Page 4051

Either that, or he'd been playing up his poor condition so that Jercash would leave him alone--or just for shits and giggles.

Which seemed increasingly likely, the more Jercash thought about it.

All fun aside, however, he had to remember not to be pleased with himself. Things might've been looking up for him personally, but these truly were dangerous times for Abolish. The upper echelons of power were now firmly in the kind of flux that had not been seen in centuries.

Gunther and Dunhouse getting fried was one thing. Ivan and Vanderberk getting neutralized added to that. But the Old Man disappearing, too? Now that was something.

Sure, it wasn't the first time, but if nothing else, it was at least proof that the great stalemate was again in real jeopardy. Perhaps it might be genuinely broken, this time.

How absolutely thrilling.

The possibilities were vast, these days. A younger Jercash would have almost certainly been paralyzed by choice, right now.

There were so many eager warriors coming to him for guidance and glory. And so many who noticeably weren't. Doubtless, they had their own agendas that they were pursuing in the fog of this war, but that just made it all the more enticing for Jercash to find out what those wily folks were up to, right now.

The Dozer clan came most prominently to mind. They'd yet to reach out to him, which could only mean one of two things, really. Either they knew where the Old Man was and therefore didn't feel unprotected by his absence, or they'd already reached out to someone else.

And since they'd probably kill themselves before reaching out to Morgunov, it could only be Gohvis.

Heh. Or perhaps they thought to stand against him all on their own. Now that would be amusing.

Regardless, it was worth sending out feelers. A few little eyes and ears. He already knew that they were fighting among themselves, but that didn't mean anything when it came to those people. They were always at each others' throats whenever the Old Man's back was turned.

It would be good to get Vasiliy on his side, though. That fellow would be quite the boon to his forces, if properly motivated. And fear would only go so far. Better to have something ready that would genuinely pique the man's interest.

Lozaro might make that difficult, though. He and Vasiliy had never gotten along.

Page 4050

It wasn't that big, though, comparatively. He'd already witnessed much more intimidating specimens in previous tests.

Much, much more.

That was the main reason he was so excited for this current venture into Intar, right now.

It was always a good time, coming here. Such a fun country. So massive and old. Plenty of places to hide, despite supposedly being "Vanguard territory."

They didn't know this land half as well as they pretended to. Sure, they had the big cities covered, but these rural spots--particularly the ones underground--were so remote and well-concealed that they might as well have been on the other side of the planet.

And this place, especially. He found it quite cozy, despite some of the protestations of his men.

It was the spores, no doubt. Those were quite terrifying, weren't they? Floating through the air like that. Glowing with those faint purple hues. Threatening to get into one's lungs and start growing so rapidly that one began to suffocate within minutes.

All the non-servants in his entourage had to be kept far away from those bad boys. And it wasn't like the servants loved them, either. It was still quite the nuisance to deal with, even if it wasn't deadly.

But that fear was also rather tasty, Jercash thought. The prospect of harnessing it in the war was simply too enticing to the imagination. Andayel covered in these beautiful little lights? Orange maws and purple fireflies?

Heh. He was getting ahead of himself, of course, but it was to think about.

Jackson would ruin everything if he didn't maneuver just so. And perhaps it was also greedy to be targeting Andeyal. Sure, that would be ideal, but these types of things required flexibility. Vision and opportunity.

All eyes were on him now, he knew. Not just those of his men but the rest of the world, too.

If he played his cards right, this campaign could turn into quite the historical one. He had more tools and manpower at his disposal than he'd ever had before--more than he'd ever dared dream, honestly. The only way it could've been better would be if the boss decided to grace them with his presence--and actually listen to Jercash, instead of running off and ruining everything, as he was sometimes wont to do.

But oh well. Perhaps this was for the best. Morgunov certainly deserved a rest after all he'd accomplished in the Luthic. From the brief conversation they'd had, it seemed like the Mad Demon might actually be out of commission for quite a while.

Page 4049 -- CCCXXIII.

'Our best bet would be to pay a visit to Fen, but if we're trying to avoid the Vanguard, then he's not an option,' said Overra. 'Who's the best doctor you know? Or the best integrator?'

Feromas exchanged looks with Damian. 'There are a couple of options,' said the reaper. 'They're both in Vanguard territory, though.'

'But they're not Vanguard themselves?'

'No.'

'Then either will do.'

'How tolerant of you. Are you sure you are not still being affected by Ettol's manipulation? The Overra I know would be demanding all sorts of details before saying something like that.'

'Oh, you will still be telling me all of those details, but let us get moving already.'

'We'll make a game of it, then. See what you can pry out of me.'

After hearing that, Parson already intended to stop listening.


Chapter Three Hundred Twenty-Three: 'The devil's stew...'
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Beautiful. His eyes were wide with delight as he watched the testing ground ahead of him. That orange light was really something. The way it shone through the holes was somehow so charming, he felt. He could stare at it all day.

The context helped, of course. Sure, he found it quite pleasing from a purely aesthetic point of view, but really, it was the knowledge that all those years of secrecy and fundraising were finally bearing fruit in a visceral, tangible way.

And that smell. Sulfuric. Brought back memories, that did.

The others were all hiding back in the bunker some fifty yards away--even Lozaro himself--but Jercash had truly grown to enjoy these experiences.

He wondered if this was how Morgunov felt all the time. If so, he envied the mad bastard.

But that was nothing new, of course. His love for the man had always been colored with jealoussy.

These holes, though. Lozaro had truly outdone himself, this time. Perhaps Morgunov would be the jealous one now.

In fact, that could actually be a problem, now that Jercash was thinking about it. He'd wanted to surprise the boss with this whole thing, but might it actually be wiser to break it to him softly?

Eh, probably. But where was the fun in that? And even if he got angry at first, he'd most certainly be more appreciative once the dust settled.

Ooh, Jercash spotted a tentacle emerging. And were those blades attached to it? Mantis-like sickles up and down the length of it. That was new.