"Cookie, how do you see this match against Spain?" Chi-Seung asked Cookie before devising a major strategy.


    While the think tank team handled the detailed build orders, predicting the enemy''s psychology and strategies and sketching out the big picture of the match was themander''s job.


    "Spain will certainly be conscious of our fast second era strategy."


    "Right, especially if they watched the match against France."


    The victory against France was more than just a simple win. It added another consideration for the enemy.


    "Traditionally, Joseon is only capable of a first era tower rush in the early game. It was best to proceed straight to the third era if that was dealt with. That''s the flow that Spain loves the most."


    When facing Korea, Spain never had to worry about much. Both Korea and Spain had civilizations that preferred reaching the third era, but Spain could reach the third era faster due to its gold-rted faction. They could y by pressuring Korea with abination of third era cavalry musketeers and missionary riders that appeared faster.


    Once it reached that point, Korea had few options.


    "But now they suddenly have to worry about the second era and even the first.""Exactly."


    "Two hurdles have been added at the threshold to the second era, so does Spain have to dy reaching the third era to focus onbat in the first and second eras?"


    Chi-Seung shook his head. That was an absurd idea.


    "No. Spain doesn’t like staying in the first and second eras for long, especially against an archery civilization like Joseon."


    Spain wasn''t particrly weak early on. Their melee infantry boasted good specs. However, a critical downside was theirck of archers.


    Engaging in infantrybat against Joseon in the first and second eras was impractical.


    "Rather, they might invest more in towers or walls."


    "Right, but they might think that’s risky too. If we do nothing and rush to the third era, it’s all for nothing."


    "… Hmm."


    Chi-Seung pondered.


    "Since Spain mines gold quickly, can they manage their defenses while upgrading eras?"


    While France could safely gather gold, Spain aggressively mined it. This reflected their colonial history of bringing in vast amounts of gold.


    Even if Spain divided their attention to defense, it would still not dy their advancement to the third era as much as Korea.


    "Simultaneously? I don’t think Spain would like going to the third era at the same time."


    "Ah… So that would negate Spain''s advantage."


    Spain would be reluctant to advance to the third era alongside Korea.


    "Right. Spain''s strength is in suddenly bringing out third era cavalry musketeers and sweeping the battlefield. They don’t like charging at a fully prepared enemy."


    "So what strategy will they use? I think going to the third era at the same time is the best."


    "That’s second best. The best strategy is increasing the chances of getting to the third era faster while defending in the first and second eras."


    "There’s such a strategy?"


    "Of course."


    Chi-Seung felt surprised.


    "Don’t be shocked. It’s a very fundamental discussion."


    "… Fundamental?"


    "Doesn’t Spain need to know what we’re going to do?"


    That was true. If Spain was worried about Korea’s unconventional early moves, they just needed to find out what Korea would do. Then, they wouldn’t need to waste money on needless shadowboxing and could upgrade to the third era as they wished.


    Naturally, that would be the right approach. However…


    "Is that possible... Ah!"


    A thought struck Chi-Seung. Reconnaissance was the fundamental solution Cookie was referring to. Spain would likely deploy a strategy of meticulous scouting.


    "It’s possible with the conquistador trait, especially with an all-pro team that’s well-coordinated. What do we do then?"


    "What do we do?"


    "If they go to those lengths…"


    Cookie smirked.


    "They need to scout us to know what we’re doing, but look."


    "?"


    "We just figured out what they’re doing, didn’t we?"


    "!"


    ***


    OrangeKing''s voice grew urgent.


    "What''s this? Their movement from the start is unusual!? Is this Spain?"


    <em>— Why the fuss?</em>


    <em>— Right from the start??</em>


    <em>— Oh, apletely different scouting strategy??</em>


    <em>— Woah!</em>


    Unfortunately, it was not an overreaction. OrangeKing''s eyes were shaking.


    <em>''This...''</em>


    From the beginning, Spain executed an extraordinary strategy.


    <em>''It''s a numbers game that exceeds expectations. Is this what internationalpetition is like?''</em>


    The victory against France, which Korea thought would give them an easier fight this time, was proving false as Spain pinpointed key issues right from the start of the game.


    The caster asked urgently, "Mr. OrangeKing! What is Spain doing!? Please exin! All I see is both sides spreading out for scouting!?"


    "Spain''s scouting strategy is extremely radical! They''ve split into groups of three and two!"


    <em>— OMG</em>


    <em>— Really?</em>


    <em>— Yup, they''re serious</em>


    <em>— What if they meet?</em>


    "Yes!? Not five, but groups of three or two?!"


    The caster was astonished.


    "Korea has split into groups of five. What will they do if they meet while scouting?"


    Forming smaller scouting groups made scouting faster and more detailed, but it decreasedbat power.


    "We''ll have to see..."


    Did Spain prepare a countermeasure for this? It didn''t take long to find out.


    <em>''As expected.''</em>


    OrangeKing swallowed dryly.


    "Spain has a trait called conquistador."


    "''Conquistador? What''s that?"


    "It''s a trait reflecting their historical colonization of uncharted territories. The ability gives soldiers a vision range that is one unit wider."


    <em>— The ability sounds simple LOL</em>


    <em>— Oh</em>


    <em>— So they have a vision advantage</em>


    <em>— They see first and run away?</em>


    <em>— Nice</em>


    "Ah, so even though Spanish soldiers are fewer in number, they can see first and escape!?"


    "Correct."


    Indeed, a group of two could not ovee a group of five. However, that didn''t matter. Their n was not to fight the Joseon scouting forces at all. They would just run away until they reached the third era.


    "Ah, as you speak! Now if you look at the map, Spanish scouting forces are starting to encounter Korea''s scouts!" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    As soon as the Spanish scouting pairs confirmed the proximity of Joseon forces, they smoothly retreated like snakes.


    "But if they just keep retreating... isn''t that a problem? Their operational area is shrinking, isn''t it? They need to hunt for food too, don''t they?"


    Food was crucial to replenish fallen soldiers in <em>Civil Empire</em>, but it was primarily needed to maintain and recruit workers. There were various ways to obtain it. Early on, the most efficient method was hunting deer, sheep, etc. scattered across the map. Usually, mounted assistantmanders carried out this task.


    However, if Spain adopted a strategy where they ran upon encountering the enemy like now, they could fall behind in hunting output.


    Spain had a contingency n for this.


    "So now another scouting team fills the area passed by Joseon forces."


    As one scouting team retreated, another circled from a distance to fill that area. It was like a pack of sharks circling Joseon''s scouting forces.


    "Ah, no... they move like a single organism?! Even with an extra unit of vision, how is this possible!?"


    Spain was disying an extreme use of their slight vision advantage. They were precisely aware of the boundary line that would expose them to Joseon''smander if crossed.


    "Is this the work of a greatmander?"


    "It is, but it''s also the advantage of a teamposed entirely of professionals. Amander can''t set the route with an error margin of even a centimeter. This is the yers knowing exactly the distance!"


    <em>— Terrifying</em>


    <em>— Can we even win this? </em>


    <em>— Damn, all 200 people know this??</em>


    This vision y offered more than just efficient soldier management.


    "No, doesn''t this mean they almost know everything Joseon will do in the early game?"


    <em>— That''s really the case</em>


    <em>— They anticipated that</em>


    <em>— Wow, the mind games are legendary</em>


    Spain''s worries about Korea''s early rush and unconventional ys were almost entirely mitigated.


    "That''s right. An early rush? If you take that away, what else does Korea have? Spain is saying that!"


    Each of their widely spread forces acted like a radar. It would be immediately noticed if an enemy prated their area.


    "Normally, this would cause problems with food supply, right?"


    However, yielding ground continuously while avoiding conflict could cause a disadvantage in hunting.


    "But they are managing food well too!?"


    Spain was not falling behind in hunting either.


    "Look at that mounted assistantmander hunting over there! Their skills are no joke. Who is that? Tres!? It''s Tres!"


    Tres was among the well-known assistantmanders. He was known more for his physical prowess than any strategicmand ability.


    "Ah, Tres. Yes, a ssic warrior indeed. His efficiency in hunting is different!"


    Chasing down a running deer while on horseback was not an easy task. He shed through the air as he smoothly passed by.


    "It looks like the other soldiers picking up the animal carcasses have a harder job!"


    <em>— He''s damn good</em>


    <em>— What a show</em>


    <em>— Are we going to lose this?</em>


    "With this, the prediction that Spain won''t be able to maintain an adequate food supply falls t. In fact, it seems they''vepletely blocked Joseon''s early rush while scouting much faster."


    While Joseon was slightly ahead in food supply, they didn’t have any significant advantage.


    "This way, they''ll just smoothly move into the third era together..."


    "And meanwhile, Spain''s gold supply keeps increasing!"


    On the other hand, Spain was progressively getting ahead in gold.


    "Yes, Spain has a faction rted to gold production. Their workers can mine more."


    "Ah... then what should Korea do? If this continues, Spain might even advance to the next era faster, right?"


    Korea was not disying any unique tactics and continued moving in groups of five for standard scouting. The Spanish scouts gradually discovered Korea’s scouts. If this continued and they all discovered each other, Spain would gain the advantage.


    "It seems Korea only has two options left."


    "What are they?"


    "To keep expanding their territory through force."


    The first thing Korea could do was and-grabbing approach and expand their territory through sheer force.


    "But if they try that, Spain might dy their era advancement to counter it!"


    "Right, they''ll respond immediately. Then, it just bes a war of attrition."


    If both sides ended up pushing and pulling for territory, it would simply result in a stalemate with no clear advantage for either side.


    "The second is to break through Spain''s scouting and infiltrate secretly!"


    The best option would be for a few Joseon soldiers to secretly infiltrate Spain’s territory.


    "That could cause significant damage to Spain and ensure a clear advantage for Korea."


    "But how will they break through!?"


    "... I don''t know!"


    OrangeKing was unsure of how Korea would execute such a strategy.


    <em>— LOL</em>


    <em>— Boldly stated</em>


    <em>— If he knew, he would be themander, LOL</em>


    OrangeKing could not grasp what strategy Korea would use.


    "Oh...?"


    The Joseon scouts, previously moving in groups of five, suddenly gathered in groups of ten.


    "Korea is moving quite unusually now!?"


    "Are they about to show something?"


    Interestingly, they only gathered in densely wooded areas hidden from enemy view.


    Shortly afterward, all troops received the samemand.


    <em>Teeing—!</em>


    <em>[Ambush]</em>