Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 56 Ten Bullets, One Man Army

Magnus climbed into the back of the infantry vehicle and glanced upward. It looked about the same inside as any caravan he’d seen - two rows of benches on either side, the front open straight to the driver’s compartment. His mind had already started turning.

"Who are you? What’s your business? Look up!" barked a stern voice from inside.

Two soldiers had him by the arms. Magnus raised his head slightly and caught the officer’s shoulder insignia. Two bars and three stars. That gave him pause.

A deputy division commander? Or maybe a full colonel? Was the Seventh Vanguard really handing out ranks so cheaply now? A full colonel riding with only a few men?

He couldn’t piece it together, but unknown to him, this was exactly Cliff’s plan.

After several divisions turned traitor, Baxter had tightened things. Only his most trusted deputies were left commanding troops. The colonel in the back, Oliver Bright, was the current staff chief - and he wasn’t happy with Cliff’s decisions. But at least now he’d laid hands on someone who didn’t fear the mutated creatures of the end times.

If they could just figure this guy out... forget the Seventh Vanguard - maybe all of humanity’s future would have his name stamped on it.

Magnus’s mind was moving fast, options flashing and dying in an instant. Then he made a decision. Quietly, he activated the Metal Crystal again with his hands behind his back.

"I’m the General’s aide," he announced, head held high, voice calm and cold. "You don’t recognize me?"

That caught them. Oliver and the two soldiers holding him froze in surprise.

Perfect.

With a sudden twist, Magnus slammed his shoulder into the soldier on the left, throwing himself backward at the same time. He went down hard, but not helpless - his right foot kicked the left soldier in the crotch, dropping him instantly.

His right arm was still caught by the other soldier, but Magnus used that grip to yank back, dragging the second man over. As he rose, he snapped his helmet into the face of the doubled-over soldier, sending him sprawling, and yanked the gun from his belt.

It sounded fluid, but the whole thing took two seconds, tops.

"Bang bang bang!" Shots echoed through the cramped space. More soldiers reached for their guns, but too late.

Magnus stood where he had risen, unscathed. Calmly racking the slide, he fired twice more.

Two of the downed soldiers now had fresh holes - one in the gut, one in the chest.

A breath. Then came six more shots. The rifleman, the gunner, everyone left - gone in an instant.

Only Oliver remained, eyes bulged, trembling. Then -

Thud.

He dropped to his knees. "Don’t kill me! Please! I’ll talk - I’ll tell everything!"

Did I even ask him to? Magnus almost laughed.

Still gripping his newfound gun, he hauled Oliver up by the collar and forced the hatch open. Outside, he swiftly handled the six soldiers in the following three vehicles, then dragged Oliver back inside and tossed him onto the seat like a sack of grain.

"That’ll do," Magnus said flatly, glancing at him. "Satisfied now? Those men died because you hesitated."

"Because of me?" Oliver looked up, confused, like he couldn’t believe it. "What - are you scared of killing? Trying to pin it on me?"

"Yeah, all because of you." Magnus sank into the seat across from Oliver, yanked off his helmet, and fished out a pack of soft Zhonghua from his pocket. He tossed one stick to Oliver, lit up his own, then flipped the lighter over to him.

Watching Oliver’s trembling hands trying to light the cigarette, Magnus exhaled, smoke curling from his nose. "You were just spilling everything, remember? I didn’t want to kill you, so I had to deal with them instead. Otherwise, they run back to Cliff, tell him you’ve turned traitor, and next thing you know, you’re hanging with a ’colluding with the enemy’ sign on your neck. I killed for your sake."

Oliver stared at him, lost for words. After a long silence, he rasped, "You’re really not going to kill me?"

"Why would I waste the bullet? If I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t be sitting here chatting, would I?"

"You..." Oliver blinked, then pulled himself together. "So what do you want from me?"

"Whatever I ask, you answer," Magnus said, patting his shoulder. "You’re two bars three stars, useful enough to keep alive. I’m staying in Springvale City, so be ready. I’ll need regular intel from you. Got it?"

What Magnus said made sense, and considering the bodies he’d left behind for Oliver’s sake, Oliver couldn’t think of a reason he’d be lying. He nodded slowly. "Alright. Ask."

"Just two questions," Magnus said. "First - how many troops do you have in Springvale City? What about supplies - food and water?"

Oliver answered without hesitation, just as Magnus expected: "We’ve got 5th and 7th Divisions stationed in the city. Around sixteen thousand troops, mostly around Lightwater Residences. Food and water might last a week. No more."

Magnus gave a slight nod. That matched what he’d guessed. "Second question - your air force. Tell me everything you know."

Oliver frowned, thinking. "The base’s been overrun by the 13th Division. They turned rogue. Now they want us to trade food and water for planes. Cliff refused, and word is half the aircraft’s already been blown to hell. I don’t know how many airmen are left."

"Rogues, huh?" Magnus asked casually, voice calm. "Doesn’t make sense. Even if a division commander rebels, as long as Cliff has the regimental seal, can’t he still mobilize the troops?"

"Seal?" Oliver stared, then sneered. He didn’t know if Magnus was playing dumb or just clueless. Judging by his age, maybe too many war novels.

Oliver gave a dry laugh. "We don’t use seals anymore. These days it’s all red-stamped directives. But this time’s different - we’ve lost radio contact. So before the operation to rescue the cities kicked off, we set ten emergency comm codes. Only comm officers use them. Officers at regimental level and up had to memorize them. Each can only be used once to give a single order. Designed to prevent internal sabotage."

Magnus wasn’t actually dumb - he knew seals were outdated. He just needed to get Oliver talking. The real challenge now was figuring out if the codes Oliver had were real.

There wasn’t a foolproof way to verify - except maybe killing him and summoning his ghost for answers...