After finishing the mission The Setting Sun, I went down the hill where I first spawned and headed to a nearby village. On my way, I noticed there were lots of useful resources for crafting and selling that I could pick up along the road. As I got closer, I met an NPC standing at the village gate. They were dressed in white, looking like a healer—at least that’s what I thought. The NPC warned me about bandits causing trouble for the villagers ahead. Then, they handed me an Earthenware Ball, which could distract enemies for a short time.
When I entered the village, I got a pop-up about “Public Order.” It explained that defeating all troublemakers in a chaotic area improves your bond with the location, allowing villagers to move freely and giving you special rewards. I found this gameplay mechanic really cool. On the map, these areas with trouble are marked by red dots. As I entered the village, I saw a scared couple of NPCs—one man and one woman—running for their lives. They didn’t even notice me. It was clear how terrified they were. I decided I had to free this village. Yep, hero vibes, haha. I am the hero haha.
Soon, the first enemy appeared. Armed with a spear, they came at me, but I was ready with my twin swords. The arm-slicing effect was super satisfying for a samurai or ronin game like this. Blood splattered on the ground—so satisfying, haha. Then, more enemies started showing up. I got better at snapping photos during fights. The blood effects were intense, especially when I managed to slash enemies’ bodies. This game is brutal—decapitating enemies is normal here xD. Aside from swords, I also loved using guns. A perfect headshot either shattered or severed the head completely. Brutal, but fun! yeah..
Later, I found the boss of the bandits hanging out in a building, casually sipping on a drink. I didn’t want to fight inside, so I lured him outside for the battle. My twin swords really came in handy here. Unfortunately, I missed taking screenshots of some key moments because the photo mode is so clunky! Long story short, I beat the boss and got a new sword and gauntlets as rewards.
Once all the enemies were defeated, the village came back to life with NPCs everywhere. The white-robed NPC from earlier was now inside the central building, revealed as an Apothecary selling and buying items. Nice! I also noticed lots of NPC couples chatting romantically all over the village, which made me laugh a bit. The village chief, wearing green, was chilling peacefully with a drink, too—good for him, haha.
I kept exploring north of the village and ran into another enemy base. A fight broke out, and there was no avoiding it. Sadly, I missed a lot of good screenshots again because of the annoying photo mode. But I did manage to grab a few during my adventure while roaming in the first area, the village of Honmoku.
