“Get to work.”

“Yes, sir!”

The four slaves began gathering magic stones. Thus, the first match of the ranking battle had begun.

Second Battlefield: Blue Rain.

The starting positions were at one o’clock and seven o’clock. In other words, there was no need for reconnaissance to determine the enemy's base location.

However, due to the geographical characteristics of the battlefield, it was impossible to predict what strategies might come into play, making reconnaissance all the more critical.

Lee Shin sent the eighth slave, who had just completed constructing the barracks, on a scouting mission.

“Check the three o’clock and nine o’clock areas first.”

“Yes, sir!”

The assigned scout, as always, was an older man with an uncanny knack for reconnaissance.

The three o’clock and nine o’clock regions weren’t starting points, but their terrain made them excellent locations for hiding buildings.

Perhaps his luck was real.

The older man headed to the nine o’clock area first and discovered something.

[Enemy sighted.] [Orc Slave: A slave of the orc race. Responsible for gathering magic stones and construction.]

An orc slave was constructing a building in a secluded corner at nine o’clock.

[Warrior Training Hall: A building that trains warriors of the orc race. Can summon orc warriors, and when a forge and stable are built, orc spear cavalry and orc bow cavalry can also be summoned.]

It was a trick to mislead them into underestimating their forces by secretly hiding troops.

‘Attack the orc slave. If it stops building and fights back, retreat. Attack again when it resumes construction.’

“Yes, sir!”

The older man began attacking the orc slave.

Thud! Thwack!

He relentlessly pummeled the orc slave with his fists.

Despite having superior durability, the orc slave struggled under the continued assault.

Eventually, the orc slave halted construction and retaliated, prompting the older man to swiftly retreat.

When the orc resumed construction, the old man attacked again—following Lee Shin’s orders perfectly.

At last…

Crash!

The orc slave canceled the construction. The Warrior Training Hall crumbled into ruins.

Cancelling construction midway only refunded half of the spent magic power, resulting in a significant early-game loss.

Perhaps in retaliation…

[Under attack.]

The orc slave attacked the older man. Though both were slaves, the orc's natural physical prowess was far superior to a human’s.

“Urgh!”

The older man staggered after taking a punch from the orc slave.

‘Head straight to one o’clock.’

“Yes, sir!”

The older man abandoned the orc slave and sprinted toward the one o’clock area.

“Chwik! Kill the human!”

Enraged, the orc slave gave chase.

Swish— Thunk!

“Chwiik!”

A pained cry from the orc slave.

An arrow fired by one of Lee Shin’s archers had struck its leg.

The orc slave staggered and attempted to flee, but the archer continued shooting, hitting it repeatedly. Eventually, the orc slave collapsed and died.

Its corpse crumbled into dust and disappeared.

The early skirmish had played entirely into Lee Shin’s hands.

Outside the main base, Lee Shin began constructing a command center at the magic stone collection site.

In front of it, he built an arrow tower and stationed three archers inside, completing the defenses.

It seemed he planned to secure minimal defenses before establishing an expansion base to increase magic stone collection.

[Enemy sighted!]

‘They’re coming.’

While heading toward one o’clock, the older man encountered two orc warriors.

“Contractor! What should I do?”

The older man, upon seeing the two orc warriors, called out in an urgent tone. However, he didn’t seem frightened, which Lee Shin found satisfactory.

‘Flee to the three o’clock corner area.’

“Yes, sir!”

The older man immediately bolted.

The two orc warriors ignored him and ran straight toward seven o’clock. Their destination was undoubtedly Lee Shin’s base.

‘They’re trying to make up for their losses.’

They had secretly attempted to construct a Warrior Training Hall at nine o’clock but had to cancel it, and they had also lost an orc slave.

It might have seemed minor, but in the early game, such losses were significant. A 100-magic-point gap in the beginning could widen into an insurmountable difference later.

However, when the two orc warriors reached Lee Shin’s base and saw the arrow tower, they quietly turned back.

Inside the tower, four archers had their bows trained on them—including the one who had just returned after killing the slave.

With only two orc warriors, retreating was the best option.

Lee Shin smiled.

Crash!

The command center that was under construction next to the arrow tower collapsed.

Because Lee Shin had canceled it.

‘Damn it, this isn’t a good start. I tried to take it easy since he’s a rookie.’

Casanova was on edge.

He had gotten greedy, thinking he could secure an easy win against a beginner, but the opponent’s responses had been unexpectedly experienced.

From sending reconnaissance to suspicious areas first, to persistently disrupting the orc slave building construction, to perfectly timing an archer's arrival to kill the orc slave…

And when Casanova sent two orc warriors to make up for the losses, the opponent had already built an arrow tower and secured defenses while constructing an additional command center at the magic stone collection site.

‘At least it’s not the worst-case scenario.’

Casanova had constructed one Warrior Training Hall at his main base and another at nine o’clock.

Abandoning the one at nine had been a severe setback.

Canceling a 150-magic-point Warrior Training Hall only refunded 75 magic points, and the wasted time was an even greater loss.

But fortunately, the opponent was still a rookie.

‘If he were an aggressive player, he’d have used his advantage to end the game quickly. But instead of focusing on troops, he’s building more command centers to prolong the fight. That’s perfect for me.’

For once, his opponent had given him time to recover.

Casanova quickly began preparing for a long-term battle.

He built an Orc Hatchery at the nearest magic stone collection site and summoned orc slaves in rapid succession to gather resources.

He expanded his Warrior Training Halls and started constructing a forge and a stable, preparing to recruit more expensive and powerful elite combat units.

And then, it happened.

‘Huh?’

Something was flying in from the western sky.

[Enemy sighted!]

Casanova momentarily doubted his eyes.

The object soaring over the western hill was a hot air balloon.

A human race flying transport that could carry up to eight passengers.

‘How is that out already?!’

The rapidly approaching hot air balloon descended, and a single mage stepped out.

[Mage: A human trained in magic. Can eliminate or enchant enemies with powerful spells. Summoned from the Magic Tower. Requires 100 magic points and 200 minerals to summon.]

‘How is that out already?!’

The mage immediately cast a spell.

“Fire Storm!”

Fwoooosh!

“Chwiik!”

“Chwik!”

The orc slaves working at the main base’s magic stone collection site were engulfed in flames and incinerated.

Casanova stared blankly at the scene.