Jake wanted to test something first and wanted to understand what the Serpent King title actually did before falling back on conventional combat.
He raised his right hand and pushed outward with his will, not physically but with the particular pressure he had felt from Karut on the road, the weight of presence and authority that came from bloodline power fully manifested.
[SERPENT'S COMMAND ACTIVATED]
The effect was immediate and dramatic.
The ghoul's charge faltered mid-stride as though it had run into an invisible wall, its momentum dying, its body going rigid. Its head turned toward Jake with jerky, resisted movements, and its eyes—milky and unfocused—fixed on him with an expression that might have been fear if ghouls were capable of complex emotions.
