Zhong Yi respawned at the Moon-Viewing Tower, his face red.
"Ahem, all mistakes. I underestimated the enemy just now..."
Zhong Yi tried hard to hide his embarrassment and walked toward the gate tower again, pretending nothing had happened.
Although his performance in the Illusion Realm had always been consistent, this was his first time getting killed by a regular enemy in a stage that could practically be called a beginner's tutorial.
"Strange. Why does this grunt deal so much damage? Was that a critical hit? Or... was the one who hit me an elite enemy?"
Zhong Yi muttered under his breath.
This wasn't his first time playing one of Lu Ze's Illusion Realms. He had seen them at their hardest and most outrageous.
But a grunt taking off half his health with one slash? That really was a first!
This time, Zhong Yi was much more careful.
He no longer dared to draw aggro from several warriors at once, nor did he dare swagger up and provoke them. Whenever he could ambush them with a Deathblow, he did...
The journey went smoothly. Zhong Yi quickly dispatched several warriors and reached the gate tower entrance.
On the stone steps not far away stood an elite enemy whose build was somewhat more imposing than that of an ordinary warrior:
[Boss · Yamauchi Shigenori]
"Oh? Is the difficulty starting to ramp up?"
Zhong Yi licked his lips and took a deep breath. Without wasting any more words, he drew Kusabimaru and charged forward.
"Come on!!"
After several practice fights, Zhong Yi had gained a new understanding of Sekiro's gameplay.
The main mechanic lay in the yellow energy bar beneath the health bar, called the "Posture Bar."
Whenever an attack was blocked, the Posture Bar would rise.
Once the Posture Bar filled