I cant help but feel like Pierce Brown dropped the ball with Ajax

I'm sure some of you have heard about the scrapped duel between Ajax and Diomedes that was supposed to happen at the end of Light Bringer. I don't know why that was changed and ended up with Ajax getting off screened by Victra but I feel as if both characters are worse off for it.

What was the point of Ajax existing at all? Lysander didn't really need him to die for his character progression, he's already lost everyone else he cared about, and any one of atalantias allies could have ordered Seneca to kill kysander on the desert

Ajax just feel so pointless now. I know people usually say it was to show the reality of war but didn't we just learn that lesson in the last book? Wasn't that the point of Seraphina dying the way that she did? Why do we need to waste another character to learn that lesson again?

It would have been nice for Diomedes to actually do something on screen (page?) Too. I'm sure Diomedes will be a big part of red God but so far he's pretty much just stood in the corner and watched everyone else drive the plot

Does anyone agree or am I just nit picking here?