After defeating the Iai Swordsman, Zhang Yi returned to the Sculptor's Idols to rest and replenish his Power of the Dragon's Heritage, then continued his exploration.
He squeezed through the only designated window exit, and a grappling hook UI prompt appeared above his head. Two consecutive grappling hooks brought him to the top floor of Ashina Castle.
Zhang Yi's game screen froze, and a corresponding cutscene played.
“How is Grandfather?”
In the scene, Genichiro gazed at the snowy landscape of Ashina in the distance.
“Lord Isshin… it’s a miracle he’s still alive,” Emma, the Senior Sister, replied from behind Genichiro.
“...Is that so.” Genichiro fell silent for a moment, then turned towards Kuro.
“Prince, I’ll ask you again… make a contract of immortality with me.”
“I cannot, Lord Genichiro… Even if defeated once, a ninja must risk his life to save his master. That is… my ninja.”
As Kuro spoke, Zhang Yi watched the Wolf in the game gracefully use a grappling hook to swing from the eaves to the top floor of Ashina Castle.
“Awesome!” Zhang Yi couldn’t help but exclaim, looking at the dashing Wolf in the game.
Although he had once felt this game could be aptly named Sekiro: Die Twice Again, he had to admit that the protagonist in the game was indeed very cool.
It wasn't just about his appearance, but his demeanor and movements within the game.
However, this segment of the story, combined with the information collected along the way, gave Zhang Yi a certain understanding of the plot of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Namely, that the nation of Ashina was facing invasion and was in peril.
And Isshin Ashina, who had founded the nation and whose name as the Swordmaster had resonated across the land, was now old and frail.
That's why Genichiro sought out Kuro, hoping to obtain the Power of the Dragon's Heritage to save Ashina through resurrection.
Additionally, Genichiro and others in Ashina were also researching something called Regenerative Water, which, like the Power of the Dragon's Heritage, could grant immortal power, but seemed to have severe side effects.
However, Zhang Yi wasn't paying too much attention to these plot details at the moment.
After all, the biggest feature of Souls-like games is their fragmented narrative, making it impossible to simply follow the story.
Even after completing the game, players might still not fully grasp its content.
Although Sekiro's story seemed more direct and understandable compared to Dark Souls and Bloodborne, he still had many questions.
For example, what exactly was the Power of the Dragon's Heritage, what was Regenerative Water, and what happened at Hirata Estate three years ago?
These were the things he was most curious about.
“Come on, Genichiro, let me see what you’ve got!”
Holding Kusabimaru, Zhang Yi switched the Wolf's Prosthetic Arm to the Firecrackers.
He had to admit, he found this tool incredibly useful.
Whether fighting beasts or humanoid enemies, anything hit by the firecrackers would be stunned for a certain duration.
However, beast-type enemies had longer attack intervals, like the Blazing Bull and Gyoubu Masataka Oniwa, who rode a horse.
Humanoid enemies, on the other hand, were more agile and sometimes posed a greater threat.
But this was mainly because he felt that Shuriken and the Axe Prosthetic were too much of a chicken rib, at least when fighting BOSSes. The Axe's wind-up was incredibly slow, and while Shuriken were useful against regular mobs, they were pure damage-scraping against BOSSes.
So, among the Spirit Emblems in his inventory, Zhang Yi felt the Firecrackers were the most effective.
Zhang Yi looked at Genichiro before him, controlling the Wolf to first create some distance.
This was a habit he had maintained since his Dark Souls days, observing the BOSS first.
He had basically done the same with all the previous BOSSes in Sekiro.
But this time, facing Genichiro Ashina, he found things to be a bit different.
Because that great bow Genichiro carried on his back was no mere decoration.
After creating distance, Genichiro in the distance didn't rush forward immediately. Instead, he took the great bow from his back.
He drew a charged arrow.
The arrow came fast and fierce. Zhang Yi couldn't dodge it and lost about two-thirds of his health instantly.
“Holy cow! What the heck is that? He's even taking cheap shots? Despicable!” Zhang Yi was startled, and Genichiro pressed his attack again, sweeping his blade left and right twice.
Zhang Yi quickly controlled the Wolf to dodge step, retaliated with a single slash, then retreated to create distance again, pulling out his Healing Gourd.
Just as he was about to use the Healing Gourd, Genichiro drew another charged arrow with his great bow.
When he put down the gourd, Zhang Yi had no time to dodge. This time, he chose to block.
The arrow hit, and because it wasn't a perfect parry, his Posture Bar immediately filled by two-thirds. The powerful impact forced the Wolf in the game to his knees, planting Kusabimaru into the ground to steady himself.
At this moment, Genichiro closed the distance again, raising his blade for a two-fast-one-slow combo.
Zhang Yi reacted to the first strike, achieving a perfect parry and deflecting the blade, but he couldn't block the second strike. Combined with the Posture Bar damage from the previous charged arrow, his guard was instantly broken, and the third strike took him down.
“Death!”
A white, artistic 'Death' character appeared on the screen, another brand new 'Death.'
“Holy cow, is this Genichiro really that strong?” Zhang Yi was utterly astonished.
The sense of oppression, this aggressive intent, was simply too much, wasn't it?
It reminded him of the Purple-clad Shinobi he encountered three years ago in front of the Triple Pagoda at Hirata Estate.
He revived, climbed back to his feet, and faced Genichiro, only to last for about ten seconds.
Blood-red 'Death' appeared, accompanied by a Dragonrot notification, and Zhang Yi once again set off from the attic.
This time, he died even faster.
He realized that Genichiro was simply unreasonable. Not only were his attacks fast, but his combos were relentless. It was virtually impossible to block an entire sequence of attacks even with basic guarding.
Unless most of the attacks were perfectly parried, just like the Iai Swordsman downstairs earlier.
And after creating distance, Genichiro's bow on his back wasn't just for show.
As for trying to Shinobi Execution his first life as a cheap trick? That immediately triggered a cutscene, leaving no such opportunity!
Moreover, he had run away from some of the major generals before, so he had only increased his attack power once and collected one set of Prayer Beads. He only had four Healing Gourds in total.
“How the heck is a human supposed to get past this?” Zhang Yi felt a bit broken.
After dying about 8 times, he still hadn't passed Genichiro's first phase.
Although he had a clear understanding of the moves, for example, the first two hits of the relentless slashes could be endured to avoid the rest, and if Genichiro's jump attack inevitably followed with a thrust, it could be Mikiri Countered mindlessly.
But the crucial point was that understanding didn't always mean success.
With his shaky foundations earlier, Zhang Yi had quickly racked up over ten deaths.
Now he had only one feeling: One blade, one pot of wine, fighting one broken monster all day.
He figured that when he pulled back his blanket tonight, it would be full of Genichiro.
(End of Chapter)
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