Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 58 No Mercy for Cowards

No hands went up.

Three gunshots. Three men dropped. The remaining seven women screamed, crouching with their heads in their arms.

"Shut up! I’m not killing you. Who can drive a damn truck? Hands up!" Magnus barked. He was out of patience.

The seven women raised their hands, trembling.

"All of you? I’m talking about big rigs. What kind of licenses do you have?" Magnus didn’t buy it.

"I’ve had my license over ten years... I could’ve upgraded... just never took the test..."

"Me too!"

"Same here!"

They were clearly terrified. After watching three men get shot for not raising their hands, they wouldn’t dare stay silent now.

Driving a truck isn’t the same as a manual car. Braking, distance - it’s a different game, especially on a highway clogged with wreckage.

Magnus turned to leave, hesitating. Leaving them here was no different from sentencing them to a slow death. Might even have been kinder to go like those three men. These women? Would probably starve or worse.

Screw it. If they crash, they crash. They’re already dead; making it would be a miracle.

And there was no time. No way he’d find three trained truck drivers just standing around.

No fuel and no fire lines either - too far. Magnus returned to the infantry vehicle, stripped gear off seven corpses, and handed out the clothes and helmets back at the bank.

It was 4:10 PM. He gave them bare-bones instructions on handling the trucks, took the lead in the military SUV, and rolled westward. They needed time to get used to the rigs.

At 5:30 PM, they passed Springvale City’s west gate. What should’ve taken 20 minutes took over an hour. Making it to Coldmere Town by 7 PM was out of the question.

Time was tight now. Magnus had to watch for any incoming traffic. If a vehicle came from the Springvale direction... he’d have to kill for it. No other option.

They finally reached ten kilometers outside Coldmere at 10:13 PM. What should’ve taken three hours took nearly five, with four accidents along the way. Luck was on their side - no major damage, thanks to slow speeds.

Magnus peered through binoculars from the SUV. No military presence ahead. Likely stationed deep inside Coldmere, taking a break. Just as he figured.

The town was small - one main road ending at Coldmere Correctional Facility. Built around the prison, it used to be just a village.

Magnus got out and checked on the three rear trucks. The women were in vehicles refitted by Oliver.

Thick wooden boards bolted over the side windows. Front windshield reinforced with old security grates - same kind used on first-floor windows. Not as solid as Ice Regiment’s work, but they’d do.

Back in the lead SUV, Magnus drove ahead. Five kilometers more to Twinforest Village - Emma was supposed to be there.

First things first: get the supplies to the village. More importantly, get the women hidden. If Cliff’s comms guy shows up hauling cargo with seven women... no one’s buying that story.

Soon, lights from the trucks swept over Twinforest Village - it was a mess. Total wreck. In his past life, the Ice Regiment met Emma six months later in the north of the city. This time was different - Magnus was actively seeking her out. It was also his first time setting foot in Twinforest Village.

Now what? The place was dead silent, not a soul in sight. How was he supposed to find Emma here?

Magnus felt lost. Before he could decide on his next move, a faint sound caught his ear. His senses on high alert, he activated the Fire Crystal and stepped off the truck. More creaks followed, guiding his attention to a courtyard in the second house up ahead.

It was a two-story house: garage and kitchen below, bedrooms above. The family who lived here had to be doing alright.

Magnus approached silently. Another creak - he turned slightly. A glimmer of light seeped out beside the courtyard wall.

A cellar?

He headed straight for it. Suddenly - slam! The wooden door overhead banged shut. Magnus sprinted forward, flashlight out. A solid wood door about two meters square sat flush with the ground, two massive centipedes wriggling by its edge.

Now he understood why they’d slammed the door. With the Fire Crystal protecting him, Magnus grabbed the joints of both centipedes. No blade needed - within seconds, they burned to a crisp.

He knocked lightly on the wooden door. "Someone in there?"

"Who is it? A survivor?" A man’s voice answered from within.

"Let me in. I mean no harm," Magnus said calmly.

There was a commotion inside. Seemed like more than one person. Not long after, the door creaked open a crack. Magnus flung it fully open, causing a stir from below.

He crouched and made his way down the ladder, eyes scanning. The cellar was surprisingly spacious, like a wartime bunker. Arched and tunnel-like, around three meters high and two wide, stretching dozens of meters in.

On the left, villagers stood lined up - men and women alike. All looked at him with wary eyes. On the right were stacks of woven sacks, some torn open, spilling out massive red apples.

It was a storage cellar for fruits and vegetables. The owner was Max Kelly, the village chief and the man who ran the Twinforest groves.

Magnus was about to speak when dizziness hit him. His head spun, body swayed. Low oxygen. He backed up fast, yanked the cellar door fully open, and gulped the fresh air.

Now he got it - earlier, they’d opened the door to breathe.

"What are you doing? Close the door!" Max shouted.

"It’s fine..." Magnus waved him off, sitting at the entrance. "No spiders or centipedes will mess with me." The Fire Crystal burned brightly around him. Nothing from the apocalypse dared come close.

Air poured in. Villagers rushed over, gulping it down like treasure.

Once things settled, Magnus shut the door again and stepped back down. No Emma. Disappointed, he asked, "I’m looking for someone. Anyone here know a girl named Emma?"

"Emma?" Max blinked. "She... she really made it to the government?"

"The government?" Magnus frowned. Then something prickled at him - among the twenty-some villagers, some were stunned, others looked off, a few even dropped their heads, avoiding his gaze...