The scorching sun hung in the sky, reflecting off the Ashina Castle below.
Then the scene shifted, and a massive Blazing Bull burst through a house, letting out an earth-shattering roar.
A burning wooden stake was lodged in the bull's head. Startled by the flames, the Blazing Bull charged wildly like an out-of-control tank, leaving a trail of fire in its wake.
In front of the Blazing Bull was a man who looked like a ronin.
'Wolf'
The man's name, or rather, his codename, appeared on the screen.
Facing the charging Blazing Bull, Wolf stood still, unmoving. However, just as the burning bull's head was about to touch Wolf.
Bang!
A muffled sound rang out. Wolf vanished from in front of the Blazing Bull, leaving only black crow feathers falling through the air.
In the next second, a cold blade reflected the light of the flames.
Splish!
Blood and fire burst forth.
The sharp blade in Wolf's hand slashed mercilessly at the Blazing Bull's body.
The screen instantly shifted to theηε° of a deep valley.
A white-furred Guardian Ape guarded a stone cave. A huge Long Sword pierced the Guardian Ape's neck, and a long sword scar marked its left cheek.
This was already a fatal wound, yet the Guardian Ape before them was still full of vigor.
Suddenly, the Guardian Ape seemed to sense something, abruptly standing up and turning to look.
Wolf, holding his Long Sword, continuously used his grappling hook on the bare trees in the puddles at the bottom of the valley, steadily closing in on the giant ape.
Then came a series of quick cuts.
Wolf ran up the castle steps, hid on rafters, continuously flipped and jumped among steep cliffs, and threw his metallic prosthetic arm's grappling hook to rapidly approach his target.
He leaped from the rooftop, his blade piercing through the enemy's vital point, drawing a splash of crimson.
At the battlefield ruins outside the castle, Gyoubu Masataka Oniwa charged on horseback, wielding his greatscythe with mighty presence.
Blood-red maple leaves fell onto the wooden bridge. The Corrupted Monk's steel blade clashed with Wolf's, creating sparks of metal, then instantly transformed into a phantom.
In the burning basement of Hirata Estate, Lady Butterfly moved like a ghost amidst the flames, her scissors attacking Wolf like a tempest, yet unable to break through Wolf's perfect defense.
Above the clouds, the ancient Divine Dragon appeared dreamlike and ethereal, wielding a divine sword with overwhelming power, and accompanied by flashing wind and thunder, its massive sword energy tore through the mist.
Finally, the scene came to Ashina, burning in a raging inferno, with the ground covered in blood and corpses.
'Even if struck down, I will surely die to save my Master.'
'If you are my shinobi...'
The scene shifted to a man lying in a pool of blood.
One hand tightly gripped a sword, while the other was not flesh and blood, but a metallic prosthetic arm.
'I once... saw... Ashura.'
The screen gradually darkened.
A desolate elegy began to play.
The once fiercely burning Ashina Castle was now covered in pristine white snow.
Lights twinkled dimly in the dark night.
But the next moment, the sounds of battle, clashing weapons, and explosions shattered the quiet snowy night.
The camera in the video slowly pulled back, and the banner of Ashina appeared in the frame β 'To go forth to battle is to die with honor, to live is to be disgraced.'
'In the end, I was still powerless!'
Under the silent moon, in the snowy reeds, a samurai, holding a Long Sword and with a bow on his back, slowly raised his sword.
'However... the Power of the Dragon's Heritage allows the nation to endure, and only then can the long night break into dawn.'
The Long Sword slowly moved towards his neck.
A muffled groan.
Blood gushed from the wound.
In an instant, the gushing blood suddenly stopped. A withered hand emerged from it, tightly grasping the samurai's sword.
'This is my poor grandson's... final wish.'
As the withered hand gripped the sword, the samurai's body fell limply. Under the moon, an elderly swordmaster in armor stood there.
'I must pull Ashina... back from the underworld!'
'Therefore, Wolf... I will kill you.'
'Go, Wolf!'
The elderly samurai slowly turned to face the protagonist, known as Wolf.
At the same time, his name appeared next to the samurai: Isshin Ashina.
As the video played to this point, countless players watching instantly became excited.
'OHHHHHHHHH!'
'Holy crap, this is damn cool!'
'Just as expected, it's Nebula Games' style!'
'No kidding, does that even need to be said? While Mr. Chen always pulls some tricks, tormenting our hands and hearts in games, to be fair, Mr. Chen never lies. What he says can always be achieved, it's just sometimes it's not quite what we had in mind.'
'This is just too cool! It's simply a perfect blend of violence and elegance!'
'Has Old Geezer Chen Xu changed his ways!? This is genuinely too cool!'
Innumerable players instantly grew excited because the game's UI interface appeared in the video. However, as the battle began, this UI interface receded again.
But almost all players had already received the implicit message: this promotional video was entirely composed of actual in-game footage. And the battle currently unfolding was truly a BOSS battle that players would experience in the game.
This excited all the players. After all, while pure promotional CGs are thrilling, it's still hard to judge what the actual game is like. Although veteran players clearly understood Nebula Games' biggest characteristic was never to resort to misleading trailers, sometimes even their launch trailers would be questioned by players.
But the current promotional video from Nebula Games directly told players to stop guessing. The game's quality was exactly like this video; they just needed to watch closely.
This immediately made it difficult for players to control themselves. And the content in the video looked incredibly satisfying. The clashing sparks from close-quarters combat made it feel like an exhilarating sword-clashing action game!
Watching the video, countless players involuntarily expressed this sentiment. In the video, Isshin Ashina and Wolf clashed like heaven's thunder and earth's fire, fighting fiercely.
Various sharp movements, the sparks from sword collisions, and the metallic clanging sounds were like a symphony. The sword clashes, radiating fire, interwoven violence with aesthetics.
It filled countless players with excitement, making them wish they could play the game immediately. Some players, prone to fantasizing, had already replaced Wolf in their minds with themselves.
How satisfying it would be to fight like that!
After several rounds of fierce combat, in the brief moment of crossing blades, Isshin Ashina's sharp blade pierced through Wolf's body.
With a thud, Wolf fell to the ground.
The swordmaster shook the blood from his blade, stepping back only a few paces.
And just then, a Red Tassel fell.
Just like the giant dragon that stood atop the colossal cherry blossom tree in the clouds earlier.
The Power of the Dragon's Heritage, death and resurrection.
As a red glow enveloped Wolf, the fallen Wolf rose again.
Upon rising, Wolf once again drew his sword to face the enemy.
In the white, snow-like reeds, Isshin Ashina and Wolf clashed.
Clang!
In an instant, sparks flew everywhere, and a metallic clang resounded. As the sword clash occurred at close range, the camera in the video suddenly zoomed in, providing a close-up of Wolf and Isshin Ashina.
At the same time, the game's title appeared on the screen.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
(End of Chapter)
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