User blog comment:Derax-Pagani/Chapter 502 Review/@comment-24102956-20160919112456/@comment-7418318-20160919175957

Hardly a huge victory. More like a minor one at best.

Sure it would have been a blow for Alvarez to lose August, but not a crippling one. Alvarez has enough other Spriggans to not miss one too much, even if it's their strongest and they have Zeref himself.

Mest knew that August was a rather merciful person from listening to Brandish and getting rid of August might well have put a merciless monster hell bent on mass-slaughter in charge of the Alvarez army and thus make matters far worse to Fiore.

No... his decision was just courting disaster. There was little chance for success, only mediocore benefit even if it was successful, a lot of potential harm if he failed and even the chance for harm if he succeeded, harm that could very well have outweighted the benefits.

If he had struck right away, or once the negotiations failed there would be a little justification to his action, but to strike in the very moment August agreed to start up negotiations was just beyond stupid.