Page 3601

Father had told the Prime in no uncertain terms that he did not wish to get involved in this war, so Gohvis-Aeha had no doubt that Father would be supremely pissed off about being pulled into it.

Which could be a problem. For both himself and for the Prime.

But would Father even realize that this was his doing? He couldn’t be blamed if it just seemed like a coincidence. In fact, if anyone was going to receive Father’s blame here, it would almost certainly be Morgunov.

And better still, Father was perhaps the only one in the world who could talk any amount of sense into Morgunov, thereby saving Germal’s life.

Admittedly, that might’ve been a bit overly optimistic, but in Gohvis-Aeha’s opinion, no other path forward afforded even the slightest chance of such an outcome.

So that was the decision made.

The problem then became how he would actually make it happen. In actual practice, the notion that he could “steer” this battlefield somewhere was perhaps more ambitious than he’d realized.

Morgunov was the focal point. The Vanguardians were chasing him. And Kallmakk was constantly disrupting that, creating openings for the Mad Demon.

So the task here was... what, then? To force Morgunov in a certain direction?

Impossible.

The man could not be led by force. And trying to do so would likely make Morgunov think that he'd turned on him, which might prompt even more erratic behavior from the madman.

But again, this chase was a curious thing. Morgunov may have been leading it, but was he truly trying to escape?

Gohvis-Aeha could make a wager. Morgunov wanted Germal dead, yes? So carrying Germal away might prompt Morgunov to change up and give chase, instead. And Germal was much more manageable as a kidnappee than Morgunov.

So that was what he did.

He waited for another opening, which Kallmakk soon provided.

A great pillar of black energy dug a volcanic trench into the ground, leaving a chain of explosions, smoke, and molten earth in its wake as it ripped all the way into the horizon. Everyone on the field had to disperse in order to dodge it, with several not succeeding.

Gohis-Aeha knew he had to be precise with his movements here. The distraction was a bit too good, honestly. He might’ve been able to grab Germal here and get away entirely without Morgunov even noticing.

Which was a thought. Hmm. Would that be the better option?

Agh. Maybe. He could mull it over later. Better to stick with the plan, for now.

He blitzed across the sundered field and scooped up the Liar of Lyste like a sack of potatoes. Then he made sure to run by Morgunov, giving him a nice view of the prize.