Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 114 Crashed, Cursed, Still Standing

Sophia. From their first meeting at the Zero Mile post in Springvale City, to the moment she threw herself in front of a bomber to save him at the edge of University Town... all the way to how the two constantly clashed afterward. Magnus even kissed her by force once. He forced that memory down hard.

If I fall now... will she die?

Then there’s Isabel. She was an old-timer in the Ice Regiment in his past life. Magnus had spent more time with her than anyone else. Scenes from that life flashed across his mind - her dimples when she smiled... and Charlotte...

His mind was a mess, but he forced his eyes open. With effort, he reached into his pocket and fished out a bar of chocolate, cramming it into his mouth and swallowing it along with the rain.

Beside him, the Nature Crystal log still burned with fierce blue flames. Gritting his teeth, Magnus stood again. He wouldn’t let them die - not now.

He moved without hesitation. He knew this state, knew that once he pushed through the fake-death threshold of exhaustion, his strength would leap again. He had to force his body through it. No matter what.

The crimson rain rose over his boots, dragging his speed down, but Magnus inhaled sharply and leaped onto a nearby signboard. Like a lizard on a wall, he scrambled up to the roof of a twelve-story building and scanned the city through the rain-streaked lenses of his binoculars.

There... that had to be Isabel’s convoy.

In the distance, a street lay in ruins. The Ice Regiment’s modded vehicles had been overturned and scattered everywhere. Four, maybe five female corpses sprawled in twisted wreckage.

No time to think. His brain barely worked anymore. Magnus activated his Metal Crystal armor and launched himself off the roof.

He hit the street with a heavy thud. No nausea, just a dull wave of dizziness. Shaking it off, he sprinted toward the wrecks with everything he had left, his feet pounding through the flood.

At the crash site, the bodies of five female teammates lay still and cold. But Isabel’s was nowhere in sight.

Four modified Ice Regiment vehicles. Behind them sat a new unmodded cargo truck. They must’ve found it recently - probably planned to drive it back to the Ice Regiment base.

Then - a faint sound. A tiny, brittle crackle beneath the pounding rain.

Magnus froze, every nerve on edge. He strained to hear.

There it was again. Coming from inside the cargo truck.

He bolted to the rear and started pounding on the metal shell. "Isabel! You inside?!"

"Magnus? Magnus, is that you?!" a woman’s voice cried from inside.

His heart leapt. "It’s me! It’s Magnus! Open the door!"

The truck’s lock was outside, but the women hadn’t truly locked it. They’d just jammed it shut with a shovel. The mutated centipedes and spiders never figured out how to open doors - just bashed into things.

He pulled it free and climbed in.

A blinding flashlight snapped on right away. Five people inside.

"Magnus!" Isabel sobbed and threw herself at him, arms tight around his chest. "You really came! It’s my fault - we got ambushed. I couldn’t protect them! Punish me if you want, just - "

He didn’t let her finish. He was just glad they were still alive.

"Isabel, calm down! This isn’t your fault," Magnus gripped Isabel’s narrow shoulders, speaking fast. "Listen, I haven’t found Sophia’s squad yet. I’m gonna park your truck on the roadside against the building. You all stay put. Just stay safe here. I’m heading out to look for Sophia."

"Park it against the wall? What do you mean?" Isabel stared at him, confused.

"So the centipedes can’t flip the vehicle, understand?" Magnus didn’t wait for an answer. He yanked the door open. "Don’t come out, no matter what. I’ll be back once I find Sophia and the others."

He leapt from the cargo box, slid into the driver’s seat, and turned the modified truck right up against a storefront by the road. Without pausing, he jumped out again and sprinted toward a tall building ahead.

Sophia’s mission had been set at the slaughterhouse. Slaughterhouses in cities like this weren’t in prime traffic areas - had to be in the outskirts.

Magnus’s mind was racing as he pushed into a twenty-story building, took the emergency stairs, and climbed up to the roof. Raising his binoculars, he scanned the surroundings.

Nothing. Still nothing. No sign of Sophia’s vehicles.

Where the hell were they?

Growing more anxious, Magnus didn’t hesitate - he jumped straight down off the twentieth floor, hitting the ground running. He tore down the Southriver City ring road, east to west, covered more than half the city with no sight of her convoy.

His body was beyond done - burned out to the edge. He had no clue how far he’d gone, but at least a marathon’s worth.

"Sophia! Damn it... why the hell did you run off like that?!"

Cursing loudly, he spotted a random car on the roadside, jumped in, slammed the gas, and bolted north.

Then came the first signs - two Ice Regiment vehicles, stripped and mangled. At least twenty corpses, butchered and half-eaten, littered the path.

In the distance, faint gunshots.

Magnus ditched the car and sprinted towards them.

A sleeper bus - one of Ice Regiment’s!

It was cornered. A swarm of centipedes slammed against the metal hull, deforming it badly. The ones inside were barely holding the walls up with their bodies.

Magnus gripped a hefty wooden pole and crashed into the swarm. Each swing broke beasts apart, shrieks echoing with every blow, drowning the air.

Three brutal minutes later, breath ragged, he leaned on the pole, coughing violently, then dropped to his knees. His body was completely shot - pushed past any human limit.

He bit his lip till it bled, forcing himself conscious. Dragging the pole onto his back, he staggered toward the bus. The doors opened, and two female squadmates jumped out, catching him before he collapsed.

"Captain! You... came alone?"

Inside the bus, Magnus looked around quickly. No sign of Sophia.

"Where’s Sophia?" he asked sharply.

A female teammate looked down, avoiding his eyes. Others nearby were already sobbing.

Magnus’s chest tightened. He grabbed the woman by the shoulders, growling, "Answer me! She’s your captain, isn’t she? Where is Sophia?!"