Chapter 8 Samurai Hearts – Tutorial (8)

“Let’s go, Gale Brigade!” This is our last charge!”

“Uwooooo─!”

Screaming, Stichiva and the Gale Brigade rush towards the enemy soldiers who have formed a battle line.

They fearlessly advanced towards their obvious deaths.

Tatsuki, watching with bloodshot eyes, turned his horse.

A stream of blood flowed down from his tightly clenched lips.

“Let’s go… for revenge.”

Thanks to the Gale Brigade’s frontal assault drawing attention, the surveillance elsewhere wasn’t as strict.

The group frantically spurred their horses and finally succeeded in escaping Atsuragi Castle.

They arrived at the hill where they had started, where the burning Atsuragi Castle was visible, billowing black smoke.

The sun had already set, and it was getting dark.

Which made the burning Atsuragi Castle even more visible.

Tatsuki, standing on the hill, watched the castle collapse in the blazing flames, his eyes reddening.

“I will definitely have my revenge…!”

Tatsuki uttered a declaration filled with determination.

But the crisis was not over yet.

A low voice was heard from within the forest.

“That won’t happen.”

Red Fox and Black Wolf quickly drew their swords, blocking Tatsuki’s path.

Red Fox raised his voice, pointing his sword towards the forest where the voice had come from.

“Who is it! Show yourself!”

With heavy footsteps, a man emerged, pushing through the bushes.

It was a man wearing a jet-black yukata.

Between his carelessly disheveled hair, eyes resembling those of a hawk shone brightly.

He wore two swords diagonally at his waist, and his coat, draped over his shoulders, had three intersecting circles drawn on it.

Tatsuki gritted his teeth upon seeing the crest on the cloak.

It was the crest of the Nagamatsu Clan, the clan he had sworn revenge against.

“Nagamatsu! You are a dog of the filthy Nagamatsu!”

“A dog of Nagamatsu… that’s not wrong. My name is Hatsuragi Kato. I am staying as a guest in the Nagamatsu Clan.”

Even at Tatsuki’s fierce words, the man, Hatsuragi Kato, spoke calmly.

There was no anger at being insulted.

If a voice could be expressed as a color, it would surely be colorless.

Tatsuki was momentarily speechless at the tone that lacked even a trace of emotion.

But soon, Tatsuki repeated the name the man had said and his face turned pale.

“Sword Saint Hatsuragi Kato…!”

“That’s what I’m called.Sword of Star.

Hatsuragi Kato was the owner of that glorious title, which only one swordsman among many could possess.

This man was the strongest swordsman in all of Japan.

Having received help from the Nagamatsu Clan when he was young, he was currently staying with Nagamatsu as a guest, and he had come to capture Tatsuki.

“How can someone as renowned as the Sword Saint participate in such a despicable act?”

“It can’t be helped. This is to repay a debt. I once received a favor from Nagamatsu, and I promised to grant three wishes to repay it. This is the second wish. I must fulfill it.”

Tatsuki gritted his teeth.

He also knew about the promise between Nagamatsu and Sword Saint Hatsuragi Kato.

The promise to grant three wishes without fail!

That heavy promise, to grant even a wish for one’s life, had spread as a legend about the Sword Saint.

Tatsuki had also heard about the Sword Saint’s promise when he was young and had been impressed, but he never imagined that it would come to bind his neck now.

“What did Nagamatsu wish for as the second wish that made you come forward?”

“The head of Atsuragi Tatsuki.”

“You used a wish that could move the Sword Saint just to get my head?”

The wish ticket was said to grant even a request for the Sword Saint’s life.

Tatsuki was stunned by the fact that they had used such a precious thing just to capture him.

Because he felt the murderous intent that they would definitely kill him, even if it meant moving the Sword Saint.

“Lord, we will stop him. Please escape.”

“Red Fox…!”

Red Fox, revealing clear hostility towards the Sword Saint, said.

But Tatsuki couldn’t escape.

Because when Sword Saint Kato gestured lightly, Nagamatsu’s forces emerged from the surrounding forest.

Despair appeared on Tatsuki’s face at the sight of them completely surrounding him.

He realized that the reason Sword Saint Kato had bothered to talk so much was because he had already completed the encirclement.

It was meant to satisfy his curiosity since he couldn’t escape anyway.

“Don’t worry, Lord. We will protect you. Even if it costs us our lives!”

Red Fox said in a strong tone.

His resolute will to save Tatsuki, even at the cost of his life, was revealed.

Black Wolf was the same.

He silently stood in front of Tatsuki, blocking the way.

“Excellent warriors. I will personally cut you down. The rest of you, stay back.”

“Yes, Sword Saint.”

A man standing quietly behind Sword Saint Kato answered his declaration.

He seemed to be of a fairly high rank, as he was wearing a cloak with the Nagamatsu crest like Kato.

It was at that moment that Seung-yeon and Dohyun regained control of their bodies.

The event cutscene was over.

“It’s the appearance of the Sword Saint, everyone! Samurai Hearts’ official strongest boss. He’s also famous for not having a strategy.”-K, Sword Saint

-It’s the combat power measuring mode now

-I’m really looking forward to my brother’s evaluation.

“Combat power measuring mode?” What’s that?”

Dohyun, who had glanced at the chat room, asked.

He was curious because the reaction in the chat room made it seem like he was a fairly famous enemy.

‘WA1020’ donated ‘1000 won’!

[Ah! You don’t know the Sword Saint! I’ll explain for those who don’t know]

But there were no further words following this donation.

That was all there was.

Dohyun, who was next to Seung-yeon and could hear the contents of the donation, had a look of disbelief on his face.

“What, where’s the explanation?”

“You fell for that, little brother. Everyone, my brother is this innocent. Don’t tease him too much.”

-Your brother is innocent!

-Hey, hey. Don’t tease him too much. He’s an ‘insider’, so he doesn’t know our jokes

“That was a joke? I thought you were going to explain it, so I was going to listen.”

-Silence…

-The guy who donated just now, come out right now

-There are two bad things a person can do, one is not finishing what they say

“Um. More than that, is there anyone who can really explain it to me? I’m completely new to games, so I don’t know anything.”

‘WA1020’ donated ‘10000 won’!

[I’m sorry… The Sword Saint is called a combat power measuring device because he expresses how strong the opponent is. If you’re weak, he says ‘Disappointing’, if you’re strong, he says ‘Not bad’]

“Ah, I see. Thank you for the explanation, WA1020.”

Seung-yeon looked at Dohyun with wide eyes at his innocent reaction, which earned him a donation of 10,000 won.

Of course, Dohyun didn’t know much about donations, so he didn’t know why his sister was reacting like this.

“Then I’ll fight first and die. Then you try.”

“Die? Is it okay to die like before?”

“Yeah. It’s a tutorial, so if you die, you’ll go straight to the next story, so don’t worry.”

“I see.”

Dohyun, who was nodding, asked.

“If you catch the boss called the Sword Saint?”

“Huh?”

“Does the story progress even if you catch him?”

Seung-yeon gave a faint smile at Dohyun’s question.

She knew very well how bizarrely designed the Sword Saint Kato was as a boss.

It was because she had practiced the tutorial, and also because he was the hottest boss these days.

Among all VR game streamers and countless gamers, no one had even properly injured the Sword Saint in the tutorial, let alone caught him.

At best, “Surviving against the Sword Saint for 5 minutes” and “Hearing the Sword Saint say ‘Not bad'” were popular as strategies.

Besides, it’s a 2-player game now!

Even though he’s a tutorial boss, a boss is a boss, so the Sword Saint’s health has doubled, and new patterns have been added.

It means that the already strong Sword Saint has wings!

That’s why she knew how absurd Dohyun’s question was.

No matter how much of an Overachiever her brother was, what can’t be done, can’t be done.

“It’ll probably progress? I haven’t tried it, so I don’t know. Try catching him.”

Nevertheless, Seung-yeon said to Dohyun as if encouraging him.

What that meant was clear.

‘Get a taste of your own medicine, you Overachiever.’

The evil heart that wished for the Overachiever, who didn’t know how high the sky was, to suffer a big blow was revealed in her smile.

-Evil, evil!

-What is it. Does your brother not know anything?

-Yeah, he’s completely new to VR games, so he doesn’t know anything

-Is this what a ‘sister’ is?

The viewers who were watching realized Seung-yeon’s intentions.

An evil sister trying to trick her brother!

It couldn’t be a more sibling-like act.

But none of them enlightened Dohyun about that fact through donations.

Because the streamer and the viewers were the same.

“Then number 1 Victoria! Here I go!”

Seung-yeon, who shouted in a loud voice, ran towards the Sword Saint.

The silent Sword Saint walked out to greet her, and finally, the distance between the two became close enough for their swords to reach.

“Take this!”

Seung-yeon was the first to attack.

She attempted a frontal downward slash, drawing an honest line from top to bottom.

The sharp blade tore through the air, aiming for the Sword Saint’s head.

The Sword Saint’s reaction to that was simple.

“Hmph!”

Drawing his sword and simultaneously slashing upwards.

The Sword Saint’s sword, drawn like lightning, was swung towards Seung-yeon’s sword.

The two blades crossed.

Clang-!

With a loud ringing sound, Seung-yeon’s sword was sent flying high into the sky.

“Argh!”

Despite the positional advantage of slashing down from above, she had lost her sword in just one exchange.

This was directly related to the reason why the Sword Saint Kato’s design was said to be bizarre.

Sword Saint Kato’s sword cannot be perfectly blocked unless it is a perfect parry.

Of course, it is possible to somehow block it if it is a successful parry that has been buffed.

However, there is a penalty of tingling in the grip and a slight stiffening of the body.

It’s not for nothing that there is no proper strategy for him.

Just enduring is quite difficult because you have to keep getting successful parries against the Sword Saint Kato’s attacks.

In addition, even if you succeed in parrying, the more you parry the attacks, the more penalties are given to your body, so you will eventually fall helplessly.

That was Samurai Hearts’ official strongest boss, Sword Saint Kato.

‘I failed, though!’

Losing the sword in one exchange like Seung-yeon meant that she had failed to parry from the start.

Usually, you block it successfully at least once, but she failed even that.

It was truly a bleak physical ability.

“Pathetic.”

There is no mercy that the Sword Saint will show to a swordsman who has lost his sword.

The Sword Saint’s sword, with a cold gaze, drew a large X.

“Kyaa!”

Splat-!

Seung-yeon fell to the ground, spilling red blood through the cracked armor.

It was even more surprising because it took only less than 1 second.

-1 second kill real?

-The Sword Saint’s “Pathetic” declaration came out!

-I didn’t expect it lol

‘No, everyone! What did you expect from me? I’m Victoria, Victoria! A spicy taste specialist streamer!’

-Even so, a 1 second kill is a bit…

-Victoria is bad at games

-This is the real ‘Hello-goodbye technique’

Seung-yeon, who was in observer mode because one person was still in the boss fight, talked to the viewers.

It was her usual broadcast scene where Seung-yeon, who was bad at games, babbled and the viewers who gave advice were annoyed.

However, what was different from usual this time was the fact that her brother was broadcasting with her.

Dohyun, who was playing VR games for the first time.