Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 181 Work Fast or Starve

Magnus had that dream again last night. Second time now. So, come dawn, he shoved aside the urge to lounge in bed reading and got himself moving, heading out of the grain vault to personally oversee the prisoners modifying the vehicles.

His mind wasn’t at ease.

No more rebar. Last night, he’d told Emily they could cut up steel plates or strip down the useless vehicles to make rebar.

Early this morning, he sent out Megan, Amber, and Ashton, each leading a hundred people, to scout for a steel factory.

Ashbrook Town was decent for a rural settlement - six gated communities stood scattered around, along with some random buildings and shops. Not much of a layout, but plenty of houses.

Around a thousand military vehicles now choked the streets of Ashbrook Town. They were mostly filled with scattered survivor groups. Ice Regiment let them live in those seized vehicles for free, but the men in their teams still had to go out and collect items off Ice Regiment’s trade list to exchange for food and water for their families.

Emily and Liana stayed by Magnus’s side. As he stared at the packed lines of transport trucks, then the women inside them, he turned to Liana and asked, "None of them willing to join us?"

"Not all of them refuse," Liana replied. "Some want to, but none of them can fight. The ones with family still out there - they won’t leave their people behind. Not unless we let them bring their men, and... well, that’s not something they’re ready to give up."

Magnus gave a silent nod, eyes scanning the vehicles again. He turned aside. He knew the moment he made an exception for them and allowed men into the group, there’d be no going back. Break that rule once, and it’s no longer a rule.

Around noon, Abigail came tearing back in an SUV with two female teammates. She jumped out and made straight for Magnus. "Magnus - Captain! Cliff’s people are on the move. They’re 30 kilometers out."

"How many?" Magnus asked.

"About three hundred."

Liana chimed in, "They bring supplies? What are they saying?"

"They want to trade for the prisoners. But insists it has to be face-to-face with the captain."

Emily and Liana exchanged glances and looked toward Magnus. Charlotte was approaching from a distance too.

Magnus paused a breath, then glanced at Liana. "Liana, prep a hundred of our people. Give each of them a Metal Crystal. We’re heading out. We’re taking the lot of them."

"We’re... capturing them?" Liana asked, surprise flashing in her eyes. "Wasn’t the deal to trade?"

"Who said that?" Magnus frowned. "Did they lay out terms before coming to attack us?"

An hour later, Magnus drove the armored Humvee out to the spot 30 kilometers from town. Behind him, ten infantry transport vehicles rolled up in neat formation. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

He stepped down and strode ahead. From the passenger side, Sophia followed, half a step behind.

Across from them, three men climbed out. All wore combat gear. The leader’s shoulder patch showed two bars, two stars - must be a deputy regimental commander.

"What’s this supposed to mean?" the man said, voice muffled inside his helmet.

Magnus looked up. The Springvale team had only brought a dozen cargo trucks, none of them enclosed. Easy to tell vehicle supply was running low on their end - Ice Regiment had taken too many from them last time.

Magnus raised his pistol, muzzle pressed steady against the vice commander’s throat. His voice was calm, cold. "Tell your men to get off the trucks and follow us. Or I’ll take this as a declaration of war."

"We came to negotiate for the hostages!" the vice commander snapped, voice tight with anger. But he didn’t get to finish - "Bang!" A clean shot. The bullet punched through his carotid. No scream. He collapsed, hands clutched at his neck, blood pouring.

The two men stepping down behind him froze, panic flashing across their faces. Their hands moved slightly, instinctively reaching for their weapons. But they stopped dead the moment they realized both Magnus and Sophia had them squarely in their sights.

Magnus didn’t flinch, pointing his gun at one, his tone still flat. "One more time. Everyone off the trucks. Hands on your heads. Into the grain bunker."

The man obeyed immediately, spinning around and signaling the others. One by one, hundreds of soldiers in camo began pouring out of the trucks - packed tight, stumbling over each other. Maybe two dozen held rifles. The rest gripped machetes or shovels, and a few had makeshift torches to keep bugs away.

They were already beaten. They’d heard the stories. Tens of thousands of soldiers had stormed the grain bunker before - and got wiped out. Scattered survivors told of dozens, maybe hundreds of Metal Crystals unleashed at once by the women defending the place. The assault failed. It was a bloodbath.

Now? Only 30 rifles among them. Three hundred men, strung out and tired. Who’d fight? Who even could?

One by one, over two hundred men dropped their weapons and raised their hands. From behind Magnus, the ten infantry vehicles opened up, hissing softly as dozens of armed women stepped out. They moved quick, no wasted motion, efficiently herding the prisoners back onto the trucks - each one packed with five captives.

Magnus and Sophia turned and headed back into their own armored vehicle, leading the convoy back to the grain bunker.

Inside, the two military officers were separated from the rest, while the remaining 297 got the usual treatment - bound hands, gagged mouths, blindfolds. The holding area under the bunker swallowed them up.

Magnus hauled the two officers into his RV. He didn’t offer them chairs. Just dropped himself onto a seat, lit a cigarette, and looked up at them through the smoke. "Alright. Talk. What deals you trying to make?"

Truth was, there were no deals left. They wanted to haggle. Mention how their supplies only covered half the cost. Maybe drop a veiled threat or two about pushing Springvale’s army too far. But after tonight? After their vice commander was dropped in cold blood? Who still cared about bartering?

One of the officers gave a side glance, then stepped forward. "We’ll be honest. We - we were hoping we could settle for a lower price. We only brought half the goods this time."

The other jumped in quickly. "That wasn’t our idea. Orders from above! We’re just following them."

Magnus gave a low grunt. He believed them. No need to waste time. He stood, grabbed two bottles of mineral water from the bar, and tossed them their way. He pointed at one. "You. Take ten men and go back. Tell Cliff he can keep the goods - half supplies is fine. But those prisoners? He’s waiting three months before anyone gets out. That’s the deal."

The man nodded like his life depended on it. The other officer stammered, nervous. "W-what about me? You’re just letting him go? What happens to us?"

"You’re prisoners," Magnus said, pointing at the bottle in his hand. "Same deal. Three months. Right alongside the rest."

Pause.

"Drink the water. You’ll be doing some work for us. Slack off, and there’s no dinner waiting for you tonight."