Chapter 702 - 702: Sekiro, The Times Have Changed!

Seeing the death screen in front of him, Zack was devastated. After all, he had fought his way through everything so far. He had endured so much hardship along the way, and with each exploration in the game, he felt his combat ability had improved dramatically.

The last time he was utterly defeated was three years ago at the Hirata Estate, when he encountered his adoptive father, the traitor from three years ago.

Many players in the game apparently considered Genichiro Ashina to be "Trashichiro."

But Zack felt that the one who truly deserved to be called trash was his adoptive father Owl.

When he couldn't win fairly, his adoptive father had a whole set of dirty tricks.

Shuriken, divine confetti, poison cauldrons, firecrackers – he used every dirty tactic imaginable.

And in his second phase three years ago, his adoptive father even had a disappearing "owl trick" that was the epitome of cheapness.

So, when fighting his adoptive father, both three years ago and three years later, Zack was truly put through the wringer.

But now, facing Isshin Ashina, Zack felt nothing but overwhelming pressure.

He only managed to land two hits on Isshin Ashina throughout the entire fight.

"If I keep fighting like this, it'll be almost impossible to chip away at his health bar. So the only way is to break his posture."

Combining his own skills with his brief initial clashes with Isshin, Zack had a rough idea.

Isshin Ashina's power was on a completely different level compared to the previous bosses.

Of course, earlier on the battlefield where he fought Genichiro, Zack had also seen a terrifying beast-like monster: the Guardian Ape.

However, he didn't charge in headfirst. He quietly turned and left, as that monster wasn't a required boss to progress.

Even though Zack felt his skill level was very high, he was still no match for Isshin Ashina in his prime.

After each deflect, Zack only dared to attack two more times.

Isshin's movements were too agile; a single mistake could lead to an immediate attack.

As this is a Soulslike game, the incredibly fragile, paper-thin health bar is one of the game's biggest features.

With just four hits, the wolf in the game would fall to Isshin's sword.

"Genichiro Way of Tomoe was easy, but this Isshin is truly difficult!"

Facing Genichiro Way of Tomoe again, Zack couldn't help but sigh.

There weren't many flashy moves; it was all about deflecting, Mikiri Counters, and deathblows.

Combined with his experience of fighting Genichiro nearly a hundred times in the castle before, the current phase of Genichiro posed no threat at all.

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

When fighting other bosses before, Zack would use his prosthetic arm tools.

For example, when fighting the Guardian Ape, he used the spear prosthetic. When fighting Owl, he used firecrackers. And when fighting samurai in the Fountainhead Palace, he used the Snap Seeds.

But facing Isshin Ashina now, he couldn't find any opportunity to use his prosthetic arm tools.

He didn't even have time to use skills from the Immortal Blade.

The relentless onslaught was just too overwhelming.

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

After creating distance, Isshin would close in with a cross slash.

He perfectly embodied the title of Sword Saint, leaving Zack unable to predict if the next move would be a sweep or a thrust. He could only rely on his instincts to parry clumsily.

But this kind of parrying relied entirely on luck.

With good luck, a perfect deflection could bring huge rewards.

But if he wasn't lucky enough, his posture bar would just fill up rapidly, leading to an inevitable break.

And breaking posture meant death.

As expected, after his posture broke from exhaustion, the wolf controlled by Zack stumbled, and Isshin Ashina's sharp blade pierced through his body.

[Death]

The artistic red font appeared on the screen once again, followed by Isshin's warning: "Hesitation is defeat."

"Hesitation is defeat. The most brilliant aspect of Soulslike games is their level and boss design."

"Some bosses require constant aggression to defeat more easily, while others require skillful dodging. Isshin Ashina here might be the kind that requires constant offense, with no room for hesitation," Zack speculated.

In Sekiro, because the moves and playstyles of the various monsters are so different, they are generally divided into two categories.

One category, like the Guardian Ape in its first phase, the Great Serpent, and the Ogre, are bosses you should avoid fighting head-on, and instead utilize well-timed dodges.

The other category includes the "Sword Saint" in the castle, Genichiro Ashina, and his adoptive father Owl, who require players to constantly pressure them with attacks.

Isshin Ashina now clearly falls into the latter category.

Especially when Isshin created distance to heal with his gourd, Isshin would quickly close the gap and unleash a strike.

This strike was almost always a hit; at least, Zack hadn't managed to dodge it even once in his attempts (not counting resurrections).

With these thoughts in mind, Zack once again set out to challenge him.

Once, twice, three times...

He had lost count of how many times he had died. The Sword Saint's "Hesitation is defeat" had become ingrained in his hearing.

As for Genichiro Way of Tomoe, he was like a mercy from Boss Lucas, given to players to warm up.

He had pretty much figured out the moves of Isshin Ashina in his first phase.

He felt he would be able to defeat him soon.

As for Genichiro Way of Tomoe, he could only describe it as "brutal."

Because this time he had achieved a specific feat: defeating Genichiro without taking any damage.

While he was repeatedly dying, Genichiro had also died with him, and was in fact, being brutally killed by him. As they fought, Zack even felt a bit sorry for Genichiro.

"Die!"

Finally, in the first phase, Zack had almost depleted his healing gourds and managed to break Isshin Ashina's posture.

The Kusabimaru pierced Isshin's body, drawing a spray of blood. Zack felt a surge of adrenaline.

This was the charm of Soulslike games: challenging your limits again and again, and then surpassing them!

However, his burning excitement quickly cooled down because Isshin Ashina's next move completely stunned Zack.

"What's going on! You're not Isshin Ashina, you're not the legendary Sword Saint of Ashina! Where did you get that halberd? And why do you have a submachine gun!?"

Seeing Isshin Ashina enter his second phase, pulling out a halberd from who-knows-where and wielding it with great might, left Zack utterly bewildered.

If the first phase's attacks were already oppressive, then the second phase's Sword Saint had completely transformed into a Halberd Saint.

His attacks came in a relentless storm, and the large halberd in his hand had an enormous attack range and devastating damage.

It made Zack's scalp tingle. Even more critically, it was similar to Genichiro's rapid-fire bow attacks in his second phase.

Isshin Ashina had a similar move, but the difference was that while Genichiro shot arrows, his grandfather Isshin Ashina, the legendary Sword Saint, actually used a firearm, and not just any firearm, but a five-shot revolver!

That volley of shots virtually blew his head off.

Isshin Ashina dropped the line, "Hesitation is defeat," and Zack was utterly shocked.

Combined with the death screen he'd just seen and Isshin's death pronouncement, Zack felt that for this phase, changing it to "Sekiro, the times have changed" might be more fitting.

What in the world was this? A Sword Saint using a halberd was one thing, but what was up with this firearm that shot like a submachine gun?

(End of Chapter)

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