So much carnage. The Ashina must have prevailed over the Interior Ministry but the price was heavy indeed:
From the distance, i glance at the path towards the Ashina Castle:
But before going that way, i need to investigate further. On the opposite side of the gate, i see a staircase, and on the way up, i find more bodies. Interior Ministry most likely:
Mmmmh, who bitch this is? Another ninja fight?
Before engaging, i check the side where i find another merchant. I guess those guys are like the Elden Ring merchants, all basically the same:
Still not getting the Memorial Mob achievement. I guess i gotta wait for NG+ for that. He gives me a bit of lore about himself and the other merchants. Something to do with death, battle and offerings to the dead.
Either way, it's time to face that mysterious figure. As i enter, Wolf sheathes his word. Figures, another NPC:
Hey, who you calling rat, bitch?
Wolf decides not to tell him shit, so the dude just decides to invent a name for me:
Not sure i understood how this works so i figured i'd google it. So Sekiro literally means one-armed wolf. Very original dude.
He then introduces himself, and askes me if i want to join in a bit of jolly cooperation:
Again with the rats. Look dude, i'd love to help but i'm not sure i got time to go after some rodents. Wolf of course says exactly what i'm thinking:
He goes on raving about rats. I start to feel pity, as the guy clearly isn't all there:
Ok, ok, i'll hep kill some rats. Settle down already. He then gives me a description of the rats he wants to see dead, and offers me to "hone" my talents as a reward, which definitely peaked my interest.
On the back, i find some granny, who starts blathering some shit about how war never changes or whatever:
I get it, war is hell, kid, and all that jazz. Moving away from the old hag, and after opening a shortcut that isn't really needed anyway, i make my way up this structure, but i get a little suspicious when i find no loot. Sure enough, i see a way to reach the attic, where i find another treasure box:
It is now finally time to make my way to the Ashina Castle, but not before making a quick stop to the Sculptor. Apparently, there's now another tree i need to study:
I then use the memory to upgrade my attack power, and the added lore makes me even more sad i had to kill the guy:
It is now time to reach the Castle. From a distance, i spy a little goodie, but after roping across a few tree branches, it appears i cannot reach it from this side:
I then climb on the wall to inspect the situation. Pretty routine stuff:
I see some dogs in the distance but it's no problem, i know how to deal with them now. A few shurikens and one quick stealth kill on the guard takes care of the situation:
I then easily dispatch the remaining patrol, but as i make my way up, i see something new:
So those are the rats i'm supposed to kill. Apparently, they work for Genichiro. It seems Genichiro has no limits to how low he can sink in his effort to save Ashina, first by attempting to create a cursed army of undying warriors and then by enlisting the aid of unsavoury characters like these, who don't even seem to believe Ashina can be saved and likely have their own agenda to begin with. They next speak of another mission they need to complete:
That's good to know, but what i'd like to understand is what their current mission actually is, digging in a tree? I won't find out until they are dead i guess. So, having no idea what those guys are capable of, i decide to try to flank them and at least get rid of one in a stealth attack. I start by making my around them, when by chance i spot a third one who was hiding behing this tree:
Tengu was right, those guys are treacherous rats. After killing him unseen, i slowly make my way towards the one on the left, but apparently they aren't so easy to fool, and now i'm forced to fight them both in open combat. I artfully get around their movesets, but as soon as i hit one, they appear to be impervious to all damage. Those guys appear to be like an early version of the Vulgar Militia in Elden Ring. And quite as annoying. I then figure, ok, the axe will make short order of them, so i try:
Imagine my shock when he is able to tank the axe with only some posture damage. Next thing i know i'm laying on the dirt:
So that's how it is, huh? I get up, and i manage to get a stealth kill on the nearest one since he had already turned his back on me. I then move to the next one and not knowing what to do i try to spar with him, which ends even worse than the first time:
Fuck me. On my next attempt, to my eternal shame, i had to resort to drawing one towards me using one of those ceramic thingies:
After killing him unseen, i decide to spar with the other guy to try to figure out how exactly i'm supposed to take those guys out. As i hit him, they actually lower their hats when they are blocking attacks. I'm thinking that's why the axe didn't work, so i try to catch him in the middle of an attack, which actually does the trick. The axe cracks his hat apart which allows me to move in for a kill:
Still need to get the timing right as i got hit in the process, but at least i know how they work now. I approach the tree, but there's no indication of whatever it was those guys were doing.
I now return to Tengu for my reward:
He then hands me another Esoteric Text, one that focuses on Ashina techniques. Nice! I go check out what kind of skills i get, and ho my:
Those were definitely a no brainer. The new weapon art i had to pick to unlock the tree seems interesting too. In fact, i'm gonna head out to try it now. Ok not on this guy i need a bigger target:
And sure enough, after this i come across a big giant. Perfect opportunity to test my new weapon art as well try some fire again!
