The commentators explained the dynamics between the two teams and added detailed explanations about the terrain. The official name of the map was as followed.

[Rugged Mountains and Highlands]

OrangeKing focused more on the highlands than on the mountains.

“Although I previously talked only about the mountains, the core of this map is who controls the highlands.”

Ultimately, victory on this map would be determined by who could control the central plains.

“Wow. It seems so. There are incredible resources here, right?”

“Yes. The exact locations vary, but there are always abundant resources on this highland.”

This highland had plentiful minerals and broad plains for agriculture, excluding timber. Moreover, it was a strategically crucial location.

“It’s not just about resources. All the flat terrain paths outside the mountain paths go through this highland.”

“All paths lead to this highland?”

“Yes. Unless you make paths through the mountains or climb them, you have to pass through this highland to use horses.”

The highland was clearly an important strategic point on this map. Battles would inevitably center around this area.

Both commanders surely understood the importance of securing this plain.

‘Not yet.’

‘Not now.’

However, neither side rushed it. They judged that now was not the time. The most common defeat scenario on this map was getting greedy and trying to control the center, only to be completely wiped out by a single attack.

“Alright. As expected, both sides are scouting.”

The early phase proceeded smoothly. Neither faction engaged in any battles in the first era.

Spain advanced to the second era first.

Ta-da~!

[Spain - Second Era]

Spain advanced a bit faster because of their faction related to gold acquisition.

“Spain has advanced to the second era.”

“Due to their gold acquisition faction, right?”

A few minutes later, Joseon followed suit and advanced to the second era.

Ta-da~!

[Joseon - Second Era]

“Joseon follows to the second era.”

Both sides reached the second era, but neither had produced any weapons.

“No weapon production! They seem uninterested!?”

“Yes, they’ve decided there’s no point in fighting in the second era. It’s a waste of resources!”

“So both sides will almost certainly advance to the third era!?”

“Yes!”

Even after that, only scouting soldiers moved back and forth with no signs of battle.

“The soldiers are circling the highland, right? It’s concerning.”

Although neither side had any intentions to fight, many soldiers were positioned near the highland in case the enemy quickly tried to secure it.

During this time...

“Spain is about to advance to the third era...”

Ping!

[Retreat]

Red dots on the minimap began to retreat.

“They’re retreating to get weapons? Spain is already in the third era!”

Spain advanced to the third era first.

Ta-da~!

[Spain - Third Era]

Their speed was remarkable.

“Wow. Did Nacho come fully prepared? Their production control speed and strategy are perfect. There’s no wasted efforts!”

“Joseon might be annoyed, but let them go first because of their faction advantage! It’s like giving them a pass?”

“Giving them a pass!?”

— ??? I gave them a pass!

— Giving a pass lol

— Bubblegum style giving a pass lol

“Joseon is about to reach the third era too. They’re retreating...”

Joseon’s troops also began to retreat.

“Huh?”

At this moment, OrangeKing noticed something different.

“Spain...!? They pretended to retreat, but they’re coming back!?”

“With some workers included too!”

“This is...”

— Crazy? Is this a revenge cheese rush? lol

— The world’s first third era cheese rush??

— What is this?

Some of Spain’s troops, along with workers, entered the highland.

“Joseon’s soldiers thought Spain retreated to get third era weapons and all pulled back, unaware that Spain is now coming back!”

“Ah. This breaks the agreement, right!?”

In RTS games, mutual agreements were often made. One could question these agreements in a competitive game, but it was about agreeing on the process and not the result.

“That’s right! It’s called an agreement, but it’s really about tacitly understanding each other’s tactics! But Spain’s tactic worked!”

“Yes. In martial arts terms, it’s like they were sparring with swords and suddenly one side’s attack worked!”

To amateurs, it could seem like these mutual agreements were only agreed on because both sides knew their attacks wouldn’t work. However, if one side showed a strategically superior move, it would suddenly look like they broke the agreement.

“Is Spain really going to take the highland?”

It seemed that both Joseon and Spain had agreed not to touch the highland, but Spain beautifully broke that agreement and made a move to get ahead.

Of course, the outcome was still unknown.

“Greedily taking the highland and being destroyed is a common defeat scenario on this map! Are they really going for it!?”

“There’s a reason it’s not taken early on!”

As the commentators said, many lost by trying too hard to take the highland.

“Historically, those who forcibly wear the crown die!”

“That’s right!”

“If Spain has perfectly prepared to dominate the highland, they can seize victory! But if they invest in the highland and get wiped out, they’ll have neither the highland nor resources!”

— Ah...

— True, right

— Wow, good explanation

— “The later the profit, the more advantageous”

— Oh, it’s like an epic monster in LIL

Dominating and utilizing the highland required many resources like building defensive structures, barracks, houses, farmlands, etc… There were endless expenditures. If not well prepared, taking the highland would be futile.

However, Spain’s commander wouldn’t have made such a decision without knowing this. They definitely had a plan.

“What is Spain thinking!? Workers are building defensive towers! They’re even surrounding it with walls! They’re really taking it!?”

Spain’s workers and troops began to secure the highland boundary. Joseon’s troops had retreated, unaware of this.

However...

“Joseon didn’t retreat completely. They left one soldier for reconnaissance just in case!?”

One soldier remained as a sacrificial scout. This was a basic habit in RTS games. Cookie likely left someone behind out of habit.

“Ah. They left one soldier? Then they’ll roughly understand the enemy’s movement. This habit is very good.”

“Yes. It’s worth leaving one behind to realize that Spain is taking the highland, right?”

OrangeKing suddenly screamed while looking at a particular spot, “What!?”

“What’s happening!?”

“That! Spain’s missionaries? Why did they produce so many missionaries!?”

— Wow

— Missionaries

— Are they here to convert others?

— Who are those wizards?

— Who is it, you otaku?

“Usually, a few missionaries are mixed in as healers. Producing so many is unusual!”

Missionaries essentially acted as healers or clergy. Many civilizations had similar clergy units, but missionaries only existed in the Spanish civilization.

“What’s the reason for producing so many!? Missionaries are healers, right!?” the caster asked OrangeKing while looking at the upgrade progress.

“This is it! A conversion!”

[Spain Upgrade]

[Conversion - 2%]

— What? Missionaries are completing a conversion??

— OMG

— Insane lol

— Wow, using conversion?

— Spain went all out

Conversion was a special faction skill only for Spanish missionaries. It allowed them to convert enemy units or buildings to their side.

“Conversion sounds nice! But it’s just them taking over, right!?”

— Mind control?

— Why are there wizards? lol

— Did they have wizards? lol

— Gichan... why are you there?

It seemed like a magical skill, but Spain historically centered on Catholicism and invaded neighboring countries to convert them. This led to the deep-rooted Catholicism in South America and made sense as a skill in the game.

“There was something similar in other famous RTS games. The problem is that in

Civil Empire

, all units are actual players! Does this conversion really make them betray their side!?”

— Does it make them secret agents? lol

— No way lol

— Huh? How does it work then?

— Their eyes just flip lol

What differentiated

Civil Empire

from other RTS games was that all soldiers were individual humans. Here was the strange part. No matter how advanced the technology was, converting them with a skill couldn’t suddenly make them betray their side.

“If a player is converted, the player is just out and their shell is taken by the opponent as an AI.”

The AI had to be commanded by a commander to fight.

“Oh, I see. The commander’s workload increases a bit, but it’s still a very good skill, isn’t it? Why isn’t it used more often?”

Whether the enemies become AI or not, turning enemy troops into one’s own had a minus two effect instead of just minus one. It was a very effective skill.

— But using it on a player is really hard lol

— Only an idiot would get caught

— It’s usually used on slow siege weapons or buildings

— Conversion is mainly for buildings, right?

The reasons poured out in the chat. Many had tried it themselves and failed.

“As mentioned in the chat, it takes a very long time to cast. It’s hard to catch an alert player.”

To cast conversion, one had to chant something like a prayer. The time varied depending on the subject’s health, but it took at least 3.5 seconds. During that time, killing the missionary or moving out of range would stop it. Of course, it was hard to notice and avoid in a chaotic battle.

Upgrading conversion and producing non-combat missionaries in large numbers also wasn’t feasible. Having many missionaries made it difficult to create chaos in the first place.

“To use conversion effectively, you need to ambush or use it on buildings and siege weapons.”

There were precisely three effective scenarios for a conversion missionary to turn the game around: ambush for a big hit, take defensive towers, or take buildings during a siege.

“Then... are they planning an ambush?”

“Probably.”

Joseon had no notable siege weapons or defensive buildings. They had nothing worth stealing with missionaries.

The missionaries seemed to be aiming to convert players.

“Spain is taking a difficult path.”

The caster felt puzzled about Spain’s goals.

“No...”

OrangeKing shook his head.

“It’s easy to avoid if you know, but hard to dodge if you don’t. Joseon doesn’t know about it, right?”

“!”

“An ambush conversion missionary isn’t that difficult. It’s a sharp tactic.”

Exactly. It wasn’t just an ambush conversion missionary, but a surprise ambush.

Spain hid their missionaries as much as possible and occupied the highlands to prevent the enemy from even approaching their main base.

— Korea doesn’t know lol

— Did Spain advance to hide this?

— Wow, this is hard to predict

“Spain might have advanced and taken the highland to hide this. This way, the focus shifts from their main base to the highland.”

“Wow... it’s a tremendous psychological game.”

“When ambushed by conversion for the first time, the outcome is completely luck-based.”

If Joseon’s soldiers couldn’t anticipate the conversion, they would inevitably get caught at least once. The question was how severely they would get caught that one time.

“Luck!?”

“Yes! The game has shifted to a matter of luck! But! Spain knows this while Joseon doesn’t!”

Then, the observer switched to Cookie’s perspective.

“Oh. A perspective change? What is Spain preparing? Huh?”

The shift in point of view wasn’t to hide Spain’s missionary ambush. Instead, something could be seen from Cookie’s perspective. From his view, Spain’s territory was supposed to be covered in black fog.

“Why does he have visibility over there?!”

A point was moving from the highland that Spain was meticulously blocking.

The caster mumbled in confusion, “It looks like a soldier left earlier?”

Exactly. Cookie had left a scout behind. No, it was too generous to call this player a scout. This sacrificial piece had been left behind for reconnaissance.

“How!?” OrangeKing shouted excitedly, “How is this player still alive!?”

The soldier left behind in enemy territory had survived. Moreover, he was digging deeper into enemy territory.

— Huh?

— What? lol

— Is someone still alive?

OrangeKing’s eyes twitched.

“I said the game would be determined by luck, right!?”

“Yes!”

“Cookie!”

Thump!

OrangeKing stood up and shouted, “Jackpot!”

This was also in the realm of luck. Among all the soldiers while quickly clicking any random one to stay behind, it turned out to be…

[Almond]

That soldier just happened to be someone capable of surviving.