Looking at the death screen before him, Zhang Yi felt completely unwell. He had, after all, fought his way ding-ding-dong-dong all this way. He didn't know how much hardship he had endured, and as he explored the game, he felt that his combat prowess was no longer comparable to what it once was.

The last time he was pinned down and beaten was three years ago, in Hirata Estate, when he encountered the traitorous Great Shinobi Owl (Young).

It must be said that many players in the game claimed Genichiro Ashina was Scumichiro.

But Zhang Yi felt that the one who truly deserved to be called scum was actually the Great Shinobi Owl.

Unable to defeat others, his petty tricks were endless.

Shuriken, forbidden medicine bottles, poison bottles, smoke bombs, and firecrackers – he would use any dirty trick in the book.

And when the Great Shinobi Owl (Young) entered its second phase, it even had an ultimate disappearing act, truly reaching the extreme of scumminess.

So, when fighting the Great Shinobi Owl, whether it was three years ago or three years later, Zhang Yi suffered immensely.

But now, facing Isshin Ashina, Zhang Yi felt only endless pressure.

Throughout the entire fight, he only managed to land two hits on Isshin Ashina.

"If I fight like this, depleting his health bar is almost impossible. So the only way is to fill up his posture bar."

Combining his own strength with his brief assessment of Isshin Ashina from their recent exchange, Zhang Yi had a rough idea in his mind.

Compared to previous BOSSes, Isshin Ashina's power was simply on another level.

Of course, earlier, on the plaza where he fought Gyoubu Masataka Oniwa, Zhang Yi also saw a terrifying beast-like monster: the Demon of Hatred.

However, he didn't force himself to fight it head-on; instead, he silently turned and left. After all, it wasn't one of those things you absolutely had to defeat to progress.

Although Zhang Yi felt his proficiency was very high, he was still no match for Isshin Ashina's assault in his prime.

After each perfect parry, Zhang Yi only dared to step forward and land two hits.

Because Isshin's movements were simply too agile; one slight slip could lead to an attack.

And as a Souls game, the health bar, fragile as paper, could be said to be the game's greatest characteristic.

With just four hits, the Wolf in the game would fall beneath Isshin's sword.

"This Genichiro (Way of Tomoe style) is easy, but Isshin is truly difficult!"

Facing Genichiro (Way of Tomoe style) once again, Zhang Yi couldn't help but sigh.

There wasn't much flashy stuff: perfect parry, Mikiri Counter, Shinobi Execution.

Coupled with his experience of fighting Genichiro nearly a hundred times in Ashina Castle before, this Genichiro phase posed absolutely no threat.

Only Isshin Ashina, the man known as the Sword Saint, made him complain endlessly.

When fighting other BOSSes before, Zhang Yi would even use his Prosthetic Arm.

For example, when fighting the Corrupted Monk, he used the Long Spear Prosthetic Tool; when fighting the Great Shinobi Owl, he used the Firecracker Prosthetic Tool; and when fighting the samurai in Fountainhead Palace, he used the Sabimaru Prosthetic Tool.

But facing Isshin Ashina before him, he couldn't find any opportunity to use his Prosthetic Arm at all.

He didn't even have time to use the Mortal Blade skill.

The opponent's offensive pressure was simply too immense.

One hit, two hits, three hits, four hits.

After creating distance, the approaching Ashina Cross.

It was a perfect demonstration of what it meant to be a Sword Saint, leaving Zhang Yi utterly unable to guess whether the Sword Saint's next move would be a sweep or a thrust. He could only instinctively and foolishly block with the Flickering Blade Technique.

But this blocking method was entirely reliant on luck, one might say.

With good luck, a perfect parry could yield immense benefits.

But if luck wasn't on his side, his posture bar would simply increase wildly, leading directly to a posture break.

And a posture break meant death.

Sure enough, after his posture broke from exhaustion, the Wolf controlled by Zhang Yi stumbled as Isshin Ashina's sharp blade pierced his body.

[DEATH]

The red artistic font reappeared on the screen, accompanied by Isshin's admonition: Hesitation is defeat.

"Hesitation is defeat. The most essential part of Souls-like games is the design of levels and BOSSes."

"Some BOSSes require constant aggression to be defeated more easily, while others need agile dodge steps. This Isshin Ashina in front of me probably needs constant aggression; there can't be even a hint of hesitation," Zhang Yi speculated.

In Sekiro, because the various monsters have different moves and fighting styles, players have essentially divided into two schools of thought.

Among them, there are those like the Guardian Ape, Blazing Bull, and Chained Ogre in the first phase, which you should try to avoid confronting directly, and instead utilize dodge steps effectively.

The other kind includes the Iai Swordsman in Ashina Castle, as well as Genichiro Ashina and the Great Shinobi Owl, which require players to constantly attack and pressure them.

Isshin Ashina, it now seemed, clearly belonged to the latter category.

Especially when he tried to create distance to drink from his Healing Gourd to restore health, Isshin would quickly close the gap and land a hit.

And this hit was almost guaranteed to land; at least, counting only his actual attempts and not his revivals, he hadn't managed to dodge it once in several tries.

With this thought in mind, Zhang Yi once again embarked on his challenging journey.

Once, twice, thrice...

Having died countless times, the Sword Saint's phrase, "Hesitation is defeat," had become ingrained in his memory.

As for Genichiro (Way of Tomoe style), he was probably Mr. Chen's mercy, given to players as a warm-up.

As for Isshin's first phase, he had probably figured out his moves by now.

He felt he would pass it soon.

As for Genichiro (Way of Tomoe style), he could only be described as miserable.

Because this time, he directly achieved an accomplishment: defeating Genichiro without taking any damage.

While he was constantly dying, Genichiro also died with him, and even was massacred by him. As he fought, he started to feel a little sorry for Genichiro.

"Die!"

Finally, in the first phase, Zhang Yi nearly exhausted his Healing Gourds, successfully filling Isshin Ashina's posture bar.

Kusabimaru pierced Isshin's body, eliciting a spray of blood, making Zhang Yi's blood boil with excitement.

This was the charm of Souls games: challenging one's limits again and again, and then breaking through them!

However, this burning passion quickly cooled, because Isshin Ashina's next move left Zhang Yi dumbfounded.

"What's going on?! You're not Isshin Ashina, are you? Aren't you Ashina's legendary Sword Saint? Where did that halberd come from? And why do you have a submachine gun!?"

Watching Isshin Ashina, who had entered his second phase, pull out a halberd from seemingly nowhere and wield it with fierce power, Zhang Yi was bewildered.

If the first phase's offense was already full of oppression, then the Sword Saint in this second phase had directly transformed into the Halberd Saint.

His attacks were ceaseless, like a fierce storm, and the halberd in his hand had an extremely wide range, with damage that could be called explosive.

It made his scalp tingle, and even more critically, it was like Genichiro's rapid-fire arrows in his second phase.

Isshin Ashina also had similar moves, but the difference was that Genichiro Ashina still used arrows, while Isshin Ashina, his grandfather and the legendary Sword Saint, used...

He actually used a flintlock, and a five-shot flintlock at that!

That volley completely decimated him.

Seeing Isshin Ashina, who had just dropped the line, "Hesitation is defeat," Zhang Yi was utterly stunned.

Combining this with the recent death screen and Isshin Ashina's death admonition, Zhang Yi felt that this phase might be more aptly titled 'Sekiro, Times Have Changed!'.

What the heck was this? A Sword Saint using a halberd was one thing, but what the heck was this flintlock that acted like a submachine gun?

(End of Chapter) <>