Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 51 Bonfires, Babes, and Beasts
Piles of lumber and scraps sat stacked high in the center of the old sawmill yard, spiderwebs clinging everywhere. With no living souls around for who knows how long, even the centipedes and spiders had thinned out. ๐ป๐โฏโฏ๐ค๐๐๐๐ฐ๐๐๐.๐ธ๐๐ฎ
Fifty squads, five hundred fighters in all, disembarked. Each group had three people - two with torches, one with a nail gun - moving in formation. In just twenty-five minutes, the whole massive yard was cleared. Emily signaled from the gate: the convoy could enter.
"Thereโs a rat beast inside the warehouse," Magnus said flatly. "Be careful. Hell with it, Iโll go handle it myself. You guys double-check the yard again."
Just as he stepped forward, Sophia darted in front of him, eyes firing, voice full of disbelief. "You know again? You just know again? I donโt buy it! How the hell do you always know whatโs in there? Are you some damn god? You think youโre the Almighty or something? Iโm not buying it!"
Magnus recalled Sarahโs words from last night. Thinking back, it really was true. Sophia seemed to enjoy picking fights with him.
He stared at her, silently. That made Sophia flinch a little. Trying to regain composure, she retorted, "Well? Say something! Cat got your tongue? Did I finally catch you lying? Youโve got nothing to say now, huh?"
"Fine," Magnus said. "Come with me, letโs check it out together."
Saying that, he reached out and grabbed her arm on purpose. Just as he figured, she stiffened instantly. He kept pulling her along for three steps before she snapped out of it, tore her arm away, and shouted, "You bastard! Shameless pig! Who said you could touch me? What the hell is wrong with you?! Just so you know, we may look alike, but Iโm not Grace, that lovesick idiot!"
Seeing she was about to go full rage mode and yank off her tactical helmet, Magnus clamped his hand on her head, irritated. "You losing it again? You think taking it off will help someone tell you two apart?"
He had a point. Without their uniforms, even he couldnโt tell Sophia and Grace apart - the sisters looked exactly the same.
Since there was an actual rat beast in the warehouse, Charlotte and Emily each brought two squads to follow Magnus in.
They were curious, too. Wanted to see if this guy really was as mystical as he seemed.
The warehouse was massive. Even with forty-plus fighters inside, they only filled one corner. Magnus gave a hand signal for silence, then pulled out his automatic rifle. "Nail guns wonโt cut it. Switch to rifles."
His tension rubbed off on the team. The women quietly swapped weapons and followed his lead, moving carefully.
Most of the warehouse had been cleared, but plenty of wood stacks still cluttered the place - either substandard leftovers or scraps from who knows when.
Perfect hiding spots for a rat beast.
"There. Itโs there," Magnus whispered, pointing toward a pile of lumber. The area was dark, blood from centipedes smeared everywhere. Hairy legs from both centipedes and spiders littered the floor.
Then they saw it - a huge rat beast, snoozing between the boards.
"It... it eats centipedes?" Emily gasped."Thatโs not the point!" Magnus raised his hand, pointing at Grace, Emily, and Charlotte, then at his own chest. He lifted five fingers, counting down - "Five, four, three..."
The three women caught on. As soon as his fingers hit one and his hand dropped, all four pulled the trigger at once.
The rat-type beast dropped dead. The team moved in, clearing the warehouse, while the rest of the convoy - 67 vehicles - rolled in and parked.
"Liana!" Magnus called out, spotting Liana. "Thereโs plenty of firewood here. Get ten stoves going, ten pots too. Toss in some vinegar - itโll drive off these mosquitoes. Weโre not gonna have everyone wearing helmets indoors."
Liana nodded but pointed up toward the broken windows near the warehouse roof. "What about those? Glass is shattered, and we canโt reach them. Even if we smoke the bugs out now, theyโll fly back in at night."
Magnus glanced up at the windows and nodded. "Itโs fine. Weโve got a firetruck, right? Iโll go up later and seal them off with steel plates. End of problem."
"Wait - the firetruck?" Liana blinked, taken aback. Sheโd only ever thought of it as a water tanker.
She couldnโt help but wonder - how does Magnus always think of everything?
Once the pots were bubbling with vinegar fumes, the giant mosquitoes cleared out. Magnus climbed the firetruck ladder, reached the upper windows, and spent over an hour nailing steel plates in place, one by one, sealing them shut.
With that done, it was time for dinner. The women were in high spirits, finally able to dress light and stretch their legs. Liana led the logistics crew in setting up bonfires. The whole warehouse glowed bright.
Dinner was simple - barbecue. Roasted pork, lamb... no one was in the mood for beef stew. No orders needed - team members eagerly unloaded beer from the supply vehicle. It looked like a full-on bonfire party was forming.
Magnus let them do their thing and lay back in the sleeper truck, flipping through the crystal inventory. Sarah sat quietly by his feet with a book titled The Surrendered Wife.
The list read: 477 crystals total - 201 Water Crystals, 162 Fire Crystals, 111 Metal Crystals, 3 Earth Crystals.
Finally got some Earth Crystals. Magnusโs eyes narrowed. He glanced at the ring tattoo on his left hand. No idea what itโd do with Earth Crystals. He wanted to test it, but the warehouse wasnโt the right place.
Still, Earth Crystals were rare for a reason. They could accelerate the growth of ten acres of land in an instant.
But who the hell would waste that on grains?
Ten acres of ginseng, though... thatโd be a different story. A team living on ginseng-infused tea and soup every day? Thatโd be worth it.
Problem was, ginseng grew in the mountains, hard to manage here. And theyโd need seeds, too.
"Magnus," Sarahโs voice broke his thoughts.
"Hmm?" He lowered the crystal sheet and looked at her.
"Do you think..." she tilted her head, searching for words, "...are all women selfish?"
Selfish? He studied her face. What was she trying to say? He didnโt answer right away.
Before he could speak, another voice cut in.
"Of course we are. All women are selfish."
A slender white hand reached toward Magnus.
"Hi, Iโm Victoria Reyes. Iโm also Daisyโs mother."
