Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 43 It’s Stuck to My Hand

Magnus hesitated. If it was just a waste, he might’ve only felt regret. But now? He was afraid that using this thing might send him five hours back before this cursed world began.

Yet the next second, he realized - hesitation was no longer an option.

The black crystal, about the size of a football, had stuck to his hand. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t let it go. Unless he planned to lose the hand, he had no choice.

He took a few sharp breaths, forced himself calm, then closed his eyes. Slowly, he channeled his energy. The crystal cracked, then dissolved into two streams of jet-black smoke, surging into both his palms.

When he opened his eyes again, he was still in the sleeper bus. No time jump. He flexed his body - no signs of the Fire Crystal or Metal Crystal infusion, no strength surge, no nothing.

That was it?

*****

"Commander! Thirty meters ahead - we caught a bus!"

"Oh?"

Luke was half-dozing in his vehicle when he took up his binoculars and peered out the window, surprised. "Take me there."

The vehicle had been refitted in ways he couldn’t believe. With a few soldiers, he boarded the bus - and was shocked again.

Girls. All girls. Fully armed. Where’d they get this kind of gear?

Feeling something was off, Luke turned and asked one of his men quietly, "Anyone talked yet?"

"Not... not yet, sir. We were waiting for you."

Luke nodded, took off his helmet, walked a few steps through the aisle, and stared at the girls. His voice came out low and cold. "Assaulting a national military chopper - capital crime. No trial needed. I can execute you right here. Anyone got something to say before I listen?"

"We didn’t shoot the helicopter!" One girl suddenly shouted back.

Now they were all panicking. Sweating. Regret flooding every inch of them.

Luke’s eyes locked onto her. Voice like a whip, he barked, "You think shouting makes it true? Then tell me - who did it?"

"It wasn’t us! We didn’t - "

She didn’t finish. Luke’s hand moved. One shot.

BOOM.

Her left eye burst, a spray of blood shooting over a meter.

"AHH!!"

The rest of the girls screamed in terror, diving for cover like panicked animals.

Luke didn’t even flinch. He turned away and calmly took a seat in the front row. Lit a cigarette.

His two aides moved in like wolves.

One yanked a girl up by the helmet, tore it off, grabbed her hair, and jammed a gun to her forehead. "TALK! Who the hell brought down that chopper?!"

"I’ll talk! I’ll talk!!" the girl sobbed, wetting herself from fear. "It was Magnus Specter! It was his Ice Regiment! We left already, we had nothing to do with it! Please... please let us go! We just want to go home... we really just want to go home..."

"Oh? Magnus?" Luke slowly rose to his feet and turned toward the girl. "You’ve got one minute left. Whether you use it well is up to you."

"I... I already told you!" the girl sobbed uncontrollably. "They’re in Dunwich Hollow! It’s their base now! There’re over six hundred of them, with weapons, food, cars - everything!"

She broke down completely, wailing, "Please, that’s all I know! I swear I don’t know anything else! Please don’t kill me! I still need to find my mom! I need to find my dad..."

Luke nodded with satisfaction, then stepped off the bus and walked back calmly to his command vehicle. Once inside, his aide asked cautiously, "Commander, we’re heading to Dunwich Hollow?"

"Yeah." Luke leaned back in his seat, eyes closing slightly.

"But... Sir, they’ve got over six hundred people now, we only have 395. Should we request backup?"

Luke’s eyes snapped open at that, and he snorted coldly, "Backup? A bunch of college kids snatched a few guns, and you’re telling me the Sovereign Vanguard troops need reinforcements to deal with that? Even if Cliff agrees to send help, just asking for it - how do you expect me to keep my damn dignity?"

The aide stammered, "But, Sir... they took out a helicopter..."

Luke didn’t answer right away. He took a long drag from his cigarette, then said calmly, "Go back. Keep killing if needed. I want the cleanest intel you can get."

*****

Magnus peeled off his gloves and helmet, examining his hands carefully. His eyes froze on a strange detail - there, on his left middle finger, was a pitch-black tattoo-like ring.

He narrowed his eyes, trying everything to figure it out - channeling power through it, rubbing it, tapping it with other fingers, even pressing it against his forehead. Nothing.

This can’t be it! After something that bizarre, just a damn tattoo?

No way.

Gritting his teeth, he stabbed his fingertip with a knife, letting a drop of blood fall onto the mark. Still no reaction.

Impossible! He racked his brain, checked his stats again - strength and speed still at double baseline. No improvement.

Accuracy? No change. Stamina? Still the same. Mental power? Hell, he didn’t even know how to test for that...

Then what the hell could this black ring tattoo do? What the hell was it really for?

"Magnus! Magnus, trouble!"

Chloe banged hard against the door. She didn’t have the key, so Magnus rushed to the front seat to unlock it.

"What’s going on? Beast-rats?"

"No, worse!" Chloe leapt into the vehicle, and a handful of palm-sized, bloody mosquitoes followed her in. Magnus didn’t have his helmet on, so he quickly slammed the door shut, grabbed a can of insecticide, and sprayed like hell.

Coughing hard, Chloe waved away the fumes and gasped, "Magnus! The girls we let go this morning - they’re back! And they’re not alone! They’ve brought hundreds of fully armed soldiers!"

"What?!"