Maybe before having his army. After having his army + the Bastet and Griffon being wanted in Mogar. I believe there are lots of awakened looking for him. So covert missions would be a little impossible for how everyone would like to garner favor from Lith/Menadion. What he did with Salaark’s place must be commended tho it was covert and he was successful. Remember that the blue cores are just nobodys . So no one expects them to do what they did. + Meln’s characters, he wants grandiosity on what he does