Let me attempt to speak for the discontented.
Erfworld is Parson's story.
Parson's story is that of the classic Last Hope for an otherwise doomed nation/side. The draw of his character to the discontented readers (And probably many of the ones that are still enjoying themselves) is the dramatic irony of GK suddenly having a hardcore gamer at the helm. Someone who can turn not only turn the entire tide of the conflict, but also radically alter the balance of power in the setting. Aha! Finally someone to help the losers
kick some boop!
Presently, this is not what is occurring.
It's a little too early in the story for the protagonist to be suffering a crippling setback like this. Imagine if the first issue of Batman had
gone like this. The reader wouldn't (Typically) enjoy that. Usually a narrative waits a bit before humbling the protagonist so badly. What if Luke Skywalker never made it off Tatooine alive? What if Mario had died in Stage 1-1? That's no fun.
I believe that to those who are losing interest, Erfworld appears to be ending before it ever really got started.
Just my 2¢.