Chapter 692: Endless Suffering (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

Each time he died, he had to watch how the character for 'death' was written.

Chen Xu also noticed a peculiar feature: every time he died, the 'death' character that popped up had a completely different font style. He hadn't seen a single repeat in all his deaths so far.

He absolutely refused to believe this was not an intentional setting by Nebula Games.

In most cases, unless one had very high proficiency, or the BOSS's Posture Bar was already filled, getting back up after reviving would only lead to being killed by the BOSS again, as he only had half health upon revival.

It wasn't just Zhang Yi who felt the malice; other players, especially those who didn't use sneaky methods like Zhang Yi to reach this stage but relied on clashing swords and parrying according to Sekiro's combat system to face the Chained Ogre, felt a similar pained expression.

Many players who had endured Souls-like games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne were very confident when they first discovered Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was a Souls-like game.

However, reality quickly taught them a lesson, making them fully realize the meaning of 'the master is still the master'.

A crucial point was that in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the combat philosophy was completely different from previous Souls-like games.

After all, in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the fastest way to defeat a BOSS was not to hack them to death, but to fill their Posture Bar.

Coupled with no Stamina restrictions, this gave many players a certain feeling.

That was greed for hits and sword clashing.

If a player hit once and ran, they would find the BOSS battle very difficult.

But if they truly committed to clashing swords, players would discover that as long as they paid attention to their own Posture Bar and the opponent's guard-breaking moves,

They could block simply by mindlessly defending when the opponent attacked. This was especially true for some players who had self-taught a 'Flickering Blade Technique' in the game.

This involved constantly blocking and releasing block, looking as twitchy as someone with Parkinson's. Sometimes, by pure luck, it would result in a perfect parry, increasing the BOSS's Posture Bar.

Even if unsuccessful, the worst-case scenario was usually just increasing their own Posture Bar.

After passing through the Water Storage District and defeating the first General of the Samurai encountered after losing his arm, players who had fought head-on were already somewhat familiar with Sekiro's combat system.

However, this was also the biggest trap early on.

Unlike enemies with weapons, the combat approach for unarmed enemies or beasts was completely different.

Most players who had just gotten used to Sekiro's combat system immediately faced a brutal lesson after encountering the gate-keeping BOSS, the Chained Ogre.

Because with low proficiency, the correct way to fight the Chained Ogre was more akin to the traditional Souls-like turn-based approach of landing a couple of hits.

Going head-to-head with this giant only had one consequence: receiving its 'Hug of Love' and being smashed into a Meat Patty.

"What the heck... cough cough cough..." Song Ren, facing the Chained Ogre, felt like he was about to contract Dragonrot from all the dying.

He had finally beaten the General of the Samurai, thinking he was finally getting the hang of it, only to run into the Chained Ogre.

Against this guy, all his previous parries and Perfect Guards were useless.

And without a Stamina Bar, he couldn't control his urge to be greedy for hits.

He was either punched to death or picked up by the Chained Ogre and thrown off a cliff.

"I refuse to believe it today! But I wonder what progress Old Zhang has made."

Song Ren was currently squaring off against the Chained Ogre. He had to admit, this game had him quite hyped up, feeling different from playing Souls-like games before.

The more he died, the more resilient he became. However, compared to the Chained Ogre in front of him, he still felt the clashing swords sensation of fighting the previous General was more satisfying.

Compared to Song Ren, who was stubbornly fighting, Zhang Yi, on the other hand, adhered to his own wisdom-based gaming philosophy. After dying several times to the Chained Ogre, he began to explore other unconventional methods.

And he actually found one: the Chained Ogre could indeed be stealth-killed.

However, it was a bit harder than with the previous General of the Samurai. First, he had to deal with the surrounding minions, attract the Chained Ogre's aggro, then distance himself from the Chained Ogre to disengage from combat.

Then, by quietly sneaking behind the Chained Ogre, he could successfully perform a Shinobi Execution on its first health bar.

Despite this, Zhang Yi quickly realized that he still struggled a bit fighting the Chained Ogre with only one health bar remaining.

In its second phase, the Chained Ogre's guard-breaking pounces and grabs became more frequent, and it even learned a groin kick.

The movements of its big hoof were quite stealthy, and he would get kicked badly if he wasn't careful.

So, after dying two or three times, Zhang Yi decisively changed his objective again. The intelligence he had gathered earlier clearly indicated that the Hirata Estate had a Flame Vent.

Combining this with the knowledge of Souls-like games, the first discouraging BOSS in the opening areas was always weak to fire.

Gundyr the Ash, Stray Demon, Cleric Beast, and Father Gascoigne in his third phase.

Each and every one was a fire-weak BOSS. This was clearly an old tradition of Souls-like games. Now, this monster-like Chained Ogre, combined with the Flame Vent, intuition told Zhang Yi that fighting the Chained Ogre with that item would definitely be much easier.

After a brief study, Zhang Yi quickly discovered a new path.

Inside the Dilapidated Temple, by talking to the Sculptor while holding Kuro's Guardian Charm Bell, he could receive instructions.

By worshipping the Buddha statue nearby, he could then teleport to the Hirata Estate, which had been attacked by bandits three years prior.

Compared to previous levels, this Hirata Estate from three years ago was absolutely teeming with monsters.

Rocket-shooting minions, wolf dogs, and even shieldmen.

Along the way, Zhang Yi also found an Axe Prosthetic, which made him feel his combat prowess had significantly increased.

However, this was just the beginning of the nightmare.

Before, he thought the Chained Ogre was the discouraging monster.

It wasn't until he encountered various discouraging elite monsters and BOSSes at the Hirata Estate from three years ago that he realized his mistake.

Here, the BOSSes weren't just strong; they all engaged in 'just ganging up on one'.

Surrounding him were minions, torch-wielding enemies, archers, shieldmen, and sword-and-axe wielders, all utterly lacking in martial virtue.

Especially at the location of the Flame Vent, a narrow alley with three dogs directly caused his Unseen Aid to decrease once again.

Although he had already obtained the target item, Zhang Yi decided to continue exploring the area.

Crossing the wooden bridge and through the vast bamboo forest, a spear-wielding BOSS staged a 'just ganging up on one'. It kept using 'Perilous Attack' thrusts, completely stunning him.

Winding his way around, he passed through a dry well and arrived at the blazing Hirata Estate. Following the rooftops, he circled around.

Zhang Yi discovered a large, fat mountain bandit named Juzou the Drunkard in front of the main gate.

Besides him, there were archers, sword-and-axe wielders, torch-wielding enemies, and shieldmen all around, completely lacking in fair play.

In front of this BOSS, there was also an NPC holding an uchigatana. After talking to him, Zhang Yi confirmed that the NPC was his 'Sun Bro' helper.

However, before Zhang Yi could celebrate for long, he realized this guy was all talk.

Rushing forward with shouts, he was cleaved to death by Juzou the Drunkard in less than ten seconds.

After suffering a couple of setbacks, Zhang Yi decided to temporarily bypass this BOSS and instead go to the Triple Pagoda, which the 'Patches'-like character had mentioned earlier, to retrieve the 'great treasure', before returning to trouble the Chained Ogre.

However, Zhang Yi didn't fare much better here either, as he encountered a purple-clad ninja.

At first, he was excited because there was no BOSS health bar above its head, indicating it was merely a small mob.

But once they actually started fighting, whether it was an illusion or not, he felt that this elite monster with its continuous kicks seemed even stronger than a BOSS.

Just like the Uchigatana Guy and Bugatti Veyron in Dark Souls, he died without any temper left.

(End of Chapter) <>