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

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Between Walter’s Fortress Forest and the Gargoyle Queen’s stronghold was a distance of several dozen kilometers, and naturally, the war stage unfolding in between was quite vast.

In the middle of the plain, while the Dragon and the Hero were engaged in a battle of the stars, the other mobile units had no trouble veering around the fierce combat zone to confront each other.

This battle began with an attack from the Demon King’s Army, so the first proactive moves were taken by them. The first report of about twenty-five Orc legions launching a surprise attack from the west reached Alex Caprice, who was the field commander.

Elven General Phineas Marbelius, leading the Eramenian forces, and Alex, who was temporarily acting as the Empire’s military commander, gathered seriously to discuss countermeasures.

“According to reports, the enemy forces number around eighty thousand. I suspect they will extract most of the troops stationed at the defensive fortifications and push them in.”

Phineas spoke. With a serious expression, Alex looked over the rough map drawn on the paper. There was nothing special about the surrounding terrain that required particular observation or separate marking.

It was just wide open plains—so vast that dozens or even hundreds of legions could pass by each other without confrontation.

Alex inferred the enemy’s intention to engage in battle on entirely separate fields, disconnected from the fierce combat taking place in the center, as he noted that the enemy movements in the report were distant from where the Dragon and the Hero were fighting.

This was ultimately an extremely advantageous battle for the Demon King’s Army.

The Imperial Army needed to manage both fights, but for the Demon King’s Army, winning even one of the two battles could be deemed a victory.

The scale of the forces led by Walter’s Northern Expeditionary Force and the Gargoyle Queen’s defense army did not differ significantly. Walter had a slightly larger military force, but considering that the Imperial forces were an expeditionary army far from their hometown, the difference was not overwhelming.

Nevertheless, the Demon King’s Army’s division of the battlefield offered absolute superiority. Although they were in a defensive position, the crucial reason was that the Demon King’s Army would not collapse immediately even after losing about eighty thousand troops.

The Demon King’s Army had two million Orcs they could deploy immediately for battle, and when accounting for various other lesser races, they commanded a massive force totaling three million.

Over the past decade, the current Demon King’s aggressive expansion policy had pushed the Empire down to the southern tip of the continent, but paradoxically, this reckless expansion created numerous contradictions within the Demon King’s Army.

Conflicts began to arise among various factions with vested interests concerning rewards for achievements and land distribution, and instead of actively advancing for the Demon King’s conquest, minor factions desiring to taint the lands abandoned by humanity and claim them as their own territory emerged.

Although the Demon King initially took stringent actions declaring such behavior as treason, she soon realized that excessive regulation could lead to a full-blown civil war and thus partially accepted the feudal system of the Audrich Empire, allowing various factions to self-generate within the Demon King’s Army.

The local lords of the Audrich Empire were elite individuals with high education, allowing for efficient control through the elected legislative body known as the Imperial Assembly. However, the Demon King did not believe that monsters like Orcs were capable of intellectual actions comparable to humans, viewing them simply as creatures that set up flags on the land and claimed it as their own.

Consequently, the Demon King continuously strengthened the authority of the central government while increasing control over the territories occupied by the Demon King’s Army, fully exerting efforts to keep an eye on the Dragon Lords who could potentially threaten her authority at any moment.

This was the reason the number of troops she could deploy for a major offensive was significantly limited compared to her total forces.

However, the situation changed drastically once she entered a defensive state. The Demon King could reorganize her reserve forces more freely under the pretext of maintaining territorial integrity and could pour them out dramatically.

Rather, Orc tribes or individual legions that had been forming independently might feel a sense of crisis and actively join the Demon King’s Army for their own protection.

In other words, while it could take the Demon King’s Army considerable effort to mobilize even fifty thousand troops in an offensive situation, once they switched to defense, they could exhibit mind-boggling assaults, like swiftly sacrificing one hundred thousand troops and then immediately sending in another hundred thousand.

Even if it was the same one hundred thousand, for the Demon King’s Army, it was expendable, while for the Imperial Army, it was a national force. The fact that the Demon King’s Army did not have a systematic military reserve system capable of mobilizing hundreds of thousands of Orcs simultaneously offered a small consolation in that they faced reality by engaging in battles of two consecutive casualties of thirty times.

Of course, saying all this doesn’t provide consolation to the commander on the field. It’s akin to ordering someone to swim through a boiling river at 100 degrees while saying, “Well, at least it’s not lava.”

“For now, let’s lure the enemy and draw them out gradually. If our fewer legions respond by striking and retreating, it will disrupt their formation. Alternatively, we might induce the enemy’s doubt and slow their advance. The Eramenian forces will remain as a trump card to be deployed at the right moment; we’ll handle our response first.”

Alex boldly suggested. No matter how talented he was, even Rose could not ignore the fact that Alex Caprice was a complete novice, and in fact, less experienced even than ordinary battalion commanders.

Walter hadn’t initially intended to transfer command authority to him while dragging Margaret and Rose into the Star War, but inadvertently forgetting to properly arrange for the circumstances led to the naturally awkward position where Commander Alex was now granted overall command.

If someone had demanded to transfer command by saying, “I’d rather do it myself,” Alex would have willingly handed it over, but there seemed to be no bold and capable commander who would ask to seize command over ‘the Crown Princess Rose’s brother’.

Phineas did not appear very satisfied with Alex’s plan, but it seemed he couldn’t find grounds to refute it, simply nodding and stepping back.

Alex immediately ordered his adjutant to instruct the two legions to engage in a strike-and-retreat strategy to gradually slow down the enemy’s advance.

At any rate, the Imperial infantry legions had not yet completed their preparations to respond from the fort, so he intended to buy time to lay a position on the plains somehow.

Unfortunately, the result was catastrophic.

About two hours later, as Alex was meticulously arranging the formations for twenty infantry legions to counter the drawn-out enemy, tragic news reached him.

“Y-your Highness.”

One soldier wearing a battalion commander’s insignia stood before Alex in a terrible state. Sensing something bad had happened, Alex, without his helmet, questioned the soldier.

“What’s wrong? Did we lose the fight? Did we fail to delay the enemy?”

“All were wiped out… Both legions were entirely annihilated.”

“Annihilated?”

“They did not hesitate. We attempted to delay them as directed to make the enemy hesitate, but… the enemy… did not know how to stop. While our side was trying to draw the enemy’s attention from the east, the enemy charged straight at our formations and shattered our lines. We fought as hard as we could but…”

The damage was about four thousand warriors dead, over five hundred seriously injured. Only around a thousand men returned alive with minor injuries.

While it was expected they would be pushed back, Alex never anticipated that the battle would conclude so quickly with the complete annihilation of his forces in just two hours.

His childish expectations that at the very least, if they stood in the way, it would slightly delay the enemy’s movements were completely off the mark.

“But why? I studied my brother’s battles diligently. I even memorized all those stories. In Brother Walter’s battles, there were numerous instances where a small number of enemies made the enemy hesitate before seizing the opportunity to attack—so why…?”

“It’s the difference in opponents, Your Highness.”

Finally unable to contain himself, Elven General Phineas perked up his ears and stood next to Alex. While Alex prepared the infantry’s deployment, Phineas was also arranging the three Eramenian legions to await the enemy.

“Difference in opponents, you say, Phineas?”

“The Hero did not fight like that from the very beginning. It took a long time for the Hero to gain that fighting style. Do you know why?”

“Was it because experienced skill was required?”

“That’s part of it, but more importantly, it’s about impressing your name upon the enemy, Your Highness.”

Phineas advised. Alex showed a shocked expression at Phineas’s words.

“Impressing my name upon the enemy?”

“The Demon King’s Army is not simply scared at the sight of gold eyes. It’s not that the Demon King’s Army is foolishly subject to trickery while knowing better. The reason they freeze and hesitate even when seeing only a small force is because they have fallen victim to similar tactics countless times before—especially on the battlefield where the Hero was present.”

“But this expeditionary army falls under Brother Walter’s dominion. It’s only natural for the enemy not to fear Alex Caprice, a rookie, but how could they know whether this movement is just a ploy by this rookie or a tactic from my brother?”

“Because the Hero would have never employed such a method from the very start.”

The Elf replied. Alex tilted his head in confusion.

“Teach me, Phineas Marbelius.”

“Tactics aren’t something you prepare unilaterally; they’re tailored to the opponent. The enemy is the Gargoyle Queen Diana—a crude creature that thinks of nothing but smashing everything in front of her. At least, that’s how it’s known in this world. No sane person would throw false bait before her army. Her forces can destroy the bait while contemplating whether it is indeed a bait.”

Alex wasn’t foolish.

Recognizing what he had erred in and realizing what Phineas was trying to say, the Prince’s head drooped low.

His previously soaring confidence and pride felt as though every branch had broken at once.

Clearly, he was too inexperienced to lead. The fact that he came to command the army was also a mistake on Walter’s part; it could hardly be seen as intentional.

After all, the Hero had seen the Dragon flying at an unexpected point and rushed forward too hastily, without finding a more suitable commander.

Alex addressed Phineas.

“Then it seems this battle should be led by someone who knows the enemy well. General Marbelius, would you take command of the Imperial Army?”

“I truly appreciate your words, your Highness, but that’s impossible.”

The handsome man with a faint smile swayed his black hair as he bowed his head. Alex shook his head and pressed again.

“This isn’t the time for courtesy. Please, right now, if my inexperienced command brings our forces to collapse, it could bring down the entire Northern Expedition.”

“It’s not about courtesy, Your Highness. The reason I cannot take command is that I do not fully understand how the Imperial Army fights. You mentioned that knowing the enemy is important? In fact, that’s a secondary issue. In every battle, it isn’t always possible to know the enemy. But if I command without knowing how our own forces operate, that army is destined for complete destruction.”

“But…”

“From what I can see, it seems you have not fully learned the fighting style of the Empire’s infantry legions either.”

Phineas remarked.

“Then, which troops do you lead best, Your Highness?”

The Elven Captain’s words struck Alex’s temple hard. It was only then that Alex realized what he needed to do.

Alex turned to look at the infantry battalion commander who was in a state of despair.

“Go fetch my flag. And gather all the knights here. Equip the horses with armor and cover them in plate armor, and instruct them to wield lances. Just tell them to be ready to charge immediately, and they should understand.”

The battalion commander saluted toward the Prince and ran off to follow the orders.

“What do you plan to do?”

Phineas asked earnestly. Alex shrugged his shoulders.

“The defeat in the skirmish was shocking, but at least we must have gained something.”

“Something?”

“If the Gargoyle Queen’s legions move as you mentioned, the enemy forces will likely be concentrated in the east to fend off our attacks there. In other words, the legions in the east will likely be closer to the south.”

“That is a plausible assumption.”

“We’ll strike sequentially. One legion at a time from the southeast, crushing them in a parabolic arc as we rise up northward. With my thousands of knights, we can certainly shatter the eighty-thousand-strong army.”

Alex’s words were as absurd as the tales Rose often spun. As Phineas wore an expression of slight confusion, seemingly about to persuade the Prince, Alex raised his hand to forestall the Elf Captain’s comments.

“Don’t worry, General. While I may not know how the Imperial infantry fights, I understand how the Imperial knights fight better than anyone. This is a battle I’m prepared for myself.”

Alex’s gaze was full of the strongest resolve, leaving Phineas unable to open his mouth to refute him. Alex immediately turned his helmet upside down on his waist and lowered the faceguard.

The first real battle, which might be a bit harsh for a debut stage, awaited this young royalty.