Chapter 1452 - Agent of Chaos (Patreon)

It had only been a bit over a week since Jake had left the World of the Exalted Prima, and Sim-Jake took his place. Miranda had honestly not thought much about this change initially. Sure, she recognized that there were many differences between them, but they were both Jake, and both were powerful assets for the Milky Way Galaxy Territory.

Both were, in her mind, trump cards she could send to a battlefield and more or less ensure it would be a victory. That was indeed the case; however, there was one miscalculation.

While Jake listened to her strategy and followed her words, Sim-Jake didn’t have the same inclinations.

“You should retreat and regroup with others,” Miranda said, trying to convince the Unique NPC by the name of Jake Thayne to abandon his current quest.

“I don’t see why,” he responded, nevertheless not cutting off the connection. As Sim-Jake was still Jake, her special communication skill worked flawlessly on him, allowing her to contact him pretty much anywhere within the World of the Exalted Prima, except in the special Domains.

“Because you’re too far in enemy territory, and we could use you elsewhere,” she said, feeling a little tired of this discussion as it wasn’t the first time she’d tried to get him to see sense. “You will be forced to enter a siege if you want to take down any of the stronger Territories, and that assumes you can break through at all. Better to weaken their forces, and then once we have the upper hand, attack the Beacon with an army.”

“Oh, I don’t disagree with that assessment. The thing is, my objective isn’t their Territory Beacon,” Sim-Jake responded in a casual tone. “They have plenty of Outposts, do they not? Just there, ripe for the taking. Or are you saying I’m also wasting my time destroying those?”

“I’m saying you are using your time sub-optimally destroying those,” Miranda sighed. He had agreed the first time right after Jake left to go to a battlefield, but afterward Sim-Jake had invaded the alliance ruled by the United Tribes and destroyed the relatively small and weak Vassal they had on their frontline.

After that, he hadn’t retreated but kept going, attacking different Territories, including their Territory Beacons and Outposts. He hadn’t managed to destroy another Beacon, as they were too well defended, yet he tried anyway, and when that failed, he moved on to something he could destroy.

“I know,” he simply responded.

“Then why are you staying?” she asked, already knowing she wouldn’t get any useful answer. Miranda was pretty damn sure he was just doing this because he wanted to and to fight as much as he could. While the Outposts did fall to him, they were at least sometimes well-defended and somewhat entertaining for him to bring down. The United Tribes also still sent armies, parties, or Unique NPCs in response, all of them once again serving to alleviate the simulacrum’s boredom.

“Because it doesn’t make much sense,” Sim-Jake said, his voice relaying the grin he definitely had on his face. “I am not acting strategically but seemingly being entirely random. I move based on intuition and instinct with no plan where I want to go or strike next. As you said, it’s far from optimal, but also completely and utterly unpredictable.”

Miranda was quiet, not expecting that kind of answer. “What do you hope to accomplish? Them bringing out someone worth fighting if you stay long enough?”

“That would be great, but no, I don’t believe I will. Based on how they treated that phoenix,  she was the strongest this alliance had to offer. Speaking of phoenixes, aren’t they supposed to revive after death or something? Because she just died despite me being fully prepared for her to be reborn stronger or something,” Sim-Jake complained, not really answering her question.

“From what I know, True Phoenixes do experience rebirth after death, but I think that this being a virtual world kind of messed with that aspect of their Path. Same as how Sandy probably won’t be able to revive using their egg skill should they die,” Miranda answered, feeling like that question was at least very Jake-like. “You didn’t answer my question, though. If not a strong opponent, what do you seek?”

“Chaos,” he responded in a single word. “Riddle me this: How is the frontline facing the United Tribes these days? Any action recently?”

Miranda was about to answer as she realized. “They’ve been very quiet.”

“Well, isn’t that something?” Sim-Jake said with a chuckle. “People are very predictable. When things aren’t stable at home, they tend to overreact and make a disproportionate response to any problem. As you said, then my chance of taking down a major Territory Beacon on my own is low if not impossible, but do they know that? Are they sure I’m alone? They are losing Outposts, which means losing information about what’s happening. In war, information is crucial, but one cannot understand chaos. So if you ask me what I’m doing? Well, I’m being an agent of chaos, sowing doubt in the minds of our enemy, paralyzing them from within.”

It took Miranda a moment to process what he said before she fully understood.

Sim-Jake was not trying to win a battle. He was forcing the United Tribes to prepare for every possible battle at once.

Every Outpost he destroyed widened the blind spot around their Territories. Every sudden change in his movements made it harder to predict which Beacon, Outpost, or group would be threatened next. To muster a response, the alliance had to keep soldiers close to home, reinforce several locations, and hold their strongest Uniques and Administrators in reserve. Even if Sim-Jake never captured another Territory, he was tying down far more resources than any conventional assault would have.

Worse, the United Tribes could not afford to assume he was bluffing. Jake Thayne had already proven capable of doing things that should have been impossible, and they had no way of knowing how the rest of the Milky Way Galaxy’s alliance might be moving beyond the reach of their remaining Outposts. If they committed their armies to the frontline, Sim-Jake might strike behind them, and possibly even take down a Beacon. If they chased him, he could simply move on and leave them exhausted. They simply had no good options, given they had no individuals or parties capable of threatening him.

His actions were inefficient only if she judged the outcome of destroyed Outposts, Territory Beacons, or enemies slain. Viewed across the entire war, it was brutally efficient. One person was compelling an alliance to defend an entire region, all while having a fun time himself.

“You could have explained that earlier,” Miranda finally said, still a bit shocked at what Sim-Jake had told her, while also realizing she had a bit of a blind spot regarding him. Her basic assumption had been that he acted purely to entertain himself, making her not think his actions through properly. A definite mistake on her part that she felt pretty damn embarrassed about.

“I could have,” Sim-Jake agreed. “But then I wouldn’t have gotten to hear you tell me how sub-optimal I’m being.”

Miranda closed her eyes for a moment and considered everything. She realized she’d underestimated him significantly, having assumed he was far more like Jake in that he didn’t care about strategy but just wanted good fights. Sim-Jake did too, and this was definitely in part still an excuse to stay in the action, but he was also right.

It was honestly brilliant and something only he could do, given his immense personal power.

“Are you sure that you two share the same brain? Because the more I interact with you, the more I’m starting to doubt that,” Miranda muttered.

“You only believe that because I bother to and am capable of explaining why I act as I do to you. My other self doesn’t have the same insights and understanding of these aspects of our Bloodline, though he does understand he is chaos incarnate, and will instinctively act accordingly. Our Bloodline combined with the skill given by our True Blessing makes us impossible to track, making divination and even the tools provided by the World of the Exalted Prima ineffective. He would also have realized that if he bothered to think about it, but he doesn’t, because he hasn’t needed to. I don’t need to either, but I find it fun. Granted, I do also have a personal history that makes this kind of thinking come a lot more naturally to me, so perhaps in this regard, I am superior to him,” Sim-Jake gave a lengthy answer. “Now, do you have any more questions? Do you need my input on what you should do next?”

“No, it’s fine. Keep causing chaos,” she said, having never imagined being asked that kind of question by someone with Jake’s voice. “I’ll have our forces increase the pressure on the frontline. If the United Tribes are already hesitating, we may as well give them more reasons to.”

“Now you’re getting it,” Sim-Jake said, sounding entirely too pleased. “Just don’t make your movements too obvious. I would hate for them to realize there’s a plan within the chaos. Then again, if they do respond, perhaps I might just be able to take a Beacon or two on my lonesome. It’s going to be fun finding out either way. Speaking of fun, I have arrived at my destination.”

The connection was cut abruptly before Miranda could answer or say anything further, leaving her sitting there in silence for a few seconds.

She stared at the map before her, focusing on the United Tribes’ border that had been quiet for days. They still had a lot of forces stationed there, as the United Tribes had been making probing attacks before Sim-Jake showed up, but not enough to mount an invasion and get anything done.

However, with the risk of being attacked reduced, Miranda had a choice. Where would she invade? Would she send an actual army with the intent of defeating the United Tribes alliance, or would she send smaller groups in to create even more chaos and look for openings? Sim-Jake did have immense offensive might, so if set up right, he was capable of laying siege and destroying a Territory Beacon.

The issue was – as she reckoned it most often was in wars – that she felt like they always needed manpower. There were many frontlines, and they were fighting on pretty much all of them. Weakness prompted other factions to step in and take advantage, so moving soldiers away was a massive risk, making her tap her fingers as she considered her options.

Holstred and Tramon were both doing a damn good job towards the south, with William towards the north where he had sought out a powerful alliance led by Valhal. They were not directly bordering the Milky Way Galaxy’s alliance yet, but they soon would be, and he had gone there in preparation for that happening. He was effectively a top-tier spy and saboteur, ready to be used at an opportune time.

Should I send Lillian? she asked herself before quickly dismissing the thought. She was in the east, still dealing with the new Territories they had taken over after William had helped destroy the alliance of smaller forces there.

It was annoying that she didn’t have any good choices, making her sigh as she looked at all the damn Prima Credits they still had available, just sitting there waiting to be used. She wanted to go gamble and see if she could summon a couple of top-tier Uniques to lead an army, definitely seeing the appeal of the mechanic, but knew she shouldn’t.

It was annoying, but all she could do was send a few Administrators she didn’t have much trust in to make smaller attacks into the United Tribes’ Territory while hoping that soon they would get reinforcements. Hopefully, an entire army or two.

“Relying on two different Jakes at the same time,” Miranda muttered to herself, shaking her head. “Would have felt like a bad setup for a nightmarish joke just a few weeks ago, but here I am.”

Sim-Jake had already proven himself quite capable and was currently performing way above her expectations. Now, she hoped that her regular Jake would also live up to or perhaps surpass her hopes.

--

“We’re being watched,” Jake said as if stating a boring fact, doing everything in his power not to show even the faintest trace of nervousness.

“Indeed,” the Chieftain nodded in agreement, having certainly detected it too. A lot of them weren’t even trying to hide it, and despite being higher grade than Jake, he knew some were there even without using his Bloodline.

“Yet keeping their distance,” Jake continued, turning to the powerful A-grade. “How many individuals do you detect?”

He asked as if testing his escort, and clearly it worked as the Chieftain instantly turned serious. He felt the subtle movement of energy as the snake detected her surroundings and those nearby before answering.

“I count seventy-three individuals currently keeping an eye on the ship,” she said, sounding relatively confident.

“Seventy-five,” Jake corrected her as he looked to the side where an entity was looking at them from extremely far away using some kind of magic. “I believe a certain Bog Lord is also interested, and one of the Arachnecs appears particularly good at hiding its presence.”

He couldn’t fault the Chieftain for not detecting those two, as both definitely surpassed her in power, especially the Bog Lord. Jake suspected this was the Bog Lord recognized as one of the three strongest entities in the Minor World, a peak A-grade on the cusp of evolving to S-grade. A creature considered an equal of the Great Serpent – or Great Sea Serpent if Jake wanted to be respectful and use his full name.

“I see,” the Chieftain muttered, not surprised at all that Jake displayed superior detection abilities to hers. “The announcement from the Great Sea Serpent has truly echoed throughout our world, and I wouldn’t be surprised if all who hold influence have heard it.”

She seemed proud of that fact, though Jake wasn’t sure how good that was. The Great Sea Serpent was powerful, and Jake trusted in his abilities, but having another top-tier being also there could complicate things. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like the super Bog Lord was going to attend in person, though.

As for the Arachnec that the Chieftain also failed to Identify, Jake didn’t give it too much further thought. Jake wasn’t even sure this Arachnec was stronger than the Chieftain, just better at staying hidden, especially given how far away it was.

“We do not expect anyone to cause trouble during the ceremony,” the Chieftain said after being quiet for a while. “Doing so would offend the Great Sea Serpent and us Nomads, creating an enemy for life and sparking war. While we are not as powerful as the Arachnecs or Venusians, should the tribes unite, we are not a threat they can ignore either. Thus, we expect that they will show up, be respectful on the surface, though I don’t doubt some will hatch their own plots, ignorant of the glorious Order of the Malefic Viper.”

“Then let us see if we can wash away that ignorance and make them realize the truth,” Jake said, falling quiet again, not wanting to say too much and risk ruining his image. Fortunately, he had a good excuse to stop talking, too, as they broke through a dense cloud of mist, revealing the vast sea before them as far as the eye could see.

The massive sea that spanned the entire bottom of the Minor World was probably the most valuable part of this entire world and a subject of study for sure. There were islands spread throughout, with only powerful A-grades qualified to live on them due to the sheer intensity of the energy the sea emitted.

However, today, a massive island in this sea was filled with motion as Jake spotted tens of thousands, if not close to a hundred thousand, on it, all Nomads as far as Jake could tell, making him realize two things at once.

Firstly, that these Nomads had a lot more tribes and members than he’d first thought, and secondly... that this damn ceremony was going to be utterly massive, wasn’t it?