Chapter 7319: Opportunistic Collaboration

"*Are those guys crazy?!*"

"No." Jovy replied over the communication channel. "The Rubarthans are not crazy. Maybe their strategic direction sounds reckless when you only take the Battle of Philaster Crestia into account. What you are overlooking is the wider strategic outlook of the Rubarthan Pact. The newly independent colonial empire will inevitably encounter more Incubators over the course of the Voribug War. If the Incubator spawns a high-level Goliath, then the intelligence gathered from it is more valuable than preserving the lives of every soldier. Even the loss of the star system can be excused."

When Jovy put it like that, Ves basically understood what was going through the minds of the Rubarthan leaders.

The Voribug War was destined to unfold into a lengthy multi-year marathon.

Individual victories and defeats mattered less than the overall trend. Right now, the defending humans sorely lacked understanding of their adversary. Deliberately letting the Incubator do its job and give birth to a horrifyingly powerful Goliath at this early stage made sense in this context!

Of course, it would be great if the high-ranking mechs and the Ascended Giants could team up and defeat both the Goliaths and the VOBM without any complications.

Yet how likely would they be able to accomplish both objectives when the Ascended Giants had to spread themselves out at the direction of system command?

They would definitely struggle just to preserve their own lives!

Ves found it difficult to accept the very human cost of this greedy decision.

"Bastards." The Dark Apostle gritted his giant teeth. "They are practically hoping for their men and our men to die and get fed to the Incubator. Why the hell should we play along?"

The Bluejay Fleet was technically a volunteer force. It had no obligation to abide by the orders of local command. There was nothing stopping the Ascended Giants from retreating from the battlefield, especially when they had valid justification.

Nobody liked to be treated as cannon fodder, especially guests who did not hail from the Pact!

The Rubarthan leaders clearly understood that the Ascended Giants needed additional incentives to fulfill their designated roles.

"In any case of victory or defeat, the Bluejay Fleet will receive the highest priority when selecting spoils." Jovy Armalon informed the two. "The Rubarthans will also expand their support for your men for the duration of your current campaign. They will grant access to their internal intelligence database on the mutated voribugs. Our entire fleet is entitled to free and expedited repair and resupply services. We will also receive 120 percent compensation in phasewater and other valuable resources for every Ascended Giant that has fallen on the battlefield."

The concessions silenced both Ves and his other self.

They couldn't help it. The Rubarthans had been quite sincere when they presented these chips.

Arguably the least valuable concession was the free and expedited services.

Unless it suffered heavy damage, the Bluejay Fleet's mechs and warships could take care of their own business easily enough.

Ves did not have to pay for anything. The RA and RF were already responsible for servicing them, so at most the fleet would have to travel all the way back to the Red Ocean Union in order to get back to full strength.

The compensation for lost Ascended Giants was considerably more valuable. It pretty much negated the losses suffered by the Phase Lord Department.

It was one thing for old and experienced giants to lose their lives on this unworthy battlefield.

It was another thing for months-old 'baby' giants to fail their initial trial by fire!

Although Ves and the Dark Apostle valued the lives of every giant, they also recognized that these unpolished gems needed to undergo a lot of refinement before they truly turned into irreplaceable assets.

Treating the ongoing battle as a crucible was not necessarily a bad thing. This was especially the case for the weaker and less qualified Faceless Giants.

So long as they managed to survive this battle and pass the test, they would undoubtedly experience a huge amount of growth!

Ves clearly understood that battle had always been the best catalyst for progress!

The deadlier the engagement, the greater the returns, but only if enough soldiers managed to survive the ordeal!

This was another reason why Ves did not immediately reject the Rubarthan strategy.

Though the danger factor was higher than he was comfortable with, he knew that putting his men through this arduous test would definitely transform them into highly competent combatants in the shortest amount of time.

If the Ascended Giants played along this strategy, then they could either win big or suffer a complete catastrophe!

Just as the Dark Apostle was about to accept, Ves spoke up first through his companion spirit.

"Not enough. The Rubarthans are asking us to go far beyond what a typical mercenary organization is expected to deliver on a typical contract. They should know damn well that the Ascended Giants fight much better in groups. Expecting us to split up our forces will give the voribugs a greater opportunity to defeat us in detail. Casualties are a certainty."

Just because the strategy chosen by the Rubarthans fell in line with some of his goals did not mean that Ves was going to roll over and let them have their way.

No matter what, the lives of the Ascended Giants should not be thrown away for a pittance.

Ves understood that this conversation had already turned into a negotiation. If he accepted the terms offered by the Rubarthans right away, then he would definitely regret this decision in the future.

Although Ves had to admit that the Rubarthans had not been dishonest and offered a good amount of sincerity, there should still be room for more.

Jovy understood this as well. "I am not cleared to negotiate terms with you, Ves."

"I know. Doesn't matter. Contact Lord Richard Brownstone for me. I will negotiate with him instead."

A short time passed before Ves was able to establish a private communication channel with the liaison from the Brownstone Principality.

While he was clearly not authorized to make decisions on behalf of the Rubarthan Pact, he was directly in communication with those that did possess this power.

"I have been informed that you are not entirely satisfied with the benefits that we have prepared for you and your force of giants." The Rubarthan scion spoke.

"What you guys are attempting to do is dangerous. While I do not necessarily disagree with the logic behind your choices, what I object to is the fact that you expect us to pay a price on your behalf."

A short pause ensued.

"We know." Richard sighed. "Believe me, we know. We are paying a much greater price considering that we are putting all of our assets in the Philaster Crestia System at risk. However, the intelligence we gain will benefit all of red humanity, not just us. I believe that the Red Collective is not unwilling to accept this argument. The Phase Lord Department that you have recently taken over may be under your direct command, but your Ascended Giants are never meant to be your personal armed force. As a fighting force that has been raised by pooling together the resources of our entire society, it is not unreasonable for us to ask your soldiers to repay us for our contributions."

What a devious response. Ves had to admit that the Rubarthan mech designer raised a valid point. The Red Collective was never meant to serve as an independent power. It was deeply intertwined with the other major powers of red humanity from the start by design. Even the Rubarthans had made serious contributions to its inception and expansion.

While Ves and the Dark Apostle had made a deal with the Red Collective about commanding the Ascended Giants, the Phase Lord Department was still under the nominal control of the Red Collective.

This meant that the Ascended Giants should at least pay lip service to the goals and interests of their supposed parent organisation.

While Ves could act shamelessly and openly defy this expectation, he knew that the Ascended Giants would pay a significant price for this willful behavior.

His bargaining position had weakened. While he felt he could still ask for concessions, he obviously couldn't push the Rubarthans too far.

Likewise, the Rubarthans also understood that they could not use the current excuse to command the Ascended Giants.

If both sides fell out with each other, then both of them would lose far more than they would gain. That was clearly not in their best interest.

As a newly elevated tier 2 galactic citizen, Ves was not ignorant of these considerations.

"Fine. I won't ask much from you." He responded over the communication channel. "Aside from the benefits that you have already offered, I want to request full cooperation from your mech industry. I won't need it now, but when I am ready, I want your mech designers and other R&D personnel to obey my order in an important collaboration project of mine."

Lord Richard Brownstone was not ignorant of what Ves was up to these days. He only needed a few seconds to come up with a guess on the nature of the collaboration project.

"We have heard that you have established close cooperation with the Terrans and the mechers on two special Carmine mech design projects."

"Yup, and that is not the extent of it. I intend to develop special high-end Carmine mechs whose Carmine Systems are augmented by the power of the five classical elements. Currently, I already have plans for four of those elements. The only one that is left untouched is earth. While it is the last one available, it is not a weak choice by any means. I have long felt clueless about how to develop an earth-based Carmine mech, but recent events have fueled my inspiration. I already have a tentative idea on how to develop a powerful machine. If my ideas pan out, it may even be useful in the current war against the mutated voribugs."

Richard perked up when he heard that last part. "Are you serious, Ves?"

"I never lie." Ves lied. "I am not boasting with you. One of the reasons why I have traveled all the way to the frontlines and sought to experience the ferocity of the voribugs in person is to figure out how to beat them. I have spent enough time here to come up with a few tentative ideas. While I cannot promise you that my Earth Carmine mech can serve as an adequate solution, it will certainly not be weak."

Richard did not respond any further. He was likely stuck in a private discussion with his superiors.

At this stage, Ves' elemental Carmine mechs was certainly not a secret to well-informed bigshots.

The Woodsap mechs that Ves was developing together with the Terran had already progressed quite far. Many mech designers and research institutions had banded together in order to contribute to the development of this epoch-changing mech for the Terran Alliance.

The mechers had begun to make their move as well, and the Cybers were not too far behind.

Even the Hunters had shown renewed interest in collaborating with Ves!

There was no way the Rubarthans felt satisfied at being left out of this party. If the Rubarthan Pact ended up as one of the only major powers left that had not secured the rights to an 'exclusive' elemental Carmine mech, then that might definitely cause them to fall far behind compared to their peers!

Under these circumstances, the Rubarthans had little right to refuse.

"Acceptable." Richard eventually replied. "While we are reluctant to put our entire mech industry at your disposal, we are not unwilling to let you command a dedicated research group that is supervised by our most trusted Master Mech Designers. Is this an acceptable arrangement, Larkinson?"

"How you organize your personnel is your business. Just make sure they will accept my instructions. Don't worry. I will not abuse their trust or anything. All of my orders will only serve to progress the earth-based Carmine mech design project. If this is not the case, then feel free to raise your objections."

"Very well. We can draft a contract later. We should first address the more immediate threat. Do you have any plans or comments about our intentions towards our shared enemies?"

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