The victory or defeat of the monster race depends on the four mines.

They must gather minerals from all four mines to unleash the monstrous volume unique to the monster race.

This is related to the game's lore that monsters are a species that live by consuming mineral matter.

In that sense, Corrupted Constellation was the perfect monster map.

With the main base at the center, both the natural and the back yard were present, and all three locations—main base, natural, and back yard—had mines.

Moreover, the map’s layout was complex.

The paths leading to each other were winding, making the travel distance long during attacks.

For monsters, this allowed them to expand into the natural and back yard bases with less concern for being attacked.

Since they had to face the endlessly expanding monsters, humans or the God Race had no choice but to avoid this map.

Let alone the fact that Lee Cheol-han was CT’s ace!

He was especially known for his incredible control of the monster race’s flying unit, the Thornbug.

In a map like Corrupted Constellation with its intricate terrain, the Thornbug, which can fly freely and has balanced attack power against both air and ground, was extremely versatile.

-He has finally returned! The god of gaming, Lee Shin! After countless legends, he had to disappear amidst tragedy, but now, overcoming all adversity, Lee Shin is back on stage!

“Waaaaaah!!”

-This is the comeback match of Lee Shin, who left behind unbreakable records in all areas—individual league wins, pro league championships, season MVPs, win rates, winning streaks, and more! I’m so happy to be able to cast this truly monumental match!

“Kyaaaaaaa!!”

“Oppa, Lee Shin!!”

The crowd erupted at the caster and commentator’s words.

When the big screen showed Lee Shin setting up his keyboard and mouse, the cheers grew even louder.

Fans held up placards with cheering messages and screamed their lungs out!

In the very front row VIP seats, eight women were even seen praying earnestly—among them, Vice President Ji Soo-min of All-Door.

-But this player! He’s no ordinary player either!

Lee Cheol-han appeared on the screen, also setting up his specialized equipment.

-CT’s ace, Lee Cheol-han, has always performed consistently without disappointment. In particular, he’s only ever lost once on Corrupted Constellation—and that was to Park Young-ho, right?

-Correct! Aside from Park Young-ho of the Twin Star—who is also a monster—no one has ever defeated Lee Cheol-han on this map!

-Will Lee Shin be able to claim victory in his comeback on this Corrupted Constellation map against Lee Cheol-han? What kind of preparation did he make to willingly take on Lee Cheol-han here? We’re all looking forward to it!

-Yes, both players seem ready. Then, let’s begin Set 3!

The countdown signaling the start of the match ticked down to 0.

-Kaiser: GG.

-HAN: Good Luck.

The match began with greetings exchanged.

Immediately after starting, Lee Shin quickly split 4 construction robots to gather food resources.

He continued producing construction robots from the Command Control while harvesting food.

With the 8th construction robot, he built a Supply Depot.

With the 10th construction robot, he began constructing a Barracks.

Once he gathered 100 food, he ordered the robot that had been collecting food to build a Refinery at the mine.

After the 8th robot completed the Supply Depot, he immediately sent it out to scout.

He assigned 3 construction robots to the Refinery for mineral extraction and produced a single infantry unit from the completed Barracks.

-Lee Shin is focusing on climbing the tech tree rather than expanding to the natural base.

-Looks like he’s going for a double-air build. Planning to produce stealth fighters quickly and strike the monsters.

Commentator Jeong Sang-beom nodded in agreement with caster Lee Byeong-cheol’s analysis.

-Ah, yes. Looking at Lee Shin’s past matches, he used that double-air build to take down numerous monsters, didn’t he?

-Indeed. On maps like Corrupted Constellation, where it’s hard to use infantry and medics, he often prefers that build. It’s a build that demands extremely precise control of stealth fighters, but Lee Shin can pull it off!

-Since Lee Shin’s retirement, that build hasn’t been seen much, but it’s great to see it again after so long!

-We’ll be seeing it more often now.

-Hahaha!

As the commentators explained, after constructing the Armory, Lee Shin immediately began building two Air Docks at once.

The scouting robot revealed Lee Cheol-han’s base.

Lee Cheol-han, who had expanded to his natural, was building a Creep Nest.

Once the Creep Nest was complete, he’d be able to produce flying units like Thornbugs or Bomb Bugs.

‘It’s Thornbugs, of course.’

Lee Shin made that assessment.

Corrupted Constellation’s complex terrain made it ideal for deploying Thornbugs.

But that was exactly what Lee Shin was hoping for.

As soon as the two stealth fighters were produced, they set off toward Lee Cheol-han’s base.

-They’re finally on the move!

-They’ll probably scout first, right?

The two stealth fighters surveyed Lee Cheol-han’s base.

As expected, Lee Cheol-han was preparing to produce Thornbugs.

Since he was harvesting resources from both his main base and natural, he was ahead in resources compared to Lee Shin, who was only harvesting from his main base.

To make up for that, Lee Shin now had to inflict some damage on Lee Cheol-han.

After completing their reconnaissance, the two stealth fighters began hunting drones.

One drone, then two...

Although stealth fighters had weak ground attack power, two of them attacking together could kill one drone in three hits.

After they had taken down four drones—

-Ah, Bomb Bugs have now been produced.

-The stealth fighters have to retreat now.

-There’s a resource gap, so four drones won’t be enough.

Four Bomb Bugs rushed at the stealth fighters all at once.

Bomb Bugs are small flying insects that self-destruct upon contact with enemies, inflicting heavy damage.

At that moment, Lee Shin’s control came into play.

Boom!

With a focused burst, he took down one unit, and while retreating, executed a turning shot to shoot down another.

Boom! Bang! Bang!

His continuous turning shots exploded through the air, taking out all four Bomb Bugs in quick succession.

-Wow! Lee Shin’s control is phenomenal!

-Used four Bomb Bugs and didn’t even take down a single one!

-This means Lee Shin can keep hunting workers!

Lee Shin’s Stealth Fighters hadn’t taken a scratch, and with newly produced units, he now had four in total.

The four Stealth Fighters moved together as a single group, hunting down Worker Bees one by one.

Any Sky Lords that appeared were swiftly shot down.

Lee Cheol-han took drastic measures.

Six Bomb Bugs and two Thornbugs were produced.

The Bomb Bugs and Thornbugs formed a squad and launched a simultaneous attack.

Boom! Bang!

In the midst of it all, Lee Shin shot down two Bomb Bugs with back-to-back turning shots as he fled.

Incredible aerial acrobatics!

Every time Lee Shin showed off his control, cheers and screams shook the entire stadium.

Boom!

Another turning shot! Then he changed direction and widened the gap again.

Perhaps enraged, Lee Cheol-han pursued relentlessly.

If the Stealth Fighters were shot down, it would be over.

Lee Shin’s two-aircraft build had such a vulnerability, making it something only the best could execute.

More Bomb Bugs had been produced and were now pursuing from another direction, forming a wide encirclement around the Stealth Fighters.

But it was at that very moment.

Whoosh—

With that sound, the Stealth Fighters vanished from view.

The development of Stealth Mode was complete!

Now invisible in Stealth Mode, the Stealth Fighters were no longer valid targets.

Lee Cheol-han immediately pulled back the Bomb Bugs and Thornbugs, spreading out his Sky Lords wide. Only the Sky Lords could detect the hidden fighters in Stealth Mode.

But from the opposite direction, two Stealth Fighters approached.

They were newly produced units.

Screeeech! Screech—!

The two newcomers began hunting down Sky Lords one by one.

In a rush, Thornbugs and Bomb Bugs moved to rescue the Sky Lords, while the two Stealth Fighters retreated and joined up with the other four.

-Ah, this is tough for Lee Cheol-han! He has no breathing room, between producing Bomb Bugs and replenishing lost workers! He still hasn’t taken his back expansion base!

-Same goes for Lee Shin. Though Lee Cheol-han is under stress from being on the receiving end, Lee Shin can only mine resources from his main base. It’s a balanced situation. The air battle will decide it all!

-Ah, those fragile paper-thin Stealth Fighters become terrifying under Lee Shin’s control.

Lee Shin continued his guerrilla warfare with the Stealth Fighters, picking off Sky Lords or Bomb Bugs one or two at a time and withdrawing.

His Stealth Fighter force grew to 12 units.

Meanwhile, an additional barracks was built, and troops were produced, gathering 12 infantry and 4 medics.

The infantry and medics advanced.

The Stealth Fighter squadron flew overhead, escorting them from the skies.

Lee Shin’s forces quickly reached the front yard of Lee Cheol-han’s base and began applying pressure.

At the same time, Lee Shin finally took his natural expansion base.

Now it was a situation where Lee Cheol-han could no longer afford to leave Lee Shin unchecked.

He needed to break the pressure and take his back expansion, while also disrupting Lee Shin’s natural expansion.

For now, Lee Cheol-han had built five Tentacle Towers to defend, but if he allowed more time and Mobile Turrets arrived, he’d be at an even greater disadvantage.

But it was right then.

-Ohhh!

-Lee Shin makes the first move!

Lee Shin’s Stealth Fighters boldly dived into the main base.

With Stealth Mode activated, Lee Shin launched a surprise raid, instantly focus-firing and taking out four Thornbugs.

Startled, Lee Cheol-han ordered all his Thornbugs and Bomb Bugs to attack. They encircled the intruders in a crane-wing formation, charging in from all sides.

And then came the greatest highlight of the day.

Boom! Bang! Bang! Bang! Boom!

The Stealth Fighters zigzagged madly through the air, firing off turning shots.

The Bomb Bugs self-destructed without ever even seeing their targets and were helplessly shot down.

The margin for error in mouse-click timing was razor-thin—one misstep, and the Stealth Fighters would be annihilated. It was a breathtaking display of precision.

“Kyaaaaah!”

“Woooooah!”

“Shin! Shin! Shin! Shin!”

With the threatening Bomb Bugs taken out in droves, Lee Shin launched a counterattack.

The Thornbugs were unable to stand their ground and retreated, allowing Lee Shin to hunt down the slower Sky Lords that had fallen behind in large numbers.

Perhaps realizing his mistake too late, Lee Cheol-han’s Thornbugs turned back.

‘I’m going to win.’

Having reached his conclusion, Lee Shin charged straight in.

The Thornbugs fired and retreated, fired and retreated.

The Stealth Fighters launched missiles and retreated, launched and retreated.

Both squadrons weaved in and out of each other’s range in a dazzling display of combat.

-Oh no! This won’t do! Lee Cheol-han has basically given up!

-This might be the final air battle! It’s the turning point of the match!

The tide turned in Lee Shin’s favor as he decisively picked off the last remaining Sky Lord in the vicinity.

With the Sky Lords gone, there was no way to attack the Stealth Fighter squadron hidden in Stealth Mode.

The retreating Thornbugs were all caught by the pursuing Stealth Fighter squadron.

-HAN: GG

-GG!

-Lee Cheol-han calls GG!

“Kyaaaaaah!”

“Lee Shin! Lee Shin!”

“Lee Shin oppa—!!”

Screams erupted from the audience.

Amidst the frenzy, Lee Shin removed his noise-canceling headset and earphones and stepped out of the booth.

Lee Shin reached out and high-fived his teammates.

Lastly, he pumped his fist toward the fans.

Deafening cheers roared out.

Ji Soo-min and the High Priest’s entourage, sitting together in the front-row VIP seats, squealed and excitedly filmed him with their smartphones.

It was the return of the god.