Reincarnated as the Descendant of a Fallen Noble

Chapter 134:  Buying Time (3)

Kkaaaang! Kkaaaang!

“Aaaargh!”

“Dieeee!”

Soldiers and knights swung their swords and spears without rest. Some bled and died, while others fell into the sea, flailing desperately… It was chaos aboard the Daphne ironclad.

At the center of it all, two men stood face to face.

The one with blond hair and a smirk tugging at one corner of his mouth was Hardin Daphne, the Great Young Master of the Daphne Ducal House.

The middle-aged man with a large scar over one eye was Chillas, the 2nd Unit Commander of the Anvil Knight Order.

A fierce blue gleam circled in both their eyes and blades.

“I never thought you were all there in the head, but you’ve got some nerve. Taking one of our family’s ships without permission?”

“I don’t think it’s your place to talk, barging into someone else’s port uninvited.”

Taaat!

In an instant, Chillas’s body vanished, leaving only an afterimage.

Kkaaaang! Kkaang! Kkaaaang!

A thunderous roar erupted as sparks flew through the air, and Hardin quickly countered.

How many exchanges had they traded?

‘Was this guy… always this strong?’

Chillas’s brow furrowed.

The mana he sensed the last time they’d faced off was clearly at the level of a 2-star knight. But now, there was a distinct aura of at least a 3-star Beginner-class.

And that wasn’t all.

Kkaaaang! Kkaaaang!

Each time their blades clashed, a tingling numbness shot through his hands.

His mana volume and control were clearly developed.

But still—

‘Even so… he’s not my match.’

Even among 3-star users, not all knights were equal.

Reaching the 3-star level at such a young age was indeed an impressive feat, but…

‘When it comes to combat experience and swordsmanship, I completely outclass him.’

Ssshhiiing!

Chillas’s sword slashed upward from below.

Just as Hardin moved to counter it—

Siiik.

Chillas curled his lips into a sly grin.

Chwachachak!

At that moment, his blade split into multiple forms, striking toward Hardin all at once.

‘Take this.’

Phantom Blade.

A secret sword technique that used the residual traces of mana left in the weapon to launch multiple simultaneous strikes—an advanced form of Weapon Enchant.

Unless one had experienced it before, nine out of ten would fall for it… or so it usually went.

“What kind of child’s play is this?”

Kkaang! Kang! Kkagang! Kkaang!

With a furrowed brow, Hardin swung his sword, dispersing the phantom blades into the air.

To do so required reading the order in which the attacks came, their trajectories… even the size and flow of mana itself.

Moreover—

‘What’s with that sword?’

Each time Hardin swung, a blue glow rippled across his blade.

It was unlike any normal Weapon Enchant… It looked as though waves had been drawn directly onto the sword.

But it didn’t matter.

‘It’s just a coincidence!’

Ssshhk! Ssshhhhaaak!

Chillas unleashed more phantoms, pushing Hardin back.

Of course—

Kang! Kkagang! Kkaaaang!

Each time, sparks burst into the air as they scattered into nothing.

‘He’s blocking all of them? How… how is that possible?’

It made no sense.

I’m the 2nd Unit Commander of the Count of Tread, a 3-star knight… And I’m being held back by some brat?

“Graaah!”

Chillas sped up—again, and again.

The moment the phantom blades extended, the projections surged forth at such speed that it was impossible to react to them with normal human reflexes.

But—

‘Why is he getting faster too?!’

Kkagang! Kkang! Gaaaang!

The faster the phantom blades flew,

The faster Hardin became.

‘Damn it!’

Ssshhhiiiing!

Chillas lunged forward with a large step and stabbed toward Hardin’s neck.

A strike as swift as lightning.

‘He vanished?’

But… Hardin was gone, leaving only a shadow in his place.

Bwaaam!

“Guhuhhuk!”

Something slammed hard into Chillas’s lower jaw.

As he flew backward and lowered his gaze, he spotted Hardin, fist clenched tight, standing beneath him.

‘That bastard… landed a hit?’

Whirr! Tap!

“You rat bastard…”

Landing with a breakfall, Chillas spat blood from his mouth.

Along with it, a molar clattered and rolled across the deck.

And then—

“Move in!”

With a shout from behind, the ships of the Count of Tread—belatedly following—finally caught up.

Chillas licked his lips and spoke.

“You’re stronger than I expected… but you’ll die here all the same.”

“Die?”

“Our warships will surround this place soon and turn it into a beehive.”

“That sounds more like your wishful thinking.”

Hardin scoffed and replied with a snort.

Chillas gritted his teeth and growled.

“If dying fast is your wish, I’ll gladly oblige.”

Vwooooom!

As he took his stance, blue light radiated from his sword and eyes.

His hair fluttered, and wind swirled around him.

‘I’ll crush him for good.’

Chillas gathered the mana at his sword’s tip into a single point.

This was in preparation for unleashing Shockwave, a move exclusive to 3-star knights.

It consumed a large amount of mana at once and carried great risk—but that didn’t matter.

This was, no matter how you looked at it, a fight he couldn’t lose.

‘All I need to do is cut off his head.’

Mana gathered at the very tip of his blade, and the pressure intensified.

Veins bulged on his forehead, and his body trembled violently.

If he fired this straight on, there’d be no avoiding or blocking it.

Even if that guy aimed to strike during the casting gap…

At this range, Chillas was confident he could still respond in time.

‘I’ve won.’

Siiik!

Just as Chillas lifted the corner of his mouth into a smirk—

“Hey, you're Chillas, the unit commander, right?”

“…What?”

Hardin suddenly dropped his stance and pointed downward with his finger.

“Watch your step.”

“…What did you say?”

What the hell was he—

At that moment—

Tilt.

“…?!”

The ship suddenly tilted sharply to one side and shook violently.

“We pulled it out!”

“We did it!”

Manton’s ironclad had finally dislodged its tightly wedged bow, causing their own ship to wobble.

In that moment, as Chillas's balance faltered ever so slightly—

Taat!

Hardin surged toward him.

‘D-dangerous. My balance!’

A chill shot down his spine.

Chillas clenched his teeth and fixed his gaze on Hardin’s sword tip.

He focused every bit of his awareness, desperately trying to react—

Taaak!

“Wha…?”

Suddenly, his body floated into the air.

Hardin had swept Chillas’s leg, knocking him off balance.

Thud!

Then, seizing him by the collar midair—

“Off you go!”

Hardin hurled Chillas off the ship.

“W-whoa whoa whoaaa!”

Chillas twisted in midair, trying to regain his center of gravity.

Bwoooom!

“Kuhhuk!”

At that moment, the mana he’d gathered at his sword’s tip exploded—

Sploosh!

—and his body was unceremoniously dumped into the sea.

“Uh…”

“U-Unit Commander?”

Up on the deck, the knights and soldiers of Tread, still locked in battle, stood slack-jawed in shock.

Taat!

In an instant, Hardin charged straight at them—

Bwaaam!

“Guhaaa!”

Craack!

“Aaargh!”

He swung his sword, slashing throats, and kicked others off the ship.

And just like that… he cleared the deck of enemies.

Honnnnnk!

Hardin brought the horn at his waist to his lips once more.

“Move into the rocky shallows!”

“Let’s go!”

At his command, the waiting sailors rushed below deck, and soon, the oars beneath began to turn.

And at that very moment—

Whooooshhh!

The wind picked up, swelling the sails—

“Let’s gooo!”

“Use the currents to move!”

Five ironclads, lined up in formation, surged forward into the narrow rocky reef zone as if sucked in.

---

---

Atop the highest watchtower within the Mudside defense line.

Gadolph, Malion, and Mulgybson peered through telescopes, gazing out at the sea.

“Huhuuuhhh?”

“…M-my god.”

The three of them dropped their scopes almost in unison, mouths agape.

“Did you see that, my lord?”

“I saw it… I just can’t fathom why he did such a thing…”

They had just witnessed the five ironclads enter the reef zone.

A region teeming with reefs and violent currents.

Sailing into that was tantamount to suicide—and their reactions showed they knew it all too well.

“No, this is driving me craaaazy! Why are they doing this to meee!”

Malion’s wail echoed mournfully across the entire defense line as he clutched his head, tears streaming down his face.

---

Off the coast of Daphne, in front of the distant reef zone stood the fleet of the Count of Tread.

At the center, on the deck of the flagship… stood Commander Pattinson and Count Vernian, side by side, staring intently at the reef zone ahead.

Commander Pattinson was the first to speak.

“Hmmm… It seems they intend to draw us into the reef zone, since they know they can’t win in a direct battle.”

“Looks that way,” Vernian replied in a flat tone, arms crossed.

Pattinson stroked his beard and continued.

“There’s no need to play into their hand. What if we just ignore those ships and land directly at Mudside instead? A large portion of their forces are aboard those odd ships, so landing might actually be easier.”

“Hmmm…”

Vernian hummed thoughtfully.

Indeed, if they followed Pattinson’s suggestion, things could be settled easily.

There was no way a place like Daphne could withstand the might of Tread’s forces.

But Vernian shook his head and replied.

“No, I think that’s exactly what they want us to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“They plan to circle back with those ships and hit us from the rear while we’re landing. If we get surrounded on both sides, it’ll become a hassle.”

So that was their plan…

Pattinson furrowed his brow and asked,

“That may be possible, but is it even worth worrying about? Even if those rats come at us from both sides, they won’t be able to put up a real fight.”

“The fact that they’re not a real threat is exactly why we need to be thorough.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I don’t want to get even a scratch while crushing insects like these.”

“I see.”

Perhaps convinced by Vernian’s reasoning,

Commander Pattinson nodded.

“Then, what would you have us do?”

Count Vernian let a cold smile creep across his face.

“If a rat crawls into its hole… you just smoke it out.”

“Smoke them out…?”

“Split the fleet. Block both the entry and exit points of the current. Then wait until they come crawling out.”

Vernian stared into the depths of the reef zone.

Splaash! Splaash!

Tall waves surged and the swift current churned violently before them.

“Though I doubt they’ll even last that long in there.”

“Indeed.”

So the idea was to wait and wipe them out the moment they emerged—since they’d have to come out eventually.

Commander Pattinson nodded and immediately raised his arm with a shout.

“3rd and 4th units, move behind the reef zone! The rest, hold position here!”

“Yes, sir!”

And then…

Hooonnnnk!

Blasts of horn signals echoed from all directions.

“Turn the bow around!”

“Head behind the rocky isle!”

Half of Tread’s warships shifted their bows and adjusted their sails, beginning to move toward the far side of the rocky isle.

As he watched the reef zone, Count Chillas crossed his arms and sneered.

‘This’ll be amusing in its own way.’

He wanted to witness with his own eyes how the rats trapped in their hole would flail and die.

On Count Vernian’s face, a grim expression surfaced—one that could only be described as demonic.

‘There it is again… that face.’

Even Commander Pattinson, who glanced at him from the side, felt a chill run down his spine.

Just then—

Rumble! Rumble!

Far in the distance, dark storm clouds began to gather and slowly drift toward them from what had once been a clear sky.