Outcast's Path

I'll have to look for an earlier save and replay – I went straight to the town, and that was a waste of time. I was just following this description and interacting with the local population instead of building up my military strength.

You don't necessarily have to replay. You won't lose much. Although, it's worth noting that no one has ever gone to visit the elves at the beginning. Everyone always wanted to go to the orc town. In this thread, I think I gave someone advice on strategy, where I initially suggested capturing 2 Town Portal camps + a town, and then wandering around peacefully. Nothing has really changed, but now no one will let you wander around peacefully.

Added 4 minutes later
"Extend the Walkthrough to fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere and enjoy the game!" – this mainly refers to the fact that you shouldn't try to defeat everyone in the arena on the very first day, suffering huge losses, or do any other "abrupt" actions to complete the map as quickly as possible, without paying attention to anything. It won't work anyway