Roaring Heroes Battle the Overlord (Ainz)

Chapter 129: Franco

EeDeChi was sorting through a stack of applicant materials, while she and Barrett sifted through the papers, complaining along the way.

"After all this effort, only a handful of decent candidates showed up. The female knights have high levels of justice, but either their outfits are too revealing or their behavior is too flirtatious. As for the male warriors, they're all strong, but their Justice Value is so low it's practically in the gutter."

"I think that young guy named Rance meets the criteria," Barrett said.

EeDeChi nodded. "He's the only one who seems somewhat reliable."

"Clap... clap... clap, clap, clap! Clap! Clap!..." A series of intense collisions of flesh resounded from next door, interspersed with the low, suppressed gasps of a girl.

"Who's clapping outside?" EeDeChi frowned. "Go check, tell them to move farther away, don't let them disturb our recruitment."

Barrett turned and left the wooden house. He returned shortly, wearing an unreadable expression.

"What happened outside?" EeDeChi asked.

"Uh... how should I put this? Never mind, I'll just say it straight—Rance is fucking Sill."

"WHAT!" EeDeChi was furious. "In broad daylight, and in the middle of the marketplace, no less!"

She drew her giant sword, kicked through the wooden wall, and charged out, shouting, "I'M GOING TO SLICE YOU TO PIECES, YOU BASTARD!"

Rance, true to his elite warrior status, was incredibly fast. He lifted up his pants, scooped Sill into his arms, and sprinted off without a trace.

EeDeChi chased for a few steps, but when she realized Rance had vanished, she could only stomp back to her original spot. The small recruitment cabin had collapsed from her kick, and Barrett, holding Cheeko, looked at her helplessly. "You scared off the only decent candidate we had left."

"Sigh!" EeDeChi covered her forehead with a hand and let out a deep breath. "Why is it that all the weirdos are showing up to apply? The only normal ones are those girls, but their clothes are either flashy and useless or too revealing and provocative. It's clear they're not cut out for fighting."

"I've never seen or heard of any of these people before, and their style of clothing isn't local either," Barrett said. "Could this be related to the 'banned character'?"

"Well..." EeDeChi frowned, thinking it over.

She suddenly felt something was off. The noise she made when she kicked down the wooden cabin was pretty loud, and this was a bustling marketplace. Normally, a bunch of people would've noticed by now.

Everything around her was silent. It was as if time had stopped, space had frozen, and the actions of the surrounding crowd had come to a complete halt.

The people walking had their left and right feet separated in mid-step. An old woman buying spices had a frozen smile on her face, and the small copper spatula she was holding was suspended in the air. The rosemary, which should have fallen into the customer's bag, hung motionless in midair.

A child was tugging on his mother's hand. His feet were off the ground, frozen in the midst of a "jump," and his playful expression looked like a finely sculpted plaster statue.

Barrett stared at the bizarre scene, and Cheeko in his arms looked up at him with a questioning "meow," clearly confused by the situation.

EeDeChi's hawk-like gaze scanned the surroundings. It didn't take long for her to spot the fourth living being in the marketplace, besides herself, Barrett, and Cheeko.