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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.