Royal Army

The Royal Army (王国軍 Ōkoku-gun) are the armed forces of the Kingdom of Lugunica. The Royal Army is responsible for guarding its borders, maintaining order over unruly territory, and participating in its wars. Much of the military generally consist of common soldiers, armored guards, knights, and military officers.

Though the army has had major presences during the side stories centering around the Demi-Human War, for the most part, it has gone unseen throughout the main story, and it is mostly involved in endeavors unrelated to the Witch Cult.

Information

The Royal Army is tasked with defending the Kingdom of Lugunica and its territories from danger, from witchbeasts to foreign nations. Many aspects of the army are unknown. It can be presumed that it is very similar in nature to a typical fantasy army, with sword-wielding infantry, magic casters, and armored knights all marching alongside. However, despite the medieval nature of the military, the Lugunican army is able to field magic artillery resembling Maser cannons, and for battles that might take place at nighttime, they have a Night Banisher, which is a cannon that fires a magical, artificial sun that makes it appear as though night has turned into day. It also has a secondary effect of creating illusions.

Crusch Karsten has been circulating iron products such as weapons and armor to the knights as a means to strengthen the army, and she has begun making improvements on the knights’ training.

Kingdom Knights

Within the Royal Army are the Kingdom Knights (王国騎士 Ōkokukishi), whose total number is around 2000 strong. They are a class of dragon-mounted cavalry riders and form the professional core of the Armed Forces. The knight corps are typically made up of the children of nobility and landholders, and as a result, the Kingdom Knights presumably have an inclusive in-group court culture that follows strict chivalric principals. Being entwined with the history of the country, its monarchy, and its politics, the Kingdom Knights hold considerable prestige and influence in the government. The Kingdom Knights are by far the most distinguished and showcased members of the Lugunican army.

The knight corps consists of the "most skilled" and "most capable" members of society. The average Knight most likely receives much more training in all arts of combat and magics alike than the average soldier, as is expected of the nobility. Their weapon of choice seems to be a type of straight-edged, one-handed short-sword with the hilt of a rapier. The swords are shown to be effectively weightless. Unfortunately, it is not known if the pommels can be unscrewed in order to end opponents rightly.

On the other hand, their style of swordplay is defined by quick, decisive strikes, wide angle swings, lots of movement with heavy amounts of footwork, and a focus on clean cuts designed to slice straight through both animals and the magical arts alike. Such is the art of swordplay in a magical world.

There are a total of four divisions, with their members distinguishable by the color of the cape they wear. Starting from the first division, the cape colors are red, blue, green, and black. The Royal Guard wears white capes. The Kingdom Knights seem to have an unspoken agreement when it comes to the knights' garrison's dining hall, being that the lower divisions always sit closest to the entrance, with the farthest tables reserved for members of the Royal Guard. Members of each division tend to group and socialize with other members of their own division.

Royal Guard

Within the Kingdom Knights are the Royal Guard (近衛騎士団 Konoe Kishidan), an elite group dedicated solely to the security and wellbeing of the Royal Family. The Royal Guard is currently led by Commander Marcos Gildark, and although Julius Juukulius is unofficially considered the second-in-command, the real Deputy Commander is Heinkel Astrea, though because of this, the role is seen as ceremonial and holds no weight. The Royal Guard is described to be a group that anyone involved with the Kingdom Knights dreams of entering. They are traditionally tasked with protecting the king and the members of the royal family. All members of the Royal Guard are handpicked by their Commander and wear a white cape.

Following the Royal Abduction Incident, in which Ford Lugunica's daughter Filore was apparently kidnapped, the group was almost disbanded after the former Commander of the Royal Guard, Wilhelm van Astrea, left their ranks following the death of his wife, the previous generation's Sword Saint, Theresia van Astrea. It was only thanks to Marcos Gildark that the Royal Guard managed to get back to their former glory. Formerly, those of a notable household or those with a strong backer had a large say in the entrance process, making the Royal Guard the most influential (and arguably most corruptible) power within the Kingdom. However, those practices have long since been abolished.

In the present day, the Royal Guard bears several members of true importance and power, and their names are recognized among the nation as the true elite: Marcos Gildark, the commander and one of the strongest people in the nation after Reinhard van Astrea; Julius Juukulius, the Spirit Knight and one of the most powerful warriors among the Royal Army; Ferris, the Blue and the foremost greatest healer in the world; and Reinhard van Astrea, the most powerful person in both the country and the world.

Sword Saint

The army also often employs each generation of Sword Saint (剣聖, Kensei) in their army. Following the transference of the respective Divine Protection of the Sword Saint, once the person in question decides to take up their arms for the country, the king grants them the title of Sword Saint, and they become a part of the army in an official stance. The previous Sword Saints were Fribal van Astrea and his niece, Theresia van Astrea, while the current generation Sword Saint is Reinhard van Astrea.

While Theresia did take up her arms and fight alongside the army at times, particularly during the Demi-Human War, she did not maintain title for the country, as during the ceremony to award her for her achievements, Wilhelm challenged and defeated her, proving his might as one superior to the Sword Saint, and after further proving his might against the country's most elite Zergev Squadron, he replaced her as the country's most powerful warrior, the Sword Demon. While she would at times still assist them when her husband could not or was otherwise busy, the official title was not truly reused until the aftermath of the Great Conquest.

At present, the current generation Sword Saint, Reinhard, is famous across the world as the strongest man in the world, and he is recognized as the strongest possible unit for the Lugunican military to send, to the point that the Reinhard Law was made specifically to bind him to Lugunica alone.

Zergev Squadron

The Zergev Squadron was an elite unit of soldiers personally picked out by Bordeaux Zergev and Pivot Arnancy, the first commander and deputy commanders. Though originally a small unit, they were powerful, and during the Demi-Human War, they were often sent to the front lines of the battlefield, bringing with them many victories. Following the first Battle of Castour Field, in which the Kingdom lost a vast portion of its soldiers, Zergev scouted the young Wilhelm, shortly after he was first dubbed the Sword Demon, and Grimm Fauzen, who was the only other survivor alongside Wilhelm in Castour Field. As the Demi-Human War dragged on, though the squadron saw its fair share of losses, it expanded its numbers upwards of 100, and throughout the battles they waged, they were often seen alongside the warriors Roswaal J. Mathers and Carol Remendis.

During the Battle of Aihiya Swamp, however, the majority of the Zergev Squadron, including Pivot, was slain by Libre Fermi after they fell victim to one of Valga Cromwell's and the Witch Sphinx's traps. Because of this, their numbers were reduced to a mere 11. In the aftermath, the Zergev Squadron did increase their numbers again, and when the Demi-Human Alliance managed to sneak into the castle, it was the Zergev Squadron who prevented them from attaining victory and ultimately succeeding in bringing down the Demi-Human Alliance's leadership.

Over the following years, the Zergev Squadron continued their battles throughout the war, and Wilhelm became the next deputy commander. However, following the Battle of the Trias Domain, when Theresia decided to join the war, Wilhelm abandoned the Zergev Squadron to train himself, and the Zergev Squadron continued to fight alongside Theresia for the following two years, and in the end, finally managed to bring the war to a close.

Following Wilhelm's return and his battle with Theresia, the King allowed Wilhelm to rejoin the Royal Army and Theresia to retire, and after Wilhelm's victory over the Zergev Squadron in combat to prove his might, Bordeaux accepted a promotion that involved him joining the country's politics, and Wilhelm became the Zergev Squadron's commander, taking Grimm as his deputy commander, and they continued to be an instrumental unit to the country, even taking part in the battles during the campaigns led by Stride Vollachia. Eventually, the Zergev Squadron was folded into the Royal Guard, which was led by Wilhelm and his new deputy commander Conwood Melahau.

Members

Current

• Marcos Gildark (Commander of the Royal Guard)
• Heinkel Astrea (Deputy Commander of the Royal Guard)
• Julius Juukulius
• Reinhard van Astrea (Sword Saint)
• Ferris
• Natsuki Subaru

Former

• Thames Astrea
• Carlan Astrea
• Casilles Astrea
• Fribal van Astrea (Sword Saint)
• Tholter Weasily
• Pivot Arnancy (Deputy Commander of the Zergev Squadron)
• Theresia van Astrea (Sword Saint)
• Razak Gildark (Knight Commander)
• Bordeaux Zergev (Commander of the Zergev Squadron)
• Grimm Fauzen (Deputy Commander of the Zergev Squadron)
• Carol Remendis
• Wilhelm van Astrea (Commander of the Royal Guard, Captain of the Zergev Squadron)
• Conwood Melahau (Deputy Commander of the Royal Guard)
• Bikram Edditz
• Reiner Wahrheit
• Wyatt Edditz

Trivia

• On a talk show held on March 30, 2024, when someone asked who would make up the Nine Divine Generals of Lugunica if it existed, the author mentioned that Wilhelm, Julius, Marcos, Reinhard, Garfiel Tinzel, and Roswaal L. Mathers would be among them. However, due to her position in the Royal Selection, Emilia would not be.

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