Roble Holy Kingdom

Roble Holy Kingdom (ローブル聖王国) is a human nation in the New World neighboring the Re-Estize Kingdom. The country periodically faces invasions by the neighboring Abelion Hills and there exists a strong ideological divide between its northern and southern regions.

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. 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, 200 kilometers long and 40 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. In order to prevent themselves from being invaded and getting caught up in their wars, the Holy Kingdom invested a great amount of time and resources to build a wall along its border to keep the demi-humans out; this would become known as the 100,000-kilometer-long Great Wall.

However, despite all of these defensive measures, the Holy Kingdom still faces invasion from time to time. The greatest of these attacks came during the period known as the Long Rain when a race known as the Srush managed to climb over the wall and infiltrate the Holy Kingdom. While they were eventually driven out, this came at the cost of several losses 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, but only because the North and South were equally matched in terms of military power.

The Lizard Man Heroes Arc
Ainz learned about the existence of the Holy Kingdom after acquiring a world map. He later tells to Albedo about the geography of the nation, including it having a wall situated at its border that is used to prevent the demi-human tribes from the neighboring Abelion Hills from encroaching into their territory. Demiurge was also sent to the country on a scouting mission and collected some skins necessary to produce magic scrolls while there.

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. He told Ainz that one of his objectives was to use the Roble Holy Kingdom as a proving ground for this incident.

The Invaders of the Large Tomb Arc
When the worker groups Foresight, Dragon Hunt and Heavy Masher compared the strength of the leading swordsmen in the lands, it was mentioned that the Holy Kingdom has a Paladin who wields the sacred blade.

The Magic Caster of Destroy Arc
After the meeting between the Baharuth Empire and Nazarick came to an end, Jircniv told his guards that he has a strategy in mind. Jircniv states that he was planning to have every nation opposing Nazarick to form a grand alliance together, aimed at defeating the powerful magic caster Ainz Ooal Gown. Among the nations Jircniv mentioned, one of them happens to be the Roble Holy Kingdom alongside other human countries and Argland Council State.

The Ruler of Conspiracy Arc
After the massacre at Katze Plains and the establishment of the Sorcerer Kingdom, Demiurge was assigned a mission within the Holy Kingdom for what purpose is still unclear.

During his interaction with Albedo, Demiurge informs the Overseer concerning the matter he has been planning in the Holy Kingdom. Demiurge was looking to obtain permission from Ainz for the final stages of the plan and also request the need of a Doppelgänger along the way.

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.

The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom Arc
and The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom II Arc One of the fortresses along the Great Wall was attacked by an army of demi-humans led by the demon known as Jaldabaoth. He single-handedly destroyed the fort along with a section of the wall using a single spell, killing many soldiers in the process. Afterward, the demi-human army marched through the opening in the wall into the Holy Kingdom.

News of the wall being breached spread quickly and Holy Queen Calca gave a mobilization order to 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 attacking the city by himself. In response, the Holy Queen rallied her personal forces 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 taken as a prisoner and later killed.

Afterward, the demi-human army moved on to conquer most of the North, with citizens being taken to prison camps for experimentation. 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. They, therefore, sent a delegation to the Re-Estize Kingdom but were turned down by everyone they approached. The delegation thus traveled to the Sorcerer Kingdom in hopes of acquiring Momon's support, who had defeated Jaldabaoth before. Unfortunately, the Sorcerer King refused to lend him to them and instead struck another deal; he would secretly travel to the Holy Kingdom and aid them in exchange for the rights to take control of Jaldabaoth's Demon Maids.

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 stay in the city to fight off any demi-human force sent to recapture it. This backfired, however, as the said force was 40,000 strong. The Liberation Army put up a stiff resistance but were ultimately overpowered by sheer numbers. In response to this, the Sorcerer King personally took to the frontlines and single-handedly defeated the Demi-Human force, allowing the city to remain free.

Victory was short-lived, however, as in response, Jaldabaoth personally traveled to Loyts with his Demon Maids to face the Sorcerer King. Upon arriving, the demon handed over Holy Queen Calca's corpse, which had been damaged to the point resurrection had become impossible. He went on to combat the Sorcerer King in an isolated area away from the Liberation Army. Despite putting up a fierce fight, the Sorcerer King claimed to have already used up a vast amount of mana and was seemingly beaten by Jaldabaoth. However, Jaldabaoth had also been heavily injured and decided to retreat without finishing off the Liberation Army first.

With the loss of the Sorcerer King, the Liberation Army decided to focus on defeating the Demi-Human army, ending the siege on the North. Fortunately, they were approached by a race known as the Zern, who were planning to rebel against Jaldabaoth, and a deal was struck; if the Liberation Army rescued their prince, the Zern would help retake Kalinsha. They were also joined by one of Jaldabaoth's Demon Maids, Shizu, who claimed to be 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. With the Zern's help, the Liberation Army was able to retake Kalinsha with minimal casualties.

The liberation of Kalinsha convinced several Southern nobles to aid the Liberation Army, hoping to still get some spoils from the conflict. 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 and single-handedly turned the tide. 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.

In the aftermath, the Liberation army rooted out most of the remainder of the Demi-Human Alliance and retook the capital of Hoburns. 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 even further.

The Witch of the Falling Kingdom Arc
Once the war was over, the northern region of the Holy Kingdom had been torn asunder and was barely even recognizable. Though the northern half of the Holy Kingdom was almost completely destroyed, its southern half was barely touched. After the Holy Queen passed away and the new king ascended to the throne, the death of the nobles in the north caused general unrest in their lands. The nobles to the south began feuding over it internally, and other similar incidents stirred quite a bit of trouble for the Holy Kingdom to dwell with.

In a way, the simultaneous conflicts caused the two halves of the Holy Kingdom to fight over power and their own interests internally. The end result was delayed aid for the people of the north, some who could not even reliably acquire food. Despite all this happening, their saving grace was the steady supply of grains being provided by the Sorcerer Kingdom, the grain that was being shipped from the Kingdom’s warehouses to the Holy Kingdom through land and sea routes. This was done so in order to help the Holy Kingdom with their food rations.

Meanwhile, the following that the Sorcerer King had amassed was rapidly expanding it's influence throughout the Northern Holy Kingdom. Led by Neia Baraja, now known as the "Faceless One," the cult preached the Sorcerer King ideals that "strength is justice." Although popular in the war-ravaged North, the Southern Holy Kingdom remained avid believers in the Four Great Gods.

After a transport belonging to the Sorcerer Kingdom was attacked by the Re-Estize Kingdom's nobility, the Holy Kingdom signed with the Sorcerer Kingdom's declaration of war. Curiously, the Faceless One's seal was used to represent the Sorcerer Kingdom, implying the cult had become the nation's primary religious institution.

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 share their disdain for the undead and also to the demi-humans. In addition, demi-humans seem to face a lot more prejudice due to the Kingdom's history.

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 have started to gain more influence; Calca Bessarez as the Holy Kingdom's first female monarch, Remedios Custodio as Grandmaster of the Paladin Order and Kelart Custodio as High Priestess. 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. However, these progressive changes were effectively undone following Jaldabaoth's siege, due to both Calca and Kelart being killed in the conflict and Remedios being demoted after she proved to be an ineffective leader.

Aside from that, Magic Casters in the Holy Kingdom were generally priests. While they could make some magic items, precious few of them were made to improve the quality of life. In that aspect, the Re-Estize Kingdom was superior to the 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 popular cult was founded by Faceless One that preaches the Sorcerer King's ideals that "strength is justice." Although popular in the war-ravaged Northern Holy Kingdom, the south remained with the temple. However, by the time the Sorcerer Kingdom declared war on the Re-Estize Kingdom, the cult seems to have already overthrown 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 it's head of state. Prior to Calca Bessarez taking the throne, all of these monarchs had been male, making her ascend a big deal. Unfortunately, this progressive step forward was effectively undone when the Holy Queen was killed during Jaldabaoth's siege and replaced by her brother, Caspond Bessarez.

Like their cultures and the land itself, the Northern and Southern Holy Kingdoms' governments appear to be mostly isolated from one another, with the only thing uniting them is the monarch. 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 a Nine Colors title 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. On the other hand, when the Holy Kingdom applies their national seal on a document, their high priestess would also usually stamp on the seal of their temple.

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 conscript 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 are allowed permission to carry weapons would be enlisted in the military by the country.

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 such 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. As well as they are capable of using summoning Angels too.


 * 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's Navy: The Holy Kingdom has a sizable navy.

The Holy Kingdom's basic attack tactic was 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 build 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 seemed to have improved slightly. Despite this, however, the Sorcerer King assumed there were 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 need 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 of 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.

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

After Jaldabaoth conquered most of the Northern Holy Kingdom, the Holy Kingdom Liberation Army send 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 them military aid, severed all ties with the Kingdom. As a result, when the Kingdom send 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 and offered full support to the Sorcerer Kingdom’s declaration of war which is a testament to how the nation truly despised them.

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 have 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 to 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 (Queen)
 * Caspond Bessarez (Prince)
 * Remedios Custodio
 * Pavel Baraja
 * Orlando Campano
 * Neia Baraja
 * Kelart Custodio
 * Enrique Bellse
 * Ran Tsu An Rin
 * Gustav Montagnés
 * 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 Maruyama, Jaldabaoth's various plans appeared to be to make the Holy Kingdom affiliate itself with the Sorcerer Kingdom in the story.
 * 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.