I Planned a Su*cide Mission and Got Kicked Out of the Party

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Van Fleet. He was a famous American general renowned for his feats during the 6.25 War. He was the mastermind behind the concept of “Van Fleet’s ammunition,” pouring five times the regular amount of artillery fire in opposition to the Chinese army’s surprise tactics. His strategies successfully halted the Chinese army’s offensive, leaving a lesson that overwhelming firepower allows one to stand against any number of foes.

However, such common battlefield wisdom has not worked in this world so far. Forget about Van Fleet; even the artillery strategies from the Napoleonic era were impossible. It was all because of that damned magical barrier.

Before he unveiled his terrifying creation known as “Manhattan,” Jeongjae immersed himself in research aimed at developing a spell that could achieve effects similar to mass artillery bombardment with a single blow.

He was fed up with the endless rotations. He felt he could no longer stand the brutal siege warfare. Half-conscious, Jeongjae wandered in search of that one perfect shot.

That final product was his masterpiece, “Manhattan,” but in the process, he managed to create two scrolls that were weaker than Manhattan yet possessed no insignificant power. Jeongjae named the two scrolls after the American generals who fought in the Korean War.

One was “Remei,” based on aerial attacks, and the other was “Van Fleet,” utilizing cannons.

The former, Remei, turned out to be utterly unusable due to its atrocious mana efficiency, while Jeongjae decided to preserve Van Fleet for potential future applications in specific situations.

Perhaps today would turn out to be that “specific situation.”

“Impressive, Professor. Really impressive.”

Jenis nodded as if she had completed the analysis of the scroll while looking at it. Jeongjae stroked the cannon that Jenis was leading and nodded.

“I can use it. This device is usable.”

“But honestly, if someone were to hand me that magic circle and tell me to give it a try, I would have politely declined.”

Jenis said. Jeongjae shrugged.

“It wasn’t given for others to use. I made it for myself. Who else could use something like this?”

“I wouldn’t dare dream of it. I’d probably exhaust my mana completely. My mana amount isn’t below average, but still, just counting my reserves, I’m in the top one percent.”

Jeongjae received the Van Fleet scroll back from Jenis and tucked it carefully into his clothes. Jenis glanced at the howitzer inside the armory and gave it a few light slaps with her palm.

“I hope the barrel can withstand that attack.”

“So I’ll need your help. You’re the only one who can cool down an overheated barrel.”

“If that’s all, I can help, but still… Professor, are you really not going to faint after using that spell? It’s not like it’s a spell usable against ships. If you launched such an attack against a landing enemy and ended up exhausted and defenseless, you would really be in danger.”

“I’ve never fought without putting my life on the line. Not even against a single goblin.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Don’t worry too much. My magical power is stronger than you think. Tell the people to make sure that howitzer is positioned on the coast. It’ll probably require quite a few robust men to bring it there.”

“Understood. I’ll move it to the most appropriate location. Where do you want to go now?”

“To the coast. I need to assess how well the defenses are coming along.”

“Right, Professor. You wouldn’t know how hard the villagers have been working, would you? Everyone now speaks highly of ‘The Returned Baron.’ The Baron solved the bandit problem in this area.”

It’s not that they saved the villagers from being harmed by bandits; it’s that they ensured the bandits wouldn’t harm the villagers, but that’s the same thing. Even so, Jeongjae felt uneasy upon hearing that the villagers were working hard thanks to him.

“Is that okay? It might be because of me that this territory is attacked. If I hadn’t come, there would be no reason for the Demon King’s Army to set foot in this land.”

“Let’s keep that under wraps for now. And even if that were true, the people here don’t have any reason to feel wronged. Will the Demon King’s army, which will soon invade this land, simply vanish if we don’t get attacked? No, right? They’ll cross over our Empire to kill even more people elsewhere.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Regardless of anything else, at least the newly hired guards and their families should thank the Baron. It’s not that they want to fail in battle; they just don’t want to die fighting in a place that has nothing to do with them, right? Even if they have to risk their lives, they should at least be allowed to fight to protect their own land.”

Jenis spoke rather eloquently. Jeongjae found himself agreeing with her to some extent. With a slight smile, he began to walk toward the city gates.

“I can see why you have the ability to rally the other lords around you.”

“Are you feeling a bit more energetic? If that’s the case, that’s enough for me.”

“Yes, thanks to you. I now have the courage to ask these people to fight for me. I’ve decided. No one will step back. No one will run away. This is a fight we can win, so I won’t tell anyone to flee or hide.”

Jeongjae swung the city gate wide open. The people gathered by the sea appeared to form a mass of black dots. Among those dots were already visible many obstacles that had been constructed to a considerable degree.

“Has it really only been three days since we started? The speed of work is quite impressive.”

“The Village Chief is working hard. He’s been pushing the people relentlessly to make sure not even a single bandit can get into the villages, no matter the cost.”

“That kind of constant pushing usually doesn’t result in compliance; he must be a well-respected person.”

“After all, he’s the one who has been leading the village for decades. I’m just glad that Village Chief Huck takes our warnings seriously. It would have been a real headache if we had turned a respected person in the area into an enemy.”

Jeongjae walked slowly toward the shore while taking a look around. The commoners who noticed the Baron’s arrival raised their heads and bowed in greeting.

“Long time no see, Baron!”

“I’m glad to see you well, my lord!”

Jeongjae greeted the villagers’ greetings with a light smile and a wave of his hand. The work of digging up the coastal land was already quite well advanced, and the multi-layered barriers were built more sturdily than Jeongjae had expected.

Of course, if a large army were to come, it would likely crumble in an instant, but it was still better than having nothing. Feeling confident that all the preparations could be completed within a week, Jeongjae decided not to worry too much about the stockades.

“Baron, could you come this way for a moment? I have something to show you.”

Suddenly, the Village Chief who had appeared from somewhere called out to Jeongjae. He nodded and followed the Chief to a secluded area along the shore. Jenis went off in another direction, saying she would bring the howitzer.

When they reached the location led by Huck, several small wooden fishing boats that Jenis had mentioned were waiting there. They weren’t quite fishing boats; they were more like vessels close to the size of fishing boats.

A total of seven boats were covered with white cloth, likely to protect them from the salty sea breeze.

“Fishing boats, huh? Since we can’t fish in the current situation, are they being stored here?”

“No, these are not being left to store. Would you like to take a look under the cloth?”

Thinking, “No way,” Jeongjae lifted the white cloth from atop one of the boats and was startled, stepping back.

Inside each of the small fishing boats were boxes packed tightly with black powder, aka explosives.

For a moment at a loss for words, Jeongjae stutteringly looked at Huck.

“This is… something, huh? But really…”

“It’s just a handful of boats, but I thought it would be helpful to prepare them with the wisdom of the Grand Mage, my Baron. Was that a pointless endeavor?”

Fishing boats filled with explosives only mean one thing. They are consumable devices meant to collide with enemy fleets while ignited to create breaches and set fire to them.

Though it wouldn’t be unusual to prepare such a weapon to prevent the enemy fleet’s landings, this situation is different. These boats are fishing vessels. They are things that have shared the lives of the residents and should continue to do so.

Jeongjae hesitated between whether he should accept this or politely decline and finally started to answer Huck’s words.

“There’s no need to decline. This is a truly helpful weapon. The direction of the wind and the current of the water, I can handle those. If we launch a strike in an unexpected moment, it would undoubtedly mean something. But… are you really okay with this? Those boats are not only a means of living for the villagers but also cherished belongings. Although I’ve prepared for this, if things go well, I was thinking of returning them safely. There was no need to go this far…”

“If we lose a boat, we can just make another. But territory that has been violated cannot be reclaimed. The foundation of life is more important than just a means of living, Baron. I wanted to let you know that we all feel that way.”

With a look of astonishment still on his face, Jeongjae exchanged glances between Huck and the boats filled with explosives. Even if these fishing boats manage to carry out their duty successfully, they’ll only be able to sink at most seven small enemy vessels.

It would be a miracle for such an event to even occur, but it still meant that it was a weapon capable of striking only about two percent of the enemy fleet. But is that enough? Is it satisfactory to risk one’s means of living to kill just two percent of the demons threatening their land?

Jeongjae felt that he could sense the very essence of these villagers in those small boats. It also affirmed that he had to bolster his own resolve. Not to appear less determined than they were. To ensure he does not seem less steadfast than them.

“I’ll gratefully accept these boats. To show you a fight worthy of your resolve, I won’t hesitate to deploy these boats to burn our enemies.”

“I’m looking forward to it; it’s a gift I present to you.”

At that moment, Jenis finished arranging six or seven strong men to set the howitzer up on a high ground at the shore. Though it wasn’t an enormous cannon, it could definitely serve as a meaningful source of firepower when combined with Jeongjae’s magic.

Looking calmly, Jeongjae noticed that his magical nets were actively being mobilized for warfare preparations as well. Not just the magical nets, it seemed the residents were forming a rather makeshift defense by weaving nets in the shallow parts of the sea to buy just a bit more time to stall the approaching vessels by serving as obstacles.

It was obviously a natural thing; without those nets, the residents wouldn’t be able to engage in any fishing activities. And even with those nets set up, the enormous ships the Demon King’s Army would bring could easily glide past or overcome those flimsy obstacles in no time.

The villagers weren’t fools. They knew that even if those large ships snagged in those flimsy nets, they wouldn’t sink or be immobilized.

But the momentary delay—the momentary time they could gain to fire upon the ships—was worth the residents sacrificing their means of living.

“Jenis, you haven’t threatened these people, have you?”

Jeongjae returned to the work site on the shore and stared at the tangled nets intensely. Jenis shook her head with a pouting expression.

“Do I really seem like such a wicked person?”

“No, even if it’s not a threat, I was wondering if you had somehow wove together your words in such a way that they would forsake their means of living. Of course, I find it rather moving and commendable… but is that really okay for the future?”

“This land was the territory of House Harker. Even now, they’re still under that influence. You should have a good talk with my father. He hasn’t sent a single soldier during times of danger; now that we’ve overcome it, we should get a solid supply of food and goods.”

“It’s quite a rare opportunity to make a show of pulling supplies from Count Harker, isn’t it? That gives me even more reason to win this battle.”

“I would love to see my father standing there speechless as he reluctantly provides supplies. He is always so serious and commanding over the other lords; it would certainly be a precious sight.”

Jeongjae and Jenis exchanged light-hearted banter. One howitzer, seven bomb-laden ships, a few dozen guards, and three thousand civilians.

A force of barely eight to ten thousand seemed far too weak to thwart a large-scale enemy landing. However, there was one Grand Mage here and his apprentice.

All the preparations that could be made were nearing completion. Once that was done, all that remained was to await the fateful showdown.