The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom: Part 1

There were all kinds of demihumans in the hill region, but they did not have good relationships with each other. On the contrary, they often fought over territory, and apart from cases where Ogres took Goblins as slaves and cruelly used them, these races very rarely worked with each other.

There had even been cases where some of them had attacked the Holy Kingdom after being driven from their lands.

Then this ought to be the same thing. Because if it was not—

“A big invasion?”

He did not know who had said that. Perhaps the person saying so might have thought he was speaking to himself, but it sounded clear enough to his ears.

“Olrand, I’ve got something to ask you.”

There was tension in Pavel’s voice. No, that was only to be expected.

Race, culture, and religion. Just as how there could be many nations composed of members of the same species, creating a cohesive nation was a very difficult task. It was even more difficult when the species of the members were different. Therefore, uniting the demihuman tribes in the hills was a nigh-impossible task.

If that was what had happened, that would mean the beginning of a battle for the Holy Kingdom’s survival.

After that — Olrand’s body trembled uncontrollably.

Uniting all these races would require obvious power. Among mankind, wisdom and wealth would qualify as a form of strength, but the demihuman races prized power. In other words—

That means there might be a frighteningly powerful enemy out there, is that it?

“Tell me with your warrior’s instincts. Why do you think these guys chose to reveal themselves at a fortress like this — at such a well defended place? One — they’re serving as bait to draw out our forces to thin out our defenses. Two—”

“They’re confident of breaking through in a head-on attack. Twenty percent of the Holy Kingdom’s fighting strength is stationed here, and they’re going to crush us like cockroaches.”

Despite feeling Pavel’s keen gaze from beside him, Olrand did not stop talking.

“At the same time, they’re going to use this fortress as a bridgehead. Then, they’re going to crush the morale of the Holy Kingdom and boost their own morale. Is that it?”

“...They might issue a mass mobilization order.”

“Haha! A war like this has only occurred once before in the history of the Holy Kingdom, and now there’s going to be another one like it in our time! What can we say to that!?”

“I’m going to report to the higher-ups. You come with me too.”

“Got it, boss! Oi, you lot! This is going to be one hell of a party! Keep the backup weapons coming!”

If the enemy was an army, they would have to spend a lot of time forming their troops up. This was especially true if they counted numerous races among their number. However, the same applied to the defenders as well. Since they were an army, they would need time to prepare themselves. This held true even on the frontline.

There was a shocking amount of things which needed to be done. There was no more time to idle around.

Olrand ran after Pavel.

Part 2

The slower the enemy attack, the more forces they could gather to this fortress, and the more time they would have to give the mobilization order. This was the perfect scenario for their commanding officers, but Pavel did not share their opinion.

There were demihumans with intellect that surpassed humanity. Surely the commander of such a vast army was no fool. In that case, he would know that giving their opponent time to prepare was a disadvantageous thing. In addition, it was late at night now, and the coming battle would be to the demihumans’ advantage. It would be the same even if they lit bonfires.

Pavel looked at the enemy lines, four hundred meters away.

While they were organized by species, no consideration seemed to have been given to things like the weapons they wielded, their respective tactics, their various racial characteristics, and so on.

In all likelihood, the demihumans were not marching under the same flag. Otherwise they would have fielded a more logical battle line. Or was this something like an oligarchy, an alliance of demihumans led by a council of equals?

“Can’t quite make it out, Boss. Can you see the enemy commander?”

“...No, I haven’t spotted their leader yet.”

His men had not reported sighting anything like that so far.

However, there had to be a commander. Otherwise, even forming up into units would be very difficult.

“He can’t keep hiding forever. He’ll surely show up on the battlefield.”

Given the nature of demihumans, their leaders were strong, and they would show up to flaunt their strength.

That would be the best time for Pavel to work.

Pavel clutched his bow.