Lee Shin was well aware of the weaknesses of the Human race.

They were far too weak in the early game.

To be precise, their archers were weak. Their bows and arrows were crude, and they had no proper armor.

Even Hellhounds, which could be summoned in pairs for the same 50 magic power, were impossible to defeat in a one-on-one fight.

Because of this, Humans did not fare well against Monsters, who could produce troops quickly in the early stages.

Given that about 40% of Demon Lords preferred Monsters, it was understandable why Humans were considered weak.

Since they were vulnerable at the start, they had to invest in defensive structures like Arrow Towers. But what if the opponent didn’t attack?

That meant wasting resources on unnecessary defenses. And as time passed, that waste would only put them at a greater disadvantage.

However, the one who designed this ranking battle system wasn’t just any game developer—it was none other than the Demon God.

There was no way the system would allow unfairness between races. Through countless simulations, Lee Shin had confirmed the strengths of the Human race.

‘First, reconnaissance.’

The only way to determine if the opponent planned to attack was to focus more on scouting.

‘You, and you. Go scout. One at 7 o’clock, the other at 11 o’clock.’

“Yes!”

“Leave it to me!”

The two slaves who had been harvesting magic stones immediately set out.

One of them, coincidentally, was the same elderly man who had been the first to die in a previous simulation battle.

The only way to escape the eternal torment of hell was to achieve merit in the ranking battles.

Because of that, the elderly man was determined to make a contribution, even at the cost of his life. Even if he died here on the battlefield, he would only return to hell, so there was no reason to fear death.

As the scouts set out, Lee Shin immediately constructed a barracks near the entrance. This narrowed the passage by about 70%.

The first batch of archers was stationed at the entrance to keep watch for incoming enemies.

“Leave it to us!”

The middle-aged man who had been summoned before responded cheerfully and stepped forward.

While continuing to summon archers, Lee Shin instructed the newly summoned slaves to build another barracks.

This time, he also had them construct it at the entrance.

As a result, the two barracks overlapped, forming a zigzagging S-shaped passage.

‘This should hold even if a large number of Hellhounds swarm in.’

The Hellhounds Lee Shin had encountered before were fast but stupid.

With the entrance twisted into an S-shape like this, they would wander aimlessly and be struck down by the archers' arrows.

Just then—

[Enemy sighted!]

One of the two scouting slaves had discovered the enemy base.

By some stroke of luck, it was once again the elderly man.

The enemy was constructing a magic circle at an external magic stone harvesting site.

[Magic Circle: A structure used by the Monster race to summon units. It also stores harvested magic power. It can summon three monsters at a time and requires 300 magic power to build.]

The creature meticulously drawing the magic circle with its palm-shaped hands was a Claw, the Monster race’s production unit.

[Claw: Harvests magic power and constructs magic circles and buildings. Can attack using its sharp claws, but its offensive power is insignificant.]

‘So he’s building an expansion base.’

It seemed that High-Ranking Demon Eltima was prioritizing magic power acquisition.

His plan was to gather magic power from both his main base and an external location from the very start.

That meant he didn’t have many Hellhounds at the moment.

‘He assumes I’m focusing on defense.’

Eltima likely thought that while Lee Shin was investing in defenses, he could focus on gathering magic power and overwhelm him later with a superior army.

More confirmation was needed.

“Enter the main base.”

The elderly man obediently followed the order and stepped through the entrance into Eltima’s main base.

He had no choice but to comply, but he was highly motivated.

Just as Lee Shin had suspected.

There were only two Hellhounds.

The area was swarming with Claws, busily harvesting magic stones.

The two Hellhounds spotted the elderly man and charged after him.

“Run! Keep circling the main base and check what they’re doing.”

“Aaaah!”

The elderly man ran frantically, dashing around Eltima’s main base.

Meanwhile, Lee Shin constructed additional barracks, increasing the total to three, allowing him to produce archers at a rapid pace.

The other scouting slave was stationed near Eltima’s territory to detect any movements in case of an attack.

‘A main base strategy, huh? This is turning into a very classic-style battle.’

The elderly man managed to evade capture quite well while continuously relaying information about Eltima’s main base.

Thanks to this, Lee Shin was able to determine the perfect timing for his attack.

Human forces grew stronger in the late game.

Eltima’s plan was to launch a large-scale offensive before the late game arrived. But Lee Shin planned to strike first, just a moment ahead of him.

‘He won’t expect me to use archers as my main force.’

Lee Shin proceeded to construct a blacksmith.

[Blacksmith: A facility that provides weapons and armor to troops summoned from the barracks. Once built, it allows the summoning of spearmen and shield soldiers.]

Once the blacksmith was completed, Lee Shin expanded his barracks and began summoning spearmen and shield soldiers, two of each.

At the same time, he issued another command to the blacksmith.

‘Weapon development!’

[Weapon development has begun at the blacksmith. Archers, spearmen, and shield soldiers will be equipped with improved weapons.]

In the meantime, the elderly man scouting Eltima’s base finally met his demise.

However, since he had provided intelligence for a considerable amount of time, he could be considered the unsung hero of this ranking battle.

Before his death, he had revealed another building that Eltima was constructing.

[Dragon Altar: An altar for offering tribute to the Dragon. Allows the summoning of Dragons and Dragon Hatchlings from the Magic Circle.]

‘I have to end this before the Dragons pile up.’

Just in time, two spearmen and two shield soldiers were summoned from the four barracks.

Combined with sixteen archers, this made a total of twenty soldiers.

‘Attack!’

Lee Shin also brought along three slaves who had been harvesting magic stones.

Additionally, he ordered the slave stationed near Eltima’s base to infiltrate it.

The slave rushed inside and reported back on the situation.

Two Magic Circles were glowing, preparing to summon something. Most likely, Dragons.

‘Move!’

Following Lee Shin’s command, the 23-man army sprinted forward with all their might.

[Enemies detected!]

Eltima tilted his head.

‘Another slave? I already killed one earlier when it wandered in.’

But this time, it wasn’t just reconnaissance.

Twenty-three troops!

Eltima was briefly startled, but he quickly regained his composure.

‘Hah! That’s all?’

Most of the force consisted of fragile archers. The spearmen and shield soldiers had barely any decent weapons.

Once six Dragons were summoned, he could wipe them out effortlessly.

But then—

‘What?!’

Suddenly, the archers, spearmen, and shield soldiers’ weapons changed.

The archers transformed into crossbowmen, the spearmen became halberdiers, and the shield soldiers’ round shields were replaced with large rectangular ones.

It was the result of completed weapon development at the blacksmith.

The enemy had timed their attack precisely to coincide with the moment the upgrades were completed.

Lee Shin’s forces overwhelmed the external Magic Circle.

The Claws transporting magic stones to the Magic Circle were slaughtered in an instant.

Just as three Monsters were summoned from the outer Magic Circle, sixteen crossbowmen released a volley of bolts.

“Kiiieek!”

“Kiiiik!”

Two of them were instantly killed.

Eltima felt as if he were trapped in a nightmare.