Lion's Claw was an Ash of War used by the Redmane soldiers who fought alongside General Radahn.
One leaped forward, spinning as they brought their weapon down.
It was incredibly effective at suppressing humanoid enemies.
Of course, the most important thing was how cool it looked.
Besides, the original model for Lion's Claw was the Wolf Leap, a move used by Guts, the protagonist of *Berserk*.
It was one of the pinnacles of seinen manga—no, sometimes you could even drop the "one of."
In the world of swords and sorcery, it was a legendary work that had never been surpassed. Even Hidetaka Miyazaki was a loyal fan, and one could often see traces of *Berserk* in the Souls series.
Bai Shi was also a devoted fan of *Berserk*, and he absolutely could not pass up the opportunity to use this move himself.
Moreover, this greatsword had already been reinforced four times, greatly increasing its damage and durability, which saved Bai Shi a lot of time.
"Lord Bai Shi, there are other weapons. You could take a look at them as well. If you find any you like, you can take them as spares. Besides, you still haven't changed your armor."
Yulius called out to Bai Shi, who had been about to turn and leave.
Bai Shi was a little embarrassed.
"I can look at the armor, but forget the weapons. This one is more than enough."
"The weapons stored here must all be quite valuable, and I can't use them all even if I take them."
But Yulius insisted that Bai Shi first look through all the equipment in the stone chests.
"Weapons only have value when they are used. In your hands, they will surely not gather dust."
"Besides, Castle Morne no longer has any warriors worthy of them. Lord Edgar has his own equipment. Please, take whatever you wish. Don't worry about such trivial matters."
Bai Shi couldn't resist his young admirer's persuasion and finally gave in. He had a point.
He had no idea until he looked, but the equipment collection in Castle Morne was truly impressive.
There were several complete sets of the Exile Soldier armor and one set of Godrick Knight armor, all in excellent condition.
But that wasn't the main point. What truly astonished Bai Shi was another set of gear.
A set of light Banished Knight armor, a Banished Knight's Greatsword, and a Banished Knight's Shield.
This entire set of light Banished Knight gear was neatly arranged in the largest stone chest.
Bai Shi swallowed. He was tempted.
The only drawback of the Banished Knight set was its weight; everything else about it was a plus.
After all, the Banished Knight set was a genuine suit of heavy plate, offering far more defense than ordinary armor, and it looked incredibly cool.
Though the massive, bulging codpiece was a bit conspicuous... Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⚑𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⚑𝕟𝕖𝕥
But this wasn't a game anymore. He could just find a cloak or something to cover it up.
He had farmed for it for so long in the game, and now he had just stumbled upon it in Castle Morne.
Bai Shi took the Banished Knight's chest plate out of the chest.
The exquisite engraved patterns remained clear despite the passage of time. The left pauldron was unusually large, even covering half the chest plate.
The right pauldron was a size smaller, but the spiraling dragon horn that decorated it pointed to the sky, giving it a savage and domineering look.
As tempted as he was, Bai Shi put the chest plate back. After all, Edgar was a Banished Knight. It wouldn't be right if this gear had belonged to one of his comrades or ancestors.
He would wait and ask Edgar. If it was alright for him to take it, Bai Shi certainly wouldn't be polite about it.
The Ancient King himself had taught him a storm Ash of War; how could he not pair it with a Banished Knight set for the full cosplay?
He continued opening chests, but nothing else particularly caught his eye.
He helped himself to a halberd and a small single-edged knife from the wooden chests.
One was the halberd the Vagabond started with, the other the dagger from the Thief class. There was more than one of each in the chests, so they appeared to be standard-issue weapons, and Bai Shi felt no guilt in taking them.
Having acquired a new weapon, it was time to test it out.
Bai Shi, with Yulius following, began to search Castle Morne for any remaining Misbegotten.
A Misbegotten, unaware that the main force had been wiped out and was still desecrating corpses, was cleaved to death with the halberd.
Another Misbegotten, which knew of the defeat and was hiding and trembling in fear, had its throat slit by the dagger.
He came across a site of grace and activated it as well.
As he cleared a path through the castle, he finally encountered a sizable group of Misbegotten.
They were gathered near the prison behind Castle Morne, scattered along the bridge.
This area wasn't directly connected to the main castle; in the game, one had to jump down from the back of Castle Morne.
But as he gradually regained control, Bai Shi simply took a small lift down.
Seeing the Misbegotten still posturing, emboldened by their numbers, Bai Shi drew his greatsword and licked his lips.
These creatures had no idea they had just provoked someone they shouldn't have.
The greatsword swung, and a Misbegotten was cut in half at the waist. Bai Shi had used this move many times, but the feel this time was completely different.
The greatsword was far sharper than Bai Shi had imagined. In the past, there was always a sense of resistance when he cut through a Misbegotten's body, and after two or three, it became difficult to cleave through the next one.
But now, it was incredibly smooth. If these Misbegotten lined up to be cut in half, Bai Shi felt he could slice through an entire row with a single swing.
The sounds of the slaughter soon attracted the attention of their leaders.
Two Scaly Misbegotten and three Winged Misbegotten.
Before, this might have given Bai Shi some trouble.
But now, having achieved a hundred kills against their kind, Bai Shi had fully earned the title of Misbegotten Slayer.
Bai Shi charged forward, raising an arm to block the arrows of the Winged Misbegotten, ignoring the few that stuck in his flesh.
Seeing Bai Shi charging so recklessly, a Scaly Misbegotten roared and gripped its long-handled cleaver with both hands, ready to teach him a lesson.
Bai Shi, judging that he was close enough, infused magic into his greatsword and unleashed the Ash of War: Lion's Claw.
His body moved with a practiced ease, as if it had performed the move countless times. As he charged, he planted the tip of his sword on the ground and flipped through the air.
As his body somersaulted, the greatsword lifted from the ground and came crashing down from above with the force to split a mountain.
The Misbegotten's long-handled cleaver held for only an instant before being shattered, along with the terrified Scaly Misbegotten behind it.
The Scaly Misbegotten's body split down the middle, trailing stringy gore as its two halves fell to either side, perfectly bisected.
Using the momentum from cleaving the Misbegotten, Bai Shi pushed off with his feet and, without pause, unleashed Lion's Claw again.
He used the same technique to split the second Scaly Misbegotten in half.
The Winged Misbegotten in the sky were utterly terrified.
The Scaly Misbegotten were known for their physique among their kind, yet this person had effortlessly and violently cleaved them in two. The scene was beyond their comprehension.
They flew about in a panicked frenzy before finally remembering to flee for their lives.
But by now, Bai Shi had already raised his Crepus's Black-Key Crossbow (Replica), aiming and firing at each one.
With the fall of these few Winged Misbegotten, the creatures in Castle Morne were completely wiped out.
The only good Misbegotten was a dead Misbegotten, and as it happened, Castle Morne now only had dead Misbegotten.