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

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The western archers from the 50th Cavalry Unit shot arrows from the northwest, driving the monsters into a position where they could not escape. The western spearmen and the imperial soldiers continued to pressure from the southwest, inciting fratricide and breaking the line of the Demon King’s Army.

Around 2,000 Eramenian heavy infantry and archers pushed forward with large shields from the western front, pressing the Demon King’s Army and forming a perfect encirclement following the blocked eastern front.

Even when including both the imperial and Eramenian forces, their number barely reached 10,000. The overwhelming Demon King’s Army, exceeding 20,000, was caught in a bizarre phenomenon of being surrounded by forces not even half their size.

What was even more dreadful from the perspective of the Demon King’s Army was that they had no idea how many enemies were surrounding them. Even the Succubus Queen, who needed to regain her composure and reorganize her troops, could only shout the same words in panic as she looked around desperately.

“What is the number of the enemies! What are we fighting against! What in the world is happening—ahhh!”

Before she knew it, the elf archers had driven deep into the camp, spotting the Succubus Queen and starting to fire arrows. Although, being a high-ranking officer of the Demon King’s Army, the Succubus Queen spread her wings and deflected most of the arrows, one shot grazed past her face, leaving a long, torn wound.

“How dare you mar my face…”

“This is not the time, Your Highness. The north is open. We must retreat quickly—”

The shadow knight, who was about to urgently counsel the Succubus Queen, tripped over another orc’s foot in the chaos. The status of the shadow knights within the Demon King’s Army was incomparable to a mere orc, but would the orcs, running around in confusion, have the mind to care?

As the shadow knight lay under the orc’s foot, he sprang up as soon as the orc passed over him, drew his sword, and struck down the very orc that had just trampled him. The orc likely didn’t even realize who had killed him in the chaos.

“The north is open?”

“Elves are charging from the east and west, and the Hero’s army is advancing from the south. The enemy’s morale is strong, but in reality, their numbers don’t seem to be that many. They couldn’t fully seal off the north!”

“It could be a trap to lure us to the north!”

“If it’s a trap, what will you do? If we just sit here, the fairies’ arrows will rain down on us! Rather, if you think the enemies are too cowardly to wipe us out and have created a retreat route to the north—”

At that moment, the shadow knight found himself in a truly irretrievable situation. An elf’s arrow had come flying from somewhere, penetrating the gap in his neck, cutting off his breath.

The shadow knight truly vanished like a shadow, leaving only his empty armor behind as he evaporated. The Succubus Queen, fearing she might be targeted for concentrated fire if spotted, could not take flight and merely ran madly to the north. About 30% of her army was surely slaughtered. The Demon King’s Army had lost its combat capabilities and had no remaining command authority to regain control over the surviving forces.

The Succubus Queen concluded that there was nothing she could do in the midst of chaos, deciding to escape north and free the trapped soldiers.

Defeat was inevitable. What remained was ‘how well she would escape.’ Her future of trembling before the Demon King upon returning to the castle loomed vividly, but if she didn’t at least gather the remaining troops, it would be truly hard to avoid demotion or even worse punishments.

As the Succubus Queen dashed north, Rose, charging from the west on her black horse, shouted.

“That Demon Lord is fleeing! Capture and kill her!”

The Succubus Queen urgently conjured a magic circle to create a shield and threw it at Rose. While Rose was blocked by the transparent barrier and couldn’t advance any further, the Succubus Queen spread her wings and shoved aside her soldiers, fleeing as fast as her feet could carry her.

From the south, Walter wielded the Holy Sword and steadily advanced. The holy sword emitted white light, already drenched in the blood of orcs and ogres, while the skeletons struck by the blade disintegrated into nothingness.

Simultaneously, the elf archers were weaving through and constructing a net of arrows to corner the Succubus Queen. When over a hundred arrows rained down towards her at once, the Queen could not hide her panic, but wrapping herself in her wings, she spun like a drill and managed to deflect all the attacks.

Of course, the huge wings that the Succubus Queen was proud of could not avoid becoming tattered like a rag.

“I will not die here, not in a place like this! Even if my neck is severed in front of my daughter, I am not some monster that deserves to die in such a place!”

Shouting as she barely broke through the elf’s encirclement, the Succubus Queen saw Walter watching her from behind and lightly gestured towards the elves in the north.

The sharp-eyed fairies understood his signal from a distance. ‘Let her go,’ Walter’s gesture clearly conveyed.

Walter sheathed his Holy Sword and picked up the weapon used by a fallen imperial soldier from the ground.

“Just borrowing it for a bit. My sword needs some rest.”

Walter mumbled softly. The Hero’s greatest power came from the Holy Sword, but the sacred power wasn’t everything. Just because he lacked the white light didn’t mean Walter Hellhound was a poor warrior, nor did the absence of his glasses make him a foolish strategist.

Holding the ordinary sword of a typical imperial soldier, Walter began to decimate the monsters thrown into chaos. Slowly, he completely opened the northern route, allowing the monsters to escape while the Eramenian forces concentrated on annihilating the Demon King’s Army from three sides to increase enemy casualties.

After about two hours. It required an agonizing two hours until the last remnants of the Demon King’s Army fled to the north and the Elf Army no longer pursued them.

Finally, the battle ended. In the plains north of No Member Fortress, the piles of meat far outnumbered the visible tufts of grass on the land. Standing on the carcass of an orc while gazing at the blood-soaked battlefield, Walter muttered.

“This will not be easy to tidy up.”

As the battle concluded, Walter’s aggressive demeanor melted away like snow. With trembling hands, he dropped the sword and quickly picked it up again, walking unsteadily to find the body of the imperial soldier whose sword he had borrowed.

That was over 100 meters from where Walter had originally stood, but he could accurately find that body. It wasn’t simply because Walter had a good memory; he had an unshakeable trait of never forgetting the faces of the deceased, regardless of his memory. Even if he tried to forget, the faces of the followers who had once served him would often appear in dreams, making the faces of the dead more familiar than the living.

“I borrowed it well. Thank you for your great help.”

Walter said as he returned the sword to the corpse’s sheath. By then, two people had approached him. One was his lover, Rose Caprice, and the other was a long-haired elf commander who had led two legions in this battle.

“You can be a little pleased, Walter. It’s a great victory. I know you can’t allow yourself to rejoice fully, but it’s not good to be gloomy even in victory, especially for the entire army.”

Rose offered calm, realistic advice. It was inevitable that Walter’s sensitive nature would place mourning for the dead above the joy of victory, but the victorious army needed the celebration of triumph.

Walter nodded in understanding of her words and took off his glasses. This time, turning to the elf commander, Walter stretched out one hand and requested a handshake.

“Phineas Marbellius. Excellent command. It was a battle that allowed me to understand why Eramenian forces are regarded as the strongest in the world.”

The elf named Phineas had jet-black hair that shone with luster and bore a proud expression typical of elves, resembling a handsome young man. Of course, “young man” was relative to fairy standards; his age was certainly not less than Margaret’s.

“Your ability to signal at the right moment was far more remarkable. It was a battle that made it clear why Her Highness entrusted command to you.”

“Indeed, humans and elves are strongest when together.”

“Princess Margaret did not doubt that fact either. Her servants hold the same view.”

After shaking hands in a friendly atmosphere, the two men turned back to their respective armies. The appearance of the imperial forces was by no means intact.

After all, it was right after a reckless encirclement attack against twice the number of enemies. Many had died, and wounded soldiers were often seen. There were even those who could no longer fight due to losing parts of their bodies.

Yet, there were no demoralized soldiers to be found. Not a single imperial soldier had lost their courage.

That was the difference between the enemy and the allies. Within the Demon King’s Army, regardless of how unscathed a monster fled, there would be many whose will and fighting spirit had broken. That was what a defeated army looked like.

Yet on this side, even if injured, collapsed, or even dead, there existed no soldiers whose will had been broken. Walter determined it was time to make an announcement. He climbed atop the corpse of an ogre nearby, using it as an impromptu platform. Thousands of soldiers realized that the Hero was about to say something important and began to converge around him.

Walter started by raising the Holy Sword high into the sky.

“I commend you all. I express my heartfelt respect for each of you. You faced strong enemies armed only with a spear and a piece of armor, refusing to yield. The courage I possessed simply because I was stronger than the enemy, you achieved while being weaker than them. As a Hero, I want to sincerely honor all that courage.”

Walter bowed his head to the soldiers. In response, the soldiers shouted Walter’s name, expressing their respect for the Hero. Walter nodded with a smile on his face and continued speaking.

“Now, cheer! We have won the battle! We withstood attacks that could not be halted without true courage and will, and we inflicted irreparable wounds and strikes upon none other than the Demon King’s mother. The one who fled, showing such foolishness before us today, is none other than a high-ranking officer of the Demon King’s Army! Even the Demon King’s kin is so incompetent, who could stop you? Who could stop us? This is a great victory. Therefore, cheer. Gather all the joy that colors this land with the blood of the enemy and cheer!”

“Wowww! Long live the Audrich Empire! Long live Hero Walter Hellhound!”

“This battle will be the signal flare!”

Cutting off the soldiers’ cheers, Walter shouted.

“For seven long years of endless defense, even the most patient among you in the empire have become indignant. While we always held the advantage during minor skirmishes, we could never progress properly. We captured one stronghold only to have it taken from us again, moving forward but retreating without achieving any occupation in continuous battles. You have all been with us throughout this war, and you know how many humiliations we have borne while on the defensive! How much shame we have suffered!”

The soldiers remained silent. The anger and resolute determination contained in Walter’s voice echoed in the hearts of the imperial soldiers.

“From this point forward, I declare that the Audrich Empire will embark on a full-scale northern campaign. Ah, you haven’t misheard! It’s a northern campaign! Northward, advancing, conquest, call it what you will! But what is certain is that we will move to the north. Until when should we just watch the Demon King possess territory double that of our empire? Until when should we watch our cherished Caprice be placed before the enemy’s doorstep?”

Walter’s declaration left even Rose in shock, her mouth agape. Whenever the radical imperial generals had called for a full-scale northern campaign, Walter had been quick to reject the proposal, deeming it premature.

“The moment you all longed for has come. The moment we all longed for has come. The unity of humans and elves has never before been as strong in the history of this continent, and humans have solidified more than ever in the face of existential crises. If you understand my words, shout about where you will go! Answer my question!”

“North! North! North!”

“Where will we reach if we go north? To what extent will we stop?”

“To the Demon King’s castle! Demon King’s castle! Demon King’s castle! Demon King’s castle! Demon King’s castle!”

“That’s a satisfying answer. We will light fire to the Demon King’s castle and will not stop until we have severed the head of its master. Only forward exists, and not a single step back. If future generations ask where humanity’s great counterattack against the enemy began, let them answer it began from today at No Member Fortress!”

“Wowww!”

With the soldiers’ cheers, Walter struck down heavily with the Holy Sword upon the ogre’s corpse he was standing on. The ogre’s body was neatly sliced in half, and the Hero landed naturally, drenched in blood.

Reeking of blood, Walter began to walk toward No Member Fortress, listening to the soldiers’ cheers, preparing to clean up the battlefield and reorganize the army.

Rose hurriedly followed after Walter and asked.

“Do you mean it? What you just said.”

“It’s sincere beyond a shadow of a doubt, Rose. We have endured too long. It’s now time to shift to an all-out offensive.”

“I’m not arguing against that, but if that’s the case, we need all available power as much as possible. For example… there’s no reason to leave the strongest grand mage on the continent behind, right?”

Walter smiled back as if he couldn’t help it at Rose’s words.

“Don’t worry, Rose. When the time comes, that guy will have to play his part. Perhaps an even more important role than mine.”

“The elves will join you, Hero. You’re right. The bond between humans and elves has never been stronger than now. This tragic war is the best opportunity for the two rational races to forge a long-lasting friendship.”

Phineas approached Walter and said. Walter nodded cheerfully, agreeing with Phineas’s words.

The battle of No Member is concluded with Walter’s declaration to completely overturn the flow of war up to this point.

At the same time, the great mage’s party left behind in the rear was visiting Duke Jeffrey’s Territory, the top noble family of the empire, as part of diplomatic efforts to completely redefine the relationships among the local nobility.