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When Anto spent countless hours watching game footage, he also rewatched the preliminary match against Joseon over and over. This was the real prelude to Rome and Joseon’s showdown. Of particular note was their first game on the Ancient Fortress Walls map, which drew Anto’s careful attention.

Although this map generally favored Rome, Cookie’s unique tactics allowed Joseon to gain the upper hand. By taking full advantage of the defensive structures, Cookie managed to trap Rome within the walls. It was a sharp unconventional move and a bold stroke.

Anto had seen through it. He concluded that Joseon’s only possible move was to trap them, so he preemptively left a worker outside. With that one move, Rome avoided being caught by Joseon’s cunning strategy and secured an easy win instead. This highlighted the flaw of those who relied on unpredictable plays.

‘They hardly ever consider the possibility of their move being anticipated.’

The nature of unpredictability assumed that the opponent wouldn’t see it coming, which was exactly why such tactics were created. In reality, this was fundamentally flawed. Being unpredictable only worked when one remained unreadable.

Anto excelled in piercing through these contradictions like a sharp needle. His reputation as a classic elite commander stemmed not from preferring classic tactics, but from forcing his opponents into predictable moves. Those who tried to craft unexpected tactics against him often ended up caught in their own traps.

Now—

‘This time, it’s more complicated.’

Seeing the Ancient Fortress Walls map again, Anto found himself deep in thought. If Joseon succeeded in blocking the entrance at the start of the second era, Rome would have no countermeasures. Rome lacked effective siege units before the third era. With the resources inside the fortress, it would be impossible to reach that stage.

He thought about secretly leaving a worker outside again. That would be impossible. Cookie knew about that trick now and would scout all resource areas if he suspected a worker had been sent out. It would inevitably be exposed.

What if Anto started with more soldiers and sent them out along with a worker from the start to double the expansion? That also seemed impractical. Splitting the forces in half would leave them severely underpowered for hunting and scouting. In short, Anto found himself cornered.

This complete trap was checkmate. If Cookie tried to block the entrance, Anto couldn’t do much to counter. He would have to keep several soldiers at the entrance and constantly be on guard to stave off the pressure. Even this would consume valuable manpower.