The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 163

“Agh!”

Seeing this, Cainreich yelled and busily commanded his subordinates. He looked exhausted from the long siege.

Then Heathcliff drew his sword.

“Let’s clear this place out before opening the gate.”

“Yes. Leave it to us, Chersea.”

Even Ella drew her sword, but I waved my hand and said,

“Huh? No, I’ll help too.”

“The two of us are enough for this. Just wait in a safe place over there, and we’ll be done.”

It seemed better to let them run wild than to keep insisting here. Then I should cheer them on.

I took a step back and gave them a thumbs-up.

“That’s a good idea.”

Yeah. I don’t need to step in when they’re here, right!

I naturally stood in the rear and cast a shield on Heathcliff and Ella with Tebi’s power.

Hearthcliff and Ella, armed with a strong shield, began to dance with their swords.

* * *

As we safely entered Cainreich’s base, he groaned.

“Hiyah. Thanks, I almost had those guys barging in here.”

Seeing him wiping away cold sweat, it seemed he had been fighting day and night to defend this place.

“They keep pushing in with numbers all the time; it’s been a headache.”

“When did it become like this? It was fine before.”

“Well, among our guys who were distributing Al [a type of drug or substance], some suddenly had stronger pheromones…”

Cainreich sighed and confessed what had happened.

Everything went smoothly until his men signed a contract with a northern merchant to distribute Al.

But the guys who came back from the north suddenly gained great power. At first, they hid it, so he didn’t notice, but one day they all became like that.

“It was really in an instant. It felt like they were going crazy the more they used their pheromones.”

“It’s similar to before.”

Ella answered seriously, and Heathcliff nodded.

“It seems they deliberately approached to confuse this side. Especially the abandoned beastmen like your subordinates would have jumped at the chance if they were offered great power.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I should have gone myself if I had known this would happen.”

Cainreich buried his head as if he had a headache.

“By the time I realized it, it had already spread in an instant. My subordinates, as well as the guys outside, started running wild. When I caught a sane guy and interrogated him, he said he took something like this.”

He took out a black bead from his pocket. It looked like a herbal medicine pill, and there were no particular problems on the outside.

I brought the bead close to my nose and sniffed. I could faintly feel Zabbish’s poison there.

“I can feel Zabbish’s poison here. Maybe that’s why everyone went crazy the more they used their power. Attractant pheromones are very exclusive.”

“You have a great nose. Are you actually a dog beastman instead of a white ferret beastman?”

Cainreich exclaimed, and I smiled and retorted.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“I’m a dog, so I’m talking dog [making a pun].”

“No, not that kind of dog talk…”

While Cainreich and I were exchanging meaningless banter, Ella said,

“So, you collected Zabbish’s poison at the wedding that day.”

“Yeah. It seems like that’s the case.”

I lightly agreed and made a serious face. I was talking and laughing with Cainreich, but it was actually a serious situation. The madness was already spreading.

Maybe in the original story, Zakari collected Zabbish’s poison and made medicine when he went berserk.

At that time, I didn’t think much about the Butterfly Company, so I didn’t even think about preventing this situation.

I looked at Cainreich and asked.

“Are you okay? I heard it’s contagious.”

“I don’t know. It seems like everyone goes crazy if they use pheromones. So, I’ve been trying not to use pheromones and responding with force.”

“You’re surprisingly smart.”

“I’m not a complete idiot.”

Cainreich shrugged and boasted. He likes it even though I didn’t praise him, so he’s definitely not a complete idiot, but half an idiot.

Ella said,

“You did well. You would have gone crazy too if you had used pheromones to fight back.”

“Eek! I knew it!”

Cainreich shuddered, and Ella turned to me.

“Chersea, if a beastman who has already taken the medicine becomes a madman, it will spread uncontrollably. The more hosts there are, the more contagious it becomes.”

As Ella said, this place was already full of madmen. No matter how many we caught, they kept pouring out, so it was safe to say it was already over.

I asked seriously.

“Exactly how does it get infected?”

“If you are directly exposed to the pheromones of the madmen, the virus becomes inherent in your body. If you use pheromones in that state, you will start to get infected.”

“Does that mean that if you don’t use pheromones, the madness won’t break out even if you have the virus?”

“Yes. But even that puts a strain on your body if it accumulates in your body. The more you carry the virus in your body, the weaker you become.”

Ella glanced at Cainreich. Unlike before, he looked somewhat haggard. If he had already been exposed to pheromones, it would be evidence that his body was weakening.

Ella said pessimistically.

“Maybe this isn’t just happening here. It used to start spreading simultaneously in various parts of the continent.”

“Zerachiel’s fluctuating location may also be related to that.”

“That’s right. Since the madness has already broken out, the spreading speed would have been even faster.”

“It’s an urgent situation.”

I muttered bitterly. It was something I had expected since Zerachiel’s location was fluctuating.

‘It’s okay. Zerachiel’s flower was safe.’

I had already asked Zakari to protect the secret garden.

The last time I saw Zerachiel’s flower, it was still fresh. It didn’t wither like in my dreams or in the original story.

“It’s dangerous to wander around like this. It’s better to move using the tunnels…”

“No. I’m going to break through head-on.”

“Yes? But…”

“Either way, Hebel will become the last line of defense as they want. We don’t know how herd mentality will work then.”

“That’s true, but how are you going to stop a pandemic that has already started spreading…”

“If it’s an epidemic originating from Zabbish’s madness, I might be able to purify it.”

“Ah.”

“I’ve already saved Zabbish once.”

“But wasn’t that power not yet awakened?”

“Actually, it has awakened.”

“Yes?”

“I felt my other pheromone exactly when the first seizure occurred. At that time, I couldn’t be sure of my pheromone, so I couldn’t say it.”

Ella’s eyes lit up at my words. The awakening of the pheromone that had been quiet all along. Now, thanks to Zerachiel, I roughly grasped the characteristics of that pheromone.

I wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t periodically injected pheromones to relieve the cold.

Coincidentally, my pheromone was the only and effective power to overcome the current pandemic situation.

I smiled and said.

“Maybe they didn’t expect this either?”

* * *

Neutral area, Hebel.

Zerachiel, in his black lion form, was leaning his head on Yanu’s lap.

“Good boy.”

As Yanu stroked his head, Zerachiel purred gently. A sight that would have horrified anyone who knew him.

The reason why Yanu made him return to his true form was obvious. It was to enjoy the sight of him submitting.

Zerachiel had a collar around his neck in preparation for any possible resistance. The source of Zabbish’s power is the ‘Divine Beast’. Even if he was brainwashed with the Ruby of Restraint, he couldn’t be completely relieved, so he took measures.

At that time, Naaman, who was watching this scene from the side, swallowed hard with a fearful face.