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

Gray led the three to a house on the spot to talk. A strange phenomenon was that these houses, which looked fairly decent from a distance, turned out to be less impressive than those in a post-apocalyptic movie once you stepped inside...

The wooden floor was moldy and cracked, exposing the damp rammed earth underneath. Cobwebs hung like curtains from every corner, and the furniture was infested with insects. The dust was piled up extremely thick. If you accidentally inhaled it, you would definitely get pneumonia on the spot.

And the most crucial factor is temperature.

As soon as House entered the house, the hairs on his neck stood on end from the cold; it was the first time he had ever seen the indoor temperature several degrees colder than the outdoor temperature.

"Damn, this house is no good, it's not warm at all..." he complained.

Gray said helplessly, "Please forgive us, three of you. After all, this small village has been abandoned for several years, so it's normal that it's a bit drafty and cold."

This caused a few seconds of silence among the group. Seeing that Omia and Kiaran were unusually quiet today, House decided to ask the question himself.

He interlaced his fingers, gathering his thoughts briefly: "Um...where were we? Oh right, about the Kingdom of Oreg's victory, right?"

House rubbed his index finger against the back of his hand. "I don't understand... The kingdom won the battle and repelled the monster alliance, which is clearly a good thing, but what does it have to do with the adventurers?"

Gray, with a gloomy expression, said, "These adventurers were all recruited by the Kingdom of Oreg as mercenaries."

Working as a mercenary... Oh, House remembered Kiaran mentioning it to him.

The reason all the adventurers from Yelo Village ran away was because the Kingdom of Oreg offered high wages for military service, causing them to collectively defect and flee...

In truth, he didn't really feel that this counted as changing jobs.

After all, being an adventurer should be considered a freelance job, you can't stop me from pursuing better opportunities, can you?

These words naturally caught Kiaran's attention: "Wait a minute, Mr. Gray, let me interrupt first. Where are we right now? To be honest... we're lost."

Gray paused for a moment, then took out a map and handed it to the three of them, before explaining truthfully:

"This village has been removed from the list and cannot be found on the map. The nearest human settlement is the Kingdom of Oreg, which is about 300 kilometers to the northeast."

House took the map and started looking at it from all angles, but his expression was just like Po's when he first saw the Dragon Scroll.

He was sure he wasn't blind... but there really was nothing on this map, it was completely blank.

House thought to himself, "No words are really no good... I can't even read the map."

Omia House, with her clumsy manner, smiled wryly and took his hands from behind:

"Mr. House's waterproof and fireproof rune maps require magical infusion to become visible..."

As soon as he finished speaking, House felt a warm sensation spread from the girl's soft palm to the back of his hand, and then from the back of his hand to the map.

Needless to say, House knew it was magic.

Magic was gently injected, and then countless gray-black lines began to grow and intertwine on the map.

They outline the ridgelines of the mountains, which then meander into rivers. The silhouettes of towns quietly emerge at the intersections, roads grow like vines, and forests are rendered with fine ink dots.

"Oh my god! So this is what a real map looks like! Chiaran, what you drew is nothing but a pile of crap—ugh!"

Kiaran angrily slammed her fist into House's head, then pouted and asked, "So, Mr. Gray, where did your knights come from?"

Gray couldn't help but smile wryly as he watched the three of them fooling around.

"Well, my knightly order and I have come all the way south from the north, and our destination is the area around the Kingdom of Romeni in the southern continent. And it's not just us; all twenty paladin orders in Grayland are currently converging there at the same time."

The three of them were immediately taken aback. Wasn't the Kingdom of Romeni the place that Doan had just mentioned going to...?

House quickly asked, "Why...why?"

"Hiss... um... I'm not really sure about this either. To be honest, I've been a paladin for over ten years and I've never seen such an urgent mission."

"The order was given by Grand Master Falgar of the First Holy Knight Order [Dark Angels]. This is a top-level and highest-priority order. No matter what mission the other paladins are carrying out, they must immediately drop what they are doing and go there."

"...I don't know the specific details. I've only heard that someone assassinated the king of the Kingdom of Romeni, and the Southern Continent is in great turmoil."

Upon hearing this, House couldn't help but purse his lips...

I haven't even finished investigating the mess in the North Continent, and a major world event has already happened in the South Continent?

Damn, World of Warcraft has started raids, huh? They never wait for anyone.

But just then, House suddenly realized something!

He quickly interrupted, "Wait, Commander Gray! If that's the case, then you and your team are heading towards the Forest of Fallen Giants right now?"

"Hmm? That's true. Since we need to get to the Puxi Canal at the junction of the North and South, the Forest of Fallen Giants is the shortest route. But I've heard that there's something like a 'natural barrier' there. I wonder if it will allow our troops to pass through."

Commander Gray's words silenced all three of them.

After exchanging glances, the group simultaneously looked up, looking embarrassed and bitter, and said:

"Commander Gray... it really is fate that brought us together, what a coincidence..."

"?"

-----------------

"What?!?!"

The loud roar was clearly audible even to the soldiers outside the house who were taking care of the children.

"How dare they... how dare they!? These damned monsters! Monsters all deserve to die! They all deserve to die!"

After hearing House recount everything that had happened in Yelo Village, the paladin commander was so angry that his fingers clenched his plate armor so tightly they creaked.

However, unlike House, who was angry because he was deceived, his anger stemmed primarily from the fact that these goblins had slaughtered so many innocent villagers.

As a paladin born with the fundamental purpose of protecting humanity, his faith and great love made him wish he could tear that bastard named Rudik to pieces at this moment.

His previous gentle demeanor vanished in an instant, replaced by the commander's fury that seemed to set the roof on fire.

House was a little frightened by what he saw. He was so angry just from hearing about it. If he saw it with his own eyes, he would have a stroke on the spot.

"Omia...are all paladins this righteous yet prone to evil?"

House whispered something in Omia's ear, the girl's warm, soft breath wafting around his ear:

"Yes...and their seriousness about justice is beyond human imagination. For justice, every paladin can give everything without hesitation, even their own life. For thousands of years, as the most loyal followers of the Church of Destiny, they have always been the most respected and admired group among the people of Grayvalan."

"The Church of Destiny?"

"Yes, yes! The Church of Destiny, founded by Prometheus, the god of fate, along with the Church of Light and the Church of the Heart, are collectively known as the three major religions of mankind."

Omia spoke these words with great respect.

House paused, momentarily stunned, and began to re-evaluate the paladin before him who was trying so hard to compose himself...

Justice, is it?

Perhaps influenced by modern society, House's values ​​have subtly changed. Now he thinks these so-called people who uphold justice are all... well, stupid?

No, it's not that it's stupid, it's just that it's rather rigid.

For example, based on his more than ten years of experience reading online novels, the protagonists in the early years were all like this... such as saving the world, helping the poor, or willingly losing an arm or hand to save a complete stranger, or willingly abandoning all their martial arts skills to save a dog.

If this were today, all these righteous male protagonists would be labeled as "saintly mothers".

For example, in the past, when faced with female protagonists throwing themselves at him, if the male protagonist refused to have a relationship with them and upheld his principles, people would comment, "Wow, that's so cool! Upholding his principles is so manly! Staying a virgin is so handsome!"

Now people say things like, "BYD is good for the stomach, right?" "No CCB? Thumbs down!" "Isn't this free Fu-Bu-Zao? It's good for the stomach, purely good for the stomach!"

So, back to the previous topic, is it justice?

That's quite a weighty word... House looked at Gray, who had sat down again, and couldn't help but show a bitter expression that was neither a smile nor a frown.

He silently asked himself a question.

When the "fate" you believe in forces you to abandon your so-called "justice"... will you choose to compromise with fate, or will you choose to rebel against and betray your "fate" in order to uphold your own sense of justice?