[1st POV]
"We have a problem!! We have a big, big problem!!" Grim said while flying back at me.
I had sent him to scout out the enemies once more, you know, being more cautious this time. They could be setting up an ambush or run for all I know so although he had scouted before, I let him do it again.
But I didn't expect him to return so soon.
I paused with a tilted head, "What is it, Grim?"
"My lord! There are six of them, not four!!" he said, falling on his face in his attempt to land quicker.
"Explain," I said firmly.
Grim picked himself up from the ground and quickly spat out the dirt he had eaten. "It's that scared lion, that prick. He had invited the Northern Pride for an alliance, and they accepted!! Now six lion kings are coming after you."
My eyes widened briefly before they narrowed in amusement, "He did that? Smart."
I couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Oh god, this is great."
"Why are you laughing, my lord? I don't understand." Grim asked in concern, "We were not prepared to fight six lions; we thought there would be four. This changes everything."
"It does, it really does," I said and hummed thoughtfully, "I don't think I can take six lions at once."
Especially when they had Scarface on their side. That guy was super smart. The most I have fought are five lions at once but those were dumb fodder. Now there were six lions, strong enough to be kings even in other regions, and they were going to be led by a lion with a proper brain.
This could be dangerous, extremely dangerous.
"What are we going to do, my lord? They are coming right at you as we speak. And you already revealed the pride's location with that roar too," Grim said, grabbing his head with his wings.
"I'm not sure. But what I do know is what we are not going to do, and that is to panic," I said, causing him to stop his hyperventilating.
"Think about it Grim, six lions is not the worst we've faced," I said.
"You're right," he said and swallowed, "You're right again my lord."
I smiled, "If Scarface is smart enough to make alliances like this, he would also be smart enough to make other plans too. He has seen me before, seen me in action, so he should have an effective way to take me down."
"But we are not going to play his games. This just means that we change our mindset a bit too," I said and deepened my posture, "We have to be far more ruthless than expected. I was trying to have some fun taking them down, but it seemed I would have to find joy in the violence once more."
I stopped making my way towards them and instead circled around in thought. It was hard to come up with a plan on the spot. I threw out the idea of separating them and taking them down one by one. Scarface would never make that stupid mistake.
Holding off this clash was also out of the question. He would not allow me to play my games, just like how I was not going to play his.
I paused suddenly, getting an idea in my head. It was not the best plan, heck, it was not even a plan. But I can't help but wonder.
"Grim, how do you think Scarface would react if I killed his brother?" I asked suddenly.
He was ready to die fighting with me just to give his brothers a shot at taking me down. This proves that Scarface was not a selfish lion, quite the opposite, actually.
"I don't really like the way my mind is working like Scar's," I said, "But if it works, it works."
"What was the report about hyenas in the Serengeti again?" I asked Grim; speaking of Scar, those little rascals immediately came to my mind.
I had spared around two clans' worth of hyenas for siding with me in my final battle with Scar. I had told them to return to the Serengeti and that they could live there in my kingdom from henceforth as a reward.
I spared their lives.
But unfortunately, fraud kings had ruled my kingdom in my absence. And when these hyenas returned, they were not welcomed at all. Instead, they were persecuted and killed, a direct cross of my authority.
I had not cared too much back then when Grim reported about that in his daily news. I already spared their lives; if they died again, it was not my problem.
Grim's eyes widened, he immediately caught up to what I was insinuating.
"You don't mean..." he said.
"They worked for me once and betrayed Scar, they can do it again," I said, "And this time, don't tell them I need help. Tell them that their king has taken pity on their predicament and is willing to give them a chance for revenge."
"Go now," I said and Grim immediately left with the quick change of plans.
On the other hand, I continued making my way towards the enemies. If they could bring an alliance with them, so could I.
And I did not even need the hyenas to fight under me like my pride had. Their presence alone would change the entire stake of the battle.
Let's take a page out of Scar's book.
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[3rd POV]
"I smell him now," Hunter said with a growl as they made their way towards the roar. They were not running, conserving their energy as much as possible.
"He should be able to smell us, too, then, know that it is not four but six lions that are waiting for him. And yet he does not stop," Morani said, his voice impressed at what he took to be a brave character.
"That does sound like him," Roku said with a chuckle, "He did not cower away from taking down three dominant kings on his own. He met my fathers on more than one occasion, ran away most of the time. But when the time comes, he never backed away."
He recalled the time Leo bravely defended his kill when the Mbali brothers tried to steal it away from him. He would avoid them before he was ready, but when push came to shove, Leo was one prideful lion.
Scarface was silent at this point, seriously contemplating how he saw Leo. He thought Leo was smarter, and had made plans and strategy on how to deal with him if he ever tried to escape.
"Are you that delusional that you think you can take us all?" Scarface said in a whisper.
He never thought Leo would insist on a battle after knowing the true might of the enemy.
"Let's stop here," Scarface said out loud and the whole group came to a stop. The place was a bit of a jungle, with giant trees blooming green every few metres. If they continued more they would go out the treeline and go out into the open plain.
There, Leo could potentially use his vultures to aid him. But under all these trees, those birds would be useless.
"Let him come to us," he said.
No one questioned his order and they waited. Most of them still thought Leo would stop too, and not come straight to their perfect battlefield.
But the thick stench of his scent only got closer. It smelled like dried blood and pure testosterone. He smelled a bit like a bull elephant while it was in a musth state.
They waited. And waited.
Until Leo's presence silenced the region whole. He always came with silence because the world knew to be quiet and hide in the presence of its most apex predator.
The six lions took their natural positions. They were not just standing in a line but in a proper formation. Some stood behind the other to hide themselves and in times of a fight, their movement.
Finally, Leo appeared from amid the trees, slowly pacing towards them as if he was taking a stroll. He walked like they were living in his world, like they were nothing.
Everyone except Scarface exclaimed in their minds at the sheer size. Leo was literally more than twice the average lion; he weighed a bit over 420 kilograms currently. A stark contrast even to the biggest among them, Baraka, son of Baraka, who was nearing his father's size at 280 kilograms.
They finally understood Scarface's statement, 'Monsters live among us.'
To know one's size was one thing, but to witness it first hand was completely a different matter. The only reason their legs remained stable and not tremble was the trust they had in their superior numbers.
"Look what we have here, a gathering of frauds," Leo began as he strolled towards them, his voice so deep that his words forced themselves into their ears. They didn't try to listen, their whole body was laser focused on the massive threat.
"I thought I told you to leave, Scarface, but I see my words fall on deaf ears," he said, slowing down his movement further, "Violence, I guess that's the only language we lions understand. It's why I never bothered with words and always start with violence."
Leo came to a stop a very generous distance away. If a fight broke out, it would take seconds before they clashed.
Leo looked at each lion one by one in an assessing way. He did not seem impressed with any of them as he quickly moved his gaze. But his gaze paused when it fell on the two Northern kings.
Leo grinned, "I know you two," he laughed out loud, a deep laugh that was somehow void of all humour, "Eager to die like your fathers huh. Like father like son."
"Don't talk about my father," Baraka said with a deep growl.
"What are you going to do, I wonder? You didn't stop me when I gutted them like common prey," he said.
"Using cheap tricks to take them down," Roku said with a growl. "We will have our revenge today."
"Is that why you are here? For revenge?" Leo asked, "What about showing some gratitude for sparing you. Even after killing your fathers, that would've been easier than eating a full meal."
Scarface narrowed his eyes at Leo while his ears searched for any other sound in the surroundings.
This was strange.
"We will show our gratitude by sparing yours," Roku said. "As long as your females are quick to bend for us."
Leo frowned at that, his eyes glinting. But he still did not move.
"You haven't changed at all since I last saw you. You remain cubs, talking big when you have nothing to show for," Leo said and then proceeded to ignore them.
He looked at the brothers of Scarface, "Are these the ones you hoped would take me down? Your sheer faith is admirable."
"Stop that," Scarface said suddenly with a loud voice.
Leo paused, turned his gaze and tilted his head, "Stop what?"
"Stalling," Scarface said, "You are stalling for time."
Leo had never struck him as someone who liked to talk. He was an impatient lion actually, making the first move when they met two days ago.
But now he was talking quite a lot, and Scarface immediately became suspicious.
"Am I?" Leo asked.
Scarface bit down, frustrated because while he knew Leo was stalling, he did not know why. He did not know what Leo was waiting for.
"Yes, you are," Scarface said firmly, and immediately got into a position to launch.
Hunter followed right after Scarface without a question. Leo noticed that. And what a grave notice it was for Hunter. Because that gave Leo the idea of who was closest to Scarface.
"Funny, I have never met a lion so eager to die," Leo said, responding in kind by lowering his sheer mass and getting ready.
Now, finally, the rest of the lions followed suit. Teeth bared, those that had taken thousands of lives. Claws that frequently tore through flesh raked out, eager to cut.
"Six against one. You should've picked an open plain," Leo advised. In the current battlefield with much trees, it was hard to attack from all angles. So while Scarface had stopped the vultures for interfering, he boosted Leo's chances.
"Stop talking!!" Sikio charged immediately, enraged.
The others followed.
But Leo, he remained in his place. He planted both feet firmly on the ground. His body was lowered in such a way that you could see his muscled back from above his head. It was like a cat ready to fight.
He leaned to the side, muscles rippling through his forearm and shoulder. He leaned on the other side, his muscles once again wiggling beneath skin like they were alive.
He shook his head lightly, making his mane grow darker and bigger. When his lips peeled back, it revealed rows of sharp teeth so long they could bite through a lion.
Leo was a monster in every sense of the word.
Suddenly, new questions popped in the minds of everyone. Opinions that were made while looking at a calm king were shaken. When Leo finally entered such a prime mode for violence, you couldn't help but wonder.
Do they really stand a chance?
Infront of his might, logic is usually the first to flee in fear.
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