Leonine Misbegotten

Lucian had been watching from afar before, but only now that he had come closer did he realize just how enormous the Leonine Misbegotten was.

Ordinary Misbegotten and Winged Misbegotten were very scrawny. Even standing straight, they were barely as tall as a person, but they usually hunched over, making it hard to tell.

Even the largest Scaly Misbegotten was only about the size of an ordinary person, with somewhat more muscle and scales on its body.

But Singh, the Leonine Misbegotten before them, was much taller than Lucian even without fully standing upright—probably two and a half meters tall.

Broadly built and brightly furred, he hardly seemed related to those drab gray Misbegotten.

Raising the Ruins Greatsword high with both hands, Singh brought it down heavily on Edgar at the front.

The countless blades on the Ruins Greatsword tore through the air, shrieking like the wails of tormented souls.

Edgar did not dare take it head-on and used Quickstep to dodge aside.

The piled corpses on the ground were split in two, though not cleanly. Rather than being cut apart, they looked as though they had been crushed to pulp by monstrous force.

After dodging, Edgar immediately seized the opening after Singh's attack and thrust his halberd forward.

The spearhead pierced Singh beneath the ribs, but Edgar's expression turned grim.

Singh's skin was far too tough. The sensation of stabbing him did not feel like piercing flesh at all.

The spearhead could not sink all the way in and was caught fast by his taut muscles.

Singh pulled the Ruins Greatsword from the flesh, its dense gaps between blades hung thick with blood and meat.

Baptized in flesh and blood, the black rust on the Ruins Greatsword gradually faded, and it began to regain its former cold, sinister sharpness.

Singh clenched his muscles tightly, preventing Edgar from easily pulling free his halberd, then unleashed a savage horizontal sweep.

If that strike landed, no matter how sturdy Edgar's Banished Knight Armor was, he would likely still be cut in two.

At that moment, a cloud of orange powder was scattered before Singh, followed immediately by a violent explosion.

The explosion set his fiery red fur ablaze and awakened the instinctive terror of fire buried in Singh's genes.

He immediately halted his attack, no longer bothering to restrain Edgar's halberd. Dragging the Ruins Greatsword with one hand, he frantically slapped at the flames on his head with the other.

Sure enough, in any world, lots of fur meant weakness to fire.

Edgar pulled out his halberd and retreated to one side as Lucian rushed forward.

This was the tactic they had discussed earlier.

Lucian and Edgar would take turns fighting on the front line, while Evan the Perfumer supported them from the rear with Aromatics.

Evan had said that although Singh was a warrior among the Misbegotten, his nature still had an indelible influence on him.

Fire attacks not only dealt tremendous damage, but also made Singh temporarily fear it like an ordinary beast.

Lucian slashed at Singh's sword-wielding hand. The blade sank into knotted muscle, nearly reaching the bone.

Lucian immediately withdrew his sword to avoid being restrained by Singh.

The slash was deep, but it was still not enough to prevent Singh from wielding his sword.

Edgar swung his halberd again, and its axe blade bit into Singh's shoulder. A miniature storm erupted at once, tearing open the wound.

Singh was thoroughly enraged. After extinguishing the flames on his body, he dropped to all threes and charged at Lucian.

Swinging the Ruins Greatsword, he used Spinning Slash on Lucian. Naturally, Lucian did not dare block it head-on and leaped backward to evade.

Seeing that Spinning Slash had missed, Singh followed the momentum of his rotation and leaped high into the air, driving his sword downward.

Rather than retreat, Lucian stepped forward and rushed beneath Singh.

He raised the Lordsworn's Greatsword, waiting only for Singh to land so he could impale him.

But Singh was astonishingly agile. In midair, he adjusted his posture with his thick tail, planted his sword into the ground ahead of time, then used it like a pole vault to evade Lucian's blade.

Lucian was stunned. Such a massive body had actually performed such an agile maneuver.

Evan scattered another handful of Spark Aromatic, but its effect was greatly reduced this time. The explosion only disrupted Singh for a moment.

Yet in that instant, Edgar's halberd, carrying a storm, slammed heavily into Singh's back.

This was Storm Assault, one of the Banished Knight combat arts.

With Edgar's body weight behind it, the halberd pierced Singh's back and knocked him straight to the ground. Yet the hand gripping the Ruins Greatsword did not loosen in the slightest.

Edgar planted one foot on Singh's back and used Storm Stomp, keeping Singh pinned to the ground as he tried to rise.

Lucian slashed at the fingers gripping the sword. The feedback through his blade told him he had indeed severed three fingers.

Yet Singh still held the sword, and the severed fingers did not fall away.

Looking closely, Lucian saw that the hand was wrapped in a thick black aura, fused tightly to the hilt.

The three severed fingers were also firmly stuck to the hilt.

A chill ran through Lucian. There was something deeply sinister about the Ruins Greatsword.

But his attacks did not stop, and he continued leaving fresh wounds across Singh's body.

As Edgar's magic gradually depleted, the storm slowly began to lose its hold over Singh.

Bracing himself against the attacks, Singh gradually climbed up from the ground.

Edgar jumped down from Singh's back. If he stayed there any longer, he would probably be thrown off.

Having risen to his feet, Singh panted heavily, blood streaming constantly from wounds large and small across his body.

A large mass of black aura suddenly surged from the Ruins Greatsword once more, enveloping Singh's entire body.

The viscous aura filled his wounds, and the bleeding gradually stopped.

But Singh's body visibly shrank by a size, while his fiery red fur began to fall out and lose its color.

Seeing this bizarre sight, none of them dared attack rashly.

"What exactly is the Ruins Greatsword?"

Lucian could not help asking Edgar. This Ruins Greatsword was far too different from the one in the game.

Edgar's expression was grave.

"The Ruins Greatsword is a weapon passed down from the distant past. It has had several owners, and even I do not know what power it contains."

"Its previous owner was once a warrior of Castle Morne, back when Castle Morne had not yet been completely conquered by King Godfrey."

"That warrior took up this Greatsword with vengeance in his heart and faced King Godfrey in battle. Though he was defeated, he earned recognition, and a Sword Monument was raised to record his deeds."

"Since then, the Ruins Greatsword has been sealed in Castle Morne, guarded generation after generation, with no one permitted to use it."

"It was likely sealed because the power it contained was too ominous."

While they spoke, Singh had already recovered. Gripping the Ruins Greatsword with both hands, he charged toward the three of them.

He attacked with a disciplined three-hit combination. This was a proper sword technique, and it was what made him completely different from ordinary Misbegotten.

No matter what weapon ordinary Misbegotten held, they only swung it wildly. But Singh was a warrior with truly masterful swordsmanship.

Lucian dodged the first two strikes, but there was no time to evade the third.

Lucian raised his sword before him, preparing to block the incoming attack.

Evan scattered Uplifting Aromatic. Lucian and Singh were too close together now, and using Spark Aromatic might injure Lucian as well. They could only pray that the boost from Uplifting Aromatic would let him withstand the blow.

Edgar extended his halberd and crossed it before Lucian's sword, preparing to share the force.

Clang!

As the crisp sound of weapons colliding rang out, Lucian and Edgar were surprised to find that the force transmitted through their weapons was far less than expected.

It was still heavy, but it had fallen within a range they could withstand.

It seemed that while the Ruins Greatsword had healed Singh's wounds earlier, it had done so by draining his life force.

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