Reincarnated as the Descendant of a Fallen Noble

Chapter  56: What’s Wrong with the Sea? (2)

When the secret weapon was brutally destroyed, cold sweat beaded on Hardin’s forehead.

‘T-This can’t be happening.’

They had used the Mermaid Scarecrow and even Direwolf urine... and it still got wrecked?

There was no way that should’ve happened. Had those bastards lost their minds?

This was the moment Hardin’s understanding of the sea—something he had always been proud of—was shattered.

While Hardin stood in shock, Manton let out a deep sigh and asked,

“So what now? No matter how many we take down, those things will just keep coming.”

The first plan may have failed, but giving up wasn’t an option.

I was Varlach. Varlach Daphne.

The same Varlach Daphne who had crushed countless monsters, who had faced off against both the Kraken and Leviathan.

And now I was supposed to be stopped by mere Sahagin?

In that case, the only thing to do was...

“What else? We fight with our bodies! Charge again!”

“...Yes, sir.”

“Uwaaaaah!”

Hardin charged once more, cutting down Sahagin after Sahagin.

Knights and mercenaries scattered across the beach, taking down dozens more.

 Shaaa! Shaaaah!

The Sahagin, spooked, retreated back into the sea.

The problem was, if you took your eyes off the shore for just ten minutes...

“There’s more of them now, aren’t there?”

“...Goddammit.”

Hundreds more Sahagin would land on the beach again in no time.

“Go again! Cut down anything that moves!”

“Yes, sirrrr...”

They drove them out once more.

“Uwaaaaah!”

 Shaaa! Shaaaaaah!

And again, they were pushed back.

Slash, slash, and slash again.

But the situation never changed.

 Shaaaaa...

The fear only lasted a moment. Like cockroaches, the Sahagin crawled right back up the beach.

How many hours had they repeated this?

“Huff, huff, huuuff...”

“They’ve swarmed us again, Young Master.”

“Is this ever going to end?”

“I don’t know either, shit...”

Hardin and the others slumped to the ground, panting heavily.

Their bodies were soaked with sweat, and their faces smeared with sand.

After spending hours playing hide and seek with fish-heads under the blazing sun, exhaustion was inevitable.

‘No way this is real.’

Had those things really lost their minds?

Forget fear—even more baffling was how aggressive they were. He had never seen creatures this vicious in his life.

And then...

Crunch! Crack!

 Shaaah, Shaaaah.

Chomp, gulp.

When I looked up, more Sahagin were crawling ashore, munching on the corpses of their kin.

Despite their cute appearance, they were drenched in green blood, shoving hunks of flesh into their mouths with terrifying hunger.

‘They’re eating each other?’

That wasn’t a Sahagin—that was a zombie.

Just then, Manton approached Hardin and spoke.

“Now do you understand what I meant? These things... they’re impossible to get rid of. This has nothing to do with how great a knight you are, Young Master.”

A bitter expression, filled with resignation.

Though he didn’t say it out loud, I could almost hear the voice inside him.

There’s no point in struggling anymore—let’s just stop here.

At that moment, a vein twitched on Hardin’s forehead.

“Ah, shut it already.”

Thud.

Hardin stood up from his spot and said,

“Hey, everyone get up. We’re moving to the next plan.”

“The next plan…?”

“We’re going into the sea.”

“Sorry? What do you mean by that?”

“If those bastards aren’t afraid, then what else can we do? We’ll have to follow them underwater.”

Just then, Mikkelsen raised his hand slightly and said,

“Um... I don’t know how to swim.”

“Then learn now.”

“Excuse me?”

Rustle, rustle.

Hardin casually stripped off his shirt and tossed it aside.

Mikkelsen’s face turned pale.

“That sounds way too dangerous. Maybe we should consider another—”

“Danger, my ass. Just do it.”

“Young Master?”

With his upper body bare, Hardin grabbed a single sword and strode forward.

‘Just wait, you bastards. I’ll show you what a real lunatic looks like.’

Those Sahagin kept crawling up to land? They weren’t scared of us?

Then we needed to show them—what real fear was.

“I’ll go first. Follow me immediately.”

“…”

With a determined look, Hardin turned his body.

Everyone stared blankly, as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

Tatadat!

Hardin let out a fierce scream as he dashed toward the sea.

While the others just stood there blinking.

Splash!

His body was sucked into the water in an instant.

‘Let’s go, let’s goooo!’

Hardin’s blue eyes glowed as he rapidly moved his limbs.

His body surged forward like a fish.

‘I’m the damn seal of Daphne, you bastards.’

Just wait. I’ll make sure you never even think of showing your faces again.

He had swum maybe 10 meters when—

‘Huh?’

The water suddenly turned murky, like fog had spread through it, and his visibility dropped sharply.

He could only see about two to three meters ahead.

And then...

‘What’s going on?’

At some point, his forward motion slowed dramatically.

It felt like something was pushing against his body.

Flap flap.

He kicked his limbs faster, but he couldn’t move forward at all.

‘What is this?’

Come on—move forward!

That’s when it happened.

‘…?’

Something black flew rapidly toward him from up ahead.

It was a strand of seaweed.

Thwack!

‘Ugh!’

Before he could dodge, it smacked right across Hardin’s face.

Whooosh!

‘W-Wait a minute!’

Suddenly, a powerful force slammed into him, sending his body hurtling backward.

A moment later, when Hardin peeled the seaweed off his eyes—

“Goddammit… What the hell?”

Before he knew it, he had been pushed all the way back to shore, lying flat on the tidal flats.

Just then, a voice spoke beside him.

“Are you all right?”

Manton let out a sigh and extended his hand.

Hardin frowned and asked,

“What’s going on here? Why couldn’t I move forward even when I swam?”

“Didn’t I tell you earlier? The currents here are incredibly strong.”

Hardin twitched his eyebrow.

“So you’re saying I got washed back by the waves?”

“Yes, that’s right. And the visibility underwater is terrible too. It’s impossible to go in and catch the Sahagin.”

“...Bullshit. Nothing’s impossible.”

“Excuse me?”

Springing up!

Hardin cursed and stood back up.

“This kind of thing... you do it with grit.”

“Young Master?”

Tatadat! Splash! Splash!

Hardin charged into the sea again, this time even more fiercely than before.

Several seconds passed.

“Urrrghhh!”

Once again, he was swept back onto the tidal flats, tangled in seaweed from head to toe.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Just a small mistake.”

I—me, the Seal of Daphne—couldn’t enter the water? That made no sense.

---

Thirty more minutes passed.

“What the hell is wrong with this seaeeeaaa!”

Hardin clawed at his head and thrashed in frustration.

...Was this even a believable situation?

The Sahagin, as if they had no fear, kept crawling up no matter what they did. The sea might as well have been in the middle of a storm, with raging waves and terrible visibility.

He had thought he’d been through every kind of battle—on land, sea, and air—but this was a first.

“I told you it couldn’t be done.”

“Damn it all…”

Manton and the knights, watching him, sighed and shook their heads.

“...Shut up, you bastards.”

Hardin trembled as he responded.

 Shaaaah! Shaaaaah!

From the direction of the sea, a familiar sound echoed.

He looked up and saw fish-heads floating on the water’s surface.

Sahagin.

“…”

 Shaaat! Shaaat!

The creatures stared straight at them, circling and surfacing, then sinking again.

‘They’re mocking us. Taunting.’

‘This is humiliation.’

Despair spread across everyone’s faces.

“Dammit, scram already!”

Just then, Hardin picked up a stone lying nearby and hurled it at them.

Swoosh! Plop!

The Sahagin simply slipped underwater, dodging it with ease.

Hardin kept throwing rocks at them in a fit of rage.

Thunk!

“Huh?”

His body stopped moving forward.

When he turned his head, he saw Manton holding his wrist.

“Let it go, Young Master.”

“Let what go.”

“You’ve seen it all day long. Hunting Sahagin—it’s impossible.”

Once again, he wore that bitter, resigned expression.

A face that looked like he had given up on everything in the world.

Watching it stirred something in me… like my insides were being poked with needles.

Tap.

Hardin gently pushed Manton’s hand away and said,

“Let go. There’s no such thing as impossible.”

“You’re witnessing it right now, aren’t you?”

Hardin let out a deep sigh.

Then he looked Manton straight in the eyes and said,

“What if I actually do it? What then?”

“You can’t.”

“Huuuuuuuuu…”

Hardin let out another long sigh and stood up.

‘I have to get into the water, somehow.’

But he wasn’t going to rush in and beat down the Sahagin like before.

These Sahagin weren’t normal. First, he had to figure out what was causing them to act this way in the first place—that was the only way to solve this.

To find that out, he’d have to go back in.

Like the saying goes—water holds the answers.

The problem was, getting in there wasn’t going to be easy.

‘Should I find some diving equipment or something?’

Just as Hardin fell deep into thought—

 Shaaah… Shaaaaah...

A sound from behind brought him back, and he turned his head.

From one part of the beach, Sahagin were creeping ashore again, cautiously watching.

At that moment—

“A method... I’ve found it.”

A wide grin spread across Hardin’s lips.

---

 Shaaat, Shaaaaah!

Three Sahagin were tightly bound with rope.

As they thrashed and struggled violently—

“Sit still, you bastards!”

Whack! Whack! Whack!

 Shaat!

Hardin’s fists crashed down on their heads in succession, adding one lump each to their skulls.

“You guys are going to take me underwater now. Got it?”

 Shaaaah… Shaaaaah...

“I said, do you understand?”

Hardin spoke in a chilling tone, and the Sahagin trembled in fear.

 Shaat!

One of them suddenly writhed and thrashed wildly.

Smack! Smack!

 Shaat! Shaaat!

Hardin’s brutal punishment followed immediately.

After it happened several more times—

“Now do you guys understand what I’m saying?”

 Shaaaah...

The Sahagin nodded while sniffling, tears streaming from their eyes.

That’s how the world worked—persuasion was distant, fists were close.

Everyone watching from the side wore expressions of pure bewilderment.

‘…He’s really planning to drag those things underwater with him?’

No one could understand what kind of thought process led to this.

Forget logic or strategy—this was behavior that defied all common sense.

“Come on, hurry it up.”

 Shaaaaah...

At that moment, Hardin stood at the water’s edge, the Sahagin tied securely around his waist.

Then he placed his sword against their backs, making a rather clear threat.

“If you try anything funny underwater, you're dead.”

 Shaat, Shaaat...

Hardin glanced over the obviously terrified Sahagin and turned his head.

“I’ll be back.”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright taking those things with you? It seems too dangerous, no matter how I look at it.”

Going into that sea, where you couldn’t even see a few steps ahead?

That recklessly?

Manton asked with a troubled expression, but Hardin waved it off.

“It’s fine, it’s fine.”

“But...”

Unable to say more, Manton stepped back.

And then—

“Move out.”

 Shaaat!

Splash!

Hardin finally plunged into the water with the Sahagin in tow.

---

Swoooosh! Swoooooosh!

 Shaaaaaah!

The three Sahagin paddled hard through the water.

‘Move faster, faster!’

Clinging behind them, Hardin grinned while thrusting his sword in the air as if threatening them.

As if strong currents were no issue at all, they sliced through the water with ease.

Performing perfectly.

As they continued onward, the light around them gradually disappeared.

Snap!

Hardin flicked his fingers and lit up the area with mana.

In that instant, his brow furrowed.

‘...Why are there so many?’

There were an absurd number of Sahagin around them.

Easily in the hundreds.

 Shaaah! Shaaaah!

As the creatures shouted toward him, Hardin’s eyes glowed even fiercer as he glared back.

Suppressing them so they wouldn’t even dare approach.

 Shaaaaaah...

The Sahagin trembled and stopped closing the distance.

‘Something’s definitely wrong.’

Why were they all gathered here?

 Shaaaah!

He turned his head and saw the Sahagin chasing after fish, hunting them.

Something the Sahagin he knew would never do.

On top of that, their cheeks were sunken, and their bodies were covered in wounds.

‘Hmmmm...’

As Hardin watched the Sahagin with a curious gaze—

Suddenly, a large shadow burst out from the side.

‘...?!’

Startled, Hardin quickly moved upward to evade it.

 Shaaaaat!

Craaaaack!

The shadow crushed one of the Sahagin guides completely.

Crunch! Crunch crunch!

Green blood oozed from its mouth.

‘What the hell?’

A grotesque monster was chomping down hungrily on the Sahagin.

Its body was the size of a shark, lined with razor-sharp teeth.

It was a deep-sea anglerfish.

 Shaaaaah! Shaaaaah!

The Sahagin tied to Hardin flailed wildly, trying to escape, and Hardin grimaced.

‘Why is this thing here?’

As far as he knew, this creature only lived in the deep sea.

And it showed up in shallow waters near the tidal flats?

Just then, the anglerfish finished its meal and turned its body, glaring at Hardin.

Any other person, faced with that horrific, grotesque creature, would’ve frozen in fear.

Shoooosh!

“Gyaaaah!”

The anglerfish charged at Hardin the moment their eyes met.

‘Son of a—’

Hardin swiftly dodged to the side.

In that instant, the creature’s side swept past his eyes.

There was a huge scar on its flank.

As if something sharp had pierced it.

‘That…’

Just as Hardin furrowed his brow, the creature turned again and charged once more.

At the same time, Hardin adjusted his grip on his sword.

Vrrrmmmm!

A faint vibration resonated as the sword’s tip glowed blue.

 Kyaaaah!

As the anglerfish opened its jaws wide—

‘Now.’

Craaaaack!

Hardin surged through the water and thrust his sword cleanly between the creature’s eyes.

In that moment, the anglerfish’s body quivered, turned pale, and its eyes lost focus.

Its nerves severed in one strike—it was dead.

This was known as spinal destruction technique, inspired by a method fishermen used to preserve fish freshness.

The creature spouted blood and sank beneath the water, its flank wound clearly visible.

Hardin’s expression grew even more serious.

‘...I need to check further.’

After that, Hardin urged the Sahagin forward and continued scouting the area.

And the deeper he went, the more tangled his thoughts became.

‘What is this? Why the hell are these things here?’

Cursed jellyfish, troll turtles, blacktip moray eels, and so on.

Sea monsters that should never appear near coastal waters were mixed in among the Sahagin.

These things roamed around hunting Sahagin, and the Sahagin were scrambling around trying to catch fish—underwater, it was pure chaos.

And more than anything, what stood out most...

Most of them, like the anglerfish he fought earlier, had massive wounds or were missing entire parts of their bodies.

‘This looks like the work of a single bastard.’

The more he saw, the more a certain possibility became likely in Hardin’s mind.

‘...Time to surface.’

Hardin turned and swam upward.

“Puhahhh! Haaah... huuuff…”

“Y-Young Master?”

“He’s back up!”

As he broke the surface, the Daphne soldiers shouted.

Hardin dragged the Sahagin with him and crawled up onto the shore.

Manton rushed over and checked on him, asking,

“Are you alright? Nothing happened, I hope?”

“Nothing...? A whole damn lot happened.”

“Sorry? What do you—”

Ptuh.

“Here, take these.”

Hardin spat out seawater, untied the rope at his waist, and tossed it to Manton.

Then, he took a deep breath and looked around.

“What are you looking for?”

At that moment, Hardin’s gaze fixed on a single point.

A large rock formation rising above the open sea.

‘That’s the place.’

Hardin turned his head and asked,

“Anyone here got a telescope?”

“I-I have one!”

“Lemme see it.”

“Oh… Yes, sir!”

One of the knights fumbled and handed over a small telescope.

Hardin brought it to his eye and scanned the top of the rocky isle.

Unlike normal rock formations, not a single bird could be seen there.

Moreover, there were several large bones scattered across the surface, and cobwebs stretched out here and there.

The scene blended so naturally into the rocky island that it was hard to notice from afar, but up close, there was definitely something off.

...Damn it, why are bad premonitions never wrong?

“These Sahagin aren’t the problem at all.”

“Excuse me?”

Things were about to get much more complicated.

Hardin’s face twisted grimly.