters and leaders all possessed their own ideas, but the Ascended Giants respected their hierarchy. The three strategoi should all know who to defer to. If they disagreed with his leadership, then they should mount an open challenge rather than scheme in the shadows.

The Dark Apostle looked at all three strategoi in the eyes.

He had already exchanged blows with the two of them. This granted him an implicit understanding of who they were and what they fought for. He trusted this more than anything else.

He knew the least about the Grapple King, but he looked alright to his eyes. He had already heard a few good stories about him. There was no need to replace him unless he crossed the line.

"They can stay for now." The Dark Apostle calmly stated. "There is no need to waste time on a selection process. Let us do this the giant way. For now, let us announce that the three strategoi are appointed on a trial basis. Their performance will be monitored. If they prove competent enough to keep their phalanxes in line, then they can stay as far as I am considered. However, as long as they remain on trial, any subordinate from their phalanx has the right to challenge them. The winner will retain or ascend to leadership."

The Dark Apostle briefly paused in thought. "Not too long. Once the trial period is over, the other Ascended Giants will still have a right to issue a challenge to their leaders, but there will be more restrictions. We need to find a balance between upward mobility and stability. Maybe we can open our leaders up for a challenge once per standard year. Please draft a formal plan around this principle."

"I have no intention of evading my responsibilities. If I am too weak to defeat one of my Ascended Giants, then I do not deserve to be the polemarchos any longer. I will not defy the principles of our race and insist on remaining in charge. I just hope that I can take advantage of the same opportunity to win back my crown a year later."

The Dark Apostle smirked. "Then I will just have to make sure that I will never lose. Relax, human. I do not intend to slack off in my training. Now that I am the boss, I should be able to gain access to much more powerful phasewater organs and tech. The other giants will not be able to keep up with my development. If they are still able to defeat me despite my superior gear and organs, then I deserve to resign."

"Enough about leadership. What do we have to address next?"

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