[3rd POV]
Sikio charged first.
Leo was just standing there, waiting, studying, planning. His nose released smoke due to the sheer internal heat that was building up inside.
Sikio lept into the air and struck. His arms swung with enough force and speed to make the air whistle. But when he struck, Leo did not respond like other lions did. He did not stand there to exchange blows.
He was gone. He was under him.
Sikio swung at empty air, and by that point, a heavy blow struck him from under. He never felt the sensation of his legs making contact with the ground, as Leo had grabbed him mid-air and raised him even higher.
A pathetic roar that came out more like a wheeze left his mouth. Air was knocked out of his lungs and he was ragdolled like no one had ever done.
'Am I a lion?' That was his final line of thought before his back crashed into a tree.
*BOOOOM!!*
His eyes widened, mouth open to vomit, spit and air. He was knocked out immediately and he limply fell off the tree like a fly that had been spattered against a wall.
"Foolish," Leo commented. When they have superior strength or numbers, lions often lose their brains to arrogance.
"Sikio!!" the brothers roared and charged even faster.
Hunter was the second one to reach him. But unlike the first one, he did not make the same mistake. But that mattered little in the grand scheme of things. He was overwhelmed between the tight spaces of the forest.
Could you imagine that? One lion overwhelming six?
Hunter exploded out like a missile. He did not attack from above or below. He was a rocket going straight at his target. Leo was much taller than him, so the only thing at his level was the ripped shoulder.
Hunter clamped down on the shoulder, and Leo let him. After he was glued to the shoulder, Leo simply leaned and fell on the side. His huge weight and superior strength made him almost unstoppable as he crushed Hunter between his shoulder and another tree.
"Like I said, you chose your battlefield poorly," Leo commented. The first crush was not enough to knock him out, but Leo slammed him into the tree once more.
Morani jumped and crashed into the enemy. Leo stood on his hind legs, carrying with him the weight of another lion as Hunter continued to clamp on the shoulder with all his might.
Leo opened his jaw wide. His jaw was much wider than Morani's open maw. Teeth clashed in a brutal union. Leo bit down first, his canine penetrating Morani's lower jaw and hooking it in a deadlock. He tore, threatening to split the lower jaw but the bone was harder than the force he applied.
Baraka and Roku came from the flank, one from the right, the other from the left. Leo's ears moved, hearing them coming from miles away. He stepped back, dragging two lions with him as their feet slid helplessly on the earth.
When they realised they couldn't hold him down, Morani and Hunter raked out their claws at Leo's thick hide. Their hooked knives found no purchase as they only made a line on the skin. But they eventually hooked on skin.
Baraka and Roku were not able to slam into Leo like they planned, for he had moved back into the cover of trees. But they still reached their target regardless. Their jaws searched for purchase at his spine.
Four jaws and eight claws were tearing Leo. That was more weapons than he ever had to deal with.
He slammed one more time into the tree. His shoulder crushed Hunter's head against the cold bark of the tree. There was a snap, a dislocated jaw. The bite was loose with a pained moan.
Leo opened his jaw and tore away from his clash with Morani. He slammed his head on Morani. There was the sound of bone smashing on bone with no care for anyone's health. Morani lowered his head in pain.
That gave Leo the perfect opening to bite at the thick scruff of the lion. Both his paws came under Morani, and with a push of strength from his hind legs, he threw Morani over his head.
A 250-kilogram lion was thrown overhead due to sheer strength and the use of proper technique. His heavy body crashed on Roku, who was attacking from the side. Roku had to release his bite and put focus on moving away from the body thrown.
That left only Baraka attacking.
Leo twisted his body. In a show of flexibility that should be impossible with all that muscle mass, his jaw clamped down on the lion skull. His jaw opened wide enough to grab the skull in a vice grip.
Baraka screamed as sharp teeth sank into both sides of his face. His bite was forgotten. Leo then picked him up like a mother cat handling a kitten. Leo's neck flexed, muscles rarely seen due to the thick mane worked overtime. He could drag a bull giraffe for miles; a lion was nothing.
Leo tucked his front legs under him, and he fell with the head in his mouth. His weight smashed his head on the earth. It was wet and damp, so it did not do the damage he hoped for.
But that was enough to concuss the lion. Leo released his hold and spun around with all his might. Claws that were hooked on his hide came loose with chunks of skin.
Leo bolted away from the tight space. He was surrounded; now he had to reset the battleground.
But before he made it far, Scarface, who was observing most of the time, crashed on his side and actually pushed him against the trees.
"You are not running away!!" Scarface roared.
Leo tried swiping the legs under him but Scarface was smart enough to dodge and not fall. He latched his claws against Leo's traumatised hide instead.
"Who says I'm running?" Leo said and dodged a swipe that came at him from Roku. The bark on the tree was ripped apart, leaving a deep claw wound on the tree.
Leo stood on his hind legs. That opened a grave mistake of exposing his underbelly. But he forced Scarface to stand with him, so he used that as a shield to protect his vulnerable parts.
When standing like that, he was much taller than the rest. Even Scarface only reached his chest.
Scarface pushed himself away to create space and opened his jaw to bite at the open chest. But Leo moved first and plunged his paw inside the open maw.
His claws came out and raked back. He cut Scarface's tongue and the soft tissue of the mouth with one quick pull.
Blood came out like vomit.
He then pushed Scarface under him and he jumped. His feet landed on the back of Scarface; his immense weight was enough to push the lion flat on the ground. Leo used him like a dirty mat and ran over him, his unfurled claws making sure to leave a mark.
Roku was there to stop him again but Leo snatched him by the side of his head. He then thrashed his head violently until he ripped off an ear. Roku groaned in pain but adrenaline did not allow that to hinder him.
He exploded in a fur of violence at Leo. His claws raked flesh, his teeth clamped down on a forearm. Leo was a big target, he was like a mountain which you could attack in any way, even if the attack was useless most of the time.
But it was a grave mistake to bite Leo by the forearm because now, Leo could control his head position.
Leo pulled his arms down, Roku's head along with it, and he flipped the lion to his side in one powerful sweep.
When the lion showed his underbelly, Leo dug in. It was too late now as his jaw found purchase at the softer skin and completely ripped open the belly skin. You could see the pulsating insides.
Leo was strong, but not enough to kill a lion with one blow. But when they showed such a vulnerable part? He did not miss the chance.
Blood pooled in the open cavity immediately. The bite on his forearm was released. It stung, it really stung. But the enemy had the worst trade-off.
Morani charged forward. The humiliation of being thrown overhead so easily made him rage even further. But the multiple bodies and the tight spaces of the tree made it hard to really swarm the enemy. Sikio, who was taken out first, had also got up and was running in a curve to flank against Leo.
Morani pounced at Leo, catching his back. But before his claws managed to really dig in and before his bite could find skin, Leo moved forward.
Leo made an U-turn on one of the trees and crashed into Sikio, who was trying to flank him from the side.
They exploded out in a blur of flesh and fur. Growls echoed between the trees and blood flew out like decorations.
But in such a clash, Leo had the upper hand. He pressed Sikio against a tree and he used his weight to press and trap him there. He bent down and swept the lion's hind legs under him and Sikio fell sideways and crashed on the open roots of the tree.
Leo raked at the open belly once more. He could not bite as his jaw was busy defending against Sikio, who was always aiming for his neck.
Scarface used that chance to leap on Leo's back. His jaw immediately clamped down on Leo's back neck, and his claws were used as an anchor.
Leo roared out in pain, his eyes narrowed in rage, before he bolted out. He lost more chunks of skin as he escaped from Sikio's grab.
Leo ran with Scarface on top of him. He moved between the trees quickly to buy some time to deal with Scarface.
Scarface on the other hand, was busy dealing damage. His bite bore fruit as he could taste blood in his mouth. He got more feral afterwards, finally knowing this monster bleeds.
Leo jumped and twisted his body. They crashed together, but with Scarface being the one under and receiving the full extent of the trauma.
Their bodies traumatized the ground and made a scar. They crashed into the tree, where they came to a stop. Scarface felt his body going limp even though he did not want to.
Leo quickly turned to his side to not show his underbelly. Scarface lay in that spot, not able to hold on to Leo anymore. His claw retracted, his bite had no crush.
"Brother!!" Scarface heard Hunter coming after him.
The others were still not here yet, recovering from fighting a lion; they never had a chance one one-on-one.
"No.." Scarface grained out.
Leo's eyes were almost white with glee. His jaw was bloody from the deadly bites he had delivered. His body was at the peak of heat in that moment, but when he saw the goal, his body produced power like no other.
Hunter came running, his jaw bouncing like a bag of tits. He had not even fixed his dislocated jaw. And a lion who could not bite was useless in front of Leo.
Hunter pounced, his full weight coming down with a blur of fur. Leo took a step back, always patient even when he had the clear chance.
Hunter landed on empty air with a thud and he lashed out. His paws swung out, right, left, right, left. Leo continued to move back and dodged the paws with knives at the end.
When Leo felt a tree behind him and there was no space to move back anymore, he pushed himself off the tree with his hind legs and swung his paw. By that point, he had learned the pattern and timing of Hunter.
The paw landed clean, like the perfect inside hook in a boxing match. But unlike a punch, his paw had long claws that tore more than it hit. Leo was aiming right at that dislocated jaw and he hit his mark.
What came next was brutal, so brutal it felt like the world paused and temperature dropped.
There was the sound of flesh tearing like paper, and the dislocated jaw that hung loosely was ripped off. There was silence as Hunter bled out, his lower jaw was no more. He was not dead yet, but death was inevitable.
A lion without a jaw could not even eat; dying now in this fight would be mercy than let him live.
"NOOOO!!!" Scarface forced his body to get up. But even his scream was unheard because in the exact moment, Leo released a shattering roar.
Hunter fell on the ground. He was completely frozen due to being knocked out, so he fell over like a statue
A deep thud resounded, a lion fell, never to rise again.
..
..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author : I didn't upload yesterday because I don't want to give you this cliff.
Two chapters today