Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 160 One Man, One Firestorm

Cliff’s forces were in chaos - hundreds of vehicles blared their horns all at once, tens of thousands of soldiers jumped out hastily, panicked and clueless, thinking they were under a large-scale ambush.

Magnus was buried beneath bodies, unsure how many. All he knew was that his consciousness was slipping fast. Breathing was nearly impossible, the last traces of clarity in his mind fading into black nothingness...

No idea how much time passed. Everything went dark, and then suddenly, it turned blue. A flood of fresh air rushed into his half-open mouth.

Stunned.

Magnus jerked upright instinctively. Around him surged a sea of blue flames. Screams echoed in his ears.

Not far from his feet, the Nature Crystal log burned fiercely with that strange blue fire.

In that instant, it all clicked. When the log slipped from his grip, it hadn’t vanished - it’d merely fallen. Likely rolled down a rooftop, maybe someone tried to grab it, and boom - blue flames spread from one to another, torching everyone who had been crushing him. That’s how he got free.

Made sense.

Magnus stared down at the burning log. Without thinking, he reached for it - but froze.

It’d shrunk.

That three-meter-long, thick log - now it barely stood two meters tall, much thinner, and it was still shrinking visibly.

No clue why. Not risking delay, Magnus flipped up, grabbed it in a flash. The moment his left middle finger made contact, a sudden cool feeling surged from the black ring-shaped tattoo there. The shrinking slowed.

The tattoo worked - the bond that extended the usage time. For normal folks, a crystal lasted an hour. His powers stretched it to three.

Made sense. This log was a Nature Crystal. Same rules applied. And for him? Triple the duration.

And fully controllable.

All at once, it all made sense.

But there was something else - something important most missed. Average Awakened could only use one type of crystal at a time. Use Fire Crystal, and you give up Metal defense.

Not Magnus.

He shattered that rule.

The Nature Crystal was terrifying, sure - could burn through tanks, even planes - but gave up protective versatility. Most couldn’t risk it. Use it, and a single bullet downed you from lack of defense.

But Magnus? He used Nature and Metal Crystals together.

A freak.

Damn near invincible.

And the control? Normal users couldn’t do anything except wait painfully while the crystal burned itself empty post-battle. No choice but to watch the waste.

He’d already torched dozens of supply trucks. Taking another deep breath, Magnus leapt onto a nearby roof, eyes fixed on the seven or eight trucks up ahead, still untouched.

The crowd of soldiers below was still frantic, lost in confusion, thinking the explosions were due to some massive sneak attack. They had no idea what was really going on.

Magnus made up his mind - ignite the last few and get out. No more killing. If he overdid it, Cliff’s men might back off from hitting the Ridgebreak Battalion. That couldn’t happen. Just as he had the thought, Magnus lit the truck beneath his feet with a flick, leapt forward onto the next one, set it ablaze too, then jumped to the third. But he wasn’t alone. A few figures crawled onto the fourth truck ahead.

Magnus didn’t hesitate. He sent flames into the third truck and launched himself straight at them. Swinging the burning log in his hand, he smashed two of them aside easily - no surprises there.

He stopped the swing, raised the log overhead, and brought it down hard on a third man. That guy must’ve seen it coming - he threw his arms up in defense.

Too slow. Magnus was a second-stage Awakened. The man was only first-stage. The log smashed down, forcing him to his knees.

But something was wrong. The guy didn’t catch fire. Magnus froze. Had the Nature Crystal failed? He checked the log. It’d grown slightly smaller, but the flames were still there, clear as ever.

While he stood there dazed, a fierce kick hit him hard in the ribs. Reflexes kicked in - he clutched the log tight and stumbled back a few steps. Behind him was the edge of the truck. His heel slipped into thin air, arms windmilling wildly before he caught balance - only to take another brutal kick to the chest that launched him clean off the truck.

Metal Crystal users.

That was his first thought as he hit the ground. Nature Crystal couldn’t penetrate Metal Crystal defenses. Against them, his fancy flames were useless.

Cursing under his breath, Magnus sprang back to his feet. A glance up - three or four figures were already diving down at him from the truck.

Damn it. Gritting his teeth, he ducked low just in time to avoid the first kick, spun around, and kicked the airborne attacker square in the tailbone. The guy didn’t even scream - just crashed into the second guy mid-air. They both went tumbling to the ground.

Back against the truck, Magnus took a breath, set the log beside him, and yanked a roll of transparent tape from his waist. One punch wide. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Right then, the third Metal Crystal soldier landed behind him, back facing Magnus, glancing around but seeing nothing.

Riiip.

Magnus spread his arms and tore off a long strip of tape. In one swift motion, he looped it around the back of the man’s head, wrapped it across his mouth and nose. Three tight circles.

The man thrashed wildly, but before he could pull it free, Magnus yanked him back, slammed him to the ground, dragging him beside the other two. In a flash, more tape sealed their mouths and nostrils too.

Three gasping fish on a single line. Gripping the end of the tape, Magnus grabbed his log and bolted.

Metal Crystal’s biggest flaw - suffocation.

They struggled like mad, but the tape was thick and tight, layer after layer. In less than three minutes, they fell limp.

Silent, still.

Letting out a quiet breath, Magnus crouched behind one of the flaming trucks. The blaze was enough to scare anyone from getting close, buying him a sliver of peace.

Peering ahead, he spotted three more trucks. The last ones.

Night cloaked everything, and shadows danced in the dark - he couldn’t make out if they carried the red markings. But it didn’t matter.

Blow them all up, and the job was nearly done.

After that, all he and Ice Regiment needed to do was be ready - for Cliff’s men to tear each other apart in the chaos.