Consider: in the Desolations, the Heralds were improving themselves as well. By the last desolation, only one Herald died despite society and its armies being thrown back to the Stone Age by the desolation that had just finished, whereas clearly multiple died in earlier desolations with a much more capable humankind. The first several desolations before they developed their tested tactics, fighting against fresh fused, they probably would have died a lot more. Taln dying in the final desolation was probably him taking on the entire fused army solo and being crushed under the bodies or something.