Reincarnated as the Descendant of a Fallen Noble

Chapter 59: Subjugation of Kreveion (2)

About three days had passed since we began preparations to subjugate Kreveion.

At the coastline in front of the tidal flats.

“Woojoo joo joo. Good boy.”

– Shaaa! Shaaa!

The Maw mercenaries were feeding the Sahagin they had leashed and playing with them using rocks and such.

“Ahahaha, dance! Dance!”

– Shaaat!

Some even clapped to create a rhythm, and there were those that danced in place, moving their feet nimbly.

It was the glorious result brought about by Beryl’s excellent training.

Especially in Beryl’s case—

“Ahahaha! Stop that, stop it! You rascals!”

Like a grandfather greeting his grandchildren, he was rolling on the ground surrounded by Sahagin.

“Instructor Manton, what in the world is going on here?”

“I don’t know either……”

The villagers and Daphne Knights watching the scene from behind blinked in disbelief.

The Sahagin who had devastated the village coastline—

To see them being treated like puppies or kittens was understandably absurd.

Just then—

“Oh, you’re here.”

“Ah… Young Master.”

Hardin appeared, strolling over with his hands behind his back.

As Manton bowed his head, Hardin scratched his chin and spoke.

“The Skull Puffer?”

“They’re here. Please take a look.”

When Manton stepped aside, two large crates lay underneath.

“Let’s seeee……”

Creeaak!

Hardin stepped forward and flung open the lid of one of the crates.

Splaash!

The water inside the wooden box splashed upward.

It was filled to the brim with black orbs—no, puffers.

With skull-like patterns clearly visible on their backs, they were unmistakably Skull Puffers.

The problem was…

“Hey, Manton.”

“Yes.”

“You… why did you catch so many?”

“You told me to catch as many as I could, so I did my best.”

Honestly, I expected him to catch maybe a dozen at most.

But with two crates like these, it looked like nearly a hundred, no—over two hundred.

“H-how did you even catch this many?”

“Nets, traps, fishing… anyway, I used every method possible and kept catching them.”

“Still, this… is this number even possible in just three days?”

“Well, I’m from Mudside too. Is there a problem?”

“No, no problem at all.”

So it’s because he’s from a coastal village.

Hardin waved his hand and stared closely at Manton’s face.

His eyes were sunken, and the shadows under them reached all the way down to his chin.

Even his cheeks had hollowed out.

‘…That guy was just whining for nothing, huh.’

The fact that he brought this many puffers said it all.

The guy was desperate to reclaim Mudside no matter what.

Peeking behind, the knights weren’t in much better shape.

“Ugh… my shoulders.”

"…Feels like I’ve done a lifetime’s worth of fishing."

"No more nets, please…"

Even though everyone looked exhausted, somehow they were still smiling.

‘Well, that’s good.’

It was a bit excessive, but the more they had, the more effective it would be for sure.

Their dedication and passion—I’ll accept them gratefully.

Hardin gave a faint chuckle and nodded.

"Well, the puffers should be enough now. Everyone, come over here."

"Ah, yes."

As the knights closed ranks—

Clap, clap!

Hardin turned his head and clapped his hands.

"You guys, stop playing with the Sahagin and get over here!"

"Understood!"

Only then did the mercenaries tie the Sahagin with ropes and hastily gather over.

Once everyone had come together—

Hardin cleared his throat and pointed at the crates.

"From now on, we’re going to clean all of these together."

"Clean them? Are we collecting the poison separately?"

"Right. I’ll demonstrate, so follow carefully. Don’t cut your hands—or you’ll end up in the afterlife."

"…"

End up… where?

Everyone blinked nervously and trembled slightly.

"Let’s see here…"

In the meantime, Hardin crouched down and drew the dagger from his waist to begin cleaning.

Slice! Plop! Slice!

He split the belly of a puffer, separated the eggs, liver, and intestines where the poison was concentrated to one side, and placed the safe flesh on the other side.

The whole process flowed naturally, taking only a few seconds.

Manton watched wide-eyed and asked,

"Young Master, have you cleaned puffers before?"

"Yeah. It’s actually a delicacy, you know."

"You’ve eaten them? The Skull Puffers?"

"Yep."

When you chop these up with vegetables and boil them into a fish soup, there’s nothing better as a drinking snack.

Worried about the poison?

Back when I was Varlach, I could handle a bit of poison with sheer willpower.

Well… I’d die now, though.

"Anyway, clean them all like this."

"Ah, yes…"

"Do it quickly—but don’t rush."

"What does that mean?"

"Quick and well."

"…Yes."

Everyone jumped in and diligently began cleaning the puffers.

About an hour after starting the work—

"Haaaah…"

"All done."

The innards and the flesh were cleanly separated and packed into two respective crates.

Everyone seemed drained already, wiping sweat from their foreheads.

Hardin looked around, then picked up a tree branch.

"Don’t come near me. If you do, you might end up dead."

"…Ah, yes."

Crunch, squelch.

He stuck the stick into the container filled with innards and began mashing it mercilessly.

As the eggs and intestines were crushed, a purple liquid oozed out and turned into a mush.

‘Is he planning to use that poison to take down Kreveion?’

‘…Damn, that’s brutal.’

Everyone stood at a distance, staring intently at the scene with tense expressions.

If even a drop of that liquid splashed into their eyes, it could be disastrous.

How much time had passed like that?

Once most of the innards in the box had been mashed—

“Whew… that should do.”

Hardin opened a small crate that had been sitting beside him.

‘What is that?’

‘Looks like seaweed?’

The crate was filled with all kinds of green marine algae.

“Manton, get me a basin and some flour.”

“Pardon?”

“Fill a basin with flour and bring it here.”

“Ah, yes!”

Manton quickly ran back to the village and returned with a basin.

Hardin poured the flour into the crate filled with seaweed, then scooped a ladle of the poison and added it in.

He stuck the branch back in and began to stir it with a hum.

“Mix it up, mix it up, swirl and mix.”

A lunatic alchemist whose footsteps must never be followed.

Recalling the quote, he stirred vigorously to blend everything evenly.

‘…It’s coming together nicely.’

After several more minutes, a purple dough formed in the center of the crate.

Hardin wiped the sweat from his forehead and lifted the crate of dough in both arms.

“Beryl.”

“Yes?”

“Seal up the leftover poison and store it carefully. We’ll be using it again.”

“Ah, understood…”

“Manton, lend me a tent.”

“A tent?”

“Yeah. Let the villagers know. I need a space to be alone.”

“Ah… Got it.”

What in the world is he planning?

Manton blinked, clueless about what this was all for.

---

A little later, in front of the village.

“This way, please.”

“Yes, yes.”

Led by the village chief, Hardin walked toward a tent, then stopped at the entrance.

“No matter what you hear, don’t come in until I say so.”

“Excuse me? What exactly are you going to do?”

“You don’t need to know that.”

“…”

Something about this felt ominous…

While everyone cast uneasy glances, Hardin stepped into the tent.

The inside was not just empty—it was utterly barren.

Only a couple of dried fish and a few crude furnishings were inside.

‘This is exactly the level of a slash-and-burn farmer.’

That grim look on his face resurfaced.

He didn’t want to see this sight any longer than necessary—he needed to act quickly.

“Fuuuu…”

He slowly sat down and stared at the crate.

His nose stung, and his skin began to tingle.

Squish.

Hardin reached for the purple lump.

“Eugh…”

A violet energy crept slowly up his palm.

Splat!

He tore off a suitable portion from the lump, gripped it with both hands, and began kneading it.

With a burning agony, his brow furrowed and sweat beaded across his forehead.

‘It’s been a while since I last made this.’

Mixing the deadly poison of the Skull Puffer with seaweed that has detoxifying effects, he formed it into a medicinal substance.

The Heart of the Sea.

In the past, it was one of the elixirs my eldest brother and I developed together.

Not only did it drastically improve mana levels, but because the method of making it was extremely simple compared to other elixirs, it was frequently used.

To exaggerate a bit, this stuff played quite a significant role in raising the Grand Blue Knights.

But there’s no such thing as a flawless method in this world.

If there was one tiny issue with this elixir—

‘If taken incorrectly, it’ll kill you.’

Calling it an elixir was a stretch. In truth, it was just extreme poison slightly detoxified with seaweed and slowed in absorption with flour.

Considering that the poison from even a single puffer could kill hundreds or thousands of people, it was obviously dangerous.

No matter how easy it was to make, there was a reason other noble houses didn’t use the Heart of the Sea.

The only house that could utilize this safely was…

‘Ours and ours alone.’

More precisely, now I was the only one left who could.

Having mastered Wave Swordsmanship to the extreme—not just that, being the only one who could properly wield it now—I alone remained.

Even then, with my broken body, it had been impossible to even attempt before.

Wuuung!

I pulled mana from my core in two separate streams, channeling it into both hands.

It began to wrap around my hands, slowly rotating around them.

Normally, the currents should have flowed gently like a calm wave.

But the scene that unfolded was not what I expected.

‘Damn it…’

The mana output from my core was ridiculously fast.

Instead of a soft flow, the wave in my hand became more like a raging storm in a typhoon.

But that didn’t matter.

Whether violent or gentle—

A wave was still a wave.

With each surge of the mana wave, the Skull Puffer’s deadly poison began to merge into it.

“Hrrrrrgh!”

Hardin’s body trembled violently as he poured in more strength.

As the wave grew fiercer, the poison’s resistance in his hands intensified.

Gyre.

Originally, it was a weapon enchantment technique that cycled mana to form waves along the blade.

Now, it was unfolding repeatedly within Hardin’s hands.

Drip, drip!

His body shook, and sweat poured off him endlessly.

‘The sea can embrace everything.’

No matter how strong the poison.

No matter how filthy the substance.

Once submerged in the vast sea, it becomes just a single drop—disappearing as if it never existed.

No, even that which was once foul becomes part of the sea.

The small wave Hardin had formed in his hand began to merge with the poison of the Skull Puffer.

To become one.

To mix together and become something entirely new.

Like a wave, sometimes with a firm tone.

Sometimes coaxing, sometimes pressing down hard with force.

Then it happened.

“Aaaaaaagh!”

A sudden, stabbing agony burst from within.

Ssssss!

Hardin’s fingertips split open, and violet smoke seeped out from between them.

In an instant, the skin around his hands turned a deep violet.

If he lost consciousness here, he’d be poisoned and dead in no time.

‘That… won’t happen.’

Dying while making an elixir? He’d become the laughingstock of his underlings in hell.

Hardin pushed more mana out with even greater effort.

‘You help too, damn it.’

The core.

Compared to his previous life, the amount of mana he had now was pitiful, but the speed and intensity with which it poured out were several times stronger.

The core furiously pressed the poison’s energy back.

With a will to kill, with an intent to somehow tame this thing.

Time passed in the midst of raging turmoil.

Crack! Crackle!

Something began to surge into his hands.

The energy of the wave and the poison within Hardin’s hands finally started to merge into one.

‘Let’s gooo!’

Clenching his teeth, he struggled to control the united energy.

The fury of the poison gradually faded, and slowly, peace settled in.

“Haaah… haaah…”

The trembling in his body subsided, and the blue aura that had filled his hands began to fade gently.

Hardin carefully opened his tightly clenched fists.

“It’s done. Damn thing…”

Inside was a glowing blue orb.

Layered in shades of blue and turquoise, it resembled waves upon waves.

It was beautiful—worthy of its name, the Heart of the Sea.

But this didn’t mean the poison had been completely neutralized.

It was controlled just to the point of being non-lethal.

If someone unskilled tried to ingest all of it, they’d be dead regardless.

Plop!

Hardin tore the orb in half, then finely chopped one half.

Soon, thirty tiny pieces, each no larger than an ant, were prepared.

‘This much should be bearable for the others.’

Ssskk.

He pulled a pouch from his coat and swept the pieces into it.

Then, he kneaded the remaining half of the orb with his hands.

“Fuuu… Let’s do this.”

Chomp! Munch, gulp.

Hardin swallowed the remaining half of the Heart of the Sea whole.