"Finally… the main city gate!" Natalie muttered, awe mixing with dread.
"Tsk, this looks like a massacre."
"Yep, this must be where the Interior Ministry clashed with Ashina's soldiers!"
"In a space this wide… there's no way it's just for sightseeing. A Boss fight incoming, Natalie, be careful!"
Her chest tightened at the thought. They were probably right.
"We literally just escaped death by giant snake," Natalie groaned. "And now the dev's throwing another big fight at me?!"
She sighed, trudging toward the nearby Buddha statue to rest and save her progress. After sitting quietly for a while, she clenched her jaw and stood again.
Sword in hand, she stepped into the battlefield.
The stench of smoke and corpses thickened with each step. She had barely reached the center when a deep rumbling echoed across the field.
With a deafening creak, the massive wooden gates ahead slowly opened.
And from the shadows beyond came a thunderous roar.
A thunderous roar shook the battlefield.
"I am the General of the Ghost Punishment Corps! Which fool dares invade Ashina?!"
The voice boomed like rolling thunder, echoing across the wasteland.
Natalie's heart skipped a beat. Why… why did this voice sound so familiar?
She looked up, then froze.
A fearsome general burst out of the massive wooden gate, clad in pitch black armor, halberd in hand. He rode a towering warhorse whose hooves smashed into the earth, kicking up clouds of dust as the beast charged straight at her.
Wait a second! Isn't this the same general Tony showed me back when he was demoing the New World platform?!
The viewers erupted instantly.
"Fuck, this boss is way too handsome!"
"Heavy armor, a halberd, and riding a warhorse, finally, a real general!"
"Majestic as hell. Even if he kills Natalie, at least he looks cool doing it!"
The Ghost Punishment General raised his halberd and roared again.
"Die!"
No dialogue, no hesitation, his weapon came crashing down in a murderous arc.
But Natalie was no longer the clueless newbie from before. She gritted her teeth, drew her blade, and met him head on.
Clang! Clang!
Steel clashed twice in rapid succession, sparks flying. Her posture bar nearly maxed out, but before she could counterattack, the general's warhorse lashed out, its hind hooves kicked her straight to the ground.
"Are you kidding me?! That's cheating!" Natalie shouted, furious.
"Hmph! Well struck, Ghost!" the general sneered, swinging his halberd down again.
It was hopeless. The first time she faced him, she was slaughtered instantly. After her resurrection at the Buddha idol, she tried again.
Second attempt: Dead. Third attempt: Dead.
Although his swings weren't as lightning fast as Genichiro's, they were brutally heavy, and his horse constantly interfered, stomping, ramming, and knocking her off balance. Worst of all, the general occasionally used a 'Dangerous' sprint attack, a wide range skill that was nearly impossible to dodge. One hit was enough to shave off half her health bar.
The Ghost Punishment General turned Natalie into minced meat again and again.
The chatter offered advice, "Natalie, use the firecrackers! They're supposed to scare animals, right?!"
Her eyes lit up. "Oh! Right, I almost forgot!"
The next time, as the general and his horse charged her down, she whipped out a firecracker pouch.
Crack-crack-crack!
The explosions echoed across the battlefield. Sure enough, the warhorse, Ghost, screeched in panic, rearing violently. Even the armored general swayed in the saddle, nearly toppling.
Natalie didn't waste the chance. She slashed at the horse twice before darting back.
The Ghost Punishment General came again. She repeated the trick, firecrackers, slash, retreat. Over and over.
It wasn't elegant. It wasn't flashy. Honestly, it looked shameless.
But it worked.
Bit by bit, the general's health bar melted away.
The general himself even roared mid battle, "Damn brat! Stop scaring my Ghost with those firecrackers! Such cowardice is beneath you!"
The audience burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Shameless? You're the one bullying players from horseback!"
"Even this boss complains about Natalie's dirty tactics. Peak comedy!"
"Didn't expect the AI to start scolding the player. New World's details are insane."
Natalie just rolled her eyes. Shameless? Who cares! Victory was all that mattered.
But soon she hit another problem, she was out of firecrackers.
Without them, her chances plummeted. After a short struggle, she died again. And again. And again.
By the fifteenth death, Natalie was fuming. "Fine! You want shameless? I'll show you shameless! I'm going to stockpile enough firecrackers to blow your damn horse into next week!"
She returned to town, grinding mobs for nearly two hours until she had enough coin. Then, at the Snow Mountain vendor, she bought thirty whole bundles of firecrackers.
Looking at her inventory, she clenched her fists. "Thirty! Let's see you survive this, you bastard!"
Back into the arena she went.
The strategy didn't change: firecrackers, slash, retreat. Over and over. Round after round, like clockwork.
It was slow, it was dirty, but finally, finally, the general's health bar bled to empty.
A red dot appeared on his chest. Deathblow opportunity!
Natalie's eyes lit up. She leapt, stepped on the horse's head, double jumped into the air, then flipped behind the general. Her blade plunged deep into his chest, then slashed across his throat in a brutal execution. With a savage kick, she knocked him clean off the saddle.
"Arghhh!!!" The Ghost Punishment General's scream echoed across the field. "Genichiro… forgive me. I couldn't fulfill your command. This foe… is too… shameless…"
His armored body hit the ground with a final crash. His loyal Ghost neighed mournfully, lowering its head to lick his bloodstained armor.
Natalie raised her blade high. "I DID IT! I finally killed this damn boss! Who said I wasn't strong enough? I am unstoppable!"
The stream chat exploded.
"Holy shit, she actually did it!"
"Thirty firecrackers later Natalie, the Pyromanic Queen!"
"This fight was insane, but that finish was awesome."
"New World really knows how to make players suffer, but damn… that was satisfying!"
"Hahaha! The mighty Ghost Punishment General, defeated by nothing but firecrackers!"
"Did you hear his dying words? He sounded so frustrated, it was like he couldn't believe he lost that way!"
"Natalie is way too shameless. Who else would burn through thirty firecrackers just to cheese a boss?"
"Honestly, the general only lost because of that damn horse. Firecrackers completely ruined it. If he'd fought on foot, Natalie wouldn't have stood a chance in her whole life!"
"Exactly! The AI was too stubborn, insisting on riding the horse the whole time. That's what cost him the fight, hahaha!"
1183 Words.