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

After Theodore was ultimately defeated in his final battle with Luke.

The scouts from Aurora were taken aback when they saw the refugees pouring in from the west.

The tribe, which had been united by the authority of the chieftain, lost its core and scattered. Some of them began to flock eastward after hearing the rumors about Zhen Dan.

"Continue to send more troops. Not a single one can be missed; they must all be taken over."

Upon hearing the news from Bjorn, Attila immediately issued an emergency order mobilizing the villagers to accept the refugees.

They urgently cleared a place for them to live under the city wall and gathered miners and porters to build houses to shelter them from the rain.

"Save us! Those guys said they'd kill us all if we didn't surrender!"

The refugees cried out for help whenever they saw the Aurora soldiers.

Because Luke, who attempted to annex all of Theodore's tribes, acted entirely according to the laws of the steppe, those who surrendered were mercifully accepted, while those who resisted were brutally slaughtered.

"These people risked their lives to come to us; we can't let them go."

Attila, who personally came to the front lines to command, took the risk of accepting as many people as possible who came to join him.

Most of these refugees were former followers of Theodore who had once been truly loyal to him.

They simply could not accept submitting to Luke, the man who had destroyed them.

"Look, it's those guys!"

During this process, Luke's soldiers and the soldiers of Aurora finally clashed.

In order to capture and protect the fleeing refugees, a battle between the reconnaissance troops of both sides was inevitable.

But they never actually fought. Just as the conflict was about to erupt, a giant iron hammer fell from the sky and crushed Luke's soldiers into a bloody pulp.

The Aurora soldiers and refugees cheered at the sight.

"The quantity... is simply too much."

However, Lin Miao, who was actually throwing the hammer, was frantically switching between scenes, sweating profusely at the constant unfolding events.

The number of hammers is limited, but the number of refugees and enemies is simply too large.

"Now... is it possible for this to end peacefully?"

Attila listened to reports from all sides and gave a bitter smile.

Eventually, the conflict between the soldiers broke out and escalated, even turning into a full-blown battle between warriors.

Since the opposing team consisted of only a small number of pursuers, Cinnamon mostly won, but it was not without casualties.

Attila's biggest fear was that this would lead to the breakdown of negotiations with Patriarch Luke.

"But we must never hand over the refugees."

Lillie, who arrived fully armed, worried that Attila might abandon the refugees in order to facilitate negotiations.

Abandoning the refugees would mean going against the will of the guardian deity, who brought every batch of refugees who came to our side into the game world.

"Of course I know, I would never do that."

A panicked Attila shook his head with an expression that seemed to say, "What do you take me for?"

Negotiation is just one of their methods; their goal is simply to accept the people.

"We still need to consider the worst-case scenario. As the strongest warrior, what do you think, Lillie? Because the Northern Fortress is housing elite troops, we can only mobilize a maximum of two thousand soldiers right now. That's only if we conscript some refugees into the army."

Lillie calmly replied, "Father, I heard the enemy numbers exceed ten thousand."

Attila sighed, "Indeed impressive, and it's said that's only a portion of the troops he can command. But surely he doesn't actually have ten thousand elite soldiers."

Ten thousand troops is an astronomical number in this area.

Just imagining the scene of ten thousand cavalrymen gathering is enough to make one confidently say things like "omnipotent".

But now they have to fight against it.

"We can win."

Even so, Lillie still exuded confidence.

This is something that seems impossible according to common sense, but they have already accomplished too many miracles that defy common sense, which is why they are so certain.

After all, the constant intrusions from faulty entities had forced them to accumulate far too much annoyance.

"I don't think we'll lose either. But winning without fighting would be the best strategy. After all, the real monsters we need to deal with are elsewhere."

Aurora's stance has been unwavering from the beginning; they declared that they would accept all those who voluntarily come to seek refuge.

The key lies in Luke's intentions.

Although he is willing to engage in dialogue, he will not compromise in the slightest if the other party demands surrender as they did when conquering neighboring tribes.

"It's infuriating; even I'm starting to feel like I'm preparing for war."

Lin Miao frowned and kept switching between the surveillance cameras.

It wasn't just the residents who were busy. The same was true during the fierce battles against the Zerg.

Logically speaking, when there's nothing to do, he could leave the monitoring station to enjoy his free time or handle other matters.

But when the situation is urgent, he even forgets to go to the toilet, and must be fully focused and on high alert, for fear of missing any opportunity to help.

Even as the residents continue to grow and progress, his mindset remains unchanged.

"Oh, we need to install another monitor."

Feeling suddenly tired, Lin Miao rubbed her temples and muttered to herself.

As residents' activity areas have expanded, checking dozens of surveillance cameras in turn has become a chore.

Thinking that adding a monitor would reduce the burden, he immediately opened the online shopping page and placed an additional order.

"Won't the Zerg appear in other areas?"

"The collapse of the Theodore tribe and the absorption of a large number of refugees wasn't necessarily a bad thing..."

But the thought of another war breaking out made him irritable, so he crossed his arms and stared blankly at the wriggling residents on the screen.

If the other side knows about the Zerg's existence, they might be able to communicate if they explain that they must stop the large army gathering in the north.

In reality, the Zerg often do not build nests, but instead initiate one-time rift invasions, making them highly likely to appear in other regions.

"No, that would be even more disastrous."

He shook his head. Although the dwarven kingdom, destroyed by the Zerg, was temporarily quiet, he had seen those parasites occupying the ruins in the game.

Lin Miao's judgment that the Zerg only appeared in this area was actually better.

The worst-case scenario would be if other regions fell, and the Zerg used these as food sources to multiply explosively and cover the world.

[Elf Village Entrance: 1500P]

"It should still be intact, right?"

Lin Miao bit her lip and opened the document.

Those are files that haven't been accessed yet and can open desktops in other regions.

Unlike the route to the dwarven territory, this place has not yet been marked "contaminated".

However, if even the buffer zone at the entrance is contaminated, it means that the area has been completely overrun.

To prevent this from happening, he decided that once this incident was properly resolved, he would try to open the documents leading to the new land.

After annexing the defeated Theodore tribe, Luke, who had repeatedly clashed with the Divine Race, summoned the sorcerer and questioned him: "Everything about the Divine Race that has been rumored has been confirmed. Is there someone else behind them?"

They suspect that, like those supporting themselves, other settlement groups are supporting them.

The mage said decisively, "Absolutely impossible. How could those guys living on the eastern border possibly receive aid?"

This is not unfounded. In their view, the location of China is a border within a border.

To get there, you have to cross the grasslands.

Given the many tribes living there, it would be almost impossible to travel secretly.

"So they built their city, smelted iron, and still managed a bountiful harvest with their own hands? That's utterly absurd."

But this was not the answer. As doubts accumulated, Luke longed to obtain more information.

He never considered the equal dialogue that Attila desired.

In his view, there is no need to negotiate with an opponent that can be easily crushed.

"They dare to take in those who refused to join us and fled. Regardless of how they feed so many people, they could easily use that to plant spies."

"Since that's the case..."

"Infiltrate the surrendered Theodore soldiers into the refugee ranks and let them infiltrate. I must find out what those guys are all about."

Luke used his family as leverage to order a Theodore soldier to disguise himself as a refugee and infiltrate Aurora.

Soldiers whose families were being held hostage could only obey orders with tears in their eyes.

Fortunately, the mission was not too difficult. The soldier quickly pretended to be fleeing in panic and naturally blended into the other refugee groups, making contact with the Aurora reconnaissance soldiers who came to meet him.

"We will accept you as members of the tribe, so there is no need to be too afraid."

"There's plenty of food; make sure you fill your stomach!"

While reassuring them, the Aurora scouts led them to Attila's field base.

After a brief reorganization, the refugees will be urgently transferred to newly built settlements.

Attila comforted the refugees who had once been loyal to Theodore, promising to avenge them against Theodore.

"If I had known this would happen, I should have followed these people in the first place..."

The soldier who had become a spy looked at the supplies and care provided by Aurora and sighed from the bottom of his heart.

This group of people, who seemed to have everything, touched the refugees with both material and spiritual care, and the effect was immediate.

"Look!"

"Our guardian spirit has truly appeared!"

The villagers, thoroughly moved, were walking towards the village when, just as they crossed the invisible boundary, they were suddenly lifted up by an irresistible force and transported across the void into the village in the blink of an eye.

Anyone who sees this for the first time will be stunned.

"...Huh?"

But the last soldier, who had been following the group and anxiously waiting for his turn, was left all alone and at a loss, with a hammer of judgment even appearing in the void.

The terrified soldiers collapsed to the ground.

"Gods possess the power to see into people's hearts."

"Not only were they not allowed direct entry into the village, but they also prepared a gavel of judgment, indicating that this person cannot be trusted!"

The atmosphere among the surrounding crowd gradually became sinister.

Upon hearing Attila utter the proverb, "The gods never guide the untrustworthy," the warriors and soldiers drew their weapons.

"Please, please forgive me!"

The spy, cornered, hurriedly lay on the ground, trembling.

Attila stopped those who wanted to execute him on the spot and went to him himself.

"Did Luke send you?"

"Yes, yes... They kidnapped my family and ordered me to infiltrate disguised as a refugee..."

A half-baked lie is meaningless, and realizing this, he trembled and resignedly revealed the truth.

Attila nodded as if he had expected it.

The surrounding warriors gritted their teeth in anger: "Chief! That guy had no intention of negotiating with us at all. If we appear weaker than they think after sending out scouts, he'll lead his army to attack."

"That's exactly right. Even if the two sides hold talks, they will definitely underestimate us if things continue like this."

"You're right. Even if we crave peace, we have no choice if the other side doesn't appreciate it."

Attila calmed the excited crowd, but did not deny that the atmosphere of war was gradually forming.

"Since we're going to fight eventually, at least we can decide where and how to fight."

Attila racked his brains, trying to find a way to fully utilize his side's advantages in combat.

"Although I don't know if Patriarch Luke is serious, since he has shown hostility towards us, I think we must settle this once and for all."

"A complete break?"

"That's right, dragging things out will only expose our intelligence."

Attila conveys to Lillie the idea that if they're going to fight, they should fight to the bitter end.

After all, those insects could cause trouble at any time or in any place, which is a reasonable consideration.

"So we need some distractions to make sure they attack with all their might."

Attila summoned the spy he had just captured again. Now that he had discovered and captured him in advance, he would naturally make use of him if possible.

"So this method can also be used to catch spies."

Friendly forces are shown in green, while hostile forces are shown in red.

When all neutral units changed from blue to green, there was one that stubbornly remained marked in red.

Just as they were about to cross the edge of the screen, Lin Miao used the mouse to pick up everyone except the spy in the last row and transfer them to the village.

Then he swung the hammer, ready to smash the spy to death.

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, when the villagers surrounded him to put pressure on him, the spy suddenly burst into tears and prostrated himself on the ground in surrender, thus revealing the intentions of the great chieftain Luke.

"Fine, you want to fight, huh?"

Lin Miao had already found it an eyesore, but now her opinion had completely changed.

Instead of creating trouble through half-hearted efforts, it's better to completely defeat them and focus our energy on dealing with the malfunctioning entity.

If Attila and the other villagers are prepared for war, Lin Miao intends to fully support them.

[Li Sushang: It seems this isn't an isolated incident. Recently, since we expanded, those self-proclaimed lords and kings around us have been constantly causing trouble.]

"It's just as important as dealing with malfunctions and must be handled properly. I think that's only natural, since it's not like a game where you can create population out of thin air."

Li Sushang encountered a similar situation. It seems that as the scale of villagers trained expands, this inevitable event is triggered.

Unlike in games where soldiers can appear out of thin air, this requires careful handling.

Relations with surrounding powers are an important issue for us to increase our population and expand our influence.

"Attila also intends to join the war."

Even Attila, who leaned towards the moderates, would act decisively when necessary.

As for how many troops to mobilize and how to fight, that's up to them to decide and execute; Lin Miao only needs to observe and wait.

When Attila fought against the Gaelic tribe, he skillfully used the abilities he had gained from the game.

The available resources and manpower far exceed those of the past, and Lin Miao couldn't help but wonder what methods he would use.

Now that the high walls have been built, defending the city should not be a problem, but the refugees who are pouring in cannot enter the city. Perhaps he has other plans.