Reincarnated as the Descendant of a Fallen Noble

Chapter 55: What’s Wrong With the Sea? (1)

Around the time the sun was slowly rising toward its peak.

Clatter, clatter!

Along the road where the sea breeze blew, dozens of horses moved forward escorting two carriages.

They were knights of Daphne and members of the Maw Mercenaries.

Lying sprawled on top of a cargo bed loaded with food, Hardin chewed on some jerky and then stuck his head out to ask,

“Ugh, I’m getting motion sickness. Are we there yet?”

“We’re almost there.”

Manton, the training instructor seated on the coachman's bench, replied with a troubled expression.

“You’ve been saying that for an hour now, haven’t you?”

“We’ll arrive in 20 to 30 minutes.”

“That’s how you should’ve said it.”

Hardin let out a huff through his nose, gulped down the jerky, and cast a glance at Manton.

 Brother, just join the procession Manton is leading tomorrow.

 Manton? He’s the one delivering the food?

 Yes, he’s originally from Mudside. He volunteers every time we send relief food.

 Ah... is that so? Then things will go smoothly.

Just like Malion said, this guy seemed to know the ins and outs of the local issues.

That’s why I laid down in his carriage and kept grilling him the whole way here.

Why haven’t the Sahagin been driven out yet, what have the knights been doing, what exactly is so difficult, and so on.

Every time I brought something up, Manton would answer with a face like he was about to cry.

To sum up everything that guy said in a word…

‘The Sahagin of Mudside are different.’

It wasn’t much different from what the Third Young Master had said.

The Sahagin in Mudside kept appearing no matter how many were killed, were highly aggressive, and didn’t respond to threats.

Does that even make sense? They’re not even undead.

‘They probably just did a sloppy job.’

It’ll be different when I do it. When I do it.

Hardin shook his head and tapped a bundle of luggage placed beside him.

It didn’t seem like a big deal, but it was a secret anti-Sahagin weapon he had brought just in case.

As long as he used this, getting rid of the Sahagin would be nothing.

With a sly grin, Hardin looked up at the sky and thought,

‘What will the village look like?’

Since he reincarnated into this new body, he hadn’t seen the sea or a coastal village even once.

Just thinking about breathing in the sea breeze after so long made his nose twitch for no reason.

Cheerful and boisterous coastal villagers, fishing boats floating on the blue sea, and seagulls flying along the shore picking up food scraps.

Imagining that scenery made him feel a cool yet musty salty smell in the air.

Nice, real nice.

It already felt like something was clearing up in his chest.

At that moment, Manton’s voice came from the front.

“We’re here, Young Master. That’s the village.”

“Huh? This is it?”

Hardin sat up and looked around.

‘Where’s the sea?’

Far from looking like a coastal village, all he could see was a shabby grassland with patches of poorly grown grass.

As Hardin looked around with a puzzled expression, Manton pointed to the side with his hand and said,

“It’s not straight ahead, it’s over that way.”

“...Huh?”

In that moment, Hardin’s eyes widened.

A dozen or so crude tents that looked like they’d been patched together with scraps of cloth and branches.

Around them were lands too barren to even be called fields, where people were bent over doing something.

“Why are they... farming?”

Coastal villages usually didn’t farm much.

The soil near the sea was inherently salty, and with the sea wind constantly blowing in, crops couldn’t grow properly, making farming inefficient.

Fishing or trading through the port was far more profitable in every way, so there should be no reason for them to be farming...

‘But they are farming?’

Manton sighed and said,

“I told you, didn’t I? The coastline is currently inaccessible because of the Sahagin.”

“Still, what kind of coastal folks are out here farming...?”

Would anything even grow from that kind of farming?

Even though he had been told, witnessing the unfamiliar sight firsthand was unsettling.

Moreover...

‘What’s wrong with those people?’

From children to women, most of the villagers were skin and bones, as if their flesh had been stripped away.

Their faces were full of wrinkles and shadows, with flies buzzing around them.

There wasn’t even a trace of the typical boldness and spirit seen in seafaring people.

Just from a glance, he could feel it.

This place was in serious trouble.

As Hardin scratched his head—

“Hyah!”

“Neighhh!”

The horses and carriages came to a stop nearby.

When Manton got down from the coachman's seat, the villagers' eyes immediately turned toward them.

“Come and get your food! It’s relief food.”

“Ah... food has arrived.”

“Let’s go, everyone.”

The people roughly tossed aside their farming tools and staggered toward the carriages like zombies.

Meanwhile, the knights of Daphne and the mercenaries dismounted and began stacking the food neatly on the ground.

At that moment, an elderly man came over to Manton, tapping his lower back, and asked,

“You’re here, Manton.”

“Ah, yes. Chief. Have things been alright?”

“Cough, cough! Well... always the same.”

“What about the Sahagin?”

“They came up this way again once this week. Vinson got hurt.”

When the chief turned his head slightly to the side, a young man with a bandaged arm came into view.

“I see… So that’s what happened.”

A bitter expression crossed Manton’s face.

Soon, when most of the villagers had gathered near the carriages—

Thud!

“Well, hello there!”

Hardin lightly jumped down from the cargo bed, waving his hand with a big smile on his face.

The village chief blinked and asked,

“Manton, who is that gentleman…?”

“Ah, that’s the Young Master.”

“The Young Master?”

“He wanted to personally inspect our village this time.”

“…”

The eyes of the village chief and the villagers widened.

Then, all of them quickly bowed deeply, their faces stiff with tension.

“W-Welcome, sir!”

“…Ah, good day to you! Please forgive us for not recognizing you sooner.”

They looked utterly terrified, as if they had committed some sort of crime.

It felt like watching a bunch of frightened puppies.

It didn’t feel like a coastal village—more like some remote settlement of slash-and-burn farmers.

“We’re always thankful for the food you send us.”

“We’re sorry we’ve been of no help to the house. We’re working hard, so if you could just look on us kindly…”

Their voices trembled as they spoke.

Hardin bit his lip tightly.

‘They’ve completely lost their spirit.’

They weren’t self-sufficient, relying on relief food, and now they were even trying to farm on useless land.

They probably felt self-conscious, maybe even ashamed.

It felt like being poked with needles in the chest just watching them.

Hardin let out a deep sigh, then shaped his eyes into crescents and shouted cheerfully,

“Come on, lift your heads. You didn’t commit any crimes, did you? Smile, smile! Today’s a good day!”

“A good day…?”

When the village chief tilted his head, Hardin patted his chest and continued,

“Today, I and these guys here came to wipe out those damn Sahagin once and for all. We’ll make sure you can stretch out your legs and sleep peacefully from now on.”

“Ah… y-yes.”

At that, the village chief and the villagers reluctantly nodded in response.

“What’s with those faces? I told you, we’re going to wipe out all the Sahagin!”

“Your words alone are more than enough, Young Master.”

“Come on now, I’m not just talking. I’m really here to take care of them!”

While Hardin boasted confidently, Manton, who had been staring at him, spoke with a gloomy face.

“Young Master, if you make promises you can’t keep… it’ll only deepen everyone’s disappointment.”

“What do you mean, can’t keep? I told you I can take care of them all. Don’t you trust me?”

“…It’s not that, but still, there’s always a chance something might go wrong.”

Hardin stuck out his chest and said,

“Be reasonable. I’m Hardin—Hardin! You think I can’t take care of some Sahagin?”

“I’ve told you multiple times already, but the Sahagin here are… very different—”

“Alright, enough talk. Show me the way. I’m going to deal with them right now.”

Hardin grinned as he slung the bundle containing his secret weapon over his shoulder.

Seeing that, Manton let out a long, deep sigh and said,

“Then… please follow me.”

His face was filled with worry.

---

A short while later, on a hill a little away from the village.

Hardin, Manton, and their subordinates stood in a line, gazing down into the distance below.

“Disgusting.”

“Damn bastards…”

Manton and the knights sighed deeply.

“What the hell?”

“Holy… crap…”

Hardin and the mercenaries groaned as they looked around in disbelief.

Stretching along the shoreline before them was a long sandy beach.

There lay the ruins of what used to be a fishing village.

The real problem was…

 Shaaaa, shaah!

 Shaaaaaaaaa!

There were an absurd number of Sahagin standing around that area.

Even with a quick glance, it looked like there were easily several hundred of them.

Some were sleeping inside buildings, others were munching on shells scattered on the ground. There were even those grazing on grass or chewing bark from trees they clung to.

 Shaa! Shaaa!

Some were even fighting each other over a single fish.

The bizarre scene left Hardin rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, unsure if what he was seeing was real.

‘Are you kidding me?’

He had been told there were Sahagin, and figured there might be a few dozen at most.

After all, those creatures didn’t even like coming onto land. They were usually docile types that fed on seaweed and such.

But the way they were acting now—it was like they owned the entire coastline.

On top of that, their cheeks were sunken like they were starving, and their eyes looked sharp and angry.

Their bodies were also covered in mysterious wounds.

They were nothing like the Sahagin Hardin knew.

Manton let out a long sigh and said,

“The coast has been like this all year. No matter how many of them we get rid of, more just crawl out. There’s really no point in purging them.”

“…”

A resigned look full of bitterness.

Hardin frowned and replied,

“What, that’s nothing special!”

“Excuse me?”

“The numbers aren’t the problem, right? We just have to beat them up. They’re just Sahagin.”

“…Do as you please.”

As Manton pressed down on his brow with frustration, Hardin drew the sword from his hip and shouted,

“Alright, let’s go wipe them out!”

“Y-Yes…”

The knights drew their swords with weary faces.

“Got it.”

“So… we just take them down, right?”

The mercenaries also drew their swords with uneasy expressions.

Then—

“Chargeee!”

Hardin dashed straight toward the coast.

As he neared with full force—

 Shaa, shaa?

The Sahagin turned their attention to Hardin.

 Shaaaaa!

 Sha-sha! Shashaah!

They bared their teeth and lunged savagely at him.

Their eyes were unfocused, and drool dripped from their mouths.

Hardin’s eyes widened.

‘What kind of Sahagin are these?’

Normally, just seeing a sword would make them run in fear.

In that moment—

 Shaaat!

Four or five Sahagin leapt at him simultaneously.

Slaaash!

‘Goddamn.’

Hardin swung his sword in a wide arc.

Thud, thud-thud!

“Kiiiek!”

The Sahagin’s heads were sliced nearly all at once, their green blood and bodies falling to the ground with a splatter.

Meanwhile—

“Uwaaaaaah!”

 Shaaaaa!

Knights and mercenaries who had followed behind reached the shore and slashed through the Sahagin charging from all directions.

Seeing this, Hardin exhaled through his nose.

‘See? Nothing to it.’

They were definitely not ordinary Sahagin.

Still, no matter how fierce they were, they were Sahagin all the same.

When they came onto land, they were less threatening than goblins. Whether there were hundreds or thousands of them, to mana users, they were no match.

A massacre unfolded on the shore.

“Kieek!”

“Diiieeee!”

“Why won’t you bastards just die already?!”

What’s up with them?

The knights swung their swords furiously, faces flushed red with irritation.

Seeing them so emotionally charged, Hardin was momentarily puzzled, but regardless, the Sahagin fell quickly.

By the time around forty or fifty of them had been cut down—

 Shaat, shaa!

Only then, seemingly realizing the situation, the Sahagin began to stumble backward.

“You damn—get over here, you bastards!”

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

“…Kieeeek!”

Splash! Splash!

They quickly darted toward the sea and disappeared into the water.

“Nothing to it.”

“Seriously.”

The mercenaries exhaled hollowly, tapping their shoulders with their swords.

It felt like none of them had even broken a sweat.

Hardin began to think.

‘That was simple enough.’

Normally, after being beaten this badly, Sahagin would be so terrified they’d never come back.

However…

‘Better safe than sorry.’

Hardin returned briefly to the hill, hoisted the bundle he had tossed aside, and came back down to the shore.

Seeing Hardin carrying something, Manton asked,

“What’s that, Young Master?”

“A secret weapon.”

“A secret weapon?”

“That’s right. With this… those bastards will never come near this place again.”

Sffft.

When Hardin untied the bundle, what appeared was a scarecrow.

It was crafted to resemble a mermaid—natural enemy of the Sahagin.

Crude as it was, ordinary Sahagin wouldn’t dare approach it once they saw it.

Back when he was Varlach, it was a common tool used in villages suffering from Sahagin attacks on their livestock.

Plunk!

Hardin firmly planted it in the center of the shore, then pulled out a bottle from the same bundle and poured its contents—yellow liquid—all over the scarecrow.

A pungent stench wafted up, piercing their noses.

With a satisfied grin, Hardin clapped his hands and said,

“This is direwolf urine. With this setup, those bastards will never set foot here again.”

“…You think that’s going to stop the Sahagin?”

“I’m telling you, just watch.”

Come on, I’m Varlach—Varlach! There’s nothing I don’t know about the sea.

---

Ten minutes later—

 Shaaaaah! Shaaaah!

Thud! Thump! Crack!

The Sahagin were smashing the mermaid scarecrow to pieces.

Some stomped on it in fury, while others bit into it and tore it apart.

“Uh… it doesn’t seem to be working at all,”

Manton said as he looked at Hardin.

“Uh… wha?”

This doesn’t make any sense…

Hardin’s face was full of disbelief.