Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 233 Feast or Freakshow? Tasting the Apocalypse

Last time they came to Hanford Advanced Finance College, Luxe and the others scoured the whole city. Their temporary HQ had even been set up here. There was no way this place had been missed. So where had all these corpses come from?

Magnus had seen his fair share of death - he was used to it by now. But even with his numbed nerves, stepping into this dark, sealed space full of half-rotted bodies still made him uncomfortable.

He gave the place a quick scan. Four large trucks - two box-types, two trailers. A fire engine and a passenger bus.

That made even less sense.

Even if Luxe had skipped rescuing anyone inside, they wouldn’t have left these vehicles behind. No chance they hadn’t been here. They’d brought back over three thousand female students, including Amelia and Kristina. No way those two would’ve overlooked this place.

Magnus had no idea what went down. He’d have to ask Luxe and Amelia later.

One thing was clear though. This spot was perfect for gathering animal blood: solid walls all around and a doorway just the right size.

He stepped out of the garage and hooked steel cables to the flipped cars. After dragging two of them out with the SUV, he unpacked a large sack of meteorite soil and some bottled water, spreading it across the garage entrance. Finally, he waved the convoy in.

As the last vehicle rolled inside, Magnus lit up the meteorite soil at both sides of the door. Flames shot up five meters high, sealing the entrance, but unfortunately, not the smell.

As soon as the female team members climbed out, their headlights illuminating the scene, the stench hit them like a gut punch. Dozens of them doubled over by the bus, retching violently.

Outside, a flock of sparrows had caught wind of the human scent. They gathered at the entrance, chirping and hopping about. But with the meteorite flames burning hot, they didn’t dare cross.

Magnus found Lana, Mia, and Isabel - not that any of them looked good. Isabel’s face was especially pale; looked like she’d just puked.

"You alright, Isabel?" he asked, patting her shoulder gently, handing her a bar of chocolate from his pocket.

"I’m... I’m fine, I - " She opened her mouth, but the stench rushed in and hit hard. Gagging, she clutched his shoulder and turned to the side, throwing up again.

Magnus helped steady her, rubbing her back until her stomach finally settled. Even he was starting to feel sick just standing there.

Lana stepped forward, face tight but composed. "Commander, I’ll take a team and haul the bodies to the entrance. You handle feeding the sparrows."

With Lana and Mia leading thirty or so braver ones, they began hauling corpses one by one to the entrance. Magnus stood at the doorway. They brought up a body; he lobbed it out. As soon as it hit the ground - or even before - it was mobbed by sparrows gnashing greedily.

They weren’t above eating rotten flesh - it just depended on the flavor.

Once the last body was tossed, Magnus stood for a while, watching the birds devour bone and flesh alike - ribs, thighs, even skulls cracked under their beaks.

He couldn’t shake the thought - there was something different about these things. Something off. Magnus couldn’t figure it out. With a stench this strong, those things should’ve broken down the gates to rush in and feed.

The rolling shutter of this underground parking lot wasn’t exactly strong either - why hadn’t the mutants attacked it?

Didn’t make sense. Maybe they only targeted places with the breath of the living? Not the scent of people, just the act of breathing?

He frowned, couldn’t wrap his head around it, so shelved the thought for now. First priority was dealing with the animal blood.

Turning back inside, he saw Isabel had nearly thrown up all she could.

"Isabel," he said, "go find 300 people. You lot will be in charge of collecting the animal blood."

"Got it! I - " She gagged again but forced it down.

Magnus patted her shoulder, then looked at Lana. "Lana, take 100 people, handle the meteor soil at the entrance. When I drag in those chickens and geese, put out the soil. Once I get the animals out, light it again."

"Understood." She nodded.

"Hadid," he said, turning to Mia, "you take 100 people and start loading the trucks. We’ve got five here and four more inside - nine trucks total. Fill ’em with blood. Once they’re full, drive them to the main convoy. I’ll give you twenty Super Fire Crystals for fuel. When you get there, just unload the barrels. Don’t bother with another load - no animals are gonna mess with those barrels. After unloading, come back with the empty trucks."

Mia nodded. Once he finished, she asked, "Captain, what about spoilage? Isn’t that much blood going to clot or go bad?"

"Coagulation?" Isabel tilted her head. "Magnus, if the blood clots, can we just reheat it to make it liquid again?"

"Nope," Magnus chuckled. "Ever try boiling pig’s blood or blood sausage? It never melts back into blood."

She nodded, thoughtful. "So if it clots, we’re screwed?"

"It can still be used," Magnus said, "You just smear it on the vehicle body. Not ideal, but close enough. A bit more work, that’s all. Anyway, let’s move. I’m heading out to catch more animals. You all get ready."

The three women nodded.

Magnus took a deep breath, spun around, and strode to the parking lot entrance. In one leap, he cleared the glowing meteor soil and landed outside.

The dozen or so half-rotted corpses he’d tossed out earlier? Not even bones left - just torn clothes scattered about.

Probably still had human scent; a swarm of massive sparrows fought over them.

As Magnus stepped out, his body glowing faintly red, the sparrows flapped and scattered a bit, settling again ten meters away. Then, like he didn’t exist, they went back to fighting over the clothes.

Hard to kill, not much blood on them - Magnus hadn’t thought much of the sparrows till now. But he’d eaten crispy sparrow as a kid and remembered they tasted pretty damn good. Maybe he’d hunt a few.

Both to taste and to see if these mutant beasts were even edible.