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

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The battle may have ended, but the aftermath was another conundrum. The beach was littered with the corpses of the orcs that sank into the sea, and it was impossible to gauge the effort needed to restore it to its former state. To make matters worse, we had exhausted most of our spears during the fight, and our only artillery piece had broken down, presenting a military issue.

In summary, our livelihoods were shattered, and we lost the military capability to respond to any potential retaliatory invasion. It was a precious victory, but it was hard to conclude that we had crushed the enemy’s invading capacity; it could only be seen as an uneasy triumph.

Even without any specific instructions from Jeongjae, the townsfolk flocked to the beach and began to collect the orc corpses. They gathered up the bodies and ash and used shovels to dig up the ground, trying desperately to restore the beach to its previous appearance. With all the fishing boats lost, it would be difficult to undertake any sea purification efforts. Still, the people opted to do something, no matter how small, in order to reclaim the sight of their homeland.

Jeongjae wanted to help them, but he was simply too fatigued and worn out at the moment. For some reason, he felt that the townsfolk wouldn’t blame him if he chose to be a bit lazy today.

Moreover, he was in a situation where he had to welcome a guest from afar.

Jeongjae approached Philip, who was in the midst of the beach cleanup efforts.

“Captain of the Guard, you have worked hard today.”

“Baron, you were truly remarkable. I respect you more than ever.”

Philip responded with a cheerful tone. Jeongjae nodded with a faint smile.

“I appreciate you saying that. But for now, bring the people hiding in the shelter back, and set up guards at the border of the territory. The battle is over; we need to start preparing to return to normalcy.”

“Yes, understood! Having had a taste of our power, the enemy won’t dare to invade us carelessly!”

Philip joyfully ran towards the boundary of Harriet’s Territory. Jenis approached Jeongjae and spoke in a worried tone.

“Surely they won’t try to invade us again, right?”

“Right. But… what if they do?”

“That would be a problem. I’m not sure we can withstand the next attack from the enemy.”

The two tried their best to speak in hushed tones, not wanting to spoil the joy of victory for the townsfolk, but their voices were still loud enough to catch the sensitive ears of Margaret.

Margaret approached them, clearing her throat lightly.

“Excuse me, may I share my thoughts?”

“Oh, if you wish to share your opinion, I have no reason to refuse. Please, do tell.”

“The reason Walter Hellhound has forbidden my deployment is that it could provoke the Demon King’s secondary invasion.”

At Margaret’s words, Jenis and Jeongjae exchanged troubled glances. An awkward silence lingered for a moment, and Jenis was the first to speak.

“So what you’re saying is, the princess intended to bring an army here, but the Hero prevented that?”

“Exactly. If I move forces, the Demon King will be convinced that something is amiss in this territory, and that could ultimately lead to a second landing. It seems that there is a high possibility of dragons being deployed at that time.”

“I don’t want to face dragons again. One dragon might be manageable, but a dragon leading subordinates is beyond my capabilities.”

Jeongjae shivered at the thought. Margaret nodded lightly.

“The Dragon Lord is strong, but his personality leans toward caution, even to the point of indecision. When drafting the previous battle plan, he likely refrained from deploying dragons knowing that there were four beings capable of killing them. However, he is also a subordinate of the Demon King. If there is a royal command, he would have no choice but to deploy dragons.”

“Since the Dragon Lord extremely despises losing dragons, he will deploy forces that can reliably crush the enemies once they are sent in. If that were to happen, there would be no way out. We would have to request Walter’s help and flee like mad until we can’t hold on any longer.”

“But he didn’t bring an army with him. Doesn’t that prevent the second invasion?”

Jenis pointed out. Margaret nodded in agreement.

“According to Walter, that is the case. If I were to bring an army, the Demon King would doubt something, but if I come alone, he might think there is a disagreement between us and give up on a reinvasion.”

“If that’s Walter’s thinking, we have no choice but to trust it for now. Frankly, I can’t think of any better alternatives.”

Jeongjae nodded. His tone conveyed that he didn’t want to dwell on this issue for too long.

Indeed, Jeongjae was in a state of fatigue. Rather than continue to burden the Baron with discussions of a possibly looming secondary invasion, the two women exchanged nods and agreed to drop the subject.

“By the way, Margaret, since it’s been quite a while since we’ve seen each other, wouldn’t it be better for you to stay for a bit? Even if it’s not for long, since you don’t seem to be at your best, you could stay here for a few days. I promise to offer you the best hospitality a lord can give to a hero of this battle!”

Margaret’s face flushed slightly at Jeongjae’s suggestion. After momentarily perking her ears and looking up at Harriet Castle, she shyly responded.

“Alright, then I’ll look forward to your kindness for a few days.”

Jenis couldn’t overtly oppose the idea, but she turned her head away from Jeongjae and stuck her tongue out, as he couldn’t see.

It didn’t take long for the results of this battle to reach the Demon King’s Castle.

Upon hearing the dismal report of the battle’s outcome, the Demon King repeatedly slammed his fist against the armrest of his throne with a dissatisfied expression, summoning the Dragon Lord, the chief commander.

The dragon that held the plans for this operation trembled at the thought of facing the Demon King’s wrath as he entered the throne room.

“Dragon Lord, you must have some idea why I called you here.”

“I have sinned, Your Majesty. I judged that this level of forces would be sufficient—”

“It is not because of a loss that I called you here, Dragon Lord.”

The Demon King rose from his throne. His swaying tail wrapped around the throne, twisting it as if squeezing. The Dragon Lord could not look up, kneeling low before the Demon King.

“If that is the case, Your Majesty, I truly apologize. With my limited intellect, I cannot grasp why the Great King summoned me because of defeat.”

“Winning and losing are always part of battle. I experienced a crushing defeat during the autumn offensive involving dozens of legions. How could I reprimand the noble Dragon Lord for losing just three legions? Such things are irrelevant.”

The Demon King paused for a moment. Just as the Dragon Lord was trying to gauge the atmosphere, the Demon King suddenly shouted at him.

“Those things are irrelevant! If you had realized my intentions and brought about an appropriate result, it would be a different matter!”

“H-however, Your Majesty! What other appropriate results could I have besides capturing Harriet’s Territory?”

“Information! Information on the enemy’s thoughts, how the enemy moves, understanding this would allow us to determine how we should move forward! I initially moved for that reason, and if I had learned that, sacrificing three legions and three hundred ships would have been worth it. Isn’t that so?”

The Demon King’s fierce gaze began to tear through the Dragon Lord’s mind. The Dragon Lord, realizing that the Demon King was casting a mental oppression spell on him, muttered a small defense spell to protect his mind.

The Demon King smirked, showing a hint of amusement.

“Even amidst this, you protect yourself well, Commander.”

“How could I protect you if I cannot protect myself?”

“I did not appoint you to your position to banter. Now answer my question. Is Harriet’s Territory worth the trouble of taking again?”

The Dragon Lord seemed to sweat profusely, grasping for an answer to the Demon King’s question. Seeing him, the Demon King clicked his tongue in disappointment as he sunk back into his throne.

“Since your head isn’t particularly clever, I will kindly ask a detailed question. First, did the enemy have the will to defend this territory?”

“Indeed, they did. According to Kraken’s report, it seems they ensured not a single orc crossed the beach.”

“Then at least the Grand Mage values that land. But that alone doesn’t assure whether the land is strategically valuable or if they are just desperately holding it out of a sense of duty.”

“What would you like to know, Your Majesty?”

“Did the Hero send reinforcements? I have made no effort to hide that I will soon invade that territory. The preparations for the landing couldn’t have escaped Reina’s red eyes, so it was destined for defeat. So, I want to know if Walter Hellhound went out of his way to divide his forces and send support to Harriet’s Territory?”

“Well… it seems he did send someone.”

“He didn’t send anyone? That’s a vague statement. Be precise.”

“It seems he sent one person. It’s Margaret of Eramenia. She charged in with a flag and participated in the battle, apparently dealing a decisive blow to our forces at the end.”

For a moment, the Demon King was at a loss for words. The Dragon Lord seemed to ponder the significance of the information he presented.

“Margaret of Eramenia. Margaret of Eramenia… Dragon Lord, do you have any evidence to confirm that she acted under Walter Hellhound’s orders?”

“However, she is one of the Hero’s personal guards. Isn’t that the logical conclusion?”

“Even so, was she in a position subordinate to the Hero? You still have much to learn. No matter how great a Hero, they cannot command a noble Fairy Lord without discretion. This also applies to Caprice.”

The Demon King fell into contemplation once more.

“Yet, if that is the case, why didn’t the legion of Eramenia deploy? It’s hard to believe there was simply not enough time to prepare an army. If it’s true that Margaret of Eramenia acted alone, then she must have been the one responsible for the kobold massacre that took place in the rugged mountain range days ago. But wouldn’t it have been faster for her to lead a legion and traverse straight through rather than crossing the mountains alone?”

“Are you saying it would have been faster for her to move with an army compared to acting alone?”

“Remarkably, in this case, yes.”

“Then it’s possible that Richard stopped the movement of the legion.”

“There’s a possibility, but could the Fairy Lord possess that much fortitude? Was he so unkind as to risk his only daughter in a greater peril just because he didn’t want to send the army? From what I’ve heard, it doesn’t seem so. I’m inclined to think Walter Hellhound has intervened with her actions.”

“Did you not just say that even a Hero cannot command her at will?”

“There would be an argument. The two could argue with each other…”

As the Demon King muttered, lost in thought, he began to draw a slow conclusion, despite showing a puzzled expression.

“There’s a feeling that something is off, but based on my speculation, it seems that the Fairy Lord intended to lead an army to support the Grand Mage, but the Hero intervened. No matter how one thinks about it, the Grand Mage’s safety was a critical issue for the elves, but for the Hero, it likely wasn’t significant.”

“Are you suggesting that there’s a special bond between the Elf and the Mage?”

“It seems that the army did not deploy, indicating that the general wanted to move the forces but couldn’t due to resentment and frustration. It seems Walter Hellhound isn’t particularly interested in the Harriet Territory. Regardless of the Elf’s thoughts, if the Hero doesn’t fall into the trap, it hardly holds any significance for him to strike that insignificant land again.”

The Demon King, while reaching this final conclusion, still maintained an expression of dissatisfaction.

Even after concluding that attacking Harriet’s Territory was futile through this battle, the Demon King remained submerged in thought for a while but ultimately found no better conclusion, and his opinion did not change.

“Anyway, through this battle, I realized that the Grand Mage’s powers are not at all diminished, and despite such power being intact, the Hero has no longer found it necessary. I feel pity that I cannot even derive such a simple logic with the dragons I command.”

“I…I am sorry, Your Majesty.”

“Enough. Then report on another important matter. What is the Hero now truly focused on, completely ignoring the affairs of Harriet’s Territory?”

“I wanted to inform you that Walter Hellhound’s army has entered the No-Member region. According to the report, it seems the Hero and the princess’s armies have begun to construct a military fortress in the ruined No-Member.”

“In No-Member?”

The Demon King sprang up from his seat. The flames of rage began to ignite in his eyes.

“Then destroy it at once! If that area falls back into enemy hands, that guy will surely launch another offensive come spring next year!”

“We’ve already taken action, Your Majesty. Please relax and await the results.”

“Among my subordinates, there’s not a single one who can stand against a Hero face to face and truly win! So how am I supposed to rest easy? Don’t spout nonsense and just get out of my sight!”

The Demon King erupted with fury. From a lord commanding over two million troops and controlling seven-tenths of the continent, genuine agony and frustration were evident in his voice.