In the wilderness.
The rainy season was over, and grass began to dry up again. The dry, chilling north wind swept across the wilderness.
Two gods stood on the rough land.
Eldar asked, “How…are you planning to defeat that?”
Sung-Woon did not reply and just stared at his system window.
News of the clash between Kajin the Ogre and Tamaridu the Centaur had spread widely. Kajin the Ogre had ended up victorious, and hadn’t even been a close battle.
“I thought the Centaurs would have done some more damage to the Ogres. While Ogres are known to be strong, Centaurs are a rare species with great combat power. But in the end, the Centaurs only killed some Goblins enslaved by the Ogres, and less than ten Ogres died…”
Eldar mumbled to himself as he walked in circles.
“I did think the Ogres would be a difficult opponent from the start. In addition to their superior Strength, their Intelligence had also been raised through a Blessing. They were a combination of coincidence after coincidence, so how could they not be strong?”
Sung-Woon scrolled up and down the system message, still not replying.
Eldar continued the one-sided conversation, “I don’t know for sure, but aren’t the Lizardmen the main force of Nebula? The Lizardmen are relatively vulnerable to the cold though, so they wouldn’t be able to give their all if they were to fight in the north. And I’m aware the Human troops have gotten a Blessing to improve their physical abilities, but there aren’t that many of them. If I at least still had my main troops…”
Sung-Woon then raised his head and interrupted Eldar.
“I wouldn’t need them.”
“What?”
“I wouldn’t need the main Elf troops. It would have been more work if they were here.”
“What do you mean?”
Sung-Woon got up and lowered the system messages in front of him.
“What have you been talking about all this time?”
“Haven’t you called me to have a meeting about what measures to take against the Ogres?”
“Why would we need to have a meeting for that kind of thing?”
Eldar looked up at Sung-Woon with surprise.
“Neither Solongos nor Lim Chun-Sik had even used Divine Control to minimize the damage to their troops. Don’t we thus have to deal with the Ogres now, who have preserved their combat powers and are supported by Lim Chun-Sik? No matter how strong the Lizardmen are…”
“I don’t get what you’re talking about.”
Sung-Woon shook his head and continued to say, “I’m the one in this battle with Lim Chun-Sik, and I’ve already decided how the Ogres should be dealt with. There’s no need for a meeting to come up with a strategy.”
“What?”
“Nevermind, tell me again what you said earlier. What was your rank?”
Eldar suddenly cleared their throat as if they felt a bit troubled to talk about something that didn’t fit the role they were playing.
“Hmm. With all due respect, I ranked around 3400th.”
“When you last checked, right?”
“Yes.”
Considering the number of players in The Lost World, being the 3400th best player was pretty good. But that wasn’t the point.
‘Did I misunderstand something?’
Sung-Woon thought that the thirty two players were selected according to their ranks. Especially because the second player he had met was Hegemonia, who ranked 2nd, and he never expected when he first met Eldar that Eldar would not even be among the top 32 players. On the other hand, the issue didn’t have much bearing on Eldar.
“Wouldn’t it just be random selection?”
That was a possibility. To Sung-Woon, however, things seemed quite intentional for both the top and second best player to have been selected. In addition, it was strange that Eldar was ranked at a pretty high place of 3400th, rather than 23,400th or even 43,400th.
‘There must have been another criterion for the selection outside of our ranks. What would it be? Why would there be a need for an additional criterion?’?
Sung-Woon had to push aside his thoughts for a moment; Eldar was asking how he would deal with the Ogres and Lim Chun-Sik with a tone that made Sung-Woon uncomfortable.
As if he had just remembered it, Sung-Woon asked Eldar, “By the way, you’re gonna keep cooperating with me, right?”
“…For?”
“Thanks for your cooperation.”
“…What?”
***
The Small Area Lim Chun-Sik had obtained when he started the game was Small Area: Birds. Lim Chun-Sik checked his Small Area and judged that he was in an advantageous position in the game. Small Area: Birds was rated well in many aspects. Due to the characteristic of a bird, it was convenient for him to scout large areas, and he was also able to give useful Blessings to his species such as Wisdom of an Owl or Intelligence of a Crow. And when Lim Chun-Sik found Ogres in his first area, he judged that he was closer than other players to victory.
‘Isn’t this pretty much victory on a platter?’
Lim Chun-Sik’s latest rank in The Lost World was 153rd, but he had gotten up to 20th when he was at his peak. He had also ranked 4th out of 128 players at a competition hosted by domestic streamers. And due to his eccentric avatar, he gained traction and got to join other streamers’ streams a few times.
‘I’m pretty good at the game, and I’m lucky. There’s no way I will lose this.’
Just as expected, Lim Chun-Sik had been able to play the game without running into major obstacles along the way. At least, that was until Eldar and Solongos lost their main forces.
‘Nebula. He was for sure the top player. The crazy guy didn’t stream or participate in any competitions, and apparently just ate and gamed.’
It was a mistake on his part to only find out recently that the Lizardmen wandering down south were under Nebula’s control, however, Lim Chun-Sik believed they would not have much of an impact on the flow of his game.
‘This is a game of luck anyways. The Small Areas you get are random, and your species are pretty much random as well. Provided a player has a certain degree of skills in playing the game, the next important thing is luck. Besides, Insects and Lizardmen? They’re both weak against the cold. Isn’t it common sense to combine things that would make up for each others’ weaknesses?’
Lim Chun-Sik gave a hint to Kajin, the tribal chief of the Ogres, that he should accumulate supplies in preparation for an attack by the Lizardmen. In addition to that, Lim Chun-Sik focused his scouting near the border to look for enemy’s movements. He figured that the Lizardmen would launch an all-out battle before winter came. But Strangely enough, the Lizardmen never attacked even when fall drew to an end. And when winter came, the Elf villages began to burn.
***
News of the Black-Scaled Tribe setting fire to the Elf villages had also reached Automation. The merchants who gathered in the market would talk about the news day after day, and it was said that they could no longer trade north of the wilderness.
“Apparently, after Tamaridu challenged Kajin the Ogre and died, the Black-Scaled Tribe took over the empty land. And it’s also said that the Black-Scaled Tribe loot all the peddlers that pass through the region.”
“Is that all? Apparently Lakrak is burning all the Elf villages to retaliate against their earlier attack.”
“It’s been difficult to cross the wilderness and the territory of the Green Eye Elf… Wouldn’t it be hard to do business with the Ogres for a while?”
Trades with the Ogres were possible through the route that started from the center of the continent, went through the wilderness, and then finally extended across the territory once ruled by Tamaridu the Centaur. However, the path was now cut off.
It was difficult to grow crops where the Ogres were located, but they did have metal mines. Many merchants were disappointed that the lucrative trades were no longer possible, but there was nothing they could do.
“What do we do now that the trade route to the northern coast has been blocked?”
“What is it you’re looking to trade? Speaking of the Black-Scaled Tribe, I heard that if you go there through the road southeast of Automation, they trade silk for a good price.”
“Really? I would be able to sell silk at a high price back in my hometown. What I’m trying to trade is…”
The Green Eye Tribe Elves didn’t undergo much damage as people feared. Eldar, the god of the Elves, had warned the Elves in advance that there would be an attack by the Lizardmen, and the Lizardmen had calmly waited for the Elves to run away. They didn’t attack the Elves when they settled down south of the wilderness, either. It was as if it had been the land the Elves once lived on that had been their target, not the Elves themselves.
Lim Chun-Sik didn’t realize what these changes meant at first. The Elves had lost their main force, so they couldn’t cause any damage for the time being. And he didn’t have such a strange hobby that he would needlessly bother the Elves. The same went for occupying Solongos’ territory. The Centaurs had also lost their main force. There were NPC’s, but the land was pretty much empty. There was no need to waste troops on occupying the land. What little profit could be made from looting would soon be obsolete when merchants with keen insights gave up the particular trading route.
‘It wouldn’t take a lot of resources, but it’s not something worth using any resources on. Especially with a battle coming up. No, it’s too late for a battle. Winter is coming soon. It’s too late for the Lizardmen to come up north…’
That meant Nebula had no intention to go to war for the time being. And Lim Chun-Sik belatedly realized Nebula’s intentions.
“…The Clear Night Tactic!”
***
“It’s also called Scorched Earth Tactic.”
Sung-Woon explained to Eldar, “You burn down all the areas that the opponent might occupy and cause isolation. In The Lost World, supplies are important in the same way they are in real wars, so the same strategy applies. You probably have used it a few times too.”
Eldar nodded.
“But I’ve never seen it used so early in the game…”
“You’re right. Usually it doesn’t work in the beginning stages of the game. But this time the conditions were all met. Maybe I got lucky?”
“You…got lucky?”
Sung-Woon nodded.
“First of all, my opponent occupies the northern coast.”
“Isn’t that a bad thing? The Lizardmen won’t be able to use their powers properly, will they?”
“Oh, there is that, but being that up north also makes it difficult to get food. The environment isn’t conducive to farming, but due to the Ogres’ high Intelligence, they are able to quickly develop civilization, allowing them to establish trades, import food from the south, and increase their population. The tribe grew large, but now that their trade routes are cut off and there are no Elves to loot, how would they get supplies? They could go back to hunting and gathering, but it wouldn’t be enough to feed everyone. And the Ogres are even enslaving the Goblin NPCs.”
Eldar nodded. Enslaving NPCs was a strategy which could be easily used in the beginning of the game. However, if the owner tribe experienced a decline, there was a possibility for the enslaved species to revolt against the owner tribe.
“And…”
“And?”
“We’re facing Ogres.”
Eldar gnawed on their bottom lip; it seemed like they didn’t understand.
“Haven’t the Ogres overcome their weakness?”
“Weakness?”
“Their high Intelligence, I mean.”
“That is the interesting part. Intelligence isn’t the Ogres’ real weakness.”
“…What then?”
“You don’t get it? Their weakness is their large build. Being strong and powerful is their weakness.”
“How…is that a weakness?”
Sung-Woon let out a deep sigh.
“The Lost World was a realistic game through and through. Species with large build also had a high basal metabolic rate, which means they eat a lot. They have to survive this winter, but they have lots of muscles, and their bodies require a lot of energy. In The Lost World, other players aren’t the only enemies. Environment can also be an enemy. Unnecessary energy consumption is eventually a weakness. Species with smaller build will last longer even if they are hit by the Scorched Earth Tactic.”
Eldar nodded in admiration. However, it seemed like he thought Eldar’s stare meant they still hadn’t understood because he pulled up a few system messages.
“You might think I’m just making assumptions, but there actually is a way to make the calculation. Someone very invested in the Strategy and Tactics Board created a formula for the Scorched Earth Tactic. You just have to input the species, climate, degree of civilization development, size of the region, and other variables to get the result. It’s not exact, but from my personal experience…” 𝑖.𝑐ℴ𝑚
“I’m gonna become lost if you go into that much detail.”
“Really? But you are getting it, right?” .
Eldar nodded.
Sung-Woon closed the system messages and casually said, “And you are also part of my luck.”
“Are you talking about me?”
Eldar was briefly excited at the thought that they were some lucky charm to Sung-Woon, but that wasn’t what Sung-Woon meant.
“Usually this kind of tactic requires me to burn down my own land as well, but the land of the Elves presented me with an alternative. And since the Elves were a sedentary tribe, they had been providing the Ogres with a constant supply of food, so burning their village was extra effective.”
“…Yes.”
“Anyways, watch and see if my strategy works.”
The Ogres survived through the first winter with the supplies they had saved up for battle. However, as spring came, they had to scour the bushes for food, and the Elf villages were all empty. Then summer came along, and the hungry Ogres began to eat the Goblins alive. When fall came, the Goblins refused to be enslaved by the Ogres anymore and attacked the Ogres. In early winter, the Ogres fought the Goblins and won, but they were left with nothing to eat as all the Goblins survivors ran away. Eventually, the starving Ogres began to move south to the wilderness.
It was exactly as Sung-Woon wanted.
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