What does it mean that the Demon King was killed by a wheelchair?

With a creak, House opened the door to greet him. The face in front of him was no longer unfamiliar, but this time the hostility on the other person's face was much less intense, and the terrifying dog was not with him.

"Bond?"

House gave him a cold shoulder. "What is it now?"

The old man grunted and lifted a wooden box from behind him. Half of the box was filled with fresh fruit and a large piece of tied-up meat, while the other half was piled with bottled wine.

House was taken aback; "What's this?"

Bond scratched his bald head and said, "I...I'm sorry, I really wronged you, I'm truly sorry. I don't ask for your forgiveness...I just want you to accept these. The fruit is all homegrown and very healthy!"

Looking at Bond, whose face was flushed, House couldn't help but smile.

There was no amusement or mockery.

House shrugged and took the wooden box from the other person with a smile:

"Okay, thank you then."

Nobody's perfect, and people generally don't have any ill intentions towards House, who makes a mistake and takes the initiative to admit it.

When Bond saw that House was willing to reconcile, he immediately beamed with joy and said excitedly:

"No, no, no...it's us villagers who should thank you! You saved our village from the clutches of death!"

House, flattered by the other party's praise, proudly raised his chin, showing no humility whatsoever.

But then again, why should one appear humble?

Just as he was about to continue boasting, House's gaze happened to pass over Bond's shoulder.

Then… he suddenly froze.

"...?"

In the distance, countless crows gathered in the moonlight in the forest. They flapped their wings and flew out of the woods. If you listened carefully, you could even hear their calls, which were almost fading away.

Even from hundreds of meters away, House could almost feel the panic of the birds.

"W-what's wrong?"

Bond thought House was watching him the whole time, and his heart, which had just settled down, started to race again.

House ignored the other person's attempt to engage, or more accurately, he didn't have time to pay attention to it.

At this moment, his attention was entirely focused on the flocks of birds scattered across the night sky.

He had startled these forest beasts many times before while in the forest.

But... there has never been such a large-scale event before.

This flock of birds was so large it was almost frenzied, as if it had gathered all the birds in the entire forest together. House narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the shadowy grove of trees...

What...what is it that could scare them like this?

Are they a pack of hunting wolves? Or some kind of monster?

While he was engrossed in his work, he didn't notice anything amiss...

The once quiet and peaceful streets were thrown into chaos once again...

Countless heads were moving toward the chapel.

Omia clasped her hands to her chest, pursed her lips, and silently walked behind House. For some reason, she seemed to sense something as well...

An inexplicable unease began to gather in the hearts of the three people at the door.

Bond swallowed hard, looked at the rioting crowd in the distance, gave a wry smile, and shouted:

"Ah... what is it now! It's so noisy so late at night. Um... you two should go to sleep early. I'll go check on what's going on at the chapel."

With that, Bond turned halfway around and walked toward the chapel.

House was still gazing into the shadowy woods...

One second, one second, and another... time seemed to stretch out.

It felt as if someone was pounding his heart with a giant hammer, and his heart was beating more and more frequently and rapidly.

My teeth clenched involuntarily…

What exactly is this... strange feeling?

rustling...

「!?」

Suddenly, a clump of trees swayed.

House hoped his concerns were unfounded, but unfortunately, reality proved otherwise…

As a malevolent dark green suddenly emerged from the bushes in the distance, House's nerves tightened like a bowstring!

He instinctively opened his eyes wide, and his fingers gripped the wheelchair handles so tightly that they creaked!

That patch of oily green was so striking under the moonlight...!

Its towering body, sharp fangs, rough leather belt, and the abnormally large longbow in its hand.

That's an orc!!!

Before House could even process his shock, a mournful cry echoed from the distant chapel.

The cries were filled with despair and pain; the howls were deafening.

"—The Royal Weapon, the Royal Weapon is gone again! Just now! Right under my nose... no, it's gone!!!"

For a moment, everyone's heart seemed to stop beating for half a beat.

But in the brief moment when everyone was stunned by this sudden major event, the orcs in the distance spotted House and the others.

Without the slightest hesitation! Drawing the bow and nocking the arrow happened in an instant!

The orc rapidly nocked a huge arrow onto the taut bowstring, then spread his arms wide and gently released it with his back hand!

Even from dozens of meters away, the sound of the sharp arrow cutting through the air could be clearly heard!

It gave him absolutely no time to react! A chilling fear instantly crept up House's spine, but even so, he instinctively charged desperately toward Bond ahead!

"Hey! Bond! Watch out!!!"

"ha...?"

Clearly, Bond hadn't yet recovered from the 'realism' of the King's Armor being lost again; a bitter smile lingered on his lips.

"Did you hear that...? They said the Royal Artifact is lost, they're just kidding—"

puff--!!!

Blood gushed out like a torrent, and the huge arrow tore through the air, piercing Bond's throat in an instant!

There were no more words to say; even the bones were crushed to pieces!

Bond's dazed head didn't even have time to close his eyes before it crashed heavily to the ground!

—He died.

"Bon...Bon...Mr. Bond!!" Terrified, Omia immediately tried to rush out to help, but House suddenly turned around and pulled her back to protect her behind him!

He quickly removed his thigh and placed it in front of Omia's face. Before the girl could react, a loud bang exploded in her ear!

The tinnitus was causing her immense suffering…

House gritted his teeth; the arrow was indeed extraordinary, even knocking off several crystals from his thigh…

Fortunately, he stopped the second arrow at the last second, otherwise Omia would have been separated from him forever.

In the face of life and death, only one message occupied House's mind—the worst had happened.

He didn't care about his tone; he could only communicate by shouting.

"Get inside!! Lock the door and whatever happens, don't come out!!!"

Without waiting for the girl to react, House shoved her into the house and then slammed the door shut!

He then unleashed several forward bursts at the fastest speed he had ever seen, disappearing into the shadows of the alley.

Having completed all this in a flash, House finally dared to let out a long sigh of relief.

Still shaken, he dug his fingers deep into his hair; everything had happened so fast...

That guy just died right in front of me...

His neck was pierced, and he died instantly...

Damn it, the royal weapon is missing again. What happened?

And isn't it only 12 o'clock now?

That guy's an orc, right? Definitely an orc, right? So the allied forces have arrived?

But according to Kiaran's estimate, it's still a long way off!

He slammed his fist against the wall in a fit of rage: "What the hell is going on?!"

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!"

"!"

But reality didn't give him time to overthink things.

Scenes he could only imagine in his dreams were now unfolding before his eyes.

House stiffly turned his head away. At this moment, the streets of Yelo Village... were a scene of hell.

Bushes, forests, village entrances, the sides of barricades... almost anywhere the eye can see, countless green shadows emerge from those places.

He had seen those things in the woods before...

They are orcs and goblins.

The number of these monsters was beyond estimation by sight. It was a surging tide, a monstrous tide of calamity... a tide of death and plunder!

Screaming and lewd monsters, wielding giant axes and spears, stormed into the village like demons from hell!

Flames erupted on the thatched hut, and an endless array of monsters blocked all escape routes.

The villagers screamed and fled, while the monsters slowly approached them with their backs to the raging flames, showing no hurry whatsoever, as if it were a game of trapping beasts... They were hunters seeking death, and the villagers were nothing more than fish on a chopping board.

For the first time, such a strong emotion welled up in House's heart—despair.

Faced with a real army, faced with a real tidal wave, he didn't know what means he could use to win... he couldn't even think of how to escape.

Only one harsh truth is before us:

The monsters have arrived.