Shift! The Side-Character Heroine Chapter 481

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The finalized trailer was as expected of typical Zha Feng, every bit pretentious, mysterious. The narrator’s weird and incomprehensible narration only added on to the puzzlement of the players. Players were somehow amazed, without knowing what they were actually watching
It had the same effect as one of those hipster, stream of consciousness [1] literature. It was a more direct form of abstract painting, except that instead of being disfigured, the characters inside were all handsome and beautiful, and had their cool, theatrical skills to complement on it!
After all, this was Li Xiye the Sword God. Legend had it that the descendants of Li Chungang, the Sword Deity in green clothes, had the surname “Li,” but it was unknown if they were actually related.
Li Xiye’s sword was known for its precision. He drew his sword at speeds humans simply could not comprehend. His enemies would barely have time to register the reflection from his blade before it ran through them. “In this world, some traitorous characters would always elude you. It is during that moment when you run your sword through their throats, where you would see their blood flowing down the length of your sword. If only you could witness this moment of glory – you would learn of its unparalleled beauty.” Li Xiye had once said this to players. His facial expression had remained as cold as ever, while his blade sent a chill down their spines.
Li Xiye often sang about how alone he felt in the world of peerless masters. Almost no one could defeat him in this world, as his every move was full of class, and he was extremely strong. This was why he was called the “The King of Pretentiousness.” This was to come as natural. To the players, no one was as pretentious as him in the game…
Some fearless NPCs would also try to be pretentious in front of Li Xiye. As a result, they would be dead before his blade stopped leaving its sheath.
Li Xiye had always been as expressive as a statue. This was probably his only way of giving off the aura of a master. Then, why was he so different in this trailer?
That grave and complicated expression. Did he seem to be battling an immense, inner conflict?
Curiosity was threatening to kill the players. They waited to see him utter one more line to shed some light on that most uncharacteristic showing only for the scene to fade out, and Yan Qingmeng filled the screen with her class and poise. She too wielded a sword. The sword was no less than that of the King of Pretentious’ holy sword. It carried a cryptic name – “colorless.””Colorless Sword” had been named that way, because its master had seen through the mundane world and its ‘color.’
It had an equally colorless origin. It was said that the head of Chunyang School [2] had once fancied a nun, and that a certain quote was even related to Buddhism. It said, “Form is emptiness, and emptiness form”!
Yan Qingmeng was no Buddhist nun, she was a Taoist nun. That made things easier. However, she would also face a heart-breaking moment. The other person would claim that she was just a Taoist nun friend of his.
It was probably from that moment when she truly understood why her sword had been named “Colorless.”
This “other person” would probably be the game’s player. After all, players would sometimes hope that when they reached the ending of the harem, they would want all of the female characters to say that they loved him. However, they could only choose one of them when faced with a deathmatch.
Sometimes, players did not even have a choice in their hands. They each had their own wives, so obviously, they had to tell their wives and friends that Yan Qingmeng was just a Taoist nun friend. It was rather pitiful for the righteous deity to unexpectedly become someone’s mistress.
Long story short, countless players would be attracted to buying Yan Qingmeng’s shares. They would even abandon their original wives for her. In the end, only platonic love could exist between them. Wasn’t that tragically beautiful?
By then, players who were convinced that they would be treated to some fanservice CG, would be willing to fight on Yan Qingmeng’s behalf would even hold raise swords at their once friends and lovers – as if it would anger them to death…
Yan Qingmeng was an outstanding master. She did not trail too far behind Li Xiye. Li Xiye’s sword had been sharpened by the whetbones of countless people. If you sharpened your blade by killing more victims, it could only be considered divine swordsmanship
“My sword is not only to be looked at.” Li Xiye had once coldly said, his face indifferent.
Yan Qingmeng’s sword was more of a Tai Chi Sword. It bent and wormed about, contorting and finding new angles with each thrust. She fought in a way that deceived anyone who fought her into delusions of grandeur, that they were actually an equal match to her.
She was also a highly capable open-handed combatant. Her skills did not end at the sword.
However, the trailer featured swordsman after swordswoman. It was very theatrical and dramatic. Most importantly, “Tale of Wuxia 3” had these words trailing after it Swords of the Future. Apparently, swords also turned out to be one of the rarest weapons in the game.
Very few players actually used swords. Instead, they usually swung about big knives, big axes, and big shields. There were also weapons like the “bow and arrow of justice, flying knife, and pulverized lime.” It was f*cking embarrassing!
Everyone was part of the Jianghu. Wouldn’t it be pathetic if everyone wielded shields and training their bodies like golden cloaks [3], resulting in HP bars that took up half the screen? Did we not agree on “swords of the future”? What’s with this wall of shields?
Such foolish methods were claimed by many skilled players as the most effective and easiest way of clearing the game. Just play the game like a turn-based game. You could always hide behind your shield and slap them with it when they’re done. A high HP high defense monster only made it easier than ever. Everyone wanted to be a swordsman, but you would need to have the skills first
The coolest players would go full agility. Even if they were fighting the big boss, they would go with low HP that would increase their attack power in turn. It would be violent and swift, and their hearts would try jumping out of their chests.
Such skilled players often thought that they were assassins playing “The Dead Man’s Pesticide” [4]. They had high attack power but low HP, and rarely ever tumbled about. However, this player went down easily. If he hated that, he should instead play as an easily controllable Brainless Flesh.
Unsurprisingly, the new trailer revealed new maps and kingdoms. One of them would be the Kingdom of Zhao. The base game barely touched the Kingdom of Zhao. Even Forbidden City had not yet been built up. Su Hu the tyrant was a madman and lived a life of extravagance. In the base game, he had been nothing more than an stereotypical, bland tyrannical character. In the DLC, his Kingdom of Zhao seemed to gain more substance and body. It seemed to be an entirely new game, rather than a DLC.
At the same time, the Kingdom of Zhao housed a mysterious, nameless city’s organization. Legends said that it was the utopia in the dark days. The nameless city organization’s housed nameless, true swordsmen, and they often handed out a helping hand for the weak
The CG flashed a few instances of Jane Doe Su’s shadowy silhouette that stood out among the skyline. She appeared in such a way that players would easily dismiss her shadow as additional fluff, if they even caught sight of her, to begin with.
After the short trailer finished, the many loyal, skilled players and uploaders grew agitated in anticipation. Some grand masters started jumping into Tieba and kick started threads that were rife with speculations and analysis.
It would strike the market in August at a selling price of RMB 78.
Translation note:
[1] “Stream of consciousness” () means a literary style in which a character’s thoughts, feelings, and reactions are depicted in a continuous flow uninterrupted by objective description or conventional dialogue.
[2] “Chunyang School” () is one of the schools in the game “JX Online 3”
[3] “Golden cloak” () is a magic ability to sustain the thrusts of sharp weapons on one’s bare skin.
[4] “The Dead Man’s Pesticide” () is a pun on the mobile game King of Glory.