The Primal Hunter

Arthur… why Arthur? Jake had seen Arthur once in his life after the system, and he didn’t like him. In fact, Jake kind of hated the guy now. Why wouldn’t he? All interactions Jake had ever had with him were negative, even the second-hand ones. Moreover, he had been the one who decided that bringing Ell’Hakan to Earth was a good idea, messing things up even further. It was also clear he hated Jake’s guts.

Additionally, Jake did not get why Miranda wanted to work with him due to one minor detail.

”Didn’t he send a group to assassinate you?” Jake asked Miranda with pursed lips. ”Sounds like a great guy to work with, huh?”

”You speak as if that is simply not him showing he understands the rules of the multiverse. He read the rule book and knew that the Court of Shadows would act as long as he provided funds. He also understood Valhal. That means he is not as stuck in his thoughts as you may believe but can adapt,” the King said.

”As weird as it sounds, him not like us is exactly why he is good. The worst thing for a governing body is to have it be filled with yes-men who just do whatever you want. To have no one ever offer an opposing voice. I am firmly in the camp of the Order, and my job is to represent your views. The King will represent his own views and those of monsters while inadvertently also being tied to you. The Sword Saint is also not likely to oppose you and will not be very involved. Finally, a second monster added has a high chance of being on your side too, and sure won’t be on the side of humans. As things currently are, the common human population does not have a single person representing them, and we need someone actually willing to present them. Someone who has the guts to. Like it or not, Arthur has shown himself capable and willing to do this, and he is annoyingly efficient at what he does,” Miranda explained.

”Sounds all nice and dandy until he tries to start a civil war or some shit to take control,” Jake mused.

”Arthur has also shown himself to not be an idiot, and he knows that will not be in the best interest of the citizens of Earth. Giving him a seat at the council will also send a clear message that we are not taking over the planet as the Order of the Malefic Viper but as earthlings. It will also communicate that you are not the type of person to just go and kill anyone who disagrees with you or puts themself in contrarian positions to you. While some may interpret it as a weakness to ”forgive” him, it can also be seen as a strength as you, a Chosen, never truly cared for his petty games. That you don’t care enough about him to personally act. In some ways, I also think the best punishment will be to have him fix what mistakes he had made while we make full use of his expertise. Moreover, I think much of his hatred stems from ignorance. He views us as representations of concepts, not as humans, just like him. I believe with time, we can find common ground, and he can become an asset,” Miranda further added.

”The man has shown himself to be resourceful so far. Nobody here could have done what he did to make the United Cities Alliance, especially considering his lack of literal power. He got his position in such a short time, not by being stronger than everyone else but by sheer competence. The majority of humanity supports him based on what he has done before, and even in recent months, he has shown his genuine goal with all of the beast attacks. Rather than try and push for anything due to these attacks, he focused solely on alleviating the issue, making smaller response teams and teleportation networks, and stabilizing areas. I highly doubt he had anything to do with these beast attacks, and based on how fast those stationed in Haven gave up after we returned, he also seems to understand when he is in a losing position.”

”And you seriously think this dude will just give up?” Jake asked. This part was the one he believed the least.

”Yes, I do. Mark my words, within a week, he will come to Haven and surrender. If he does not come in surrender before the World Congress, then I will take back everything, but I highly doubt that he won’t. Arthur truly cares about humanity if his words are to be believed… so giving himself up to try and avoid a downright disaster for the United Cities Alliance would be the wisest choice. He will take the fall for his failure and take responsibility as their leader,” Miranda said with conviction.

The King also agreed on this, with the Sword Saint nodding along like it was a given. Jake really felt outnumbered…

He understood why they needed someone from the United Cities Alliance and also kind of understood why it had to be Arthur. As Miranda had explained it, then the man was now stuck between a rock and a hard place. If he kept fighting, the result was already written on the wall, and soon enough, he would find himself slain. Even if he became World Leader, it would be short-lived… and chances are he wouldn’t, because even if Jake wouldn’t be able to kill Arthur, then he sure as hell could go on a rampage of the ages.

Additionally, he knew that death would also lead to problems. For better or worse, Arthur became the symbol of the United Cities Alliance and the hope of all those who wanted an independent planet that would not become slaves to some insidious higher power. If Jake was to kill him, Arthur would become a martyr and spark a war or, at the very least, an army of fringe terrorist groups.

The only way for Jake to combat this would be a total dictatorship down the line. He would need to rule like the Order and make Earth into something he didn’t want it to be. Jake was fine with people disagreeing and not liking him, and trying to control everyone would go against who he was. He also feared he would need to kill millions, if not billions, to try and root out all hidden enemies… which also sounded like something he really didn’t want to do.

In the beginning, when Miranda had mentioned Arthur, Jake’s gut reaction had been that, of course, the dude was in for an arrow through the temple. Why wouldn’t he? But perhaps this gut reaction was why having people like Miranda was necessary.

were good for anyone but himself. The

thing holding Jake back from going full scorched earth on the United Cities

mom

them to view him as a monster, and if he became the next oppressive dictator of Earth, they sure as hell wouldn’t take it well. That thought alone was enough to calm Jake down and make him listen to

why Miranda believed he would give himself up and officially surrender. He would openly do this, announcing his loss to

actually selflessly came to surrender… Jake could maybe accept him being on

agreed. ”If he comes, keep him here. I will be back three days before the Congress to have a talk with him if you are right. I will want to at least talk to him before I give him even the slightest shred of

nodded. ”That is all I

the other

the World Leader, even making it clear that should we wish for it, they will leave the planet,” Miranda explained. ”The Risen are already gone… which

not budging,” Jake

and it would not surprise me

Caleb either, and Casper, if he was still on Earth, would also be barred. The only faction with a claim would be the

people with independent gods, it wouldn’t matter much. Arnold, the Sword Saint, and many others, none of them would be issues to still have around, and the factions like Valhal and the Court would be allowed to remain

the Holy Church was doing… well, they were doing the usual thing. The Holy Church was a bit unique as a multiversal faction in that they valued numbers a lot, not just to increase the chance of someone with talent appearing, but for their faith. They wanted

Mass exodus.

have read the writing on the wall that they would not win no matter what. If you won, they would lose, and

be honest… he was all fine with them leaving. Because if they did not, then they had been entirely correct in their assertion that Jake would kick them to the curb and tell them to get fucked. He still considered Jacob a friend, but it was like that kind of friend who

the World Leader position,” Jake said. After that, there was only a bit more small talk before they

know my plans, but what will all of you be doing before the Congress?”

turned and looked at the Sword Saint as the old

name. A solid cleanup shall begin, and the purging will leave us stronger and not as worn down by weakness. I realize that the clan perhaps expanded too quickly and was too dependent on me to hold it together. What I leave behind will be a clan

work in front of me with a damn mountain range in the distance of even more damn work. In a month, we will literally

up and quickly did the smart thing by looking questioningly at

I do miss it, then we will meet at the Congress. I also need to recover, so I shall take it slow and carefully venture out.

nodded and smiled. It indeed seemed like everyone had things to deal with. As for Jake? Jake would take this month before the World

him of his family. Reminded him of the nephew he had only seen for a brief period what was to Jake years ago. It was only right to visit them as Jake decided to take a bit of a break and ground himself before becoming

the meeting fully concluded, they all split up and went

him, he noticed nothing awry. He even decided to ask if Arnold had joined Ell’Hakan, and his answer had just been that he hadn’t. So, that was that. Jake found the entire thing a bit dumb, to begin with. Arnold didn’t