Reincarnated as the Descendant of a Fallen Noble

Chapter  60: Kreveion Subjugation. (3)

At that moment, outside the tent.

“Grrrrrrr……”

“Y-Young Master! Are you all right?!”

“Do not come in.”

“B-but!”

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr……”

Groans of pain could be heard from inside.

Everyone paced anxiously around the tent.

He had gone in carrying a load of skull puffer poison and now was making those sounds—who could be at ease?

“Sir Manton, are you sure it’s really okay to just do nothing?”

“…He said not to come in.”

Manton replied as he rubbed his forehead, swollen and red.

It was clear he had tried to enter the tent several times only to be driven back out.

‘Is he really all right?’

He had been groaning inside for tens of minutes now, yet refused to let anyone in—it was enough to make anyone go mad from worry.

At that moment, Mikkelsen asked,

“Sir Knight. Are you sure he’s really okay?”

“That’s…”

“What if he’s been poisoned by the pufferfish?”

Sweat beaded on Manton’s forehead, and a look of panic spread across his face.

If only they knew what he was doing in there—it would be some relief. But they didn’t know a thing, which only made it worse.

“Grrrrrrrr……”

Once again, a groan leaked out, and white smoke began to waft from the entrance of the tent.

‘What the hell is going on?’

After a few more minutes of that—

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Instead of groaning, the ground began to tremble as if something was being struck from within.

“This is seriously not normal. Beryl, you should go check on him.”

“W-why don’t you go?”

“…No way. Why should I?”

As Mikkelsen and Beryl hesitated and pushed the responsibility on each other—

“……”

At some point, even the groaning had stopped completely.

“D-did he finish?”

“Shouldn’t we check?”

…Surely nothing really happened in there, right?

Just as everyone stood frozen, sneaking glances at each other with fear on their faces—

Gulp.

Manton steeled his resolve and spoke in a grave tone.

“…I’m going in. Young Master.”

Step.

He cautiously stepped into the tent.

Then—

‘This is…’

There was Hardin, his entire body flushed red, breathing heavily.

White steam rose from his body, and beside him lay an empty crate.

Manton’s eyes widened.

Could it be…

“Y-Young Master. Did you drink the poison?”

“……”

“I-I’ll bring a physician right away!”

Just as Manton panicked and tried to back away—

Whoosh!

Hardin lifted his head.

“That’s not necessary.”

His eyes were filled with force, steam escaped from his lips.

His body trembled so violently it was visible to the eye.

Moreover—

‘This aura…’

A vile and intense energy, like having one’s skin flayed with a blade.

Just being in the same space made it hard to breathe.

No matter who looked, it was clear he wasn’t in a normal state.

“But Young Master—”

“Raaaghhh!”

Thud!

Hardin suddenly sprang up and bolted forward.

With his fists clenched, he charged like a beast, wearing a look that could eat someone alive.

‘…?!’

Manton instinctively took a defensive stance in surprise.

“Out of the way!”

As Hardin ran past, his shoulder collided with Manton—

Slam! Crash!

“Guh!”

Manton’s body flew out of the tent like a scarecrow.

“W-what the—?”

“What’s going on?!”

Startled knights moved aside, and even the mercenaries flinched and stepped back.

“Out of the waaaay!”

Right through the middle of them, Hardin—his whole body flushed red—charged like a raging bull.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

“Eek!”

People were pushed back in waves, and a clear path opened where Hardin had passed.

Then—

Crash! Smash!

Nearby tents were smashed to pieces and sent flying as they collided with Hardin’s body.

“……”

What… the hell is happening?

Everyone could only gape in shock.

Meanwhile, Hardin disappeared beyond the ridge.

“L-let’s go after him!”

“Ah… yes!”

Everyone scrambled to follow, and when they reached the ridge, they saw Hardin sprinting toward the shore.

“How is he that fast?”

Tap tap tap tap tap!

Hardin ran so furiously that his feet were practically invisible.

He reached the sand—

“Yaaaaaah!”

He shouted once more and leaped high into the air.

His body soared. No—it seemed to fly, that’s how high he jumped.

‘……?!’

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock, their expressions stunned.

Hardin landed over the sea and began running across the water, accelerating further.

Splaash! Splaash! Splaash!

Hardin’s body didn’t sink—he was running on water.

“……”

A sight so unreal, they couldn’t even close their mouths.

After around ten steps, Hardin’s body began to submerge.

“H-he’ll be okay, right?”

The mercenaries and knights stood silently, blinking and watching.

A strange silence lingered for a while.

“H-hey… he’s not coming back up. Shouldn’t we go check?”

“Y-yeah, let’s go.”

Just as everyone was about to rush toward the shore—

“Yaaahhh!”

Hardin burst from the water near the beach, sending up a spray.

Then he kept splashing seawater onto his face and over his entire body.

“Huff, huff, huuuff…”

Soaked from head to toe, Hardin placed a hand on his lower abdomen and closed his eyes.

Wooooooong!

The energy and size had become clearer.

His core had grown larger than before, with thicker walls.

Well, his original core had been small to begin with, so even now it couldn’t be called enormous.

Still, the power to draw in and expel mana had clearly grown compared to before.

Not only that, but the capacity to hold mana at once had also…

‘At this level, purely by mana, I’d be considered mid-tier among Second Stars.’

If I made use of the insight and swordsmanship I possessed… I could definitely take on even more powerful opponents.

Clench.

Hardin gripped his fist tightly.

A fierce blue light flared in his eyes, and veins rose across his body.

Boom!

The moment his fist slammed into the water, a pillar of water shot high into the air.

‘He… did that with his fist?’

Everyone’s faces tilted upward, filled with shock.

As the towering water column eventually came crashing back down into the sea—

‘It’s time.’

Just you wait, you damn ‘crab’.

I’m going to slice you up into tiny pieces.

With a shadow darkening his face, Hardin glared toward the distant Rocky Isle.

---

The next day around noon, in front of the shoreline—

“Ohh, are they heading out now?”

“That’s what I heard.”

—Shaaa, shaaa!

The villagers of Mudside, Daphne Knights, the Maw mercenaries, and the Sahagin all gathered together.

Bustling.

Everyone had formed a crowd along the coast.

One thing particularly noteworthy was…

“Whoa. I feel so light today, Beryl.”

“I know, right? Yesterday I felt like I was dying, but now… I don’t know how this happened…”

The fatigue had vanished from the faces of the knights and mercenaries. As if overflowing with energy, they began swinging their swords at the air or throwing punches for no reason.

—Hey, eat this.

—…What is it?

—It’s good for your body. Just eat it.

—Wait, this isn’t made from pufferfish poison or something… right?

—It is. Eat it.

—What?

—You won’t die. Just eat it.

After Hardin blew the tent away yesterday,

He handed the knights and mercenaries pieces of the Heart of the Sea he had personally made (broken into very small pieces…).

No, to be more accurate, he practically forced them to eat it.

—Aaaagh, my stomach! My stomach! I’m gonna die!

—Diarrhea! Diarrheaaa…

—Uuugh!

A burning pain gripped their stomachs, and sweat poured down their foreheads like rain.

Everyone thought they were going to die without a doubt…

But after a night’s sleep, their bodies were miraculously fine.

No—beyond that, they could clearly feel their mana had grown more abundant than before.

Manton, sneaking glances at Hardin, cautiously asked,

“Um, Young Master. That medicine you gave us yesterday… what exactly was it?”

“I told you. It’s skull puffer poison.”

“But is it really possible for mana to increase after taking pufferfish poison?”

“Trade secret.”

“But—”

“That’s enough.”

“…Understood.”

For a moment, Manton lowered his head slightly, then looked at Hardin with a notably serious expression.

‘…He’s serious.’

When I first heard about the Kreveion subjugation, I thought it was absurd.

Drunk on the victory of the territorial war, intoxicated by his own strength and rapid progress.

I figured it was just youthful bravado—charging into something reckless for the sake of doing it.

Well, considering I went along with it, I’m not exactly sane either…

But after taking the medicine Hardin gave us yesterday, my mind changed.

The mana within my body had clearly increased.

Something that would normally take at least half a year of training for an average person had been achieved in just a few days.

Now, every word and action of Hardin’s feels meaningful.

‘Just how… did the Young Master become this way?’

As Manton stared intently at Hardin—

“There he is!”

A shout came from behind, and the villagers moved aside.

“Brother! I’ve arrived!”

Behind two wagons, something massive was being dragged toward the shoreline.

Third Young Master Malion, riding beside the coachman, waved to Hardin.

Hardin waved back in greeting.

Shortly after, Malion stepped down from the driver’s seat upon reaching the formation, and Hardin quickly asked,

“The boat?”

“I brought it. Come take a look.”

When Malion raised a thumbs-up and pointed behind him, Hardin naturally moved in that direction.

“Whoa… that thing looks downright brutal.”

“Well, it has to be at least this much.”

What had been dragged here with several thick ropes was a large fishing boat, big enough to carry a dozen or so people.

More precisely, it was a discarded fishing boat that had been refurbished.

It seemed they had done the modifications nearby and hauled it here by placing round logs underneath.

The most distinct features of the boat were the thick iron plates attached to the bottom and the dozen or so holes punched into the hull.

Clang! Clang!

When Hardin tapped the iron with his hand, a heavy metallic sound echoed.

“How thick is this thing?”

“About a hand span. It needs to be that thick to withstand impact.”

“Nice. Real nice.”

At this level, it was practically an ironclad.

Nodding in approval, Hardin turned to the side and spoke,

“Alright, get the boat down. We’re heading out right away. Don’t use any mana until we reach the island.”

“Understood.”

The knights and mercenaries naturally clustered around the wagons.

Then they loosened the ropes and began lifting the boat onto their shoulders.

The problem was…

“Ughhhhhh!”

“W-why is this thing so heavy?!”

Due to the added iron plating, the boat’s weight was absolutely outrageous.

Even with a dozen people per group lifting it, their legs trembled.

Hardin grinned slyly.

‘Preparation’s all done.’

A sturdy boat that would never sink was ready, the Sahagin were there to drag it across the sea, and everyone had gotten stronger after consuming the Heart of the Sea.

Now, all that remained was to charge toward Rocky Isle.

Hardin turned around and shouted at the mercenaries and knights with a solemn expression.

“Everyone, thank you for all the hard work in getting ready up until today.”

A customary departure speech before an important battle for the knight order.

Well, the situation was what it was, so there wouldn’t be anything grand, but at least a few words were necessary.

“Today, we’re heading to that Rocky Isle! I know you’re all scared and nervous. But if we succeed in this subjugation, we’ll be able to give the people of Mudside their lives back. And that, in turn, means—”

“Y-Young Master!”

At that moment, Beryl shouted urgently.

Hardin frowned and asked,

“What.”

“Can we just go now? M-my shoulders are about to give out.”

“……”

Their bodies trembling, sweat pouring down their foreheads.

Hardin narrowed his eyes and asked,

“I gave you tonics yesterday, and you’re saying it’s too heavy now?”

“You told us not to use mana!”

“…Fine.”

These punks, seriously no sense of timing.

Hardin scratched his head and said,

“Alright, let’s skip the rest and head out.”

“Y-yeah, let’s go! Quick!”

Shaking his head, Hardin began walking toward the sandy beach.

—Shaaa! Shaaaa!

A few Sahagin nearby, not knowing any better, rushed forward.

Crash! Slash!

“Get lost, you bastards.”

With a single stroke, he cut down several of them, and the rest hesitated and backed away.

Turning his head slightly, Hardin said,

“You guys just make sure to handle the Sahagin.”

“Y-yes!”

—Shaaaaaa!

The village chief and a few villagers followed behind, dragging the Sahagin bound with ropes.

And so, as Hardin and the Sahagin trudged across the sand—

Screams echoed from behind.

“Eek! My feet… my feet keep sinking into the sand!”

“I-it’s too heavyyyy!”

“Hey, front! Why aren’t you putting in any effort?!”

“I am putting in effort?!”

One guy staggered because his foot got stuck, another was slyly slacking off, and another lost his balance.

It was chaos—they couldn’t even move the boat properly.

‘Seriously… Are these grown men really struggling with this?’

All they had to do was match their pace, keep their balance, and walk steadily—simple as that…

Hardin shook his head in disbelief and shouted,

“Hurry up! Are we camping here for the night or what?!”

“B-but!”

“It’s too heavy, Young Master! Can’t we at least use mana?!”

“I said no! Then what are you going to fight the crab with?”

“Then how are we supposed to move quickly?!”

“With effort! And motivation!”

Hardin smiled brightly, giving a thumbs-up.

‘…Infuriating.’

‘If I could, I’d smack him.’

‘What the hell is he even saying?!’

Crack.

Dark expressions of hostility began to surface on the faces of the Daphne Knights and Maw mercenaries.