"Prime Minister, I've had an epiphany!"
"What have you realized?"
"I've realized♂."
"As expected of you, always finding new ideas when faced with difficulties!"
"Tell us quickly! Tell us quickly! What new and ingenious technique has emerged?"
...
"Everyone, please hold your horses. Let me first try out the theory I just comprehended."
After respawning, Chun Hei, his eyes blazing with fervor, charged at Ashina Genichiro. Soon, the familiar rhythmic sound of frantic swordplay echoed again.
However,
This time, the robust 'clang' of the clashing steel was much reduced, replaced by a more regular and crisp 'clang'!
If one looked closely, there was also a subtle difference in the sparks produced when the sword met the blade.
When the sound was crisp, the sparks emitted were ring-shaped, while when it was deep and resonant, they scattered irregularly!
"Yes, yes!"
After trying a few more times, Chun Hei's face was filled with joy, "There truly is a perfect parry!"
Perfect Parry?
The unfamiliar term left the audience bewildered.
Before the barrage of comments could form questions, Chun Hei proactively explained, "If I'm not mistaken, when the designers set up the posture gauge, they already had several parry modes in mind."
"Let's first briefly understand the parry mechanism."
Saying this, he held his Ziying sword horizontally in front of him, "This action of me raising my sword and assuming a defensive stance is a parry."
"It's used to block enemy swords, blades, and all sorts of projectiles. Players with slower reflexes might understand this deeply. If the sword is raised too late, the enemy's weapon has already struck you."
"This is a parrying stance, considered a slow parry, which is equivalent to not parrying at all."
"The second type, and the most practical one used by the vast majority of players, is the normal parry. Our sword blocks an enemy attack, producing a clanging sound and sparks."
"The third defensive stance I just realized is the perfect parry!"
"This is what I discovered during my fight with the boss just now, from the subtle differences in sparks and clanging sounds. A perfect parry emphasizes perfect timing."
"I'll get straight to the point: the perfect timing is to raise your sword to block just as the enemy's weapon is about to strike you. A little too early won't achieve perfection, and a little too late will result in being unable to block."
"A perfect block will produce a crisp 'clang' and large sparks. An imperfect block will have a very deep sound when the swords collide. If you listen closely, you can find a noticeable difference."
"Some friends might be wondering, 'This doesn't seem to make much of a difference, just a slight variation in sound effects and visual cues.' If you think so, you are gravely mistaken."
Chun Hei blinked, as if understanding the audience's thoughts, "Perfect Parry, Perfect Parry. Only those who achieve perfection have the chance to receive a reward."
"That's right, this reward is the posture gauge. Perfect parries and normal parries trigger different posture gauge gains. Perfect parries barely reduce the posture gauge, making them extremely practical!"
"Friends who have been following along should know that the final gap between me and Lord ‘Xie’ was precisely the issue with the posture gauge. Every time, my posture gauge filled up before his, leading to his execution of me."
"If I could pull off more perfect parries, would the situation reverse?"
"Paper talk is shallow."
The more he spoke, the itchier Chun Hei's hands became. He drew his Ziying sword, "You know the theory. Let me use practice to verify this theory for you."
Tread, tread, tread!!
As soon as Chun Hei finished speaking, he charged forward, sword in hand, and swung.
"You really are persistent. So be it!"
Lord 'Xie' flicked his dark gold longsword in the air, effortlessly blocking Chun Hei's probing attack.
Then,
Lord 'Xie' followed up with a spinning counter-attack, leaping into the air, and with both hands on his sword, unleashed the immensely powerful 'New Year's Greeting' sword technique!
This move had been his trump card in previous battles. Even if Chun Hei could parry it, the immense force would still fill his posture gauge to a very exaggerated degree.
Clang—!!
As the audience had been forewarned, they specifically paid attention to the clanging sound, spark effects, and posture gauge at the moment of impact.
When the crisp clanging sound rang out, arc-shaped sparks erupted, and the posture gauge remained unchanged, the audience went wild! The normally composed viewers were completely unable to sit still, and the comment section erupted!
'I... I f***ing hell! The posture gauge really didn't change?'
'I heard it, it was indeed crisp, like two pieces of pure, unadulterated steel colliding!'
'The sparks were bigger and more brilliant than usual!'
'This is a divine skill!'
'Perfect Parry, a divine skill exclusive to master players!'
'No, as long as you concentrate enough, you can too!'
'Chun Hei, yyds!'
...
After the uproar, the live stream was filled with gift effects and announcements, more lively than a New Year's temple fair.
Chun Hei quietly savored the praise and gifts from his viewers, his heart surging with emotion.
When he resolutely quit his stable 996 job to dedicate himself to the game industry he loved, the path ahead was uncertain, and he felt very anxious.
He didn't even have the courage to tell his family what he was doing, simply because this profession was unstable and seemed idle.
Now,
Through passion and perseverance, he had made it!
Putting aside his real-life struggles,
At least in this game, he had achieved true success.
Accumulating combat experience bit by bit, grasping the game's mechanics, honing his combat skills, reviewing endlessly day and night, and finally discovering this hidden setting of Perfect Parry!
*Pfft!!*
【Scum】
Just as he was about to be moved to tears, the bloody "Scum" statement choked back his emotions.
"You can't get distracted while fighting me," Lord 'Xie' said, pointing his one-handed sword at the resurrected Wolf with disdain.
"Ugh, looks like you're really clueless about what's important!"
Suppressing his acceptance speech and overflowing emotions, Chun Hei returned to his usual sharp demeanor, "Let's deal with Lord 'Xie' first. It's frustrating to have the momentum I've built up so hard abruptly interrupted."
Swish, swish, swish!!
Chun Hei's Ziying sword danced left and right, unleashing several sharp purple energies.
Stepping on the purple energy, Chun Hei followed closely!
Clang!
After blocking a strike, Lord 'Xie' quickly counter-attacked!
Clang, clang, clang!!
【Danger】
"Danger! Recognize it!"
Chun Hei stomped on Lord 'Xie's' dark gold longsword and then used a "first character" strike, dealing a considerable amount of posture damage.
Although he couldn't achieve a perfect parry with every strike yet, he was much, much better than before.
Clang—!!
Full!
With the last sword stroke, Lord 'Xie's' posture gauge filled up before Chun Hei's.
The latter wore a cruel smile, "You've executed me so many times, it's time to pay the debt!"
*Pfft!!*
A simple, yet powerful sword thrust deeply into Lord 'Xie's' chest, instantly depleting his full health bar.
"It's not over yet... Warrior of the Prince...!"
At this point, Lord 'Xie' had only one health bar remaining.
Chun Hei, on the other hand, had more than half a health bar and one additional health segment.
In the past, this was the limit of what he could achieve with his skills. Now, the roles were reversed, and he was determined to make his opponent taste cruelty!
Clang, clang, clang!!!
Cornering the opponent and beating them while they were down, Chun Hei unleashed a barrage of attacks, pushing the large-bodied Lord 'Xie' below half health.
*Scrape!*
Forced into a desperate situation, Lord 'Xie' suddenly leaped into the air, pulling out a large lacquered bow from his back.
Hum—
He drew the bowstring!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!
Ping, ping, ping!!
Several arrows were easily blocked by Chun Hei. Before he could catch his breath, Lord 'Xie' launched a surprise attack.
After a flurry of strikes, Chun Hei's posture gauge was filled, and Lord 'Xie's' execution took away his last health segment.
Now, both sides were down to their last health bar.
"Ptooey!"
Spitting out the blood in his mouth, Chun Hei's eyes turned bloodthirsty, "Alright, it's that time again. Full health versus low health. I won't compete with you in parries anymore. Let's trade blows!"
*Pfft!!*
*Pfft!!*
In the end, Chun Hei, relying on his thicker health bar, achieved victory through trading blows.
However...
The familiar [Slay] did not appear. Instead, a CG sequence too reminiscent of Lord 'Xie' was displayed...
...