"How the hell do I beat this Iai Swordsman!?"
Looking at the "DEATH" character on the screen, Zhang Yi felt like he was on the verge of a breakdown.
For the previous bosses, he had mostly relied on cheese tactics to get through.
For example, with the Chained Ogre and the Samurai General, he had stealth-killed the common soldiers one by one, then used oil and the Flame Vent to deal with them.
Gyoubu Masataka Oniwa and the Blazing Bull were also handled by exploiting firecrackers.
But after struggling through the roof beams under the assault of shuriken-wielding ninjas, finally making it into Ashina Castle and overcoming numerous obstacles to reach the towerâ
Zhang Yi now faced the most formidable enemy he had encountered so far.
A samurai of the Ashina style.
His Iai slashes were driving Zhang Yi to the point of numbness.
Unlike the Shinobi Hunter or the mountain bandit boss from three years ago, where he could justify ganging up on them,
Or the imposing presence of Gyoubu Masataka Oniwa,
Here, it was just a small room, one man with a single blade, and a relentless Iai slash combo that left Zhang Yi utterly overwhelmed.
The attack power was absurdly high. Even when blocking, a single combo would deplete his posture bar entirely.
Moreover, the enemy's aggression was relentless, and the confined space of the tower made it easy for him to close the distance.
The attack pattern was simpleâjust a series of Iai combo slashesâbut the speed was inhuman.
Sometimes, he'd luckily block the first strike, only to miss the timing for the second.
After dying over a dozen times and finally reaching the second phase,
Zhang Yi discovered that the enemy's attack power and speed had increased even further.
It was driving him to the point of numbness.
In truth, it wasn't just Zhang Yi.
Almost all players who had relied on cheese tactics rather than raw skill to get this far were suffering equally.
The title Sekiro: Die Twice was being proven all too literally.
As the saying goes, skip class, fail the exam.
Before this, players had been clowning on bosses like Gyoubu, the Chained Ogre, and Yamuchi Tensen using all sorts of unconventional methods.
But against the Iai Swordsman, despite being a pure 1v1 duel in the royal castle, their lack of fundamentals meant countless players were eating humble pie.
The same story was unfolding in the three-year-old Hirata Estate.
Many players who had reached Lady Butterfly without truly honing their skills were also getting schooled hard.
While there was a relatively easy cheese method for Lady Butterflyâan infinite dodge-step loopâ
In phase two, as long as you managed your health well, you could ignore the illusion orbs since they only dealt damage without interrupting attacks.
But for players in the early-game progression of Sekiro, discovering this cheese method was far from easy.
Thus, the online debate over whether Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was truly difficult had now reached a consensus among players who had progressed this far.
Mr. Chen was still the Mr. Chen they knew!
"Aaaaaaah!" Zhang Yi let out a blood-curdling scream as he watched the Iai Swordsman's final sliver of posture bar.
He had been this close to finishing him off!
What's the most painful thing in a soulslike game?
Losing your saved souls?
Getting killed by a trap?
No!
The real agony is having victory snatched away at the last moment.
When you can see the Sculptor's Idol just ahead, only to be cut down by a mob.
When the boss is one hit away from death, only for them to turn the tables and kill you instead.
This kind of despair is a devastating blow.
It can even break the mindset of the most determined player.
Zhang Yi was now in that state. He had mastered phase one of the Iai Swordsman, even clearing it without losing his first life.
But now, he felt like he was back at square one. His focus was shattered.
"Old Song, how far have you gotten?" After respawning at the Sculptor's Idol, Zhang Yi decided to take a breather and reached out to Song Ren to check on his progress.
When suffering, you need a kindred spirit.
"Still stuck in Hirata Estate. Wolf's adoptive father in the three-year-old flashback is getting his ass handed to him. The mastermind seems to be a boss called Lady Butterflyâshe's way too strong. That damn scissors attack has killed me like fifty times already." Song Ren sounded equally frustrated.
He, too, had met his match in Lady Butterfly. Phase one wasn't too bad, but phase two felt downright unfair.
She could create illusions, forcing him to flee, but the catch was her posture recovery was insanely fast.
Running away meant all his posture damage was for nothing. And while the illusion orbs in phase two didn't interrupt attacks, they dealt unblockable damage.
Several times, he had died to those orbs while at low health.
"Dude, no spoilers! I'm about to face Genichiro Ashina. Gyoubu and the Blazing Bull weren't too bad, but this Iai Swordsman in Ashina Castle is brutal. Also, FYI, Ashina is on the brink of destructionâthey're researching something called Regenerative Water, which can revive people like the Power of the Dragon's Heritage but has side effects. Oh, and Emma seems to know Genichiro!" Zhang Yi fired back with his own spoilers.
"Anyway, I feel like after beating Lady Butterfly, there won't be much left in Hirata Estate's story," Song Ren replied.
He had already explored most of the three-year-old Hirata Estate's map scenes.
And Lady Butterfly was already in the catacombsâsurely there wouldn't be another layer after her?
"Then catching up to my progress will be tough for you," Zhang Yi said smugly.
"Don't be so sure." Song Ren smacked his lips. He felt his skills had reached a new level.
If he had to refight previous bosses, he might not no-damage them, but they wouldn't give him trouble anymore.
"Hah!" Zhang Yi wasn't convinced.
From his perspective, there was still so much ahead. Ashina Castle alone was massive, and right at the start, on the bridge, an old woman had mentioned Senpou Temple.
Plus, the promotional trailer had shown a Blighttown-like village and cloud-covered areas he hadn't even seen yet.
No way Old Song could catch up now!
After a brief chat, Zhang Yi returned to his battle with the Iai Swordsman.
With his mindset adjusted and lessons learned, it didn't take long for him to finally defeat the enemy.
The key was realizing that trying to attack head-on was a mistakeâthe Iai Swordsman would punish him with rapid slashes.
But if he focused purely on blocking and nailed the Parry timing, the enemy's posture bar would skyrocket.
Using a rapid-block "jitter" method, though he failed several times, a lucky streak of two perfect Parries in a row sealed the victory.
Relieved, Zhang Yi eagerly picked up the glowing items on the ground. On the wall, he found a scroll detailing a technique.
"Lightning Reversal? What's thisâjump to catch lightning and counter before landing?"
Scratching his head, Zhang Yi studied the scroll. It didn't seem like a Skills manualâit couldn't be picked up, and there was no prompt to learn it.
After some pondering, he shrugged it off. Story-wise, the top of Ashina Castle's tower awaited, where Genichiro likely lurked.
Zhang Yi was confident now. If he could beat the Iai Swordsman, what was there to fear?
He had transcended!
The debt of a severed arm shall be repaid today!
Besides, from the promotional trailer, Genichiro Ashina didn't seem that strongâjust an early story kill boss.
As any souls veteran knew, story kill bosses were pushovers. Some looked intimidating with high prestige, but in battle, they were weaklings.
Like Yhorm the Giant in Dark Souls or the Amygdala in Bloodborne that pulls players into the Hunter's Dreamâall kneeling in submission when fought.
This Genichiro was probably just an appetizer. The real deal was Isshin Ashina.
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