Divine Soldier Descends

War had raged along the border of the Roble Holy Kingdom for three days and three nights.

Fortress City, Central Wall Fortress.

The Holy Kingdom's largest fortress city, closest to the frontline defensive walls—a virtually impregnable stronghold protected by massive, sturdy ramparts. It lay outside the direct domain of the Holy King's family.

The demi-human army surged toward the Holy Kingdom's walls in wave after wave, like a black tide.

Their numbers were so vast that even veteran soldiers most experienced in defending cities had never seen anything like them.

"...Why... why are there so many?!"

The defenders on the walls had gone pale, their hands clutching their swords trembling uncontrollably.

It was not merely their numbers.

The demi-humans this time were completely different from before.

The demi-human tribes that had once fought separately were now united in a way rarely seen. Beastmen, ogres, lizardmen, demonic humanoids...

Even races that normally despised one another were fighting shoulder to shoulder beneath the same banner.

Yet Raven saw fervor and... fear in their eyes.

"Damn it... what are they so afraid of?"

Raven Beltry, vice-captain of the paladin order and frontline commander of the Holy Kingdom, stood atop the wall and stared at the demi-human camps sprawling across the mountains and plains in the distance, his fists clenched until they cracked.

He had vaguely heard certain rumors—

It was said that a group of white demons had recently appeared in the Abelion Hills.

Those winged beings had captured a great number of powerful demi-humans with overwhelming force. Even mighty Hero-class demi-human lords had not been spared.

The demi-humans believed that land was no longer safe.

They needed new territory.

And the Roble Holy Kingdom was the target they had chosen.

"Report!"

A messenger stumbled onto the wall, covered in blood.

"The... the eastern wall has been breached! An ogre unit has broken through!"

Raven's pupils abruptly contracted.

"What? Wasn't the Third Knight Order stationed there?!"

"The Third Knight Order... has been wiped out..."

Raven felt his vision go dark.

The Third Knight Order was one of the Holy Kingdom's most elite knight orders.

Eight hundred well-trained knights, equipped with the finest gear and magical support, had just...

"Retreat."

Raven gritted his teeth and forced out those two words.

"Vice-Captain?!"

"I said retreat!"

Raven grabbed the messenger by the collar.

"The city can't be held! Take everyone who can still move and retreat toward the royal capital! I'll hold them here!"

"But—"

"That is an order!"

The messenger's eyes reddened. In the end, he nodded heavily and turned to run down from the wall.

Raven drew the holy sword at his waist and turned toward the city gate that was about to be breached.

Outside the gate, the demi-humans' roars were deafening.

"Paladins!"

He raised his sword, his voice hoarse yet resolute.

"Follow me—fight to the death!"

The response was the enraged roar of the fewer than two hundred knights remaining on the wall.

But everyone knew that two hundred men facing an army of tens of thousands of demi-humans were nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

With a thunderous crash, the city gate collapsed.

The beastmen's vanguard poured in like a flood, their foul stench assaulting the defenders' faces.

Raven took a deep breath and raised his sword—

Then he froze.

And he was not the only one.

Everyone still standing on the city walls was stunned.

"Is that... an angel?"

Higashino Makoto actually found it rather strange. In the original story, without Ainz taking action, the Holy Kingdom should never have faced such a dire situation.

Though he had no idea what exactly had happened, that did not stop him from seeing this as a good opportunity to display his strength.

To ensure everyone noticed him, Higashino Makoto deliberately cast several effects to make himself even more conspicuous, on top of his gorgeous silver armor.

Of course, just in case, Higashino Makoto did not use any magic above the sixth tier.

"Sanctity," "Angel's Wings," "Cloak of Light," "Courage Aura"...

Once he had stacked all his buffs, Higashino Makoto became impossible to miss, instantly drawing the attention of both the demi-humans and the Holy Kingdom's army.

He was a young man.

His long black hair fluttered in the wind, and he wore a full suit of silver-white armor engraved with intricate, elegant patterns.

His face was so handsome that he scarcely seemed human. A faint smile rested on his lips, yet his eyes carried an authority that made people afraid to meet his gaze.

A faint radiance surrounded him. The pale golden halo beneath his feet expanded continuously as he moved, filling every Holy Kingdom soldier it touched with courage.

Most eye-catching of all was the pair of pure white wings formed from light behind him, making him seem like a holy angel.

Behind him followed a maid with short pale golden hair.

She wore a black-and-white maid uniform and carried a small suitcase in one hand, an elegant and composed smile on her face. Even after descending from the sky, her skirt was not the least bit disheveled.

The two of them appeared from the hills behind the demi-humans just like that, and the clamor of the battlefield seemed to freeze at that moment.

Whether they were the Holy Kingdom's defenders or the vast demi-human army, everyone looked up at these two figures, so utterly out of place amid the chaotic battlefield.

Raven's eyes widened.

He had lived for over forty years, yet he had never seen anything like this.

"That is..."

He murmured under his breath, so quietly that only he could hear it.

Higashino Makoto looked down upon the battlefield below.

Tens of thousands of demi-human soldiers gathered outside the city walls like ants. The air was thick with the stench of blood and burning.

The walls had been damaged in many places, and the Holy Kingdom's banners swayed in the wind, on the verge of falling.

He saw the paladins lying in pools of blood.

He saw the human captives being dragged away by the demi-humans.

He saw the faces on the walls—desperate, exhausted, yet still unwilling to put down their weapons.

"I'm not too late."

Higashino Makoto spoke softly.

Rita gave a slight bow behind him. "Lord Amon's judgment has always been accurate."

Higashino Makoto smiled and turned his gaze toward the center of the demi-human army—several especially massive demi-human lords were looking up at him, their expressions filled with uncertainty and alarm.

"Rita."

"Yes."

"Watch my back."

"By your command."

Higashino Makoto took a step forward and flew into the air.

He did not land. Instead, he hovered above the city walls, allowing everyone to see him clearly.

Then he spoke.

His voice was not loud, yet it rang clearly in the ears of every person present.

"Knights of the Roble Holy Kingdom, thank you for standing your ground."

His voice was calm and resolute, carrying a power that made people instinctively want to believe in him.

"I do not know how long you have fought. But I know that you have lost comrades, lost companions, lost brothers-in-arms. Yet you still stand here, without taking a single step back."

"Because behind you lie your homeland, your loved ones, and countless innocent people who need your protection."

"Such courage is worthy of respect."

Higashino Makoto extended his hand, and a long spear condensed from pure light appeared in his palm.