CHAPTER 85: SQUAD LEADER

[A.N I finally have a bunch of back-up Chapters so when power stones reset tomorrow every 250PS I’ll drop an extra Chapter]

She flung the door open again, sword in hand. The soldier spotted her and roared, charging once more.

"COME AT ME!" she screamed, forcing herself forward. "It’s fake anyway, he can’t actually stab me through the screen!!"

Just then, a new prompt flashed on-screen.

[Attacking reduces the enemy’s HP and builds their Posture Gauge. Once full, you can finish them with a Deathblow.]

Natalie didn’t bother reading further. She gripped Lanqie with both hands and swung recklessly.

Slash! Pfft!

Natalie’s blade struck first, cutting across the soldier’s chest. The man staggered back, his body suddenly stiff. Natalie swung again, and this time the health bar above his head dropped instantly to zero. At the same time, a glowing red dot appeared over his chest.

[Target the red point to perform a Deathblow.]

Without hesitation, Natalie followed the prompt. The game boosted her movements, guiding her body into an elegant thrust. She drove the blade straight into the soldier’s chest.

"Ugh..." The soldier let out a low cry before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.

"Holy shit! She did it!"

"First kill achieved!"

"Damn, that finishing thrust was so smooth, it looked like a real samurai move!"

The chat was in an uproar.

Natalie pulled her blade free, staring down at her hands in disbelief. Had she... actually killed someone? She glanced at the soldier’s body, but there was no gore. But there was a wound where blood was pouring from.

Just as Tony had explained, the game avoided overly violent visuals.

"So that’s how it works... The final strikes are handled by the game. It makes me fight like a real swordsman. Not bad, not bad at all."

She exhaled, then grinned. "Hehe, guys, I think I’m starting to get the hang of this."

With her first kill under her belt, Natalie pressed on. Soon, another soldier stood blocking her path, and behind him was a patch of tall grass.

[Approach unseen and perform a Stealth Kill.]

"Stealth, huh?"

Natalie crouched low and slipped into the grass. Quietly, she crept closer until the soldier was only a few steps away. A red dot lit up over his chest, time to strike.

Without a second thought, she lunged forward. The game guided her body again, making her leap onto the soldier in a fluid motion. Her blade pierced his heart before he could even react. He crumpled without a sound.

"Holy Shit, so clean!"

"That was way too badass!"

"So stealth kills are instant kills? Got it. This game’s pushing players to go ninja style."

The viewers were buzzing, but Natalie only smirked. "Another one down. Who’s next?"

She advanced and soon came to a stone wall nearly six meters high. With a double jump and wall grab, she climbed it with ease. On the other side, another soldier patrolled the path.

[You can also assassinate from above.]

A red dot shimmered over his body. Natalie’s smile widened. Without hesitation, she leapt from the wall, the game propelling her downward. She landed squarely on his back, blade flashing across his throat.

The soldier collapsed instantly.

"Holy crap!"

"Even aerial assassinations look sick as hell!"

"Watching Natalie play is making me jealous, this game feels way too smooth!"

"The dev finally got it right. This is the peak gameplay!"

Natalie herself was thrilled. The rush, the elegance, it was intoxicating.

This... this was what it meant to feel like a ninja. To kill cleanly, swiftly, and leave nothing behind.

"Haha! Watch me, guys. I’m going to carve my way through this whole city!" she laughed, confidence surging after three consecutive kills.

With high spirits, she pressed onward until she reached the towering front gate of the city. But the gate was firmly shut, and standing guard before it was another soldier.

Unlike the others, this one looked sturdier, his armor was thicker, more polished, clearly a cut above the cannon fodder she’d faced before.

Natalie tightened her grip on her sword. "Heh. Another one? Fine. Watch me cut him down too!"

At that moment, a new prompt appeared beside her vision:

[You can block enemy attacks with your blade. Blocking will prevent HP loss, but will raise your posture gauge. Once it fills, you’ll stagger and be left wide open. Be cautious.]

"Block, huh..."

Natalie muttered under her breath as the armored soldier ahead spotted her. With a sharp metallic ring, he drew his long blade and charged.

At this moment, a health bar appeared above the soldier’s head, along with his name.

[Squad Leader]

"Huh? This guy’s actually a squad leader?" Natalie blinked in surprise.

"Breaking into this place, you’re seeking death!" the Squad Leader roared, charging at her with his blade raised high.

"As if I’d be scared of you!" Natalie shouted back, lifting her sword to meet him.

Clang!

Steel collided with steel, sparks flying. Natalie’s strike had come first, but the Squad Leader blocked it with ease, his heavy blade pressing down against hers. The impact numbed her arms.

"What? He blocked me?!"

Before she could react, the Squad Leader countered, his sword flashing.

Pfft!

The blade sliced across her chest. An icy, sting shot through her body, as if she had truly been stabbed!

Her eyes darted to the corner of the screen. Her health bar had dropped by a quarter in a single blow.

"What the hell?! That much damage from one strike?!"

Before she could recover, he swung again. Another cold jolt pierced her, and her HP dropped to half.

And then, he swung a third time.

"Why is this guy so fast?!"

Panic surged. Natalie turned and ran, desperate to escape, but her back was split open by yet another slash. The sheer force of the strike threw her off balance, sending her crashing to the ground.

"It’s over! I’m dead!!!"

Flat on her back, she rolled over just in time to see him looming above, blade raised for the killing blow.

Pfft!!!

"Argh!!!"

A muffled groan escaped her lips. The screen turned black, and a blood red word filled her vision.

[DEATH]

There was no question, Natalie had fallen. The first three soldiers she had cut down with ease, but against the squad leader, she hadn’t stood a chance.

"Damn, Natalie! The tutorial literally told you to block, why didn’t you block?!"

"Exactly! Running won’t save you. You’ve got a sword, use it!"

"Didn’t you just swear you’d ’bath the city in blood’? Barely a minute later and one squad leader wrecked you!"

"Ohh... I panicked," Natalie admitted honestly, wiping at her sweat. "The moment his first strike hit me, I froze. The pressure was insane."

Her heart was still pounding. Fighting normal monsters was one thing, but this... this was different. The tension, the sweat, the sensation of real blades clashing, it was overwhelming.

This wasn’t the eerie fear of Silent Hill.

This wasn’t the terror of giant sea beasts in Subnautica.

This was something else entirely, Sekiro’s brand of horror. The raw, primal fear of clashing blades and staking your life on every strike.

Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself. "Alright guys, one more try. This time... I’ll block."

Reloading the save, Natalie found herself back at the Moonview Tower.

"Seriously? From here again?" she grumbled, but quickly set to work. She cut down the first soldier, stealth killed the next two, and once again stood before the Squad Leader.

"Breaking into this place, seeking death!!!" the Squad Leader roared, charging forward with his sword.

This time, Natalie braced herself. She lifted her blade to block.

Clang!

Steel rang out, and Natalie held firm. A yellow bar appeared beneath her vision, the posture bar. At the same time, she noticed he also had a posture bar above his health.

But his was barely moving, while hers was already climbing fast.

A new prompt appeared.

[At the moment of blocking, swing your blade to counter. Perfectly timed deflection will knock the enemy off balance, greatly filling their posture bar.]

"What’s deflecting supposed to mean?" Natalie muttered, confused, when suddenly the Squad Leader’s blade came crashing down!

The sheer force of his strike terrified her. Panicking, she raised her sword above her head to block. Thankfully, his AI seemed a little clumsy, none of the hits drained her health, but her posture bar kept climbing rapidly.

Clang!!

Another heavy slash landed, and her posture bar maxed out. At once, Natalie felt the crushing weight of his blade. Her guard shattered, her arms went limp, and she staggered back, collapsing onto the ground.

The Squad Leader wasted no time. He closed in, swinging relentlessly. Sword after sword came down on her helpless body until.

"Ahh! Dead again..." Natalie groaned as the screen flashed red.

The audience immediately chimed in.

"Tsk tsk, fourth enemy in Sekiro and Natalie’s already down again."

"I get it now. You can’t just turtle up. Sure, blocking keeps you from losing HP, but your posture bar fills. Once it breaks, you’re wide open, and one follow up slash is death!"

"Damn it, I take back everything I said about this game being forgiving. The dev’s still as cruel as ever!"

"This is hardcore. You can’t just attack, but you can’t just defend either!"

"Exactly! The tutorial literally told you, you have to deflect! You need to bounce the blade back."

"Fine, fine, I’ll try to deflect it." Natalie inhaled deeply, her earlier cockiness gone. This guy wasn’t like the weaklings before. Why did a regular mob feel harder than a boss? She was supposed to be a nimble shinobi wolf, but every clash made her feel powerless.

Restart. Back to the attic. She cut down the first soldier, assassinated the next two, and once again faced the Squad Leader for the third time.

"Breaking into this place, you’re seeking death!!!" he bellowed, charging forward.

Natalie lifted her sword and blocked, but the timing was off. Her health was fine, but her posture bar jumped up again.

The second strike came crashing down.

"Come on, again!" She swung to deflect, but too early. Her slash whiffed the air, and his blade cut deep into her side, tearing away a quarter of her health.

"Damn it, this is brutal!" The icy pain jolted her chest and face, making her shiver even though she knew it wasn’t real.

He raised his sword for a third strike, this time Natalie braced, focused, and struck back at the exact moment.

Clang!!!

Sparks erupted. His blade was knocked aside, forcing him a step back, and his posture bar spiked upward.

"Yes! I did it!" Natalie shouted, eyes lighting up.

"Natalie, that was awesome!"

"Keep going, keep going, attack while he’s off balance!"

"Yeah, finish him! Don’t give him a chance!"

Clang! Clang!

Natalie tried to chain more deflections, but her timing faltered. hiss sword pierced through her again and again. Moments later, the red screen appeared once more.

[DEATH]

But this time, instead of despair, Natalie was grinning.

"I get it now, guys! I found the trick!" she said excitedly. "It’s all about timing. If you nail the deflects a few times in a row, then counterattack, you can break him. Trust me, give me one... no, two more tries, and I’ll bring the Squad Leader down!"

1873 Words.