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There’d been one particular battle, from the first so-called “Continental War” some hundred years prior, when the Prime’s abilities had been tested like never before. Over two months of continuous combat. And during that time, he saw countless servants being pushed to their limit by their reapers and beyond.

Until they broke.

It had been roughly the same story as here, actually, though it had instead been Dozer that the Vanguardians were feverishly trying to corner and kill. They’d nearly managed it, too, truth be told, but in the end, Father escaped.

And their many noble sacrifices had been for naught.

Though, it did bring the war to a rather swift conclusion. Father wisely decided to lay low while he recovered from that grueling ordeal, and peace broke out in the meantime.

By comparison, these Vanguardians here were already not looking very good after only a few days of combat. But perhaps that was an unfair assessment, considering they had been Morgunov’s prisoners for weeks beforehand, and there was no telling what sort of horrific treatment the madman had been putting them through.

Regardless, this couldn’t go on for much longer. Unless they somehow found replacements, Morgunov would outlast them. Maybe even without the feldeath’s help.

In that respect, Gohvis-Aeha could most certainly be of assistance. While his access to the network was tenuous and frequently getting interrupted, he did have a modest grasp of what was going on with some of the other warfronts.

Meaning he could try to steer this battle over to one of those.

But in service of which side?

Did he really want to assist the Vanguardians? The Prime had deployed him here in order to ensure Morgunov’s survival, though not out of any sense of duty or affection. The Prime wanted something from him and didn’t intend to let him die until he got it.

And yet, Gohvis-Aeha was also getting a faint impression that the others had already given Morgunov up for dead. That this was a lost cause. That the Mad Demon might as well be left to fend for himself at this point.

But his connection to the network wasn’t strong enough to be sure of that. If only he could find an opening to meditate for a few minutes.

Yeah. This was definitely the shittiest job alright.

But as the days drew out, he began to think that perhaps this giant mess did have one, singular upside. Something that took a while to truly appreciate.

If he didn’t have time to convene with the others or even consult the Prime, then that really only left one thing to do, didn’t it?

He had to make the decision himself.

He had to be... independent.

What an absolutely wondrous realization.