Chapter 693: I Really Want to Die a Few More Times! (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

“As expected, with the Flame Vent, this Chained Ogre is a pushover!”

Zhang Yi looked triumphant.

He had already left the Hirata Estate from three years ago. The purple-clothed ninja, the big mountain bandit, and the ninja hunter with the long spear – he hadn't killed a single one of them.

His intuition told him that that place was not somewhere he should meddle with yet. It was just like the New Londo Ruins in the Dark Souls Prequel, so he prudently returned to the Chained Ogre to continue fighting.

Now that he had obtained the Flame Vent, fighting the Chained Ogre felt completely different. It was incredibly easy. By stealthily killing its first life, he used the Flame Vent to put its remaining life into a stun-lock, allowing him to get in three or four consecutive slashes. After depleting his Spirit Emblems, the Chained Ogre’s second life was also over.

“Are all these BOSSes this bad at playing fair?” After defeating the Chained Ogre and seeing the BOSS that appeared next, Zhang Yi couldn't help but smack his lips.

A general named Yamauchi Shikibu Toshikatsu, but just like the BOSSes in Hirata Estate from three years ago, this guy was also surrounded by a circle of minions. Especially on the cliff wall to the left of the city wall, there was a little dwarf banging a gong.

Similar to the torch-wielding enemy in Hirata Estate who could shout to call for backup, when this gong-banging dwarf discovered him, it would also start banging the gong to alert other enemies, thus leading to a 'justified ganging up' situation.

However, compared to the BOSSes and minions he encountered in Hirata Estate before, the mobs here were much easier to deal with. Besides the open training ground, there were many stairs and city walls that the BOSS couldn't reach, giving him room to maneuver.

The only thing Zhang Yi wanted to complain about was that he found the Sculptor's Idol here to be incredibly well-hidden, located on a cliff beneath a broken bridge. If he hadn't accidentally fallen and seen it, he might never have discovered it.

The rest was simple. He stealthily killed all the various mobs, then disengaged from the BOSS, and as always, stealthily killed the BOSS's first life. After that, it was a slow grind. Compared to the white-clothed ninja hunter with the long spear and the purple-clothed ninja he encountered in Hirata Estate three years ago, this Samurai General in front of him felt much more adorable.

That white-clothed ninja with the long spear, though not fast, had an extremely wide attack range. Although he found that he could parry its thrust attacks with the Mikiri Counter skill learned from the Sculptor's Idols, the crucial point was that the ninja also had a sweeping attack that broke his shins.

As for the purple-clothed ninja, he felt it was a complete mad dog. Not only was it fast, but its attack power was also extremely high. A single combo would break his guard, leaving him stunned.

This Samurai General in front of him was different. Its attack movements were very slow, and as long as he was careful, there was basically no danger to his life.

He continued forward, but Zhang Yi soon ran into what he considered his biggest challenge yet.

That was a Great Serpent. He had to advance along mountain cliffs and platforms, but along this path, a Great Serpent constantly attacked him, killing him in just two bites.

“Holy cow! How do I get past this snake! This is way too brutal, isn't it?”

He passed through a patch of reeds and arrived at a cliff.

Zhang Yi shivered, seeing the Great Serpent bite at him. However, it was only a parkour section after all. After dying a few times, he became well-versed in the route.

He also found that after passing through the cliff, there was a palanquin he could sneak into to hide. Once inside, he could take the opportunity to stab the Great Serpent's eye, and while it was in pain and frenzy, he could make his escape.

However, he still accidentally died once at this stage. Mainly, after stabbing the Great Serpent's eye, the blood that gushed out and its massive body were too shocking, causing him to involuntarily stay rooted for two seconds, and then the Great Serpent took him out with a single bite.

He passed through the canyon and reached a new Sculptor's Idol fast travel point. At the same time, Zhang Yi stealthily hid on the rafters to eavesdrop, gaining some new information.

Ashina Castle was faintly visible ahead, but according to the idle chatter of the mobs, there seemed to be a general named Gyoubu Masataka Oniwa guarding the entrance to Ashina Castle, presumably the next BOSS he would have to fight.

“Old Song, where are you? I'm almost at Ashina Castle!” Instead of rushing to explore further, Zhang Yi called Song Ren, ready to see where his good friend was.

“I just finished the Chained Ogre not long ago. I got a Guardian Charm Bell and went to the Hirata Estate from three years ago. I'm fighting that ninja with a halberd or a spear. That BOSS and its mobs are too strong,” Song Ren complained.

“You're only there? Did you pick up the items?” Zhang Yi asked.

“Items? What items? Prosthetic Arm? I picked it up, otherwise how would I break through that shielded enemy?” Song Ren was a bit confused.

Unlike Zhang Yi, he had come all the way with just Kusabimaru and a Healing Gourd. Aside from using the Axe Prosthetic and Shuriken, he basically just brute-forced his way through.

“Nothing, just suffer slowly,” Zhang Yi said cheerfully.

“By the way, Old Zhang, what's your progress?” Song Ren asked curiously.

“I just came out of Hirata Estate from three years ago, and now I'm right at the main gate of Ashina Castle. I reckon it won't be long before I can rescue Kuro,” Zhang Yi said deliberately.

“Finished Hirata Estate? Are you messing with me?” Song Ren expressed disbelief.

He still believed him about finishing the general before, but now saying he finished Hirata Estate? He felt something was fishy.

“I didn't clear it, and in Souls-like games, there isn't really a 'flow'. It's all about exploring various maps. Never mind, I'm going to fight the next BOSS here,” Zhang Yi said with a chuckle.

Old Song?

Let him suffer slowly!

Zhang Yi couldn't help but laugh out loud at the thought of Song Ren constantly dying and being tortured there. He believed that having found the trick, his subsequent game experience would definitely be much smoother than Song Ren's.

After all, the difficulty of Hirata Estate earlier was clearly higher.

Although Souls-like games don't have completely fixed routes and progression, there are relatively simpler paths.

For example, in Dark Souls, if you don't go to the Undead Burg Outskirts during your first playthrough but instead rush through the New Londo Ruins or the graveyard first, the level of suffering is completely different.

And Zhang Yi felt that Hirata Estate was Mr. Chen's malice. After all, when you arrive at a new map, you can't help but want to explore.

But in reality, in the early game, it's enough to just open the map and get the Flame Vent Prosthetic Arm item.

The most convincing proof was that, apart from Hirata Estate, he hadn't encountered any of the shielded enemies from Hirata Estate yet, and the Axe Prosthetic was still unused. From this, it was clear that the difficulty of Hirata Estate was definitely higher than the current Ashina path.

After a silent summary, Zhang Yi felt he was simply a master detective. Especially with some of the items he found during this period, such as Robert's Firecrackers, a brand new Prosthetic Arm, it was clearly going to be helpful for the upcoming battles.

He had a premonition that his upcoming gaming journey would be very smooth.

“But playing like this, it lacks a lot of fun. After all, aren't Souls-like games supposed to be about dying? It's even hard for me to die a few more times!” Zhang Yi sighed with emotion.

(End of Chapter) <>