Roaring Heroes Battle the Overlord (Ainz) - Part 1 (Chapters 1 to 200)

Chapter 41: Night Weeping

As the four crept into the inner perimeter of the village, they finally pieced together what was happening. A band of over a dozen bandits had raided Sheep Horn, smashing villagers' doors with maces and looting house by house.

Though outnumbered, the bandits were well-trained and skilled in combat. Sheep Horn had few able-bodied men to begin with, making it impossible to muster an effective defense. The village was lit up with torches, cries of anguish echoing through the night, wails rising from every corner.

"Should we come up with a battle plan?" Sean whispered from the shadows of a thatched sheep shed, addressing the other three hiding there. Before he could finish, EeDechi unslung her giant sword, her lithe figure leaping out like a nightsaber.

In her haste, she misjudged the height and slammed her forehead into the shed's roof beam, snapping the bowl-thick timber clean in two.

The shed teetered on the brink of collapse, showering Barrett, Sean, and Stella with clumps of thatch. They shook off the debris and charged out after their captain.

...

About fifteen minutes later, the fight was over.

The battle was utterly unremarkable, the most lackluster skirmish Barrett had ever experienced. Even the most gifted bards, with their flair for spinning tales of lizardmen clashes into dragon-slaying epics, would struggle to find anything noteworthy about this village rescue.

The fight could be summed up like this: EeDechi swung her giant sword like a badminton racket, swatting aside the fearless, battle-hardened bandits—weapons and all—sending them flying. Barrett, Sean, and Stella followed close behind, tying up the ones lucky enough to survive her onslaught with sturdy ropes.

In total, fourteen bandits were dealt with. Five, including their leader, lay dead. The remaining nine, battered to varying degrees, were trussed up like wriggling worms with coarse rope, sprawled haphazardly across a flat clearing in the village center.

Barrett interrogated a few of the still-conscious bandits and discovered that among this unlucky group were six adventurers who had joined temporarily. He couldn't help but feel a bit relieved, thankful that he hadn't encountered someone as terrifying as EeDeChi during his stint as a part-time bandit years ago.

Sean grabbed a torch and piled some pine logs in the village center, sparking a bonfire that lit up the surroundings. From the nearby houses, a few villagers peeked out, trembling, their eyes darting between the bandits trussed up like mummies on the ground and the four adventurers by the fire.

Barrett strolled among the bound bandits, occasionally slipping a hand into their pockets to rummage around. His eyes caught something—a guy with pointed ears. Leaning closer, he realized it was a young half-elf adventurer.

Half-elves, born from haughty elves and humans, always had those telltale pointed ears. Thanks to their elven blood, this one had a sharp nose and handsome features. Barrett couldn't fathom why someone like him would stoop to banditry.

A spark of an idea hit Barrett. He tied the half-elf's hands behind his waist, loosening the ropes around his upper body. The half-elf was still lucid, his eyes wide with panic as he stared at Barrett. "What are you doing?"

Barrett crouched down, flashing a wicked grin. His rough, calloused hands seized the half-elf's jacket collar and ripped it open with a loud tear.

The half-elf's toned, bare chest was exposed before Barrett's eyes. His handsome face twisted with fear, his tightly bound legs squirming as he cried out in a trembling voice, "What... what are you going to do?"

Barrett let out a dark chuckle, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "Heh, what else? The thing us adventurers love most."

EeDechi spun around, her brow furrowed in irritation. "Barrett, watch yourself! I've got no issue with guys loving guys, but this is a public place—don't go doing anything indecent!"