"With the flamethrower, this Red Oni is just a pushover!"
Zack said, full of pride.
He had already left the Hirata Estate from three years ago. He hadn't managed to kill any of the purple-clothed ninjas, the bandit fatty, or the spear-wielding ninja hunter.
His gut told him that place was beyond his current capabilities.
Just like the Lower Undead Burg in the Dark Souls prequel, he wisely returned to fighting the Red Oni.
And now that he had the flamethrower, fighting this Red Oni felt completely different.
It was incredibly easy. After assassinating the boss's first life, he used the flamethrower to stun the remaining life, allowing him to land several hits.
Once he used up all his spirit emblems, the Red Oni's second life was over.
"Are all these bosses sore losers?" After defeating the Red Oni, Zack smacked his lips as he looked at the next boss.
There was a general named Yamauchi Nori-san. However, just like the bosses in the Hirata Estate three years ago, he had a group of lackeys surrounding him. Especially on the left city wall cliff, there was a little guy banging a gong.
Similar to the Torchmen in the Hirata Estate who could yell for reinforcements, when this gong-banging dwarf spotted him, he would also start banging the gong to alert the other enemies, leading to a classic "too many against one" situation.
But compared to the bosses and subordinates he encountered in the Hirata Estate before, the regular enemies here were much easier to deal with. Besides the open training grounds, there were many stairs and walls the boss couldn't reach, giving him room to maneuver.
The only thing that made Zack want to complain was how incredibly well-hidden the bonfire was. It was on a cliff under a broken bridge.
If he hadn't accidentally fallen and seen it, he never would have found it.
The rest was simple: assassinate all the regular enemies one by one, then disengage from the boss and, as usual, assassinate the boss's first life.
After that, it was just a matter of slowly chipping away. Compared to the white-clothed ninja hunter and the purple-clothed ninja he fought in the Hirata Estate three years ago, Zack found this samurai general to be much more manageable.
The white-clothed ninja with the spear didn't move fast, but his attack range was huge. Although Zack discovered he could counter his thrust attacks with the Mikiri Counter skill learned from Buddha, the ninja also had a sweeping attack that nearly broke his legs.
As for the purple-clothed ninja, Zack felt he was a complete maniac. Not only was he fast, but his attacks were also incredibly powerful. He couldn't even parry a single combo, getting guard broken and into a stunned state immediately.
This samurai general was different. His attack movements were very slow, and as long as he was careful, there was basically no danger.
Pressing forward, Zack soon encountered what he considered his biggest challenge yet.
It was a giant white snake, attacking him constantly as he advanced through the mountain cliffs and platforms. The snake could kill him in just two bites.
"What the heck! How do you get past this snake! This is too damn brutal!"
After passing through a patch of reeds, he arrived at a cliff.
Zack, watching the white snake lunge at him, shivered with fear.
Fortunately, it was just a parkour section. After dying a few times, he got the hang of it.
He also discovered that after passing the cliff, there was a palanquin he could sneak into for cover. Once inside, he could seize the opportunity to stab the white snake's eye. As the snake thrashed in pain, he could escape.
However, he still accidentally died once during this phase.
Mainly, after stabbing the snake's eye, the squirting blood and its massive body were so shocking that he couldn't help but stay still and stare for two seconds. Then, he was bitten to death by the white snake.
After crossing the canyon, he reached a new Idol teleportation point. At the same time, Zack stealthily hid on a roof beam to eavesdrop and gathered some new information.
Ashina Castle was faintly visible ahead. However, based on the conversations of the grunts, there was a general named Genichiro guarding the gate of Ashina Castle, who was likely the next boss.
"Ben, where are you at? I'm about to head to Ashina Castle!" Instead of rushing to explore further, Zack called Ben to see how far his good buddy had gotten.
"Just beat the Red Oni not too long ago. Got a Guardian Ape's Bell and went to that Hirata Estate from three years ago. I'm fighting that ninja with the halberd or spear. These bosses and minor enemies are too tough," Ben complained.
"You're only here? Did you get the items?" Zack asked.
"Items? What items? Prosthetic Tools? Yeah, I got them. How else would I break the shield soldier?" Ben was a bit confused.
Unlike Zack, Ben had fought his way through with just his Kusanagi and a gourd. Aside from using the Axe and Shuriken prosthetic tools, he had basically bulldozed his way through.
"Nothing, just keep suffering," Zack said with a chuckle.
"Oh yeah, Zack, what's your progress?" Ben asked curiously.
"I just got out of the Hirata Estate from three years ago and am now at the main gate of Ashina Castle. I should be able to save Kuro soon," Zack said teasingly.
"You finished Hirata Estate? You're kidding me, right?" Ben didn't believe him.
He had believed Zack's progress when he finished the general, but now he was saying he finished Hirata Estate?
He suspected something was fishy.
"I didn't finish it. And this is a Souls-like game, there's no set path. It's all about exploring the maps. Anyway, I have to fight the next boss," Zack said with a grin.
Ben?
Let him suffer slowly!
Zack couldn't help but burst out laughing thinking about Ben, who was constantly dying and torturing himself.
He believed that with his newfound understanding, his game experience would be much smoother than Ben's.
After all, the difficulty of the Hirata Estate was clearly higher.
Although Souls-like games don't have strictly defined routes and procedures, there are still relatively easier paths.
For example, in Dark Souls, if you don't go to Undead Burg outside the town when you first start, but instead brute-force your way through Lower Undead Burg or the graveyard, the level of suffering is completely different.
Zack felt that the Hirata Estate was simply a display of Boss Lucas's malice.
After all, when you arrive at a new map, you can't help but want to explore.
But in reality, early on, all you need to do is open the map and get the flamethrower prosthetic tool item, which is enough.
The most convincing evidence is that besides the Hirata Estate, he hasn't encountered the shield soldiers from the Hirata Estate yet, and the Axe prosthetic tool is currently unusable.
This shows that the difficulty of the Hirata Estate is definitely higher than the current Ashina route.
Silently summarizing, Zack felt like a master detective.
Especially since some of the items he found during this time, like Robert's Firecrackers, a brand new prosthetic tool, would clearly be helpful for the upcoming battles.
He had a premonition that his future gaming journey would be very smooth.
"But playing like this, I'm missing a lot of the fun. After all, aren't Souls-like games about dying? It's hard to die a few more times!" Zack exclaimed.
(End of chapter)
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