Paladin Order

Paladin Order is a military order in the Roble Holy Kingdom.

Background
Paladin Order is an order of warriors that specialize in fighting evil aligned entities such as demons and the undead. Appearance-wise, the members wore the traditional vestments of the Paladin Order’s grandmaster, suits of ancient magical artificer armor.

Most if not all of the paladins are able to infuse the holy power within their sword the instant it made contact with the target. This was also a type of elementary technique called "Holy Strike" and is known for being used by paladins like Remedios.

Moreover, that "Holy Strike" technique was originally intended to be used in the moment one’s blade bit into a foe’s flesh, but that did not mean it could not be used as a touch attack. Since most of the divine power simply exploded on the surface, it would not do much harm.

The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom Arc
The Paladin Order, under the leadership of Grandmaster Remedios, attempted to repulse a two front attack by Jaldabaoth at Kalinsha. Led by Remedios, they struggled to defeat the demon, managing to knock him into a pile of debris. However, when the demon arose from the ruins in a more monstrous form, they attempted to do harm to him until realizing it is immune to all of their attacks.

Faced with this unstoppable foe, the Paladin Order were rendered helpless against Jaldabaoth's overwhelming might. While they're unable to do anything but watch, the demon has already got his hands of their Holy Queen, capturing her and then proceeding to use her as a weapon to attack them with. It proved to be effective in demoralizing the members of the Paladin Order one by one, leaving them terrified of what he is about to do next. In this case, Jaldabaoth signaling forth a meteor right before their very eyes and the demi-human army would later commence their invasion over the broken city gates.

After the collapse of the Northern Holy Kingdom, the few paladins that survived the initial invasion managed to form a resistance group called the Holy Kingdom Liberation Army and went on to serve as highly ranked officers within their ranks. With aid of the Sorcerer King, the Liberation Army eventually managed to regain control of most of the North. In the aftermath, Prince Caspond, soon to be crowned as the next Holy King, planned on transferring Remedios to a search-and-destroy squad meant to root out the remaining Demi-Humans, with Gustav Montagnés taking her place as Grandmaster of the order.

Principles
Paladins were beings who embodied justice and sworn enemies of the unnatural such as the undead and demons. Ascension to the rank of paladin is a long one. Only after the contender completed one's training and being officially ordained as a paladin would they be worthy enough to don the mantel of a paladin and have their trusty blade be imbued with magic. However, there are exceptions, should a recruit be exceptionally talented.

However, the said "Justice" are largely debatable as one realize it is just what one firmly believe in. And therefore it isn't universal and only applies to individual, making it one-sided and immoral at best. Moreover, that belief can be consider as over-zealous as exemplified by Remedios, in contrast of being a adored paladin grandmaster, had been consider as mentally flawed by her own peers. Not to mention having developed tendency of placing principle concerns over professional decisions in an unhealthy direction, which caused great tactical mistakes without her more rational madam.

When a squire became a paladin, they would meet with the Holy King or Queen and ritually offer the sword they held to him/her. Similarly, when there was a change of Holy King or Queen, the paladins would meet with him/her and offer their swords to the reigning Holy King while swearing their loyalty thereafter.

Strength
There were roughly five hundred paladins in the order, and most of them were comparable to difficulty twenty monsters, and among them were great warriors capable of slaying a difficulty sixty monster one on one. All in all, there were twenty-five of these ultra-elite warriors. After Jaldbaoth's invasion, the order had been reduced to 187.

Current Members

 * Gustav Montagnés (Grandmaster)
 * Isandro Sanchez (Adjutant)
 * Neia Baraja (Squire)
 * Sáficas (Paladin)
 * Esteban (Paladin)
 * Franco (Paladin)
 * Calbern (Paladin)

Former Members

 * Remedios Custodio (Grandmaster)

Trivia

 * In pure fighting power, paladins were a notch below warriors. However, that was not the case when fighting evil beings.
 * In addition, paladins can use magic, making them more effective in defensive battles.
 * The grandmaster of the Paladin Order wears a silvery full plate armor and a surcoat.
 * According to Pavel, only a knight who physically expressed the justice they believed in could be called a paladin within the Holy Kingdom.
 * Neia Baraja's mother happens to be a paladin who inspired the child to walk the same path like her.