‘What a shame.’

Lee Shin actually had a certain level of admiration for Casanova’s exceptional sense.

Considering that Casanova hadn’t played as many real-time strategy simulations as Lee Shin had, his creativity and instincts were quite impressive.

The strategy of constructing buildings in different locations to deceive about troop numbers, the decision to squeeze out every possible unit using the traits of the monster race—given that he wasn’t a professional gamer, his tactics weren’t bad at all.

The only problem was that Lee Shin had encountered such strategies countless times before.

No matter what kind of tricks Casanova pulled, there was nothing Lee Shin hadn’t already seen.

That was why Lee Shin could completely dominate him.

For this second match, Lee Shin had employed the strategy of a ‘stealth expansion.’

At the start, he sent out slaves for scouting, and then secretly relocated them to another area to construct a hidden expansion base.

Casanova had stationed two Hellhounds at the entrance to Lee Shin’s main base for surveillance, but by then, Lee Shin’s mana stone collection site in another area was already more developed.

‘By the way, my scouting luck is incredible.’

Lee Shin thought of the elderly slave who always delivered results whenever sent on a scouting mission.

Suddenly, a strange idea crossed his mind.

‘If most of the Contractors under the Demon Lords are people I know, then could it be that those summoned here are also people I knew from the past?’

Perhaps that old man with exceptional scouting luck was also a historical figure Lee Shin would recognize.

‘Come here.’

Lee Shin called for the elderly slave who had played a major role in this battle.

Soon, the old man came running, breathless.

“You called for me, Contractor!”

“You’ve made great contributions again.”

“Yes! It was all thanks to the opportunity you gave me, Contractor! If you grant me another chance, I will surely deliver results just like today!”

Lee Shin nodded.

“Good. I’ll continue to make use of you. By the way, what’s your name?”

“I am honored that you would ask for my humble name! I am Cristoforo Colombo!”

“A European.”

“Yes, born in Genoa, Italy.”

“Are all those summoned here from Earth, like you?”

“No, there are plenty from other worlds. Orcs, elves, dwarves—those aren’t beings found on Earth, after all.”

“I see.”

The old man chuckled and added an explanation.

“For reference, I was quite a famous explorer, so I believe you may have heard of me, Contractor.”

“A famous person?”

“Yes, though I don’t know if my name is still known in your time, but I am the one who pioneered a new route to India.”

The old man thumped his chest, emphasizing his importance.

At his words, Lee Shin’s eyes widened in shock.

“Columbus?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. In English, they call me Christopher Columbus. So you do know me?”

“That Columbus?”

There was no way Lee Shin wouldn’t recognize such a well-known historical figure—his name even appeared in history textbooks. He was also famous for the ‘Egg of Columbus’ anecdote.

“But why are you in hell?”

“Heh heh, well…”

Columbus scratched his head before continuing.

“I, uh… massacred and enslaved the natives where I landed. I exploited them. I never imagined the weight of those sins would be this heavy. Back then, I didn’t even conceive of the idea that the natives were people just like me…”

‘He truly is someone who deserves to have fallen into hell.’

There wasn’t even a sliver of sympathy to be had.

It was strange enough that someone like him was respected to the point of being featured in biographies.

Still, as befitting an explorer, he demonstrated remarkable scouting abilities, so Lee Shin intended to continue making use of him.

‘I should check if there are any other figures as renowned as Columbus here.’

If someone had been famous for their exceptional talents in life, they would likely demonstrate outstanding abilities even after being summoned here.

Just as Columbus, the famed explorer, excelled in scouting.

Lee Shin constructed two additional barracks and began summoning archers.

At the same time, he initiated weapon upgrades in the forge.

Since Casanova was employing a strategy of overwhelming numbers, relying solely on knights and catapults wouldn’t be enough to hold the defensive line—reinforcements were necessary.

Lee Shin gestured to an archer who had just been summoned from the barracks.

“You called for me, Contractor!”

The archer, a middle-aged man, greeted him cheerfully. He was the very first archer Lee Shin had summoned when he fought his mock battle against Gremory.

His archery skills were superior to those of the other archers, and he was remarkably bold, which made him memorable.

“What’s your name?”

“I am Robin Hood.”

“What?!”

Lee Shin was startled.

The middle-aged man waved his hands dismissively and explained further.

“No, no, I’m not the original Robin Hood you’re thinking of.”

“Then?”

“Back in Sherwood Forest, every notorious bandit liked to call themselves Robin Hood. Ahaha!”

“So, you’re not the Robin Hood, just some random bandit?”

“Hey now, I was still the leader of a rather infamous bandit gang. That’s why I ended up rolling around in hell, hahaha!”

‘Even after suffering in hell, he doesn’t seem the least bit remorseful.’

Lee Shin clicked his tongue.

Regardless, this so-called Robin Hood was undoubtedly a capable archer.

Everyone summoned here was someone who had fallen into hell. There was no point in searching for someone morally admirable.

The only logical approach was to utilize them purely based on their usefulness.

At that moment...

[You are under attack!]

Casanova’s counterattack had begun.

The Hellhounds charged forward, breaking through the catapult defense line.

Since Hellhounds were cheap and fast, they were the perfect sacrificial units to absorb the catapults’ bombardment.

Boulders flew, crushing two or three Hellhounds at a time, but the swarming beasts didn’t stop and continued their relentless advance.

Next, the Poison Spore Flowers that followed behind them fired a volley of poisonous spores at the knights blocking the path!

“Fall back!”

At Lee Shin’s command, the knights retreated. The combination of long-range area attacks from the Poison Spore Flowers and the sheer number and speed of the Hellhounds was deadly for knights.

‘Keep retreating. Don’t engage until you join up with the archers.’

Archers were continuously being summoned from the barracks and moving toward the frontlines.

Before long, the weapon upgrades would be complete, and they would become crossbowmen.

Crossbowmen + Knights + Catapults!

Once this combination was in place, it would be enough to take on Casanova’s Hellhounds, Poison Spore Flowers, and Ents.

‘If we withstand this attack, it’s over.’

Lee Shin had already seen through the fact that Casanova didn’t have much mana left.