Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 37 My Only Condition

"Magnus, come eat something."

Sarah climbed into the vehicle, graceful as always. But the moment she saw Magnus’s pale face, she frowned and reached for his hand. "Dinner... wait, your hand - why is it so cold?"

"I’m fine... really."

"What are you doing?!"

Sarah’s voice sharpened. She’d been getting along well with Magnus lately - he wiped her sweat, shielded her - but this? This crossed a line.

It was disrespectful. Way out of line.

"I..." Magnus froze, suddenly realizing Sarah wasn’t his girlfriend yet. What he’d just done - grabbing her hand so naturally - only made things worse. Now he was panicking.

"Sarah, I..." His mind spun - should he tell her how he felt? Just throw it out there? But a sudden confession might scare her off. Yet... what if he never got another chance?

Sarah’s big eyes locked onto him. She knew what he wanted to say.

"Magnus..."

She bit her lip, voice low and trembling. "You... should treat Emily and Grace well. They’re both... good people. You and I... we don’t fit." Her eyes shimmered, and without waiting for a response, she turned and ran off the vehicle.

Magnus sat there, stunned.

Grace clearly had feelings for him - that much was obvious. But Emily? That was complicated. Last life, sure, there was a night between them, but the situation back then had been... twisted.

Was Sarah jealous?

With a sigh, Magnus forced the thought out of his mind and stood up to get dressed for dinner. It was too buggy outside - they had to eat in the car. The girls hauled in a few small pots, their cheerful chatter echoing in the cabin.

"Smells amazing..."

One by one, they brought more food inside. Magnus sniffed the air - and then tensed. Something wasn’t right.

Just then, a blast shattered the silence. His face dropped.

"Rodents!" he shouted.

That beef stew... the scent must have drawn them in!

Back in the previous life, Ice Regiment never cooked beef stew out in the wild, so the danger hadn’t crossed his mind until now. A stupid, unforgivable mistake.

Two more explosions. Magnus bellowed, voice raw, "Everyone get ready to fight!"

Panic erupted.

Charlotte’s squad had already opened fire at the perimeter - but those rodent beasts were too fast, almost matching the speed of Grace and Sophia. And there wasn’t just one or two - they were swarming.

Magnus grabbed a rifle, jumped down. He could count at least four of the creatures in the shadows - and they were closing in.

Screams burst from Charlotte’s direction. Riders dashed out from the cars, scrambling to intercept. Some forgot their safety helmets in the chaos. Overhead, a swarm of giant mosquitoes dove down in unison. The girls without helmets didn’t even get a chance to react - their faces became pin cushions in seconds, cries of pain ripping through the camp.

"You bastards!"

Leaping from one vehicle roof to another, Sophia opened fire with both hands, her twin pistols spitting fire.

A pair of the monsters’ blood-red eyes exploded into gore and scream.

The fight had truly begun. Magnus arrived just in time. His rifle locked onto the giant rodent’s head and let off a burst of fire. Three seconds later, the truck-sized creature dropped dead.

"Hmph." Sophia shot him a frosty glare, swapped out her emptied magazines with practiced hands, then leapt forward and started firing at the next rodent.

She was furious at Magnus. This stupid choice, this cursed place - why Qinggou out of all spots? Was he trying to revisit some old territory?

*****

Half an hour later, every last one of the eleven rodent beasts had been killed. Ice Regiment lost thirty-seven women.

Dinner went on anyway.

Those who survived curled up in their bunks, quietly spooning beef stew and rice into their mouths. The soup tasted dull now, bitter even.

After the meal, Liana stepped into Magnus’s bunk bus with a notebook in hand. "Magnus, take a look at this."

He took it. Neatly listed were updated roster stats.

The Ice Regiment now had 634 members in total - 427 were Awakened. There were 187 women able to drive regular transports, 98 trained to drive heavy vehicles. A breakdown of local recruits from Springvale City followed...

Liana had clearly done her homework.

The high number of Awakened could largely be traced back to the batch of women from the Havencrest market center - out of over 400, more than 350 had Awakened. Survival of the strongest.

"Magnus! Me, Charlotte, and Emily - we need to talk." Sophia’s tone was sharp.

The two sleeper buses Magnus and a few others used were the best Ice Regiment had. Three wide rows of bunks, stacked three high on either side and one in the middle.

The central aisle was spacious. Everything from the bedding to the interior was brand-new and clean. The windows had been sealed with metal plates, making the inside feel more like a bunker or maybe even a home.

"Speak. I’m listening."

Magnus sat on one of the middle bunks, lighting a cigarette calmly. The three women sat across from him. Other female members nearby picked up on Sophia’s biting tone and glanced over, whispering. Was there a coup brewing?

Sophia’s gaze was ice-cold. "I think you should take full responsibility for the deaths today."

"Sister..." Grace stepped in, giving her sister a gentle tug on the arm.

"You shut it, Grace!" Sophia snapped and yanked her arm away. Then she turned her fire back on Magnus. "This isn’t over. Tell me, why the hell did we come to this death trap anyway? What were you thinking? And don’t tell me - "

"I wanted to make us stronger."

Magnus cut her off. His voice was steady, but death had left him colder than usual. Thirty-seven lives, gone because of his oversight.

"Stronger?" Sophia sneered. "You thinking the more of us that die, the stronger the rest become?"

Magnus exhaled, holding back the burn in his chest. "I’ll tell you my reasons. But I’ve got one condition."

"Cut the crap. Just say it!" Sophia barked, quick to return the favor for him interrupting her.

"Fine," Magnus stood up, tobacco smoke trailing from his lips. His eyes locked onto hers like a blade drawn...