It wasn't effective because of Jake's level, and if Jake were above Class I, then he would have easily been able to kill the king.
It drove a dagger toward Jake's exposed throat.
Jake released his sword and used Shadow Step at point-blank range, the technique ripping him away from the king's grip with a violence that left his arm screaming in protest.
He materialized across the chamber near one of his shadow serpents and immediately manifested three more, pushing past the energy cost, past the exhaustion, channeling everything he had into creating enough threats that the King would have to divide his attention.
The serpent constructs attacked in a coordinated swarm while Jake retrieved his fallen sword and activated every ability he still had available.
