Reincarnated as the Descendant of a Fallen Noble

Chapter 64: Subjugation of Kreveion. (7)

A sunlit underground cavern.

The screech of metal clashing echoed without rest.

Kyaaaaang! Kyaaaaang!

“Block it from the side! Don’t let it break through!”

“Damn it! What the hell is with this thing’s strength!”

Daphne’s knights and the Maw mercenaries swung their halberds, six or so at a time, as they clung to the baby Kreveion trying to charge at Hardin at the center of the cavern.

‘It’s strong.’

‘What kind of carapace is this…’

Kyaaaaang! Kyaaaaang!

Even if they were just the young, they were still Kreveion spawn.

No matter how hard they swung their halberds, the thick carapace wasn’t easily pierced.

Just then—

 Kkiiiieee!

“Aaargh!”

A knight was struck in the leg by a web shot from the creature’s mouth and got pinned in place.

He shook his body, trying to break free, but it was no use.

 Kkiiiieeeek!

“Eeeek!”

Just as the baby Kreveion’s claw came down to crush him—

Kyaaaang!

“Get him out, quick! Close the distance, the rest of you!”

“Yes!”

Manton rained down strikes from the front, holding off the creature’s attack and buying time.

During that moment, the others cut away the web and helped the trapped knight break free.

Manton backed off again and wiped the sweat beading on his forehead.

‘So this is why he chose the halberd.’

The Kreveion’s long pincers—trying to deal with them using a regular sword would’ve made finding an opening nearly impossible.

On top of that, the creature’s shell was far too thick. Piercing it with a sword didn’t seem possible at all.

If they had fought with swords in a typical fashion, someone would’ve been injured already—long ago.

 You all hold the halberds and just make sure the young ones can’t get close to me. Killing them is great, but don’t force it unless you’re sure.

 Seriously… that’s all we have to do?

The more they fought, the more they understood.

Why Hardin had chosen the halberd as his weapon.

Why he had the others focus only on the baby Kreveions.

Now that they were facing the creature themselves, they felt it in their bones.

This wasn’t arrogance or a display of ego from Hardin—it was a plan grounded in harsh reality.

Manton glanced sideways at Hardin in the center.

 Kkiiieeet!

Kyaaaang! Kyaaaaang!

He continued exchanging relentless blows with the adult Kreveion, locked in unending combat.

It was an overwhelming sight—enough to shake anyone watching.

‘…Young Master.’

Manton bit his lip tightly and shouted again.

“Maintain maximum distance! Slowly—chip away at it bit by bit!”

“Yes!”

Meanwhile, on the other side—

“Uaaaah! Harder, faster, Brother Beryl!”

“Why am I the only one doing this?! You guys do something too!”

“Come on, how is a weakling like me supposed to endure that!”

Beryl swung his halberd so fast that his hands were a blur, holding off the baby Kreveion’s attack.

“Put in a bit more effort! We’re doing our best to support you!”

“Forget support—switch with me!”

The rest of the group, aside from Beryl, circled around from the flanks, launching attacks.

Every now and then, a halberd would strike a baby Kreveion’s joint and dig in, making the creature’s eyes spin in confusion each time.

Aside from Beryl struggling like hell, the subjugation was going smoothly.

“Uaaaah! Press the attack!”

“Come at me, you crab bastards!”

Roars echoed throughout the cavern from every direction.

The heat of battle continued to intensify.

---

At the center of the underground cavern, in the midst of battle—

 Kkiieee! Kkiieee!

Kyaaaang! Kyaang! Kyaaaang!

Kwaaaang! Kwaaang!

Hardin’s eyes glowed icy blue as he swung his sword, while the Kreveion countered relentlessly with all eight of its pincers.

Dodging, parrying, and occasionally diving in to exploit an opening.

The Kreveion’s attacks couldn’t reach Hardin, and Hardin’s strikes couldn’t penetrate the creature’s carapace.

This tight tug-of-war continued, and as time passed—

 Kkiiieee… kkiiiieeeee…

The Kreveion’s movements slowly began to dull.

Hardin, having widened the distance for a moment, focused his eyes sharply.

‘The poison is working.’

The deadly toxin of the Skull Puffer, smeared on the halberd.

When he slashed at the creature’s eye, the poison seeped in and began eating away at it from within.

At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the thing collapsed.

But there was one problem—

‘I won’t last until then.’

As much as the creature’s stamina was depleting—or perhaps even more so—Hardin’s mana was being drained.

Though he had used elixirs to boost himself, his opponent was Kreveion.

He had to constantly endure that brute’s relentless attacks, so he was endlessly maintaining body reinforcement and weapon enchantments.

Like water pouring into a bottomless pot, his mana kept leaking away.

At this rate, his mana would run out before the creature took its last breath.

That meant dragging out the fight was not the answer.

‘…’

Hardin briefly scanned the surroundings.

 Kkiiiiiieee…

“Got it! We got it!”

Three out of five baby Kreveions were already down.

At this pace, the remaining ones would be dealt with by the knights and mercenaries on their own.

That meant he could now focus all his strength on the creature before him without issue.

Hardin fixed his gaze on the Kreveion ahead.

‘I’ll try again.’

Between its mandibles—where its brain was located.

The one and only weak spot that could bring instant death.

Now that its movements had clearly slowed, if he struck at the right moment and pierced in deep, he could finish it in one blow.

That poison and setup were all prepared for this very moment.

‘As fast as possible.’

Uuuuuung!

A blue aura gathered once more on Hardin’s blade, waves surging in response.

Gyre—he formed the flow of mana within the blade, amplifying its power.

Then—

 Kkiiieeet!

Sensing the situation, the Kreveion fired another web bomb from its mouth.

Crack!

Hardin’s sword slashed the air again, the blue light dispersing cleanly.

“Damn it.”

His brow furrowed.

That thing understood very well.

It knew that whenever blue light gathered on the blade, something dangerous was about to happen.

In the end, for Hardin to fully gather mana in his sword...

‘I’ll dodge every attack.’

He would maintain maximum power, compress it to the limit, and pierce through in one strike.

To achieve that, this was the most optimal method.

 Kkiiieeet!

Thump! Thuuump!

But the Kreveion gave him no opening.

It kept swinging its eight pincers, forcing Hardin to use his sword.

Kyaaang! Kyaaaang!

Each time he failed to dodge and had to counter, the blue light scattered and his mana drained in chunks.

From laying traps to this, the creature showed a cunning uncharacteristic of a monster.

Just as Hardin pressed forward, the creature continued responding appropriately in its own way.

‘This damn crab…’

A smirk tugged at the corner of Hardin’s lips.

His heart began to race, and it felt like every hair on his body stood on end.

To think a creature like Kreveion could make him feel this tense.

Well, looking on the bright side—

This was a thrill he could enjoy, now that he’d grown weaker.

Uuuuung!

As Hardin once again channeled waves into his sword—

 Kkiiieeet!

The creature immediately reacted, thrusting a pincer toward him.

Hardin stood still, eyes locked on the beast.

He didn’t shift his stance, as if he had no intention of dodging or retaliating.

“Young Master!”

“Get out of the way!”

Several of the others watching Hardin’s battle stood agape.

To them, it looked like Hardin was trying to get himself killed.

But just before the creature’s claw reached his head—

Taah!

Hardin kicked off the ground, narrowly avoiding the attack as he soared upward.

Kwaaang!

The Kreveion’s pincer slammed into the ground, having sliced through the air.

Tatadat!

Using the creature’s pincer as a foothold, Hardin launched himself again.

And the moment he landed on its shell—

 Kkiiiee! Kkiiiee!

The Kreveion thrashed violently, shaking its body in a frenzy.

It flailed wildly, trying to fling Hardin off no matter what.

It even smacked its own back with its pincers, but Hardin evaded easily each time—lightly lifting his body or ducking down.

Perhaps enraged, its movements grew even more erratic and clumsy.

Until finally—

Thuuump! Thuuuump!

The creature sidestepped toward a wall and slammed its body against it.

It was almost self-destructive.

But Hardin clung desperately to the creature’s shell.

No matter how violently it thrashed, he refused to be shaken off.

Like a matador toying with a bull, he instead stumbled forward, gradually advancing.

Eventually, he reached the spot where the creature’s weakness lay, and spoke heavily.

“Stay still.”

Right beneath this point—its brain.

As he grasped his sword, glowing fiercely, and raised it high—

 Kkieeeek!

A pincer shot out from Hardin’s blind spot and slammed into his side.

“Guhuhk!”

A sharp pain surged through him as his body was launched into the air.

“You bastard!”

Even mid-flight, Hardin hurled his mana-infused sword forward.

The problem was, the trajectory was off due to the rushed throw.

Kwaaaang!

The sword flew past the Kreveion’s head and embedded itself in the cavern wall among the purple flowers.

Thunk!

Hardin barely landed, gasping for breath.

“Huff… huff… damn it.”

 Kkieeek! Kkieeek!

Did it sense victory?

The Kreveion foamed at the mouth, eyes wide and frenzied.

“Young Master?”

“Are you alright?!”

A few startled individuals tried to break formation and rush to him, but Hardin immediately extended his arm to stop them.

“Don’t come.”

“B-but…”

“You’ll only get in the way. I said don’t come.”

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Hardin stood back up.

Then, with a smirk tugging at his lips, he spoke.

“You dumb crab, you should’ve watched your head.”

Crack! Craaaack!

At that moment, the cavern wall where his sword had embedded began to crack, and a massive boulder dropped toward the Kreveion’s head.

 Kkii?!

Realizing it too late, the Kreveion tried to dodge—

Thuuuuump!

But half of its body was already crushed beneath the falling rock.

Those who were watching all wore expressions of disbelief.

‘He aimed for that from the start…?’

‘That didn’t miss?’

They couldn’t tell.

Was that Hardin’s improvisation, or had he planned it all along?

 Kkiiii! Kkiiiiiii!

While the Kreveion flailed helplessly—

“Pah. Damn thing…”

Hardin spat the blood pooled in his mouth onto the ground, then turned to the ones hesitating nearby.

“Halberd.”

“…What?”

“Give me a halberd.”

“Ah… y-yes!”

Thunk!

Grabbing the halberd handed to him, Hardin once again pulled his arm back.

“I’ll finish this.”

Bzzzzzt! Crackle!

Blue energy enveloped the blade of the halberd.

Hardin grit his teeth, his arm trembling with strain.

He was drawing out every last bit of energy from his core.

This would be the end.

The moment his eyes locked firmly onto the Kreveion’s exposed weak point—

 Kkieeet!

“Huh?”

A sound rang out directly above his head, casting a shadow.

When Hardin looked up—

He saw a small Kreveion dropping down from above.

Its size was less than a quarter of the other younglings they had faced so far.

He didn’t know the exact situation, but it must have been lying in wait, launching a sneak attack.

‘Damn it.’

Hardin’s brow twisted.

It was far too late to dodge.

His only option was to swing the halberd upward to strike it away, but doing so would drain the mana needed to finish off the adult Kreveion.

‘This is going to be a hassle.’

As his thoughts tangled—

“Hhhup!”

A shout of effort rang out from behind.

When Hardin turned his head slightly, he saw Manton leaping upward.

The moment their eyes met, a smirk tugged at Hardin’s lips.

‘I trust you.’

Right after that—

Swaaash!

Hardin hurled the halberd like a ballista bolt with fierce force.

And just before the baby Kreveion reached Hardin’s head—

“Uaaaaah!”

Smaaack!

Manton’s torso slammed into the baby Kreveion’s body, sending it flying backward.

 Kkieet!

The youngling’s body crashed to the ground, landing in a pitiful heap.

Craack! Shlaaaash!

At the same time, the halberd thrown by Hardin pierced through the adult Kreveion’s weak spot, unleashing a flood of blue blood against the cavern wall.

 Kkieeeeeek!

The creature let out a deafening shriek, flailing violently.

Thud! Thuuump!

Everyone watched it tensely.

Its final death throes didn’t last long.

 Kkieee...

With its last gasp, the Kreveion’s body sagged, lifeless.

“…Hoo, it’s finally over.”

Only then did Hardin relax and begin to breathe evenly.

Craack!

Kkiek!

Manton finished off the baby by smashing its head into the ground.

Then he slowly turned toward Hardin and asked,

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, thanks to you.”

Hardin replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

Not long after that—

“We—we got them all!”

“Haaah… haaaah…”

A victory shout came from the other side.

Turning his gaze, Hardin saw knights and mercenaries chuckling breathlessly, and beyond them, baby Kreveions lying in mashed heaps.

It seemed everything was finally over.

‘That’s that.’

Hardin let out a long sigh and smiled faintly.

Then he clapped Manton, who was catching his breath beside him, on the back.

“Hey.”

“…Yes?”

“Good work.”

A short and simple phrase.

Hearing that, Manton stared blankly at Hardin for a moment, then slowly his face lit up as he nodded.

“Yes, you did well too, Young Master.”

Thus marked the end of the Kreveion Subjugation.

---

A short while later, in another cave on the opposite side of the island—

Crack! Craaack!

“Phew… this is work too.”

“Still, better than dealing with those damn crabs.”

“Haha, true enough. At least we got through it unscathed.”

The Daphne members were scouring the cave and all corners of the island, searching to see if any Kreveion eggs had been left behind.

They had already discovered and destroyed over ten eggs.

Still, thanks to having overcome the main crisis, everyone wore relaxed expressions and cheerful smiles.

Amidst all this—

“Hmmm, nothing around?”

Hardin walked with his hands behind his back, rummaging through the inner parts of the rocky cave.

The difference was—he wasn’t looking for Kreveion eggs.

‘There’s bound to be something here… something worth some money…’

Kreveions usually liked shiny objects.

They often attacked and sank merchant ships precisely for that reason.

Thanks to that habit, there were times when killing a Kreveion and searching its nest revealed a trove of treasures looted from merchant vessels.

Having gone through all that hell, Hardin figured he might as well earn some side income, so he was checking thoroughly.

“Huh?”

That’s when he noticed something glowing from behind a curtain of spider webs in a corner.

A grin spread across Hardin’s lips.

He could smell it. The sweet scent of money…

Flaring his nostrils, he sliced through the webs cleanly with his sword.

And the moment he stepped into the space behind—

His eyes widened.

“Huh? What is this?”

A crimson-colored conch, its surface inscribed with twisting, cryptic characters, glowing with a faint red light.

As Hardin cautiously reached out to touch it—

‘A magical artifact?’

A sinister aura pulsed from the shell, and Hardin felt something pulling at him.

His pupils quivered, and every hair on his body stood on end.

Ssshhhhhh—

All sound around him vanished, and he heard something whispering near his ear.

Tap!

The moment he pulled his hand away, the sound stopped, and his pupils returned to normal.

‘This is some kind of charm magic.’

He wasn’t a full-fledged mage, so he couldn’t say for certain—but he felt it clearly enough.

Hardin frowned.

The Kreveion appearing on the rocky offshore island… and this suspicious magical artifact being here.

Even from those few details, something stank.

‘Someone deliberately lured the Kreveion here.’

Hardin’s face twisted grimly.

He didn’t yet know who was responsible, but if the Kreveion came here because of this—

‘Then someone intentionally tried to harm our house?’

It wasn’t Calpion.

Even in the worst-case scenario, if they had done this, there would’ve been at least some trace—some document, even a single line, surfacing afterward.

Besides, this magical artifact wasn’t something of a low enough level for them to handle.

He couldn’t be sure just yet, but...

‘I’ll have to investigate.’

He needed to find out who the bastards were that put his house through this mess.

Hardin pressed his temple firmly with his fingers, his eyes blazing with a sharp, piercing glare.