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

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The Gargoyle Queen was gazing at the desolate landscape with a frustrated expression.

This land was not originally meant to be this barren. The Demon King’s army simply crushed the human cities that were once here, destroying everything and leaving no traces behind.

Yet, just a mere few dozen kilometers away from the fortress she was guarding, news arrived that the Hero’s expedition was constructing a new fortress—or rather, a military city.

Following the Emperor’s command, Gargoyle Queen Diana sent an attack authorization request along with a detailed situation report to the Regent Succubus Queen, who was acting on behalf of the Demon King. It would have been nice if there was a way to request directly from the Demon King, but at the moment he had left to investigate after suspecting the Vampire Lord was up to something without his orders.

The Succubus Queen, usually cautious, was hesitating to approve the Gargoyle Queen’s attack request. The distance between the southern frontline and the Demon King’s castle wasn’t short, making communication slow, and with the Succubus Queen’s doubts rising, the orders were not forthcoming, leaving the Gargoyle in a state of anxiety.

“I often hear people say I’m foolish, but even I know that you have to strike before your enemy is fully prepared!”

The Gargoyle Queen shouted in anger. Her diamond-like fist slammed down on the edge of the castle wall, creating a loud bang.

Famous for her ignorance, she was not foolish enough to straightforwardly reject the Demon King’s orders. While she might subtly look down on the Succubus Queen, she would at least acknowledge that the latter was superior in terms of politics and scheming.

However, militarily, she was indecisive and quite clumsy. Although she was not originally that foolish, repeated defeats at the hands of the Hero had left the Demon King’s mother feeling fragile.

The Demon King seemed to have kept giving her chances, hoping that at least once, his mother would gain some successful experiences against the enemy, but the Nomember battle was the last opportunity in military terms.

Now, the Demon King’s intentions were clear. Even if the Succubus Queen’s fighting abilities were somewhat lacking, it was evident that she was in a difficult position strategically, being the head of the Succubus army with the largest network of information on the continent.

It seemed the Demon King planned to hand political power completely to the Succubus Queen, nurturing her as a middle manager to control the military authorities. It was a rather peculiar situation, where a child raises a parent, but the significant talent gap between mother and daughter made this ironic situation feel natural.

“Uh… Your Excellency, a response from the Demon King’s castle has arrived.”

At that moment, a messenger from the Demon King’s castle arrived. The Gargoyle Queen rolled her eyes at the petite Succubus.

“What is it? Another order not to deploy?”

“N-no, that’s not it. The Regent has granted permission to engage in battle. And there are a few requests…”

“Finally!”

The Gargoyle Queen shouted, slamming her fist down on the edge of the castle wall once more. This time, it was a joyful punch. She felt like charging out with her army right away, but knowing she couldn’t openly defy the Regent’s orders, the Gargoyle exercised patience.

“Please continue.”

“Ah, yes, Your Grace. So… the enemy could target our rear, so do not leave the main camp unattended. It’s good to strike hard, but prepare defenses on the flanks for potential sieges. Spare no dragons in order to take advantage of the aerial superiority, and… be cautious in battle to avoid falling into traps. That is what was instructed.”

“Nothing significant. In the end, it’s just a warning against their failures.”

The Gargoyle scoffed. While she shouted “charge!” without hesitation, she wasn’t completely devoid of common sense. Naturally, she planned to send her dragons leading the assault units, but she was aware enough to halt if they came too close to the enemy’s fortresses.

There was no reason to leave her good dragons idle and not scout from the sky. Building several fortresses allows for possible ambushes or surprises, but in a place surrounded by no bushes, a surprise attack using concealment magic would be difficult. Even if there were bushes, she could just burn them away with the breath of a dragon.

With a dragon capable of spotting everything from high above, there was no need to rush into the enemy camp; the Succubus Queen’s suggestion to use the dragons was something she had planned to do anyway.

“It seems the Regent was feeling anxious. Perhaps they thought I might charge ahead and ignore your orders if I stayed around a bit longer.”

The Gargoyle Queen mumbled. It was not unreasonable for the Succubus Queen to think that way. After the last Nomember battle, voices comparing the lack of damage from the Succubus Queen to the tremendous devastation caused by the Gargoyle Queen had risen.

Of course, if you consider the detailed circumstances, the Gargoyle Queen benefited greatly from the Demon King’s troops that struck several castles along the border simultaneously, and she too had suffered injuries and faced defeat when the Hero and his party arrived late to the Nomember fortress.

However, evaluations tend to flow with the tide. During the first return, the Gargoyle Queen was pinpointed as the main reason for the failure of the autumn offensive, receiving poor evaluations within the Demon King’s army, but now her achievements were being rated positively in comparison to the ridiculously horrible performance of the Succubus Queen.

The Demon King giving the Gargoyle Queen the title of General during this campaign also reflected the trend of those evaluations.

The Gargoyle Queen covertly instructed her subordinates to prepare for the deployment and then headed directly to see the dragons. Dragons had a strong sense of pride. Sending a messenger to inform the dragons about the deployment was something that should be avoided unless you were a respected figure like the Demon King or the Dragon Lord.

The white dragon Etrias had been provided by the Dragon Lord. While the dragon was selected for this mission, the Gargoyle Queen got the strong impression that Etrias was more inclined towards self-preservation than breaking through or destruction.

“Looks like you’re focused on not losing…”

The Gargoyle Queen muttered while looking at the dragon curled up and sleeping from a distance. Since losing the red dragon due to Walter Hellhound’s baiting tactics, her fear of further losses of dragons had become quite intense.

Rumors circulated that the lost dragon was an illegitimate child of the lord. The Gargoyle Queen found that rumor more convincing than it appeared.

Of course, from the Gargoyle Queen’s perspective, who believed that breaking through and destruction were the best forms of defense, the Dragon Lord’s attitude didn’t make sense. If she were in the Dragon Lord’s position, she would deploy two or three of the strongest fire-breathing dragons to ensure a decisive victory over the enemy.

While it was understandable to keep a minimum number of troops in reserve due to rumors that the Demon King might attempt a purge of the Dragon Lord if he lost all of his reputable dragons, wasn’t it also true that leaving behind such destructive capabilities would only strengthen the dragons’ influence within the Demon King’s army, making the Demon King even more hesitant to act carelessly?

“Hey, white dragon friend.”

The Gargoyle Queen spread her crystal-like wings and flew over to Etrias, waving her hand. The dragon seemed to notice the Gargoyle Queen’s presence, narrowing its eyes slightly and lifting its head to confirm her appearance.

“Is that you, General? It’s been a while since you’ve come to visit. I was about to make a nest here.”

The white dragon politely bowed its head toward the Gargoyle Queen. Although it didn’t shine as brightly as the Gargoyle Queen, who was composed entirely of diamond, the white dragon’s scales also sparkled brilliantly.

However, in stark contrast, the two bright yellow eyes had a dark aura, and its massive body, measuring 50 meters from head to tail, exuded an overwhelming presence.

That presence became more pronounced once the dragon spread its wings and took flight, and its strength was truly felt when it began casting spells and unleashing magic.

Even if it wasn’t a dragon specialized in breathing fire, it was rare for anyone to be able to receive serious injuries without preparations before such a powerful creature.

“Please hold off on building your nest for a bit, Etrias. I have a feeling it could become a collector’s item.”

“The shining body does indeed stimulate the dragon’s collecting instincts, but how could a mere fire dragon collect a general?”

Etrias responded in a refined voice. It was so elegant that anyone hearing it for the first time might think someone was using ventriloquism from behind.

In fact, such elegance was one of the biggest reasons why Krakens, which were not inferior to dragons in the sea, were not recognized as part of the dragon lineage.

Though they looked entirely different from a dragon, if you traced them back, they shared a common root.

However, Krakens evolved to handle powerful dark mana in the sea and had not developed as elegantly as the flying fire dragons.

The Dragon Lord treated Krakens as illegitimate offspring of dragons and would hardly pay attention to them unless in very special situations. For the Demon King, this was a convenient circumstance. Consequently, powerful Krakens pledged their endless loyalty directly to the Demon King instead of the Dragon Lord.

“By the way, coming to see me directly means there may be some changes in the situation. I haven’t been able to read the enemy’s movements.”

“It seems they’re taking a nap, so how could I sense how the enemy is moving?”

“Because we’re close. It’s not that close to notice a single ant passing by, but we’re not too far away to be oblivious to troop movements.”

“Well, that’s true. The movements are on our side. I want to assign the role of vanguard. Whether it’s the Crown Princess or the Hero, they’ll feel compelled to respond when the dragon spreads its wings. So I hope you can catch the Hero while I deal with the Crown Princess.”

“How about we fly over and unleash flames upon the fortress while ignoring them completely?”

“Now that’s very much to my taste!”

The Gargoyle Queen clenched her fist. However, after being appointed as General, her sense of responsibility held her back. The Gargoyle shook her head and replied.

“But what if I get caught by both of them while doing that? I might really die, you know? One is manageable, but two is pushing it.”

“That’s certainly true. And honestly, I can’t recklessly go deep either because I’m terrified of the fairy’s arrows. High Elf arrows can pierce through even the thickest dragon scales.”

Etrias was aware that Margaret was personally leading the army here. While ordinary people often fail to notice even when the world’s strongest Fairy Lord is nearby, it is exceedingly difficult for dragons, who wield the universe’s strongest dark mana, to sense the existence of Elves living under the brightest light.

Moreover, the Elf Corps accompanying this expedition were boldly advancing, seemingly to provoke some of the Lord Dragons’ senses, showing off their presence without attempting to conceal it. Naturally, Margaret, clad in royal splendor, was breathtakingly radiant in the eyes of the two dragons.

“Puhaha, then when we charge in, Margaret will also respond immediately. This won’t be easy. I can guess why they’re urging for caution.”

“You could boldly charge; there won’t be a troublesome opponent for me.”

“Are you talking about Park Jeong-jae?”

“He is the only human who could directly strip me of my defensive magic and even engage me in a struggle. In terms of a mana duel, no dragon could match him, excluding our lord, of course.”

“I heard he is staying back. That information must be reliable.”

The Gargoyle Queen had direct experience of almost melting when hit by Park Jeong-jae’s intricate magic circle. For her, who possessed a too solid body, such pain and destruction were quite terrifying.

“That’s for sure. At least today, there’s no sign of a Grand Mage here. Whatever the intention might be, the Hero has excluded him from the frontline. The reason for that isn’t something we need to worry about.”

That Park Jeong-jae being excluded from the Hero’s party had become a topic of significant attention within the higher echelons of the Demon King’s army. Especially after rumors spread that the raid on Harriet’s Territory ended in a massive failure.

However, the Demon King decided to no longer waste resources on capturing that territory, and as the Hero’s northern expedition began, it became even more challenging to use troops for rear infiltration. That reason was of no concern to the dragons and the Gargoyle, who were tasked with the frontline defense.

What they needed to focus on was how to turn this peculiar situation into an opportunity. That was all.

“When we begin our attack, the enemy will also respond by bringing their commanders to counter. The Hero Walter Hellhound, Crown Princess Rose Caprice, and Margaret from Eramenia.”

“Don’t forget about Alex Caprice and Bernard Silverpoint.”

The dragon politely pointed out. At the white dragon’s words, the Gargoyle Queen tilted her head.

“The prince and the hunter? Do they have any special capabilities?”

“Even so, they are not to be underestimated.”

Etrias slightly shuddered. A peculiar smile seemed to flicker across the face of the massive lizard.

“Among the humans, that is.”