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The longer was he able to keep his movements a secret, the better. That was something that he had been refining for many years now: suppressing his own aura. His time in the higher realms had been a reminder that, even now, there was yet more to learn. Some of the ancient masters whom he'd encountered had been almost unrecognizable to Tenebrach, who'd met most of them personally.

That was another grave threat to older servants, he knew. Hubris. The sense of having achieved mastery over all.

There was no such thing, Sermung had decided. Hence why Tenebrach's confidence was routinely unfounded.

Alright, you're hurting my feelings, now.

The land of forever rain was a sorry sight, indeed. Pain covered everything. Lingering and crying out. What could have become of the Rainlords? Nothing good, certainly. They would never have allowed this to happen, otherwise.

But they also had a long history of enduring beyond all odds to the contrary. Their subjects, too.

And it seemed he was too late. The trail of misery, while obvious to his senses, was not immediately active. It did not have the kind of radioactive heat that always permeated the collective auras of warzones.

Abolish had indeed already moved on. All the way into Intar?

So bold.

Intar was no pushover, even without the Vanguard's help. A slumbering giant, perhaps, but a giant, nonetheless. The ancestral heart of the Mohssian Empire.

While it was probably true that the country could not field any warriors who were effectively one-man armies, they had the benefit of technological advancement the likes of which could only be achieved by one of the richest and most populous nations in the world. Even Morgunov, for all his boasting, was unlikely to compete with such a massive engine of scientific progress.

In fact, that had been quite the point of contention in the past, earning considerable ire from the Mad Demon, who was of course kept at arm's length by any respectable community.

Even Xander was frequently frustrated by them. They demanded much, promised plenty, and ultimately delivered very little. Some within the Vanguard believed that be the Intarians' incompetence, but Sermung knew better. He'd snuck into their facilities over the years and observed some of their projects with his own eyes.

They were biding their time. Perhaps those machines would even be turned against Vanguard, one day.