Strategy game? Then I'll have to control you properly.

"..."

A scene that was like something out of a movie—no, to be honest, even movies can hardly compare.

Lin Miao stared blankly at the horrific battlefield, unable to look away for even a moment.

The brutal war unfolding on screen has an extraordinary sense of immediacy.

Witnessing the scene of humans killing each other, even Lin Miao, who was watching on the screen, couldn't help but cheer for the residents.

[Proof Time (1): 5000P]

At that moment, the achievement was accomplished. After a long period of arduous battles and honing her skills, Lillie, armed with the skills she acquired in the game, successively slew enemy generals and their soldiers, ultimately leading her allies to successfully accept the surrender of the remaining enemy forces, marking the moment when victory was finally achieved.

The system seems to have recognized this action as an outstanding achievement, awarding an unprecedentedly large number of points as a reward.

Today's victory is not just a simple victory, but a moment for Lin Miao's companions, who have grown stronger alongside her, to prove their worth to the plunderers who attacked and drove them away.

"Very good."

Seeing that they were not seriously injured or defeated, Lin Miao felt all her strength drain away.

"—, —!"

At this moment, they are calming the terrified prisoners while subduing the necromancer Galon who suddenly appeared in the intelligence report.

Although it was the first time I had encountered an enemy who could use magic, judging from how easily Lillie blocked it with the Vow of Gold, she didn't seem to be a very powerful character.

[System upgraded to LV2]

"upgrade?"

Moreover, their achievements went beyond that, influencing other aspects as well.

[User Forum Open]

Although there have been many changes, the most notable one is the unblocking of the previously locked forum function.

Although there is only one person now, it seems likely that more users like myself will emerge.

Therefore, Lin Miao carefully logged into the forum window attached to the user manual.

"If someone could get here..."

[If anyone manages to get here, please leave a message.]

After much hesitation, Lin Miao left her first message.

After all, these users, whose number and timing are unknown, are neither competitors nor enemies, but simply people in the same predicament.

◆◆◆

"No, it can't be! How could this happen? It's absolutely impossible!"

A fierce but brief battle. Neither side had many soldiers, and the outcome was decided in a single exchange.

The necromancer Galon watched as his confident companion collapsed to the ground, muttering to himself in a daze, as if he were in a dream.

Who exactly is that woman?!

Galon's gaze was fixed on Lillie, who had just shaken off her horse and was fighting the warriors alone.

Despite being an experienced and powerful elite warrior, the raider captain was unbelievably suppressed by Lillie's sword because he was completely unprepared for the existence of the skill.

However, what shocked Galon the most was that the necromancy he had cast was instantly purified in the face of the power she contained.

For this man who once believed that the magic he had learned was equivalent to invincible magic on the grasslands, Lillie's existence and power were completely beyond common sense.

"hateful!"

Galon gritted his teeth and unleashed a spell on the enemies charging towards him, the burst of flames shooting out in a fan shape towards the onrushing crowd, but Attila, who was at the forefront, had already begun to master the knack of magic.

Attila raised a pillar of earth to block the flames, just as she had done against the Zerg before, while at the same time, an arrow pierced deeply into Galon's shoulder.

"Aaaaaah!"

Galon screamed and grabbed the arrow from his shoulder, falling to one knee. The men who rushed up immediately pointed their weapons at him.

The bound prisoners could neither escape nor resist, and could only watch helplessly as the powerful predator that was about to devour them was defeated by an even stronger one.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Attila questioned the swaying Garon, who grinned his teeth and let out a cold laugh.

In Galon's eyes, Attila and his gang were clearly lackeys colluding with the settlers: "Survival of the fittest, the so-called peaceful development, those rules have long since disappeared in this region, haven't they? Aren't you attacking your own people and capturing slaves right now?"

Attila clicked his tongue and shook his head. "The strong prey on the weak, and only the fittest survive. This is an era where you'll do anything to stay alive."

The concept of kinship as one family has long since disappeared among the tribes of the grasslands.

"Nonsense..."

There's still a chance.

Galon, gritting his teeth, was sweating profusely when suddenly his eyes lit up. He saw Lillie holding the reins and rushing towards him.

Galon judged that he had one last trick up his sleeve. In fact, the dark magic he had secretly prepared was a forbidden technique that could destroy the opponent's mind and temporarily turn them into a puppet.

He was convinced that he could escape the crisis by turning this powerful female warrior into his puppet.

Although Lillie demonstrated her ability to purify evil spirits, it was the only means left for Galon.

The only hope is that these grassland warriors, who have reached the pinnacle of physical training, are completely defenseless against mental attacks.

"Don't underestimate me! It's not over yet!" Galon reached out and cast a spell on Lillie the moment she entered his range.

"What?"

A burst of intense light erupted simultaneously. Because of the Vow of Gold, which grants immunity to all negative mental status effects, Galon's spell dissipated the instant it was cast, having no effect on the frowning Lillie.

"Tsk, I was hoping to extract some information through torture, but where did this third-rate bastard learn such magic from?" Attila sighed. "Who exactly is he...?"

For some unknown reason, Galon, whose spell had failed, died foaming at the mouth and convulsing before the surrounding soldiers could execute him.

This is one of the side effects of forbidden techniques where the power is proportional to the cost, but no one knows the truth yet.

"But the battle is finally over. Now all we have to do is clean up the mess."

Attila quickly dismissed the idea of ​​Galon and looked around.

The battle, filled with shouts and the clash of swords, ended in the blink of an eye. The surroundings, which had fallen silent at some point, were now filled with trembling gazes fixed on them.

"This is really tricky."

In the eyes of the prisoners, they were nothing more than the embodiment of fear.

Attila, who had originally intended to appease the prisoners and incorporate them into his tribe, looked at the prisoners who were cowering before him and gave a helpless, bitter smile.

"There's no need to worry too much; we have no intention of mistreating you. It may be hard to believe, but we are also exiles who fled from raiders."

Even so, he still spoke up to comfort the prisoners.

Although words alone could not dispel the prisoners' wariness, the previously cold and rigid atmosphere began to change rapidly when Attila personally untied the ropes binding them.

……

"We have established a foothold deep in the East, where food is plentiful. Come and live with us there."

Attila persuaded them in this way. From the perspective of prisoners of war, even if they were forcibly taken into slavery, they had no complaints, and such kind words alone were enough to win their favor.

They had no real choice. Their homeland had already been ravaged. Even if they returned to their villages, reduced to ashes, they would only become prey for other plunderers.

No matter where they go, they are all vulnerable and at the mercy of others. Therefore, it would be wiser for them to integrate with those who are willing to treat them kindly.

"So handsome..."

As public opinion turned benevolent, fear quickly transformed into awe, especially among innocent children.

Rose, a weak girl filled with anger towards the plunderers who had taken everything from her, was no exception.

Rose's gaze was particularly fixed on Lillie.

Lillie's use of dazzling light to repel the evil spirits and terrifying magic summoned by the necromancer truly possessed a power that could shake the soul.

When Lillie was startled by the direct gaze and turned to give her a faint smile, Roschel felt a sudden tremor in her heart.

"Chief, please look at this."

"Ah, those are things they stole from our village."

At this moment, someone shifted their gaze from the crowd to the goods and called out to Attila.

The prisoner representative, who was talking to Attila, observed Attila's expression and emphasized that the carts were loaded with looted supplies from the village.

"There are some unusual things here."

"Please accept this, Chieftain. Aren't you our Chieftain now?"

"No, that's not what I meant, cough cough."

The representative with his arm wrapped in bandages offered to let Attila take all the spoils of war.

Because Attila broke with tradition and showed them favor by accepting them as members of his tribe instead of as slaves, they wanted to repay him.

There's no reason to abandon them.

Attila muttered to himself, picking up a small gold ring from a bundle filled with valuable spoils of war, such as cloth and ironware.

Although it's called a gold ring, it's actually quite ordinary.

This precious metal, which came from a civilization outside the high walls, has traveled through countless tribes to reach this place, but it is nothing more than an ordinary ornament.

But they also knew the value of precious metals.

Although it was of little use on the grasslands, it was wildly popular among peoples who settled inland.

"Father, are you interested in gold jewelry?"

Seeing her father's unfamiliar expression as he held the gold ring and pondered, Lillie couldn't help but chuckle as she approached.

"That's not how it is, Lillie."

But Attila shook his head; he was not examining the ring out of greed.

"Although we haven't told the new residents yet, you know, right? Our victory in this battle was entirely due to that person's protection."

She trembled violently when her father mentioned that man.

She had just defeated a formidable enemy elite warrior and was unconsciously holding her head high, but now she froze because of this question she hadn't thought about deeply.

"So far, we have only been receiving favors unilaterally, and we want to repay them but have no opportunity. But must this continue forever? We cannot take all of this for granted."

Attila admonished his daughter in a calm voice.

Lillie's lips moved as if she wanted to explain, but in the end, she couldn't utter a word.

As the number of times he received help from Him increased, he subconsciously began to take this help for granted.

"So how should we repay that person's kindness?"

"I don't know either. I feel that offering such simple offerings is meaningless, but if that lord is watching us, we should at least show our sincerity."

Attila decided to hold a sacrifice. Indeed, their tribe had a tradition of offering sacrifices to the gods in exchange for victory in war or success in hunting.

Uncertain of whether he could succeed, Attila planned to offer the spoils of the battle, namely the gold ring, as a sacrifice.

Even if the other party doesn't accept the gold ring, it doesn't matter; as long as you can understand their sincerity, that's enough.

If there are any other requests, that lord will give a hint, and Attila will do his utmost.

"The entire group will be evacuated; the return journey will take some time."

Soon Attila led his people on a journey in the opposite direction from their original destination—towards their new home.

"Let's chat for a bit on the way. Although you were rescued by chance by our scouts, we actually know very little about what happened in this area."

"Yes, Chieftain."

On his way back, Attila gleaned information from the prisoners, such as what had happened to their village and what kind of forces the raiders he had just fought were.

"It's Karen's tribe."

"They continued to plunder eastward—in this direction—to expand their power, and some nearby residents even voluntarily joined them. It is said that their numbers have reached several thousand, with many warriors and several hundred elite troops."

"Even such a powerful figure has been driven east by the kingdom's army?"

Attila listened to the detailed information about the raiders and fell into deep thought.

According to this theory, raiders also expand their power through plundering in order to avoid being swallowed up by other raiders.

If their area of ​​activity continues to expand, conflict is inevitable.

We must strengthen our power before the conflict begins.

Having decided to stop fleeing, we must fight when the time comes. That's why we're taking this risky operation today.

But Attila still felt powerless. Although he had gained special powers through a miraculous opportunity, the traditional strongmen were already far ahead.

Moreover, their enemies are not only other tribes, but also an unspeakable monster called the Corruptor.

"It's not entirely impossible."

Attila was convinced that he saw a hope beyond reality, and unconsciously clenched the gold ring in his hand.