“Meticulous. He's walking a very dangerous tightrope.”

Belial muttered gravely as he observed the battlefield.

“Hmm.”

Gremory, watching alongside him, also found it nerve-racking.

There hadn't been a proper battle yet.

But a storm-like tension blanketed the entire Second Battlefield, Blue Rain.

It was because of Lee Shin, who was employing a strategy as precarious as a tightrope act.

He had sent out his 6th and 7th slaves to build two barracks far into the central area of the battlefield.

It was a bold investment made at a time when he should have been focusing on securing mana. It meant he was prepared to fall behind his opponent in initial mana accumulation.

Had Joachim Murat aimed for a mid-to-late game strategy, Lee Shin’s impoverished early game would have been a massive failure.

But it hit the mark.

Joachim Murat came out with a strategy to summon orc spearmen as quickly as possible, just like before.

When the game reaches the mid-to-late phase and both sides have larger forces, no matter how well Joachim Murat fights alone, his impact diminishes.

Knowing that, Joachim Murat tried to end things quickly, and Lee Shin read that intention.

Then, by even blocking the wide side paths with structures like supply depots, Lee Shin made a truly surprising move.

In terms of sheer troop numbers, Lee Shin was clearly at a disadvantage.

Compared to Joachim Murat who had four orc spearmen and twelve orc warriors, Lee Shin only had twenty archers and four shield soldiers.

But Lee Shin deployed all his troops at the central choke point and focused solely on defense.

Because it was a terrain on a hill that allowed formation in a crane wing shape for concentrated volley fire, even the mighty Joachim Murat couldn’t dare to break through.

Naturally, Joachim Murat had to detour through the side paths to reach Lee Shin’s main base.

But every time Joachim Murat launched an attack, Lee Shin used his archers to strike the now-vacant enemy base—a looting strategy.

“What the hell is he doing!”

Belial burst with frustration watching the flustered Joachim Murat.

If he’s going to attack, he should commit fully to the charge. If he’s going to defend, he should expand his mana crystal collection and grow his forces.

It was frustrating to watch Joachim Murat get swept up in Lee Shin’s tactics and waste time.

And it was for a reason—

“We can't give him any more time!”

Indeed.

Lee Shin had already expanded his mana crystal collection sites to two locations.

He was steadily collecting mana crystals while buying time through various disruption tactics.

Meanwhile, Gremory was impressed by her Contractor.

‘To think every one of his risky plays is hitting the mark.’

She had been shocked the first time she saw Joachim Murat in action.

She had met many warrior-type Contractors before, but this was the first time she had seen one who directly possessed his summoned unit and fought in person.

He had seemed like an invincible opponent, but because of Lee Shin’s strong insistence, they proceeded with a second Ranked Match against Belial.

And now, Lee Shin was revealing his true colors.

A strategist—the exact opposite of Joachim Murat!

Everything looked like a dangerous gamble, but it was all hitting precisely.

Because he had completely seen through Joachim Murat and was responding accordingly.

Her perfectionist Contractor would never engage in an all-or-nothing strategy unless he had calculated it all.

Soon, the enormous amount of mana gathered from three collection points would be turned into troops.

“You’ve always had bad luck in your bets, haven’t you, Belial?”

At her words, Belial’s face contorted.

“The match isn’t over yet!”

“Heh, but I already know how it ends.”

Gremory smiled with delight. Belial trembled with anger and had to suppress his fury.

‘It’s almost over now.’

Lee Shin’s expression was filled with confidence.

He had been quite shocked after the previous defeat.

That someone could unleash such absurd power using just orc spearmen!

From the perspective of a real-time strategy gamer like Lee Shin, it had been a jarring experience.

Apostles can only be equipped with one weapon, one armor, and one ability each. Even with all of those, it shouldn’t be enough to dramatically influence the overall outcome.

But Joachim Murat had exerted such power that it shattered the balance.

That could only mean one thing—

‘It was purely his own skill.’

Even the same orc spearman, when possessed by Joachim Murat, could wreak havoc.

He really was a man who became a king with just his fists.

Lee Shin had to admit the man’s combat prowess was incredible.

‘But if that alone were enough to win every Ranked Match, every Demon Lord would choose a Contractor who fights like him.’

Would Amdusias have chosen Giacomo Casanova as a Contractor because he was a fool?

There are limits to personal valor alone.

‘Once the game reaches the mid-to-late phase and the army sizes grow, personal strength has little impact.’

That’s why Lee Shin had committed to defense early, even at the cost of overextending.

Building two barracks in the central area at the start to block the path had been a decision made with full awareness of mana loss.

Space!

A lesson learned from his battle with Choi Young-jun was embedded in his defense strategy.

Even if it meant overextending, it was necessary to seize control of the central area first.

By essentially going all-in from the start and securing the central defense, he forced Joachim Murat to avoid it and take a wide detour through the side paths.

Thanks to that, whenever Joachim Murat tried to attack by circling around through a side path, Lee Shin had his archers stationed in the center launch surprise attacks on the opponent’s base.

Because the distance was much shorter, while Joachim Murat was busy destroying the supply depots blocking the path, Lee Shin could carry out guerilla raids on his main base.

In the end, Joachim Murat had no choice but to return to his main base.

The most perfect defense that seizes space and robs the opponent of time.

It was a strategy that fulfilled all the conditions of blocking Joachim Murat’s attacks while avoiding direct confrontation.

Taking advantage of the time gained, Lee Shin expanded his mana crystal collection sites.

And now, even if a head-on battle were to occur, he had built up enough power to win.

“Thank you for summoning us, Contractor!”

“We shall obey your orders!”

Twelve knights assembled in front of Lee Shin. They were elite troops, heavily armed and fully capable of fighting even orc spearmen.

In addition, two mages and two catapults had been prepared, completing rear fire support.

“Advance.”

“Yes, sir!”

The twelve knights, two mages, and two catapults all set off together.

The plan was to join forces with the many archers stationed in the center of the battlefield and launch a full-scale assault.

‘Even in a battle of this scale, Joachim Murat’s combat prowess can’t be ignored.’

Though Joachim Murat had been thrown off balance by Lee Shin’s interference tactics, he now seemed focused solely on building up his army.

If left alone any longer, Joachim Murat’s forces would grow even stronger—now was the time to end it.

As Lee Shin, who had been crouching and waiting, finally made the first move, the curtain rose on a fierce battle.

Lee Shin’s attack began in silence.

Appearing before him and launching a frontal assault would only entertain Joachim Murat, who sought battle.

So Lee Shin chose a method that Joachim Murat would hate intensely.

By gradually advancing the long-range catapults, he began a slow tightening of the noose, reducing Joachim Murat’s range of activity.

Occupying space with catapults.

Only belatedly did Joachim Murat realize that the noose was tightening around his neck.

He had moved his troops to scout Lee Shin’s movements and was suddenly struck by a flying rock.

Thud!

“Krrgh!”

One orc spearman took a direct hit to the head and died instantly.

Startled, Joachim Murat immediately relocated.

But wherever he went, rocks from catapults rained down.

In the end, suffering troop losses, he was forced to return to his main base.

‘What the hell is this!’

Only then did he realize he had been driven into a corner.

“This bastard… I won’t let him off easy!”

He turned his horse around and aimed to charge through the left side path and strike Lee Shin’s main base.

Orc warriors were stationed at the main base to prevent it from being looted.

Joachim Murat’s cavalry unit charged forward, destroying the food storage blocking the path!

Catapults were placed on that path as well, and rocks continued to fly, but they couldn't stop his charge.

What did stop Joachim Murat’s charge—were the knights.

The knights appeared and blocked the narrow path, and from the hill on the right, archers revealed themselves.

With catapults continuing their bombardment, Joachim Murat immediately sensed this was not a favorable place to fight.

After retreating and returning to his main base, he finally realized that his opponent was far from ordinary.

‘He’s like Bonaparte.’

Shivering at the memory of Napoleon, who had won with coordinated use of artillery, cavalry, and infantry, Joachim Murat felt a chill.

Joachim Murat had always taken pride in never carrying a battle map during his lifetime.

Even so, he had held great trust in Napoleon’s genius. Because—

—I am Belial, one of the 72 Demon Lords. I can offer you gifts, status, and the favor of friends or enemies alike. In exchange, you must one day fight for me.

When Belial offered a contract, Joachim Murat wished to become a king.

Belial had laughed and said—

—That’s not difficult.

Belial had granted Joachim Murat the favor of Napoleon.

Napoleon gave him the throne of Naples.

And so, Joachim Murat revered Napoleon’s genius like a faith.

If only Caroline, Napoleon’s sister whom he had married, hadn’t coaxed him into betraying her brother, the tragedy might never have occurred.

Shaking off his thoughts, Joachim Murat chuckled to himself.

“Madness. Who do I think I’m comparing myself to?”

Joachim Murat decided—it was time to settle this once and for all.

‘Let’s fight head-on!’

He gathered his orc spearmen and orc archers.

In front of them, he placed orc warriors.

He advanced his army to the central canyon area held by Lee Shin.

He judged that the central path would allow for better troop deployment than the side paths.

As expected, the knights, mages, archers, and catapults were all deployed in sequence there.

‘Yes, this is more like it.’

Sensing a grand and flashy battle, Joachim Murat’s spirits lifted.

“Attack!”

The orc warriors charged forward first. They were the arrow shields to clear the path for the cavalry.

Crushed by catapult-fired rocks, pierced by a rain of arrows from the archers, the orc warriors pressed forward.

The enemy knights retreated as much as possible, avoiding direct confrontation with the orc warriors.

They were simply waiting for the orc warriors to take enough damage from the rocks and arrows.

Finally, as the orc warriors came within close range—

“Charge!”

“For the Contractor!”

“Crush them in a single blow!”

The knights executed their specialty—Charge.

With explosively amplified attack power, they instantly crushed the orc warriors.

Even Joachim Murat, a master of cavalry command, had to admire the sharp timing of that charge.

‘But they’ve already used Charge.’

Joachim Murat had achieved his goal by sacrificing the orc warriors.

He had wanted the knights to expend their energy using Charge.

“Let’s go!”

Joachim Murat possessed his Apostle, the orc spearman Ectus.

The orc spearmen and orc archers charged in unison.