Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 170: Found the Rhythm!

Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Found the Rhythm!

Gan Di’s observational ability was indeed extraordinary. After carefully watching his own battle recordings, he quickly discerned a pattern.

It was this: there seemed to be a strong correlation between the Perfect Parry and the subsequent attack!

When controlling Li Huanzhen to attack the Great General, Gan Di would encounter three scenarios.

The first scenario was that the Great General had no parrying action and got slashed;

The second scenario was that the Great General parried, but imperfectly, still losing a slight amount of health and stamina;

The third scenario was that the Great General executed a Perfect Parry, not losing health and only a minuscule amount of stamina, while causing Li Huanzhen’s posture gauge to increase.

Gan Di found that these three scenarios tended to cycle within three consecutive strikes!

That is to say, starting with a "Perfect Parry of the Great General’s attack," the first, second, and third strikes he swung back at the Great General corresponded to these three scenarios.

If he struck a fourth time, continuing the attack after the Great General’s Perfect Parry, then he was certain to get hit.

Gan Di’s eyes lit up as he finally realized the hidden mechanics of the game in combat.

"I got it!

"In this game, there is a strong correlation between the Perfect Parry and counterattacks!

"The one who executes a Perfect Parry will definitely strike faster than the opponent on the next move!

"Hmm, this mechanic makes a lot of sense. After all, the effect of a ’Perfect Parry’ is not only to prevent oneself from getting injured but also to deflect the opponent’s attack, causing their stance to falter, while my own posture remains unaffected.

"So under such circumstances, my next attack will definitely be faster than the opponent’s.

"This logic even holds true in the real world!

"Now I understand when to start attacking!

"Simply put, as long as ’the enemy does not execute a Perfect Parry,’ I can keep attacking continuously; but once ’the enemy executes a Perfect Parry,’ their next strike will surely be faster than mine, so I must immediately stop attacking and prepare to parry!

"And when I don’t land a Perfect Parry, I shouldn’t counterattack, because at that moment my action is slower than the enemy’s. But as soon as I land a Perfect Parry, I will inevitably have a chance to counter!"

Having suddenly grasped this concept, Gan Di felt as if he had instantly opened the door to a new world.

He couldn’t wait to fight the Great General again!

And after mastering this pattern, Gan Di suddenly realized that he didn’t need to rely on his own reactions to dismantle moves; he could completely predict what the Great General would do based on his previous actions!

At this point, the battle strangely took on a peculiar rhythm.

If described through sound effects, it would be: "thud, clang, cling! Cling! Thud, clang, cling! Cling!..." and so on in a cycle.

"Thud" is the sound of Li Huanzhen’s first slash landing on the unparried Great General, the sound of a blade chopping into flesh and armor;

"Clang" is the sound of Li Huanzhen’s second slash hitting the Great General’s imperfect parry, a less crisp metallic clashing noise;

The first "cling" indicates Li Huanzhen’s third slash being Perfectly Parried by the Great General, a very crisp metallic clash, also bursting out spectacularly dazzling sparks;

The second "cling" is the Great General’s counter-slash after his Perfect Parry, Perfectly Parried by Li Huanzhen, equally a very crisp metallic clash;

Then Gan Di, controlling Li Huanzhen, counter-slashed again, the first strike still a sure hit, thus returning to this cycle.

However, this cycle wasn’t unchangeable. The Great General might still execute some unique moves, such as high-low attacks, thrusts and throws.

But these special moves all had very distinct wind-up actions, and the special moves for each phase were relatively fixed, relatively easy to memorize, and even with reaction alone, the average player could probably cope.

Previously, Gan Di felt that his reaction speed was insufficient, mainly because he couldn’t keep up with the Great General’s regular attacks.

But now that he could predict the Great General’s normal moves, the game’s difficulty suddenly became manageable.

It even felt quite rhythmic to play!

Before, Gan Di had relied almost purely on luck to reach the third phase, but now, he was becoming more and more proficient, more and more effortless. Soon, he was already able to pass the first two phases almost without injury!

Gan Di’s livestream originally didn’t have much viewership, and now it was nearly two o’clock in the morning, leading to an even smaller audience.

There were hardly any bullet comments left, but with Gan Di’s stunning performance, viewers who were dozing off were suddenly blown away.

"Holy shit! What’s happening?"

"Are you hacking? Don’t get me wrong, I mean did you have an epiphany?"

"The host didn’t have such quick reflexes before, right? How come they’re all Perfect Parry now?"

"Just now he was getting thrashed, and now he’s clearing a phase unscathed?"

"All Perfect Parries, this picture, this sound, it’s simply a treat for the eyes and ears!"

"Isn’t this game about getting beat up by the BOSS one-sidedly like a dead dog? How can it be so cool?"

The audience was completely shocked, and some even started sending gifts.

After several attempts, Gan Di could now consistently enter the Great General’s third stage with only using one or two potions.

Although the Great General’s attack patterns change in the third stage, using many tentacles holding weapons to attack in turns and no longer following the previously summarized rules, Gan Di also found that it was okay to just switch his train of thought under this mode.

The Great General’s third-stage tentacle attacks come in rounds; depending on the length of the tentacles and the weapons they’re wielding, the rhythm of one such round of attacks is about "clang, clang-clang-clang-clang, clang-clang-clang, clang-clang".

During this round of attacks, players absolutely cannot counter-attack, otherwise, they will surely get hit.

If the rhythm isn’t well-mastered, there will be too many imperfect parries in this round of attacks, which could likely lead to a breakdown.

Once the posture bar breaks down, the subsequent attacks would most likely kill Li Huanzhen instantly.

But conversely, if one can get used to this rhythm and Perfect Parry most of the attacks, not only can a lot of posture gauge be added to the Great General, but powerful Weapon Skills can be deployed during the big openings that follow.

"Isn’t this just like a rhythm game?"

The moment he thought of this, Gan Di was no longer sleepy.

If regarded as an action game, it’s indeed difficult, but if considered a rhythm game, it’s much simpler!

As long as the general rhythm is remembered, the third stage is actually quite easy!

With focused and serious gameplay, Gan Di managed to pass the Great General’s third stage smoothly after about five attempts!

The screen transitioned to a cutscene where the Great General, now a creature of flesh, had not died. It slowly stood up and wrapped its flesh tentacles around the eaves, leaping down from the attic of the imperial palace.

Thereafter, Li Huanzhen got to meet the Little Emperor of Great Liang, and the two NPCs, Priestess Xie and Zhao Siyuan, also moved from the original Taoist temple to the imperial palace.

After a segment of story dialogue, Li Huanzhen set a new objective, which was to head to the Monastery of True Words, Crane Valley, and Immortal Village to obtain three key items: the "Relic Sword," "Red Flesh Crest," and "Tai Sui Polymer."

While watching the storyline, Gan Di reviewed his recordings on a second screen to summarize his experience.

He even formed new speculations under this mechanism.

"’Chop Three Frameworks in One’, this mechanism is totally viable! This strategy works against most humanoid monsters.

"Thinking back on the elite monsters and BOSSes I fought in a daze before, most of them can be approached using this method!

"And... ’Chop Two Frameworks in One’ or even ’Chop One Framework in One’ also seem feasible!

"Moreover, when dealing with some BOSSes, it might even be more logical than ’Chop Three Frameworks in One’?"

Clearly, Gan Di had realized that he could take advantage of the relationship between Perfect Parries and counterattacks.

If the BOSS will Perfect Parry on the third strike and is guaranteed to have a quick counterattack afterward, then what would happen if I don’t make the third strike?

The answer is, it would greatly increase the margin for error during combat!

After a player’s Perfect Parry, the first strike is of highest benefit (BOSS loses health), the second strike is of small benefit (BOSS imperfectly parries, losing some health), the third strike has no benefit (BOSS Perfect Parries), and the fourth strike results in negative benefit (taking hits).

Since the BOSS will Perfect Parry on the third strike, although it can drain a small amount of the boss’s stamina bar, the next strike by the BOSS will be a very fast counter-slash. If the parry is too slow, it’s easy to get hit.

So, by giving up on the third strike and only chopping the first two before waiting for the BOSS to make a move, the BOSS’s attack speed won’t be too fast, leaving ample time for reaction and preparation, naturally greatly increasing the success rate.

Gan Di was immediately invigorated, and his sleepiness vanished: "Pick me up! I’m gonna take on ten!!"