Zogarth
patreon
Chapter 1063 - Unwanted Reunion
🕑 Added 2025-01-28 12:18:58 +0000 UTCJake continued his slaughter, killing hundreds of powerful C-grade fighters. These were individuals who had been branded as elite and were always received respectfully whenever they traveled.
Yet, in front of Jake, they were but lambs to the slaughter. The difference between an elite and someone standing at the pinnacle of their grade was an incomprehensible gap that they simply had no way of crossing, even with all their fancy formations and rituals.
They were also faced with potentially the worst opponent possible. The only way they had a chance to win was to pull off some big ritual or deploy something else Jake wasn’t ready to face. It was to take advantage of the large battlefield and the fact Jake had to keep track of so many foes at once.
In front of anyone else, they might have found a few openings, but Jake wasn’t that easily surprised. He tracked the entire battlefield at once and was aware of everything happening everywhere. Teleporting around, he perfectly snuffed out anything that even had the slightest potential to become a threat should it be left alone – besides whatever Jacob was doing, that is.
He didn’t end up having to wait long, either. Jake saw that within the defensive bubble, the party had laid down some formation which Jake assumed to be for teleporting away. The head priest walked into it, but not before Jake quickly confirmed he had a Mark on him.
Jake had expected the others to follow, but only the regular priests who followed the head priest went through the teleporter. The party, as well as Jacob and Bertram, stayed behind even as the teleportation formation faded away, and from Jake’s mark, he felt the head priest had gone to the capital city where Jake had originally arrived on the planet.
With them gone, Jake also noticed the box Jacob was doing some ritual with. He assumed it to be some artifact or something, as he knew the Church loved pulling out one-time artifacts, and he still remembered the Holy Sword Bertram had used on the Monarch of Blood back in the Treasure Hunt, so maybe it was something like that again. However, when he looked at it more closely, the way everything around it appeared slightly distorted was familiar.
He realized what the box was right as Bertram let the party of elites from the Holy Church charge out of the barrier he’d placed down. Jacob and Bertram both stayed as the barrier faded away entirely... and all around them, all color began fading from the world.
For a brief moment, the fighting stopped as Jake teleported to the air and looked down at what was happening. He saw the fading of color spread as the box finally opened... revealing a fragment within that Jake instantly recognized.
Part of the Fallen King, Jake thought, right as a powerful aura exploded onto the scene. Above the fragment, a body began appearing, bones first before flesh grew on in a grotesque scene.
As the creature fully formed, Jake immediately recognized what it was as a subtle sense of danger crept into his mind. Without any hesitation, he activated the device he’d received from Arnold, informing him to send Carmen over. He likely should have done so the moment negotiations had broken down, but better late than never.
He also didn’t hesitate to attack. Nocking an arrow, he released a Powershot down toward the creature, hoping to hit it before it could fully form, but Bertram got in the way, taking the hit before getting blasted back through half a dozen buildings and into the plains beyond the city.
Before Jake could even launch another attack... the creature had fully assembled its body. The Desolate Child of Loss had fully regenerated itself and was back.
What had appeared looked different than Jake remembered, though. Rather than looking like a skeleton, barely with any flesh sticking to it, the creature seemed fuller now. It had more flesh than before, with there even being some muscles in there from the looks of it. It was still unhealthily thin, but now it actually looked like a creature that could be alive.
However, compared to its physical growth, the creature hadn’t grown that much in levels.
[Desolate Child of Loss – lvl 310]
It had been level 306 when Jake encountered the Desolate Child of Loss the first time, but now it had grown. It was a funny coincidence that for their second meeting, Jake was now the one level 306, the gap having significantly narrowed after all the levels Jake had gotten.
Jake did feel that it had grown stronger, though. Strong enough to register as a threat. He also saw something else that made him frown. Its passive aura of desolation spread out from its body, yet Jacob stood within this aura, completely untouched. It wasn’t that he somehow defended himself from the desolation either; he just wasn’t affected.
“I’m sorry,” Jacob said, his voice low but still loud enough for Jake to hear. From the look on the Augur’s face, he seemed legitimately upset, which just perplexed Jake as he had so many questions. Why was the Desolate Child of Loss with Jacob? Why had he seemingly helped it heal?
And why wasn’t it attacking him but instead looking at him with confusion.
“Why sorry?” the False God asked, seemingly having not even noticed Jake yet as it only focused on Jacob.
Jacob didn’t answer but just looked past the Desolate Child of Loss. The False God took a little before it followed his gaze and saw Jake floating in the air. The moment it laid eyes on Jake, its entire demeanor changed in an instant.
“YOU! Slayer! Enemy!” the creature screeched, its aura exploding outwards as Jacob stumbled back, still unaffected but with a sad look on his face. One that Jake didn’t really have much time to study.
The False God didn’t hesitate even a moment before it went for the kill. In an instant, it flew into the air, pure desolation spreading everywhere as Jake also reacted by making more distance.
Yet even as he did so, he couldn’t escape the domain of desolation passively released by the False God. It had grown even larger than before, and if Jake wanted to fight, he was pretty much forced to remain inside of it.
I can’t hold back too much anymore, Jake also told himself as he made the tough decision of activating Arcane Awakening at the safe 30% boost, increasing his consumption of resources directly but not straining himself too much. The boost was needed, too, as the Desolate Child of Loss was effectively constantly in its fully powered state.
With his bow in hand, Jake attacked the Desolate Child of Loss as the creature took out a simplistic spear of bone. Scales also immediately covered his body to fight off the desolation as Jake attacked.
His arrow tore through the desolation, losing energy during flight, but it should be powerful enough. The last time Jake fought the creature, it barely reacted to any attacks or defended itself. However, this time around, it did one better and actively dodged Jake’s arrow.
It’s smarter? Jake questioned internally, feeling like this was going to get really annoying. However, he was far from deterred. Even if the Desolate Child of Loss had grown in both power and ability, Jake also wasn’t the same as he had been during their last encounter. He was stronger now, but what’s more, he wasn’t suffering from a desolation-caused soul injury.
Following up his prior attack, Jake released another arrow, but this time around, it curved slightly in the middle of its flight, much to the surprise of the Desolate Child of Loss, who, while having certainly grown smarter, was still not a talented fighter.
The arrow struck the False God in the shoulder and made the creature tumble slightly while in mid-flight, giving Jake’s follow-up attacks a chance to land. It wasn’t just a single follow-up arrow either, as Jake activated his newly gained Timeless Focus of the Apex Hunter and rapidly shot out half a dozen arrows that struck the Desolate Child of Loss one after another in quick succession, sending it spinning toward the ground as Jake just kept shooting even after the rapid-fire effect ended. Again, he had to pace himself as he knew the False God was not something easily harmed, much less killed.
However, despite Jake feeling confident, he had kind of neglected one thing... the pure fanaticism of the Holy Church. A logical person would retreat away from the False God with power matching a Unique Lifeform that was constantly releasing a field of death, but the Holy Church members had never been logical.
All the healers and other support classes defended themselves and others from the desolation as they joined the Desolate Child of Loss in their assault. What’s more, Jake noticed that the effect of the desolation wasn't as strong on these members of the Holy Church, which once more made him theorize that the False God was actively trying to avoid attacking them.
Not affecting Jacob could have been a fluke, but combined with the Desolate Child of Loss’ increased intelligence and the fact these Holy Church members were also experiencing a lesser effect, Jake could only conclude one thing:
The Desolate Child of Loss was learning to control its power over desolation. If it learned to fully control desolation and perhaps even gained full Authority... combined with its passive domain... yeah, that could get really bad, really fast.
Luckily, the False God evidently wasn’t there yet as all it did was scream loudly as all the rubble around it disintegrated when it stood back up. Once more, the creature shot into the air, but this time, Jake didn’t have leeway to outright attack it because he also had to deal with the remaining Holy Church members who attacked him.
From their attacks, Jake also confirmed the creature’s control over the desolation domain remained severely limited as the spells flying toward him were significantly weakened by the desolation. Not as much as Jake would have liked, but from the magic deployed by the priests, he began to suspect holy magic was quite effective against desolation.
What it wasn’t very effective against was destructive arcane mana as Jake blanketed the sky in explosions to give himself space and time to keep the Desolate Child of Loss at bay. He wanted to avoid an outright melee with it, as the closer he got, the stronger the desolation grew, and so far, the False God hadn’t shown any ranged attacks of note yet.
The members of the Holy Church clearly noticed Jake’s strategy and moved to work against him. Powerful barriers began impeding his path, slowing him down and allowing the False God to get closer, and a few of his arrows aimed at the creature were even body-blocked by Holy Church members willing to risk – or at times outright giving – their lives just to inconvenience Jake.
Annoyingly, their strategy worked as soon Jake was forced to come face to face with the Desolate Child of Loss. It sped up when it got moderately close, appearing right in front of him with its simplistic spear.
Jake responded by pulling out Eternal Hunger while using the other hand to cast arcane magic. He dodged and deflected the spear of the Desolate Child of Loss a few times, finding himself roughly equally matched in both power and speed.
This clearly didn’t sit well with the Desolate Child of Loss as it once more screamed in anger. Its aura exploded as it did so, the pressure from the desolation domain growing in intensity and bearing down on Jake as the False God grew even faster and stronger before, almost as if its anger was fueling its power.
He still wasn’t entirely clear why the Desolate Child of Loss was this angry at him, but quite frankly, he didn’t care to find out as Jake responded by also getting a bit more serious himself. Activating Pride of the Malefic Viper, his immediate surroundings suddenly began to show faint signs of dark green and the purple gleam of Jake’s arcane affinity as he reclaimed the domain as his own.
The mana consumption from Pride proved quite immense, but Jake had a massive pool able to tide him over for now as he pressed forward. The Desolate Child of Loss was surprised at Jake partly freeing himself from the domain, making the creature unable to respond as Jake cut it several times across the chest before stabbing it in the neck.
A pulse of arcane energy flooded through Eternal Hunger and exploded the weapon, sending the False God flying back with its head nearly entirely cut off, but as expected, this barely slowed down the creature as it rapidly regenerated. Still, it was a minor victory, instantly made not that sweet as Jake got hit by a blast of light magic in the side, singeing a few of his scales off.
Stabilizing, Jake wisely used this regeneration time to once more create distance while also addressing some of the more annoying Holy Church members. He was targeting the barrier casters first and foremost, which did prove rather tricky as his opponents had clearly expected this to be Jake’s response.
He managed to kill a few dozen Holy Church members before the Desolate Child of Loss was upon him once more. He switched to half-melee again as he kept casting magic and dodging his attackers, finding the entire situation rather tricky, if still manageable for now... that “for now” proving to indeed be a very short-lived statement.
The elite party of five that had been with the head priest suddenly appeared, having teleported behind Jake after preparing who-knows-what somewhere else on the battlefield. Jake had neglected them, which proved to be a mistake as they now seemed quite different from before.
All five of them were enveloped in holy light, forming a powerful construct that far surpassed any of the ones Jake had faced prior. This construct looked a bit like the halberd-wielding ones from before, but this one had a head and far more intricate armor. What’s more, it was clearly far more powerful. While the holy light made it a bit hard to see, Jake did notice how all five now wore the exact same armor and visible pendant, making him guess they were using items to fully sustain and unleash this skill.
The person in the middle was seemingly capable of controlling the construct, which also proved a boon, as the warrior charged straight at Jake, leaving him with a False God in the front and a super-construct attacking from the back.
Gritting his teeth, Jake knew he had to take things up a notch as he pushed his boosting skill further than before, pushing his body and now truly putting him on a timer. Blocking the Desolate Child of Loss using his katar, Jake faced the construct as he tried to block it using a set of arcane barriers but found himself sorely lacking.
The halberd sliced through all his barriers, and while Jake did dodge taking a major hit, first blood was still drawn as he received a nasty cut on his chest. Before he had any time to rest, the construct attacked again, and combined with several ranged attacks from all directions along with an angry Desolate Child of Loss, Jake found himself under pressure.
It was mainly the construct that took him by surprise. Jake tried to block it a few more times but found it far stronger than it had any right to be. It didn’t make any sense... at least not until Jake saw the state of the party who were using it.
Suicidal fucking bastards, Jake cursed internally as he noticed how golden veins were forming all over the elite party’s bodies, the armor they wore having seemingly merged with their skin. They were using the fucked up Martyr magic of the Holy Church, much to Jake’s annoyance.
Still, he continued holding on as he was repeatedly pushed back while trying to focus on buying time and taking down the many Holy Church elites to give himself some more space. Over a dozen lesser constructs had also taken to the air by now, and while individually they weren’t that dangerous, combined with everything, it was a struggle.
Not to say Jake was on the losing end quite yet. With Pride and his boosting skill pushed further, Jake managed to consistently avoid taking damage while dealing plenty to his enemies, primarily through destructive arcane magic or the occasional arrow taking down an opponent in one shot.
Things were tricky, though, and Jake found himself in dangerous situations more than he would have liked. He sought further and further up in the sky to give himself more space to dodge, and staying constantly on the move allowed him to stay away from some of the many constructs chasing him.
The elite party construct kept up, though, and so did the Desolate Child as he battled those two primarily. As they got further and further up, they encountered a few wayward monsters and natural phenomena, such as thunderstorms and whatnot, which was perhaps why no one took notice of the approaching blip far above them that was rapidly growing in size.
Comments
Justin
Thanks for the chapter
Dave
Tftc
ItWasIDIO!!
as always f jacob
Greedsmith
Honestly? I want him to kill the Desolate Child of Loss within no more than 3 chapters and for good this time. Maybe he can Divine Bargain him, I don’t think that Jake could permanently kill it himself otherwise.
Ender419
Thanks for the chapter! I bet when this battle is over Carmen is going to give Jake shit about him having all the fun in the beginning & not involving her until it got serious aka you needed a women’s help when things got too much for a man.
Ender419
Same here mate, looking forward to Carmen beating the shit out of the DCoL.
kinglemur
It’s was so cathartic to read the next chapter
Xander
Dunno how i missed this one yesterday "Jake as the False God grew even faster and stronger ** before, almost as if its anger was fueling its power." missing word "than"
Gingerlochs
That makes sense, especially as when Jacob went to collect the DC he stopped and studied it for a moment. That hints at the act that created the DC being an intentional one from the HC using EH as a catalyst.
SilverSentry
Those are the two that we know about.... I bet you there are other skills he's created that are spread throughout thr multiverse. It's a bad idea. He wouldn't survive.
Gingerlochs
You can't just skip important steps including tying up loose ends. Gotta remember, we aren't reading this in book flow but chapter to chapter. Take a step back and read all the chapters at once. The flow is there.
Gingerlochs
The desolate child was the result of a planetary sacrifice on a world that followed El'Hakan. Whatever happened on that world, the combined psychic energy resulted in an entity that hates the chosen of the malefic one mostly because that's what the beings on that planet did - they hated jake.
Malkken
He kill it, he delayed his soul destruction and changed the one getting the soul damage from him to the VD
RadiantSpren
Lmao "sickening". While you defend a monster that is a walking extinction event, and Jacob's annoying ass, a shitty friend. Calm down.
Bryn Thomas
I'd love to see an epic Carmen fight
Lynderyn
I’m pretty sure that FS didn’t kill the void dweller, but substituted the void dwellers soul for his own causing the void dweller to have popped its own truesoul
Lynderyn
Will Carmen one-shot it?
Xander
Do your thing chicken wing :) As I've said before you've published far more books than I ever will so all suggestions are just that.
Brian
I agree, it’s just kinda been all over the place. Enjoyed the first Sage stuff but going from battle to battle this way so expeditiously is just feeling off. I feel like we need some new direction. Time skip up to the universe opening up again / the final steps to B grade. Another long arc at the Order feels like the right place to be for a while. What do I know though.
JJB4345_80_815
@Luke Scheffe - How do you know that the DCoL wasn't killing people to gain levels? It wasn't addressed in the chapter so I am assuming that it is just your belief instead of insider knowledge. Your "abused and traumatized child" IS A MURDERER that already has an innocent death count in the billions. I tend to think of the DCoL as a dog trained to fight to the death since birth. When fighting pits are raided by authorities the dogs can be put down for humanitarian reasons. You can hate what was done to the dog, but it doesn't matter if it was the dog's fault or not. If the dog is a threat to society and can't be rehabilitated, then being put down is the best solution. So, the DCoL has eradicated several planets of all life in the Milky Way. It's currently being used by the Church to murder it's enemy (Jake), while also being trained NOT to kill Church members. The Church is ACTIVELY deploying the DCoL as a weapon. I might not HATE the DCoL, but it's not like the Church is giving Jake much of a choice in the matter, something that Jacob is acquiescing to. And THAT is the issue. Jacob is HELPING the Church to refine the DCoL into a weapon and is currently using they/them/him on a planet that is filled with innocent civilians who could get caught in the crossfire. Putting the DCoL down may be the only choice. And Jacob has a certain amount of blame for this situation developing.
Alex
That’s straight up confirmed, no speculation necessary. Back in the Ell’Hakan fight it’s mentioned that Yip of Yore’s Path was a pale shadow of Valdemar’s Path because Valdemar does the thing where belief and legends make him more powerful, but they’re actually true.
JJB4345_80_815
Yes, the First Sage died as a C-grade. He also killed a Void god as a C-grade. How that didn't boost his level into B-grade, A-grade or even higher I don't know. Maybe since Transcendent Skills are supposed to have a downside, maybe the First Sage had to sacrifice any and all levels when using a Transcendent Skill? Regardless, the First Sage was not a typical C-grade and shouldn't be considered as such. He's more like a god, just without the fancy grade.
Zogarth
Fixed. And I'm keeping that last quite yet.
Corvid
She's gonna give him the old 1,000,000% Haven Valhal Smash, plus ultra style
brjenness
I suspect Val has an ability similar but the opposite of yip. yip got stronger when people believed...Val gets stronger because he believes so completely.
Alex
When Villy says that Jake should bring in Carmen to fight the desolate child Jake notices that Villy is annoyed; desolation is a key component to the Viper’s Path, so my guess is that Valdemar figured out a way to circumvent desolation specifically to counter the Viper, which became a legacy ability that Carmen has because she’s Valdemar’s Runemaiden. You can see why Villy would be pissed off about this because if Valdemar did create some skill that negated desolation he DEFINITELY has no fucking idea how he did it, because he's an idiot savant like Jake who can just figure out new skills because "yeah that feels like how you're supposed to do it"
Jordan H
Yeah I assume it has something to do with her having no mana, probably that desolation or any domain doesn't effect her nearly as much
brjenness
primal hunter and rune maiden = run
Drew
HC: "Hey, we promise that this enemy you went to a lot of trouble to kill won't ever come back to bite you when we resurrect it and empower it.... Hmm? Oh, that's just another enemy of yours that you went to a lot of trouble to kill that we brought back and empowered to use against you."
brjenness
holy mother is very hands off, but this might be a situation she is taking advantage of to keep Jacob and Jake close and getting Jacob into a position of leadership within the church in the 93rd without stepping on too many toes. also possibility where she wants to shift the cult to one that is more supportive without political bullshit.
John Looney
FALCON PUUUUUNCHH!!!! I really hope for this
jazz
Villy said Carmen is a hard counter to the desolate child
Richard Rader
I’m wondering if Carmen can even resist the desolation. I’m guessing she slams the shocked Holy Church members while Jake pulls some origin fuckery on the DC / FK.
Ty Cooper
Lol hope she landed at the capital and killed the head priest who probably tried to stop her. Just a few quick pushes before she heads over.
Boomer
I mean it's a vote right? 1 of 1 sounds like you got all the votes to me. World leader is just a sub title Jake is looking at becoming the galactic leader pretty soon.
joel southard
Nice thank you for the chapter
CaptainFlowers
I believe Jacob was probably under orders to retrieve the Child and Fallen King fragments, just like he's been ordered to obtain to bloodline. Yet he's actively working against those orders too
Luke Scheffe
No. The desolate child leveled by progressing on its path. Not by killing people. Is it so profoundly unlikely for developing a mind to be worth levels? It’s a higher order being, like sylphie. And helping an abused and traumatized child isn’t a betrayal of Jake. Honestly, anyone who hates the desolate child or Jacob is rather sickening.
Eammon_Wright
i assume the fallen king is in it somewhere as well
Jack Liu
I think so. With no more EH and Yip, we need a new antagonis or area to explore. stuff from prima event ending or universe opening up
Jack Liu
TFTC! I assume everytime it says Jake teleports in a battle, he is using "one step"? also excited to see the interaction details between Carmen and DCoL
Little Silly
Sometimes everyone else just ignores the little things or is so used to it that it no longer registers as an issue. Depends on what the situation is.
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter.
Peter Smith
I hope the child survives. It would make a great base for another of jakes BS primal children. Another sister for Sandy and Vespy
Peter Smith
Yes but the records are not what makes jake stronger, they only amplify his own potential
Bruce Sheplan
“Carmen SMASH”.
JJB4345_80_815
@Rob Lyon - BUT Jacob nursed the Desolate Child of Loss (DCoL) back to health, having it gained levels AND power. Ask yourself this: "How did the DCoL gain 4 levels and became more substantial AND fully recover from it's wretched state at the end of it's battle with Jake and the gang?" The easy answer is by killing stuff. Granted, that MIGHT not be the case BUT considering the shortened timeline it seems like a strong possibility. Remember, the DCoL wiped out billions of beings (& trillions of animals and plants) across worlds, some of them innocent children. Jacob is HELPING that creature!?!? Oh, and training that creature NOT to kill Church members, further honing it into a useful weapon for the Church. My Aunt and Uncle had a dog that bit people. Because it BIT people it had to be put down. Jacob has a DCoL that murdered babies and pets. It needs to be put down AND some questions need to be asked about Jacob's responsibility in nurturing such a deadly creature. I believe that if someone's pet in the USA ends up killing a human being, that person can be held responsible in a court of law depending on the circumstances. To question Jacob's responsibility for the DCoL's current actions is reasonable.
Roy
that doesn't matter, the quality of the First Sages records are probably more impressive than Villys. Remember this dude could obliterate Void God's as a low rank mortal with his plethora of trancedent skills.
JJB4345_80_815
@Rob Lyon - If the Holy Mother didn't want Jake as an enemy, then WHY is she using him as a TOOL to excise a faction in HER OWN Church? Using someone as a tool to do something that you yourself should take care of CREATES enmity. Either the Holy Mother is just too lazy to take care of it OR she's sending a message that nothing Jake does or will do frightens her OR is hoping somehow that by pissing Jake off right now might make him a slightly interesting foe for when he becomes a god. She's in a deal with the Risen for goodness sakes in order to strengthen the church by combat. Maybe she just sees this as a way to battle test her Church members in the 93rd Universe. I truly don't think that the Holy Mother lies awake at night personally worrying about a current C-grade, no matter his achievements or who he's a Chosen of. More likely she views Jake as someone who can teach her Church a lesson that they should learn from time to time and as a means of "garbage disposal."
Xander
TFTC :) Fun times :) Its nice to see jacob is an equal opportunity assistant. Did he learn nothing from Nevermore though? Yes many creatures are worth guiding but some are calamities that need destroying on sight. Looking forward to my days off so I can enjoy DCoL catching hands from Carmen while Jake pops off to raze the capital. Suggested Edits: "*What’s more*, Jake noticed that the effect of the desolation was lesser on these members of the Holy Church, *once more* as if the False God was actively trying to avoid attacking them." both of these in the same extended sentence is awkward. Suggest just starting the sentence at "Jake" "It not *affected* Jacob could have been a fluke, " either "It having not affected" or "It not affecting" "nd so far, the False God hadn’t shown any ranged attacks of note *quite yet*." the quite yet is weird here but thats a little nit picky :D "Annoyingly *so*, their strategy worked" the so is also weird here "in the side, *singing* a few of his scales off." should be singeing "He managed to kill a few dozen *Holy Church members* before the Desolate Child of Loss was upon him once more. He switched to half-melee again as he kept casting magic and dodging the *Holy Church members*," calling them Holy Church menbers every time has vibes of The Evil Demon Lord Gubrothas :D Maybe switch the first to "targets" unless that was the aim? "Jake found himself *quite pressured.*" this is odd phrasing my instinct want "hard pressed" , meaning Jake is being challenged strongly, here instead but that, as with most of these, is just my opinion. "Not to say Jake was losing *quite yet*." again with the quite yet
Dan
Incoming Carmen to nuke the fuck out of the desolate child! Hope she can put it down for good
itsdlow
You are not wrong there… but I’m still mad about it! And hoping Jake is too xD
brjenness
who died as a c grade
JJB4345_80_815
@brjenness - Yes, the origin of Identify AND Meditate and a man that made and wore Boots with Karmic Ties to ALL of the Primordials would overpower Jake. Palate of the Malefic Viper was just a single Skill from a single Primordial. The First Sage has at LEAST 2 Skills that are used by EVERYONE, not just followers of a Primordial.
JJB4345_80_815
Yes, thank you for the chappy Zogarth!
Jose Reyna
TFTC!!!!
greg belokopitsky
How long does this teleport take jeeze carmen
Palmer Evans
Most outta pocket comment I’ve seen on this Patreon in a while 😭💀
Ty Cooper
No one can usurp the Holy Mother. It is her Transcendent that makes the holy land and would not be able to clam that. Also the lodestar can not use or incorporate EH's bloodline into her. She could have kids or control the offsprings but that would be it. Jake got a special item to use the bloodline or have someone else use it. But that item was caused by an amalgamation of situations and powers and probably not able to be made again.
Alex
I was thinking more like All Might flying in to fight All for One roaring “SMASH”.
Alex
He’s wearing the Fallen King’s corpse on his face for the sick stats it gives — if he gets upset about the Church using the Fallen King’s remains for parts it’d be pretty hypocritical.
Brandon
Bro 😂
Alex
Jacob’s Path as an Augur is about leading others to succeed on their own Paths; I think there’s a requirement that to follow his Path well he needs to be undiscerning about who he helps. He’s a member of the Holy Church for the sole reason that the Holy Church has the largest number of people who need to find their way. He’s upset that the Holy Church is forcing him to release the Desolate Child now because if he does the Desolate Child won’t find its Path. Jacob is so committed to helping others that he doesn’t care who he helps, and he wants to help anyone he comes across to the best of his ability — even if the being he’s helping is objectively unworthy of receiving aid. I think he’d be a better person if he was in a different faction, but the fact is that the Holy Church sucks in a lot of different ways, so they exploit his nature to elevate those who should not be elevated.
SqrlyGrly
Yeah this series as seriously messed me up. I'm glad it's Tues, not Fri because more chapters sooner. But work....
Jeremiah Lambert
It's Tuesday not Friday today
Phasmatic7
Thankies
dragonslaver
The origin that has spread throught the whole multiverse?
JohnSnowden
He died once in c grade during nevermore iirc
Rob Lyon
This 100% what I see happening
Rob Lyon
I think that's the holy mother's plan to use Jake and Jacob to get rid of an upstart faction that could be a problem to her down the line. Because if the load star matron gets EH's bloodline she could slowly start a massive power within the church through its manipulation.
brjenness
yeah, that's what I'm thinking here. first sage was skilled, but would the origin of identify overpower jake.
Rob Lyon
The Viper really wants to see if Jake can resurrect something with the use of their true soul. If he can bring the king back through the true soul in the mask. He might be able to bring back Villy's family because I have a very distinct feeling that their true souls are in those obelisk in his devine realm
Andrew P
I think the problem was the overwhelming potency of the records
Rob Lyon
Not yet remember the king's true soul is in the mask
Rob Lyon
They're going to kick the crap out of the Holy church then go back to Earth and have a "sparring" session
Rob Lyon
But remember He has that skill that gives him one revival for every grade so he should have two revival stored up in the bag. Because he hasn't been shown to die in either D or C grade
Colin Holloway
I don't disagree but the holy mother not being able to/feeling the need to utilize an outside to clean her own house is in a way much worse. I don't think that's the sort of weakness a primordial would be willing to project. best case she doesn't know what lodestar is up to which is also a bad look. in the end it just feels like as a result of this their rep should take a sizeable hit as their primordial looks either weak, incompetent, or a ridiculously cynical hypocrite
Crjourdan
His soul would explode and he would die. Too many records. That’s how he almost died and villy had to save him.
Rob Lyon
I honestly don't think it will affect it much. Pretty sure the desolate child is the entire reason Jacob had Bertram Tell Jake to have Carmen his back up. I also don't think Jacob picked up the desolate child on his own accord I think that was an order from the lodestar matron. I think all of this is some house cleaning of the Holy church
Rob Lyon
I don't think so. At least not with the holy mother and the main branch of the Holy church. She knows how powerful Jake is right now and what kind of monster he could be if he makes it to Godhood and I don't see her wanting to make him an enemy. Plus we just watched The Viper get a major upgrade and with the Lodestar matron getting involved that potentially opens the door to let other gods from the order to get involved maybe even Viper himself. I don't see any of what's going on being officially sanctioned or backed by the holy mother I think that's the reason Jacob is involved and helping Jake is to get rid of this entire faction.
Rob Lyon
I don't really think that's what the people want. Plus if Jake kills him right now he's got two more revivals in the bag. lol.
brjenness
can you become a world leader of someone else's planet?
Rob Lyon
I don't think so because remember he is blessed by the holy mother and I think he's working for her to do some house cleaning of the upstart faction.
Rob Lyon
It is 100% Carmen. Remember Arnold teleporter can't put them directly on the planet surface it puts them right outside the atmosphere so she's going to make her way to the fight on her own.
Ander Barbot
Wasn't a typo, was clearly stated in an earlier chapter. Lost God's all have a focus they originate from. We never learned what DC's was. When the Fallen King and DC died I think the system just combined their drops/beings
Tr0LLach
Well probably don't do that
Tr0LLach
No, he was listed on Administrator Candidate rankings as "I", meaning he became a World Leader on his planet. (at least after killing everyone else)
Rob Lyon
But think about it if the load star matron gets EH's bloodline and starts using it to make her followers loyal to her much like those people on EH's planet were. over time she could userp the holy mother. She can make it where her faction was undyingly loyal to her and their karma would be tied to her. Doing that on a time scale that gods have even if she couldn't completely take over the Holy church she could come to rival or even surpass the holymother in control of the church. Who's to say if she could amalgamate EH's bloodline into her own it may even be able to affect other gods so she can sit back and run the entire church through cat's paws.
brjenness
yep, but first sage was lower level when he created the skills
Trevor Mergen
Thanks!
Rob Lyon
Jacob didn't create the desolate child I'm pretty sure it was caused by EH and his bloodline. Jacob was in my opinion trying to lead it to a better path through his auger abilities. But he also knew it would get used in this fight that's why Bertram told Jake to have Carmen as backup. I'm pretty sure the holy mother is using Jake to clean house of some extremist. She knows how powerful Jake is and that's not an enemy she wants now or in the long run
Jaroslav Zapadlo
Yeah rape that motherfucker!
Polaris
That’s how he broke palate the last time
Rob Lyon
Don't get me wrong the whole church is a cult but I think that this lodeStar matron and her faction are basically a group of extremist that the holy mother is trying to get rid of through Jacob and Jake and possibly the Viper. I don't think the holy mother and her main church faction want Jake as an enemy. She knows how powerful he is and if she makes him an enemy now once he reaches Godhood that won't be good for her.
Rob Lyon
Remember Arnold's teleporter can't put them directly on the planet it puts them right outside of it so she has to travel down through the atmosphere That's the blip that's getting bigger. And the desert child with created either intentionally or unintentionally by EH and his bloodline and I think that might be why he hates Jake so much because Jake was EH's enemy
kinglemur
I want her to hit like a rod of god
kinglemur
Pretty sick of the church but Jacob at least didn’t want to do this, he’s still a cunt tho.
Rob Lyon
He already has one with pride though it may get an upgrade through this fight
kinglemur
God I hope Carmen hits the Desolate child of loss like a fucking orbital strike or a rod of god
Rob Lyon
It's most definitely Carmen not sure if the bird is with her or not
TNT
No I think it was established Desolate child is an entity spawned purely of faith energy from people EH brainwashed to hate Jake specifically.
Rob Lyon
That's why Jacob told him to remember that this was his fault. I also think that's all the holy mother's plans to get rid of this up start faction
Michael Ferguson
This is killing me. See you next week.
Max
Wrong, First Time in the Tutorial where He "got used" for carolins Plot to kill Jake, thats on him. Jake also got used by many gods in the Tutorial but he didn't lure some to death ( jacob even told Jake He sorry). Second time, After the Tutorial where Jake got attacked by Ell fuck Jacob got teleported of the planet because of some Shit. And the list goes on
Rob Lyon
I don't think Jacob has betrayed him not really not when he had Bertram Tell Jake to have Carmen waiting And as it was pointed out and the earlier chapters talking about desolation Carmen is pretty much a direct counter to the desolate child. I think Jacob is cleaning house for the Holy Mother getting rid of a faction that could cause her problems later on. And I truly don't think she wants to make Jake an enemy she was there when he went toe the toe with Valdemar in aura. And won by Valdemar's own judgement then he asked the wargod for a rematch. She knows what kind of monster Jake is yes he might not be a threat right now but what about once he becomes a god. Thats not even talking about the viper And how messing with his chosen could make him an enemy. I think she told Jacob to get rid of this faction.
Ben Heystek
= Runed Hunter
brjenness
off topic... Jake uses Jake juice on one of first sage's skills and gets a permanent sage in his soulspace.
WhyLee
Also, Jacob knew the DCoL getting released was a potential outcome. That's why he had Bertram tell Jake to have Carmen on standby. Jacob wanted to ensure that there was a hard counter ready to stop the DCoL, as well as to make sure Jake doesn't get overwhelmed.
MrCynical
0. He's never betrayed Jake because he's never been allied with Jake. And the taking of EH's truesoul is the first time he's personally really worked against Jake. And even then he and Bertram gave Jake the information he'd need to successfully erase EH's truesoul from the church's clutches by telling him to bring Carmen to repel the DCoL. Jacob truly believes in the vision of the Holy Church while disagreeing with the branch of it he's currently stuck working with.
brjenness
horrible thought...desolate child is from earth. child blames Jake for death of family/faction. left alone gains affinity for desolation. captured by el...turned into super weapon
Nate Slusher
CARMEN!!!!!!! Let’s go!!
Clint
Yep. Which is why he thinks to himself that he should have called her when the fight started rather than waiting until he actually needed her.
Shikyo 13
Thanks for the chapter. I do feel like the pacing of late has been a bit less satisfying if I'm honest.
Josh
Pretty sick of Jacob to be honest.
Josh
She has to teleport in outside the atmosphere and then fly to the battle. Takes time.
Corvid
Pride is for all intents and purposes his domain skill. In pretty much all litrpg/xianxia type things domains tend to be an area or ability where a person's will reigns. EH's lunar and solar auras, Miranda and I assume all verdant witches when they tap into the lagoon, Sword Saints rain, Jake and Villy's pride, so on. Basically it's an area where a fighter says "Yoink, this spot is allll me baby" usually. One of the cooler aspects of these sorts of stories.
brjenness
life lesson I learned the hard way many times.. when something seems wrong, but no one has a problem with it...it is more likely something I am not thinking about than just everybody else being srupid.
Kelfu
I agree, bit done with Jacob, he's betrayed Jake how many times now?
Rewdan
Yes I’m actually loving this story
Corvid
Travel time. Took time to teleport from Earth, took time to get to the battle from the hub city, and took time to make sure she had on her best punching shoes.
Clint
“Cliffhanger” is just another word for “interesting story”.
Sammot
I thought it hated Jake just because the people brainwashed by ellkahan who created it trough belief also hated Jake. Though I'm kinda confused now cause i thought that false gods died when the people who believed In it died, which I assume were ellkahans people who are now dead. So why is it still here
Corvid
Carmen: "I CAST FIST!"
Sébastien Kingsbury
The teleporter puts them outside the planet. She still needs to physically travel to the fight afterwards
Drake Harris
It's not instant teleportation.
Rewdan
Thanks Zogarth. So let me get this straight, as you’re not having a Friday cliffhanger you’ve decided to have one on every day this week. 🧐
Arieh Sochaczevski
Thanks for the chapter! … a bit bummed that we didn’t get to see the next scene with Miranda. Although, unless it was a typo, I’m very interested in seeing why a fragment of the FK was what the DC is stored inside. I expected a connection, but that’s especially interesting.
Gafgarion
so sick of Jacob, don't understand why Jake hasn't killed him yet. because they worked together? clearly playing the long game but the reluctant double agent act is tiring. "im totally your friend but wait here while i do horrible shit, trust me bro". Jacob is the biggest fraud in this story.
Arieh Sochaczevski
Definitely too much anime :)
Godzilla511
Coming in hot!
The Uub
Jacob only acted to release the False god from confinement. His apology was acknowledging the fact that he released FG and that it's fate was now to die.
granndfunk
Why wouldn't Carmen show up as soon as he called for her? Very stupid
Clint
I think the DC is going to kill most of the planet. Jake will be focused on the elites and the high priest who is to blame for most of this.
brjenness
the quickest way to become evil is to convince yourself that your opponent is evil and use that to justify any actions you take as necessary.
Sailesh Kumar Kumar
I think Jake is going to kill the whole planet for the use of desolate of the loss child
William WIlson
Villy already offered help. Why take help from Jacob
ABTelford
Great chapter! About 1/2 dozen typo/grammar errors in there though…I’m gonna trust your rewrite/editing team to catch them though. 😉.
Damascus
Jacob had need to go since all the way back in chapter 1. It's ckbfuaing having 2 characters having such similar names.
Canis
The runemaiden is about to start cleaning house.
NovaZero
Why do I get this image of Carmen doing Quezacoatl's Ultimo Tope Potada? Maybe just too much anime.
BRK
We had a hint on where he came from when Jake went to their planet. We know he was created by his people's belief of someone to be opposite of Celestial child ( i assume El'haken created him as an antagonist to some story) , why he hates Jake is a mystery but could be as simple as El'haken's manipulation with the church involved since we know the whole planet on which King died was setup as some trap by an unknown entiety (El'haken+church(?))
Rad
That might also be the thing. I haven’t had a good sleep schedule and my brain hasn’t kept everything tight but that does sound righter. I just remember it being about Rune Maiden things specifically being important.
BRK
I get Jacob is caught in a hard place but at which point do we stop excusing his actions because he is not doing it out of his will. His only good act was warning Casper to prepare and telling carmen to be ready, rest he follows their fucked up doctorine. I hope he breaks away from holy church , he will still be an auger.
itsdlow
I’m very curious to see what Jake thinks and does in response to them using the Fallen King like that— RIP
Clint
He’s a great character, but one in need of a hard reality check before his moral goodness leads him into cackling mustache-twirling villainy. (Or perhaps it’s already too late for that. He’s just unleashed a potential galaxy-killer on a planet full of innocent people.) We’ve seen this story before. He thinks that if only he were in charge of the Church, he could make it into a force for good. So he joins the corrupt system and does whatever it takes to rise up the ranks so that someday he will be in a position to reform it and do such great good that it will outweigh all the evil he had to do to gain that power. Even in the real world, this is a bad plan. Decades of moral compromises corrupt your own sense of right and wrong. And the supposed future good you can do don’t erase all the evil you did on the way there. In the story world it doesn’t make any sense at all. There’s no way to end up in charge of the faction — the Holy Mother is its absolute ruler, and if she dies the faction ceases to exist. She’s trillions of years old and “set in her ways” is a comically extreme understatement. The 93rd era is the era of Jake Thayne. The impact he’s going to have on the multiverse will rival that of the primordials. And unlike the primordials, he’d actually listen to Jacob. The effect he could have had by joining Jake’s faction as an adviser would have been far greater than any impact he will ever have on a Church where his superiors sneer at his principles and advice and make him do horrible things.
Kt-x
Thanks for the chapter
Lay Nkay
I think the blip is Carmen and the bird. She's the one that made the blip
Jack
I feel with how much domain skills are becoming far more important that during the next skill selection jake is going to be offered one
David Proctor
Carmen is going to shove her hand up the desolate child and use him as a desolate puppet for some stand up
Clint
Blip that’s rapidly growing in size. That doesn’t sound like Carmen. Did Arnold send something extra, like a planet-killer asteroid to wipe the lesser combatants off the field before they can be sacrificed by the Church? (My first guess would have been Sandy, but they seem to be busy elsewhere.) Definitely looking forward to Carmen kicking the desolate child’s ass. And to finding out where the false god came from in the first place and why he hates Jake. Is there something Jake (or Villy) did at the heart of that, or was the planet-killing desolation monster originally created by the Church to fight Jake? And to Jake being so very done with Jacob’s crap.
Colin Holloway
if there's even a halfway decent propagandist on Earth, there's no way the "holy" Church should come out of this looking anything less than evil. attacking someone in negotiations with them, first with the intent to capture and then escalating with the intent to kill by releasing basically a WMD in the form of the false god. not to mention, it only takes half a brain to realize that the whole holy Land thing is a scheme to keep true souls from reincarnating and potentially empowering other factions and keeps all that power fueling the holy church Pantheon just like everything else that that whole faction does. they are very clearly a faction who will lie, cheat, exploit and manipulate to empower the gods of the home. while that doesn't make them any better or worse than any other faction. at least the other factions are honest and don't pretend to be about the greater good
Ray Light
Would have made him sink even lower towards a desperation state
BearHandMan
Perhaps they’ll get their long awaited reunion battle to “test” each other?
Ray Light
Hope Jacob will tell Jake how to revive the Fallen King once he claims the small piece that is left once the Child of Desolation is defeated
BearHandMan
I personally like Jacob, meaning I think he’s a great character in the book. Truly a good person, caught between multiple rocks. He’s definitely already quasi-heretic with the church, he just has less absolute authority when compared to Jake. He knows the stuff they do is messed up and doesn’t agree with most of it, he just knows he can’t change any of it at his current level. As for Jake, he actually cares for Jake and earth. I guarantee you any act against them makes his stomach turn.
Ray Light
Not if they off Illudar. Doubt Jacob earned a seat and all the other elites are being disposed off by Jake.
Frédéric Cantin
Tyftc
Mike
When Villy was telling Jake about sending the rune maiden he made it seem as if she had an advantage in killing false gods. I am sure she has an advantage against desolation as well but something special about that path allows for false gods to die. Which is meant to be nearly impossible for a C grade to do. Heck even the fallen king couldn't pull it off permanently with the last of his life.
Ray Light
Nope, this little meteor is probably Carmen😁
Alexander C Hyde
It not (affecting)affected Jacob could have been a fluke, but combined with the Desolate Child of Loss’ increased intelligence and the fact these Holy Church members were also experiencing a lesser effect, Jake could only conclude one thing:
TwoMoreYears
Really looking forward to Carmen kicking some ass
daniel gager
Incoming!
Tilen Praprotnik
Thanks for the chapter
Ty Cooper
Tftc! It is going to be a wipe soon as Carmen gets there. I am curious if Jake will keep putting up with Jacob's shit after this. Man my opinion of Jacob just keeps getting worse and worse. He is already a pansy that causes more problems than he is worth. Jake is not going to let it slide that he controls that thing and has been healing it. Also question? Is it still Jacob not killing if he created the desolate child and sets it on planets or people. I guess the system doesn't view it that way since Bert can kill and do anything Jacob tells him.
Robert Phipps Jr (Perren d'Wolff)
so Jake is under attack by a holy ripoff of Voltron now?!?!
Burkes
Carmen bouta hit the nastiest dropkick from orbit.
Andromeda Adams
Wow! That church really pulled out all the stops! Come on, Jake! Is that blip Carman? Tyftc
Cory Sauls
Thanks for the chapter!
Andrew P
I wonder if this will have a negative effect on Jacob's path, given how restrictive it is.
Tr0LLach
Give the people what they want. #killJacob
Daniel Brian
Carmen incoming! 🤩
Mohammed Sheekh
War with the Holy Church arc is next? It does make sense that the Holy Church will have a seat at the galaxy prima event
Kevin Watson
i wonder how jacob’s taming of the false god will affect him and Jake’s already weird relationship with each other
Indigo
Tyftc kinda want this sags to end with Jake being forced to kill Jacob so he can't resurrect the bloodline
Tommy
Primal Hunter + Rune Maiden
Matthias
Tftc
Rad
I was more thinking Jacob taught the DCoL to not harm the holy church and the reason Carmen was gonna be pretty much immune to it was because of Valhal immunity bullshit like she is with magic as a Rune Maiden but it extends to desolation. I’m pretty sure “holy” is just light in this case. I think faith is separate from affinities because anything can be sacred. I could be wrong though.
Xien
♥️ 2 💙 Jake and the fallen king may yet reunite hash things out… maybe?
Loststar7
Thanks for the chapter. Looking forward to whatever cliffhanger you’re going to drop on us Thursday 😂
Darshar Griffonmane
So I'm guessing that holy powers, of all varieties, seem to reduce the effect of desolation. Probably why Carmen is a hard counter to the Child as she uses Valhal's version of holy power. Man, this faction of the holy church is totally fracked now that they've pissed Jake off. tyftc!
Jonathan Hovey
TFTC! And there we have the final clue, Holy energy has a type advantage against Desolation. As Carmen is a "minor god avatar" Runemaiden, she should be immune.
Valhazstromoz
Well there goes the desolate king theory
Unwillingmainer
Time for a surprise Rune Maiden! If she's immune to desolation then she can certainly win a fight against it, leaving Jake to deal with the fanatics and Jacob.
Beemoss
Tftc
Roy Boy Meyer
Hahaha.. maybe next time XD
BlackRazaras
Thanks for the chapter
C0bra$
Thank u for the story
Connor
Thanks for the chapter
Adam Ferrebee
Aw.. was so close
Roy Boy Meyer
First
