Chapter 691 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - Die Twice Again! (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

Facing the General of the Samurai, who only had one life left, Zhang Yi didn't rush in recklessly but instead slowly chipped away at his health.

Because Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has no stamina bar limitation, he could perform unlimited running attacks.

Having died several times in a row before, he had essentially mastered the General of the Samurai's moves; there were mainly two threatening ones.

One was a charging sweep twice, and the other was a leaping attack performing the Mount Hua Split.

For the sweep, running to the side after attacking made him vulnerable.

As for the leaping slash, he was easily hit when retreating.

The rest of the moves posed no threat at all.

A low sweep, indicated by the "Danger" kanji, which couldn't be blocked, was difficult to dodge if he was in the middle of an attack, but if he was prepared in advance, it was a freebie.

There was also a move where the boss glowed white, which could significantly lower his own Posture Bar; Zhang Yi didn't care about this either, because he wasn't planning on filling the Posture Bar, but rather preparing to slowly carve the meat, gradually grinding down the General of the Samurai.

Two lives were hard to chip away at, but could he not chip away at just one?

With his Healing Gourd, healing pills picked up along the way, the reviving Power of the Dragon's Heritage, and the Shuriken Prosthetic Arm's tools.

Zhang Yi fought for five or six minutes, slowly but surely depleting the General's health bar.

He also noticed a detail: the lower the BOSS's health bar, the longer the Posture Bar remained.

Initially, two hits would fill the Posture Bar by about a sixth, but as soon as he retreated for less than two or three seconds, the Posture Bar would be completely reset.

However, as he continuously attacked the General and the health bar dropped, the Posture Bar would remain for a very long time.

"Indeed, my playstyle is correct, and it's just the turn-based combat of the Souls-like genre!" Zhang Yi looked proudly at Wolf, who was executing the General of the Samurai with Kusabimaru, feeling like a true genius.

Although it was a Souls game, it no longer felt as difficult as it did at first.

Experience and wisdom instantly turned the game's difficulty from hellish to normal.

"But do I only get Prayer Beads and Gourd Seeds by defeating BOSSes?" Zhang Yi wondered, looking at the Prayer Beads and Gourd Seeds he obtained after defeating the General.

If that were truly the case, wouldn't failing to defeat a BOSS lead to an inescapable loop?

Zhang Yi pondered this but didn't dwell on it, instead continuing to push forward with the game's progress.

When he got stuck, he could worry about it then.

Filled with confidence, Zhang Yi embarked on his journey once more.

After defeating this General BOSS, Zhang Yi noticed that the difficulty immediately changed.

As is well known in Souls-like games, groups of mobs are often more terrifying than BOSSes themselves.

Zhang Yi had already been mobbed to death once before, but after defeating this General, he discovered something even more terrifying.

That is, the monster density in Sekiro was even more terrifying than in Dark Souls or Bloodborne.

In Bloodborne, upon first entering Yharnam, he encountered a bonfire gathering, but in Sekiro, the enemy density was arguably even greater.

Moreover, the game's map design was incredibly insidious.

Narrow terrain, diverse types of mobs.

There were firearm-wielding enemies attacking from high platforms, minor mobs ambushing from behind, and a large, fat Taro Troop soldier wielding a hammer, similar to the Winged Knights in the courtyard of the High Wall of Lothric in Dark Souls.

Despite having the grappling hook, Zhang Yi didn't have time to find a reachable spot immediately and was directly cornered and killed by a group of mobs.

After resurrecting, he had no chance to resist, couldn't even drink from his Healing Gourd, and lost his second life.

"What the heck! Why are there so many mobs!"

Resurrecting again in front of a Sculptor's Idol, Zhang Yi felt completely numb.

This felt even harder than the previous BOSS!

"You win, I'm not fighting you guys anymore. I'll take a detour, alright!"

The resurrected Zhang Yi returned to his previous path, then squatted on a rafter to observe for a while, mapping out a route to bypass these mobs directly using his grappling hook.

"Fooled you! I can fly!"

Using his grappling hook, Zhang Yi ran along the rafters and walls, looking down at the bewildered mobs who could only stare, laughing heartily.

He explored forward, obtaining a Bell from an old woman who mistook him for her son.

From the dialogue, it seemed he could return to the Dilapidated Temple and unlock some kind of dungeon.

Next, enduring the damage from a gunner, Zhang Yi used his grappling hook to get behind a large gate, where he met a merchant and obtained some information.

Three years ago, this merchant, then a thief, had a brief encounter with Wolf while "acquiring goods" at the Hirata Estate.

Then, spending some money, he received additional information: there was an item called the Flame Vent at the Hirata Estate.

"Flame Vent? That must be a Prosthetic Arm, right? But how do I get to the Hirata Estate?" After carefully reviewing the information, Zhang Yi had a rough idea, but some lingering questions remained.

He left those questions aside for now and continued forward. After killing a black bird, he saved his game at a nearby Sculptor's Idol. After taking out two minor mobs with their backs to him, Zhang Yi ascended the steps and saw a Red-Eyed Ogre tied to a wooden stake.

"What's going on, another BOSS battle? Tied up motionless? Can I assassinate it?"

Zhang Yi watched the struggling, howling monster and immediately moved behind it, but found no prompt to trigger an execution.

At that moment, with a roar, the monster burst its ropes, and the name "Chained Ogre" appeared above its head.

Three minutes later, Zhang Yi stared at the "YOU DIED" on the screen in silence.

Without a doubt, this was another BOSS battle.

And for some reason, Zhang Yi felt that this "Chained Ogre" fought completely differently from the previous one.

Previously, against the Samurai BOSS, aside from the "Danger" prompt moves that couldn't be blocked directly.

The rest of the moves could be blocked simply by paying attention to the Posture Bar, and then he could just kite it by constantly running.

But with this Chained Ogre, Zhang Yi found its moves entirely different; dodging its fists sideways was almost impossible, and if he pulled back, a slight mistake would lead to a "love hug."

Moreover, its attack range was incredibly far; it could lunge and grab him from over ten meters away.

Once caught, it would repeatedly slam his head into the ground, resulting in an instant kill if he wasn't at full health.

If he was at full health, only a sliver of it would remain.

While blocking was possible, the Posture Bar filled incredibly fast, breaking his guard in just three hits.

Moreover, the Chained Ogre's "Danger" prompt, whether it was an illusion or not, felt much faster than the General of the Samurai's wind-up.

"What the hell! Full hyper armor, and I can't even block it!"

In that instant, Zhang Yi once again felt the fear of being dominated, just like when he first played Bloodborne.

But the key was that Bloodborne had leveling and 20 Blood Vials!

What did Sekiro have?

Although he could revive, he'd only have half health, so wouldn't that just be dying again?

"I finally understand what Mr. Chen meant by this subtitle. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice just means you can die twice, right!"

(End of Chapter) <>