Roble Holy Kingdom

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Roble Holy Kingdom (ローブル聖王国) is a human nation in the New World, neighboring the Re-Estize Kingdom, that used to periodically face invasion from the neighboring Abelion Hills. Following a well-arranged takeover ploy coordinated by Demiurge and Ainz Ooal Gown, the country's governmental and religious institutions were secretly taken over by Ainz's Sorcerer Kingdom, effectively making it a puppet state.

Background

The Roble Holy Kingdom, usually simply referred to as "The Holy Kingdom," was founded about 200 years ago, not long after the Evil Deities' reign of terror had ended.^[1] It is marked haphazardly on maps of the New World. Its land is divided into north and south halves by the sea, but the halves are not completely separate; rather, a gigantic bay, 40 kilometers long and 200 kilometers wide, made its geography look like a U turned on its side. For this reason, some refer to them as different nations; the "Northern Holy Kingdom" and "Southern Holy Kingdom." The Holy Kingdom's national hero is said to be a Valkyrie Knight, wielding a sacred blade.

Abelion Hills & Great Wall

The Holy Kingdom is neighbored by the Abelion Hills, which are inhabited by all kinds of demi-human tribes who are constantly warring with one another. To prevent themselves from being invaded and getting caught up in their wars, the Holy Kingdom invested a great amount of time and resources into building the greatest fortification in the New World along their border: the 100,000-kilometer-long Great Wall.

However, despite all of these defensive measures, the Holy Kingdom still faces invasions from time to time. The greatest of these attacks came during the period known as the Long Rain, when a race known as the Srasch managed to climb over the wall and infiltrate the Holy Kingdom. While they were eventually driven out, this came at the cost of several of the Holy Kingdom's villages.

The constant demi-human attacks caused many nobles to grow paranoid, leading to the passing of a law to conscript all of the Holy Kingdom's citizens.

North-South Relations

After Calca Bessarez became the Holy Kingdom's first female monarch, southern nobles protested against her being chosen over her elder brother, Prince Caspond, even though he had willingly given up his claim to the throne. They accused her of being in a secret relationship with High Priestess Kelart and Paladin Grandmaster Remedios, which she denied. In the end, the South did not escalate matters further and a full-scale confrontation was averted.

Chronology

The Lizard Man Heroes Arc

Main article: The Lizard Man Heroes Arc

Ainz first learned about the Roble Holy Kingdom after acquiring a world map. Demiurge was also sent to the country on a scouting mission and collected some skins necessary to produce magic scrolls while there. It is heavily implied that said skins actually came from the Holy Kingdom's human inhabitants.^[2]

The Men in the Kingdom Arc

Main article: The Men in the Kingdom Arc

Demiurge originally planned to stage Operation Gehenna in the Holy Kingdom and had already started preparations. However, due to circumstances, he initiated it in the Royal Capital of the Re-Estize Kingdom instead.^[3]

The Ruler of Conspiracy Arc

Main article: The Ruler of Conspiracy Arc

After the establishment of the Sorcerer Kingdom, Demiurge was assigned a mission within the Holy Kingdom.^[4] Upon returning, he was looking for Ainz's permission to initiate his plans for the nations. However, he was unable to acquire it as the Sorcerer King was absent due to him being on a diplomatic envoy to the Dwarf Kingdom.^[5]

The Craftsman of Dwarf Arc

Main article: The Craftsman of Dwarf Arc

When Ainz finished his business in the Dwarf Kingdom, he had a private meeting with Demiurge, during which the latter told him that his plans for the Holy Kingdom will be set in motion once autumn arrives. The demon also presented several reports detailing his preparations and activities while visiting the Holy Kingdom.^[6]

The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom Arc

Main article: The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom I and The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom II Arc

The series of events that led to the desecration and takeover of the Holy Kingdom began when the Great Wall was abruptly attacked by an army of demi-humans led by the demon Jaldabaoth (Demiurge). The Demon Emperor used a spell to single-handedly destroy a section of the wall, killing Pabel Baraja, Orlando Campano and many of their troops in the process. Afterward, the demi-human army marched through the newly created opening into the Holy Kingdom.

Upon receiving news of the wall falling, Holy Queen Calca mobilized the entire nation. With the demi-human army heading towards the city of Kalinsha in the Northern Holy Kingdom, the plan was for the Northern Holy Kingdom Army to hold out until the Southern Holy Kingdom Army could arrive. However, the demi-humans arrived sooner than expected with Jaldabaoth personally attacking the city. In response, the Holy Queen rallied the Custodio sisters and the Paladin Order and faced the demon. Unfortunately, they were ultimately no match for him and the Demi-Human army successfully conquered Kalinsha, with the Holy Queen being used as a bludgeoning tool by Jaldabaoth (an Evil Lord Wrath used by Demiurge as a proxy masquerading as his "true form") and killed.^[7] Remedios escapes alive, but Kelart was killed off-screen and her head was later found to be given to a Circlet Demon. ^[8]

Afterward, the demi-human army conquered most of the North, with citizens and rebelling Demi-Humans being taken to prison camps for experimentation in ways similar to the ones performed in Demiurge's Ranch. However, when they attempted to invade the Southern Holy Kingdom as well, their forces were finally halted by the Southern Army at the border. On the other hand, the Southern nobles made no attempts to aid the North, likely intending to use the situation to their political advantage.

To retake the North, the remnants of the Northern Army founded the Holy Kingdom Liberation Army. In reality, however, they were merely a guerrilla unit and desperately needed aid. Though the Re-Estize Kingdom refused to offer support, a delegation managed to make a deal with the Sorcerer Kingdom: the Sorcerer King would personally aid them in exchange for the rights to take control of Jaldabaoth's Demon Maids.^[9]

Upon returning to the Holy Kingdom, the Liberation Army attacked Jaldabaoth's prison camps and freed the citizens. They then proceeded to liberate the city of Loyts upon learning that the next in line to the throne, Prince Caspond, was being held there. After being rescued, the prince assumed command and ordered the Liberation Army to hold the city.^[10] This backfired, however, as a force of 40,000 strong was sent to recapture it. Though the Liberation Army put up a stiff resistance, they were ultimately overwhelmed by sheer numbers. In response, the Sorcerer King personally took to the frontlines and single-handedly defeated the Demi-Human force.^[11]

The victory was short-lived, however, as, in response, Jaldabaoth personally traveled to Loyts with his Demon Maids to face the Sorcerer King as part of a drill he coordinated with Demiurge and Albedo. However, in addition to the Evil Lord Wrath taking Jaldabaoth's place, the Demon Maids were also Greater Doppelgängers under Chacmool, all of them which had their stats grossly increased by Aureole Omega without Ainz's knowledge. Despite putting up a fierce fight, the Sorcerer King made it look like that he used up a vast amount of mana and was seemingly beaten by Jaldabaoth. In actuality, he faked defeat and escaped into the Abelion Hills. However, Jaldabaoth had also been heavily injured and decided to retreat without finishing off the Liberation Army.^[12]

With the loss of the Sorcerer King, the Liberation Army decided to focus on defeating the Demi-Human army. Fortunately, they were approached by a race known as the Zern, who were planning to rebel against Jaldabaoth, and a deal was struck: they would help retake Kalinsha if the Liberation Army rescued their prince. They were also joined by one of Jaldabaoth's Demon Maids, Shizu, who was being controlled by the Sorcerer King and ordered to aid his bodyguard, Neia Baraja. The Liberation Army thus decided to send Shizu and Neia to rescue the Zern's prince, which they successfully did.^[13] With the Zern's help, the Liberation Army retook Kalinsha.

The liberation of Kalinsha convinced several Southern nobles to aid the Liberation Army. Combining their forces, they marched on the city of Prart and initially had the upper hand against the city's occupiers, until Jaldabaoth personally took to the battlefield. However, the Liberation Army was saved by a Demi-Human army led by the Sorcerer King, who was alive and had conquered the Abelion Hills. The Sorcerer King and Jaldabaoth then once again faced each other and the Sorcerer King, now at full strength, slew the demon.^[14] With the demon's destruction, the Liberation army retook the capital of Hoburns.

Unfortunately, little did the Holy Kingdom knew that they were suckered into a massive trap set by Nazarick from the onset of the invasion, as its true goal is the mass takeover of the Holy Kingdom's assets to the Sorcerer Kingdom and its pawns. The Sorcerer King, going out of his way to save their nation, had left a big impression, causing him to gain a huge following. With the passing of Holy Queen Calca, Prince Caspond was to become the next Holy King. Unbeknownst to the public, however, the prince had been replaced by a doppelgänger serving Demiurge and is currently working to destabilize their nation.^[15] The real prince was cleanly killed by Demiurge before he invaded.

The Witch of the Falling Kingdom Arc

Main article: The Witch of the Falling Kingdom Arc

In the aftermath of the war, huge problems had to be resolved. Although the South was left unscathed, the North was devastated and leaderless, causing general unrest. The result was a power vacuum that the Southern nobles began fighting over to fill amongst themselves, creating even more problems. However, the North was also not about to let the southerners take over and the situation seemed to be heading toward a civil war.

As a result of all this infighting, northerners struggled to acquire food and their lifeline became the Sorcerer Kingdom, which began sending regular grain supplies, further increasing the citizens' positive outlook on the nation. This was further compounded by the fact that the Sorcerer King had amassed growing popularity with northerners, although the South remained avid believers in the Four Great Gods. Led by Neia Baraja, now known as the "Faceless One", the cult effectively filled the power vacuum whilst the nobility squabbled amongst themselves.^[16]

After one of the Sorcerer Kingdom's grain transports to the Holy Kingdom was attacked by the Re-Estize Kingdom's nobility, the Holy Kingdom condemned the nation and signed with the Sorcerer Kingdom's declaration of war. Curiously, the Faceless One's seal was used to represent the Holy Kingdom, implying the cult had succeeded in their takeover of the nation.^[17]

The Current Situation of Various People. A Prologue Arc

Main article: The Current Situation of Various People. A Prologue Arc

It was stated in a letter to Emperor Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix from Prime Minister Albedo that the Sorcerer Kingdom would be hosting a welcoming ceremony for the Faceless One from the Roble Holy Kingdom.^[18]

Culture

The Holy Kingdom is a highly religious country, though not as much as the Slane Theocracy. Due to a large number of paladins integrated into the Holy Kingdom's society, a majority of the population shares their disdain for the undead. Demi-humans also face a lot more prejudice due to the Kingdom's history. The Holy Kingdom's Magic Casters are also generally priests.

Like most New World nations, the Holy Kingdom appears to be a mostly male-dominant society, especially in the Southern Holy Kingdom. However, in recent years, women started gaining more influence. While the Northern Holy Kingdom approved of women taking on leading roles in their society, many nobles from the Southern Holy Kingdom were upset about these changes. Unfortunately, these progressive changes were effectively undone following Jaldabaoth's siege.

Upon the advent of the Sorcerer King's Cult, many of the Holy Kingdom's citizens have begun assimilating the cult's teachings into their culture. This trend was fully embraced by the people of the kingdom, particularly by the citizens of the Northern Holy Kingdom.

Religion

The Holy Kingdom also seems to worship the Four Great Gods, as its paladins are known to frequently visit their temples.

Following Jaldabaoth's siege, a cult was founded by Faceless One that preaches the Sorcerer King's ideals that "strength is justice" and quickly rose to prominence. However, while popular in the war-ravaged north, the south remained avid believers in the Four Great Gods. By the time the Sorcerer Kingdom declared war on the Re-Estize Kingdom, though, the cult seems to have overtaken the temple as the primary religious institution of the Holy Kingdom.

Politics

As a monarchy, the Holy Kingdom has a monarch, referred to as either the "Holy King" or "Holy Queen," as its head of state. Like the land itself, the Northern and Southern Holy Kingdoms' governments appear to be mostly isolated from one another, with the monarch being the only thing uniting them. After Jaldabaoth conquered most of the North, the South was able to maintain its governmental structure just fine without the monarch.

As a highly religious country, the temple holds influence in government. However, it is not the same as Slane Theocracy, where their religion is the government. Instead, order is maintained through cooperation between the Temple and the monarch. To maintain this balance, it is government policy not to bestow any titles on priests. Also, while churches are technically under the monarch's control, they are mostly left independent.

Aside from this, the Holy Kingdom also has nobles who hold some political influence.

Military Strength

Since the Holy Kingdom's territory was stretched around the north and south edges of a central bay, any mobilized forces would naturally be formed into two armies -- the Northern Holy Kingdom Army and the Southern Holy Kingdom Army. The armies each have their own important locations, which are the city of Kalinsha in the north and the city of Dibonei in the south.

Due to the demi-humans that reside in the Abelion Hills being a constant threat to their nation, the Holy Kingdom built the Great Wall, which is regularly patrolled by several units. However, due to the limited population of the country and the large scale to monitor it, the Holy Kingdom's military conscripts their citizens when they reach a minimum age to join. Every citizen who is physically capable must take part in the militarily, regardless of gender. For instance, boys that reach the required age where they are allowed permission to carry weapons would be enlisted in the military by the country.^[19]

After spending a certain amount of time being trained, they would be assigned to sentry duty on the wall. If the worst were to happen and the wall is breached, it is even possible for the ruling monarch to mobilize the entire nation as a drastic response against incoming invaders. The hope was that the country's own citizens would become the manpower with which to protect their land in case the demi-humans crossed the wall.

All of the Holy Kingdom's villages of a certain size have also been fortified. This gives the villagers enough fighting power to hold out for the regular army to arrive and also allows said villages to serve as military outposts. Thus, the villages of the Holy Kingdom were far better protected than those of other countries and they could also function as military bases.

Their holy church has highly trained priests and disciples who are capable of using holy magic of an average up to third tier and some even higher than that. In addition, they are capable of summoning Angels.

In spite of the preparations, they are only capable of dealing with a limited amount of Demi-Human troops and an individual priest or Paladin had no hopes of standing against a Demi-Human lord. The threat is mostly migitated by the Demi-Humans preferring to fight against each other for most of the time. Sometimes individual tribes would directly invade the Holy Kingdom for resources, but these small-scale invasions are comparatively uncommon. Needless to say, fending off these invasions are still difficult. Had a coordinated invasion consisted of multiple unified Demi-Human tribes took place, they would effortlessly decimate the Holy Kingdom's army.

• Nine Colors: A group of nine individuals recognized by the Holy Sovereign.
• Paladin Order: An order of holy warriors specialized in fighting evil monsters.
• Northern Holy Kingdom Army: The military force stationed in protecting the Northern Holy Kingdom.
  • Holy Kingdom Liberation Army: A resistance force founded by the remnants of the Northern Holy Kingdom Army after most of the Northern Holy Kingdom had been conquered by Jaldabaoth.
• Southern Holy Kingdom Army: The military force stationed in protecting the Southern Holy Kingdom.
• Holy Kingdom Navy: The Holy Kingdom has a sizable navy.

The Holy Kingdom's basic attack tactic is to use a two-pronged attack with angels in the air and infantry on the ground, a technique in which Sunlight Scripture of the Slane Theocracy was known for.

Foreign Relations

Due to being almost completely cut off from other human nations by the Abelion Hills, the Holy Kingdom is a mostly isolated country. However, there's still one open land route as well as sea travel, causing there to still be some communication with other countries and the Holy Kingdom is willing to ask for their aid if necessary. The Holy Kingdom's citizens certainly want their nation to be part of the international stage. Unfortunately, they ultimately can't spend the manpower as they need to constantly focus on keeping the demi-humans out.

Abelion Hills

The Holy Kingdom is under constant threat of being invaded and/or getting caught up in one of the many wars of the demi-human tribes residing in Abelion Hills. In order to prevent this, the Holy Kingdom built the greatest defensive structure in the New World: the Great Wall.

The relationships between the citizens of the Holy Kingdom and the demi-humans are extremely bad. The Holy Kingdom has no desire to negotiate with them. However, when an army of demi-human tries to invade, they sometimes pretend to; this is in order to draw out their leaders and assassinate them.

After the Sorcerer King took control of the region and formed his own demi-human army to combat the Demi-Human Alliance, the relations between the Holy Kingdom and the Abelion Hills seems to have improved slightly. Despite this, however, the Sorcerer King assumes there are still some lingering resentments and thus made sure to keep the demi-humans away from the citizens.

Sorcerer Kingdom

Upon being informed about the massacre at the Katze Plains and the founding of the Sorcerer Kingdom, the Holy Kingdom chose to accept the nation as an independent sovereign state and allow free travel between its citizens. However, due to the Temple's prejudice towards the undead being highly indoctrinated into the Holy Kingdom's society, many citizens viewed the Sorcerer Kingdom as a threat second only to demi-humans and urged the government to send troops to retake the captured city of E-Rantel. Unfortunately, the Holy Kingdom was unable to do so as they needed to focus on defending their own borders before focusing elsewhere.

After Jaldabaoth laid siege to the Northern Holy Kingdom and the Re-Estize Kingdom turned down the Holy Kingdom Liberation Army's requests for aid, envoys traveled to the Sorcerer Kingdom to request for Momon's aid. Unfortunately, the Sorcerer King refused to lend him to them and instead struck another deal; he would personally aid them in return for the rights to take control of Jaldabaoth's Demon Maids. Despite this, however, the Liberation Army's higher-ups secretly planned to have him and Jaldabaoth to kill each other.

The Sorcerer King proved to be vital in the liberation of the Northern Holy Kingdom, causing the outlook towards both him and his nation to slowly change. Even when they were deprived from his physical presence, when he was assumed dead, the Liberation Army continued to profit off him in the form of CZ and Neia Baraja. While the Liberation Army's higher-ups were concerned about his growing influence, his supporters had already grown too strong. After the Sorcerer King returned and liberated the Northern Holy Kingdom, the citizens saw him as a hero and began preaching his ideals that "strength is justice" as a religion.

Due to the Sorcerer King aiding the Liberation, the Holy Kingdom went on to develop very strong ties with the Sorcerer Kingdom afterwards, which was only further strengthened by the demi-human nation providing them with humanitarian aid. This, in turn, prompted the Holy Kingdom to approve of the Sorcerer Kingdom's declaration of war against the Re-Estize Kingdom after the latter nation attacked one of the grain transports.

Re-Estize Kingdom

Since the only land route out of the Holy Kingdom led to the Kingdom and they shared a sea border as well, the two nations naturally traded with each other. However, following the massacre at the Katze Plains, the opinions of several Southern Nobles towards the Kingdom soured, believing the nation would be assimilated by the Sorcerer Kingdom sooner or later.

After Jaldabaoth conquered most of the Northern Holy Kingdom, the Holy Kingdom Liberation Army sent an envoy to the Kingdom to request for support in reclaiming their nation. Unfortunately, everyone they approached turned them down due to various reasons, but mostly because the Kingdom was still recovering from the massacre at the Katze Plains. The envoys thus deemed the Kingdom to be a lost cause and moved on to the Sorcerer Kingdom.

Following the liberation, the Holy Kingdom, still holding a grudge for not having been provided military aid, severed all ties with the Kingdom. As a result, when the Kingdom sent envoys to attend the new Holy King's coronation, they were turned away without ever as much as getting to see the him. Later, after the Kingdom attacked one of the Sorcerer Kingdom's transports, the Holy Kingdom condemned the nation. 

Slane Theocracy

After the founding of the Sorcerer Kingdom, many citizens wanted to form an alliance with the Theocracy to destroy the non-human nation. Due to religious differences, however, an alliance will be difficult.

In the Web Novel, it is stated that the Holy Kingdom once maintained connections with the Slane Theocracy, but due to the encroaching warring demi-human tribes, the latter lost contact.

Baharuth Empire

The exact international relations between the Holy Kingdom and Empire is currently unknown. However, certain individuals travel to the Empire from time to time and acknowledge the nation's advancement is ahead of most other nations, including its own.

Known Characters

• Calca Bessarez (Former Queen)
• Caspond Bessarez (Current King)
• Remedios Custodio (Former Paladin Order Captain)
• Pabel Baraja
• Orlando Campano
• Neia Baraja ("Faceless One")
• Kelart Custodio (Former High Priestess)
• Enrique Bellse
• Ran Tsu An Rin
• Gustav Montagnés (Current Paladin Order Captain)
• Isandro Sanchez
• Bertrand Moro
• Sabicus
• Esteban
• Franco
• Galvan
• Count Randalse
• Old Purple
• Baron Bagnen
• Marquis Bodipo
• Count Dominguez
• Count Granero
• Count Cohen
• Viscount Santz
• Bu
• Mo
• Dan

Trivia

• According to the author Maruyama, Jaldabaoth's various plans appeared to be to make the Holy Kingdom affiliate itself with the Sorcerer Kingdom in the story.^[20]
• The Holy Kingdom's leadership had once calculated how much fighting strength would be required to defeat an invading tribe of demi-humans. The answer was that the country would collapse before the demi-humans attacked them.
• The Holy Kingdom practiced conscription. Therefore, they sometimes called those people who chose to be career soldiers as non-commissioned officers. They did so in order to differentiate them from those people who had been conscripted.
• While the Holy Kingdom's troops were better trained than those of other nations, most of them were ultimately conscripts.
• The Holy Kingdom's Navy flagship is called "The Hammer of the Holy King."
• The Roble Holy Kingdom's written language differs from the Baharuth Empire and the Re-Estize Kingdom.
• The Roble Holy Kingdom is known and written as "Sacred Kingdom" under Yen Press's translation, instead of the former.

References