[1st POV]
This part of the battle was just a straight-up assault on my part. I was raping the poor king, metaphorically of course.
Roku tried to claw himself away from me, and when that didn't work, he tried crawling away. His claws, meant for tearing his enemies anchored on the ground and created lines in a futile attempt to escape.
Like a woman scratching the sheets. And yes, I took joy in disrespecting him like that in my mind.
My jaw clamped down on his tail like a crocodile. There was no slipping away unless he pried my jaw open or tore off his tail. I wouldn't let him go as long as I had teeth.
I tried to tear off his tail. I knew first-hand how hard life becomes when a lion loses his tail. I was a young cub and could adapt as I grew, but if a full-grown lion lost a tail, that might just be the end of him.
We engaged in a sort of tug of war where Roku struggled with all his might while I tried to pull off his limb. I dragged him on the grassland, trying to ragdoll him, but I was not quite successful.
Roku was not like Scar, so although I dominated him, he was powerful in his own right. The only reason I had the upper hand was because of the situation; he was rock and I was paper. He surpassed me in almost every other attribute.
We stayed like that for a while. I was the aggressor, and he was the victim. While I had his tail in my jaw, I clawed at his back, kicked at his ribs and slammed him more than once.
It was like a small boat trying to stay afloat amid a raging ocean. And in the end, Roku was able to bear my assault and remain fighting.
I was starting to get tired. We both were tired, but it was worse for me purely because I ate as much as I could not long ago.
Anyone who has had a hard workout right after eating would understand my situation. There was still huge, undigested meat in my stomach that was hindering my performance.
It might sound out of pocket, but that was what battles looked like in nature. All factors were at play. It was not just about the fighters.
I quickly realised it was not good for me to keep engaging in the tug of war. I had left enough injuries and bruises on my enemy, so with great reluctance, I released his tail. A lion's teeth were made to pierce and tear, not cut, therefore, it was not that easy to get his tail.
Roku moved away immediately, as if I was a plague to be avoided at all costs. I thought he would run all the way with how quickly he bolted out but he didn't. He had more dignity than Scar. He stood a few meters away from me, and we locked eyes.
We both panted, equally exhausted, but there was still tension between us. His lips peeled all the way back to show his rows of sharp teeth.
"You really think you can kill me?" he asked with a coarse voice.
"You think you can stop me?" I asked back.
His peeled lips curved into a savage smile, "Let's see,"
And then we both moved. But this time we didn't lunge at each other and instead ran side by side along the grasslands.
We chased each other, almost like we were chasing prey. The action made a subtle shift in our instinct; it was no longer two lions fighting over dominance, but two apex predators out to hunt and kill each other.
We ran, neither leading nor chasing. It was like we were both setting an unspoken rhythm for the next part of our battle. Normally, one would just run around the other lion and attack from the blind spot, but since we both had the same idea, we were in a kind of stalemate where both wanted to play offence.
When we moved away from the open plain and reached the tall grasses, that was when the real battle resumed.
Ruku leapt and dived into the tall grasses. With the expertise of a hunter who slipped through the senses of every prey, he disappeared from my view. I released a growl that had the tone of a roar and lowered my centre of gravity to sink into the grasses as well.
My wide shoulders made it so that I was effortlessly low on the ground. My belly almost touched the ground as I ran through the grass swiftly.
Roku was the first one to attack. He had flanked me from the side, and he leapt out from the tall grass like violence in the shape of a feline. His jaw aimed at the back of my neck, like how lions would aim when they tried to kill prey.
I reacted in time. I ducked and rolled before he even reached me. My paws pushed him, and with the momentum of his jump, I threw him to the side.
I got up like a spring and ran after him immediately. He tried to move away and dive into the grass again, but I caught up to him in time. I swiped my paws at his back legs, like how I would swipe at my prey to make them off balance while chasing.
He stumbled, his injured tail could not work as well as it was supposed to, and he tumbled and crashed on his own. I followed him, and when he stopped, I lunged at the back of his neck.
My jaw clamped shut at the empty space where his neck was. He had moved away just in time, driven by pure instinct. His paw slammed on the side of my head, his claws made a line as it crossed my face.
I tasted blood with that attack, and that only fueled my rage.
I pushed forward, using my skull to headbutt him on his chest. When that landed, I pushed forward and followed up by biting at his mane. I pulled out clumps of fur when I tore away.
Roku pushed me off with his hind legs. I was thrown back a few steps, which gave him enough time to get back up on all fours. He ran three steps away from me and then turned.
He stood up and threw his paw in the air before bringing it down at me. I was in the middle of trying to chase him again and the paw was going to land on my face. My reaction was lightning quick as I turned my head down and the paw slammed on the back of my head.
A resounding thud could be heard from the sheer force, and I felt my brain rattle inside my skull. But I simply shook my head, shrugging off the attack like it was nothing. It was an illusion, of course, my body fooled both me and him.
I then threw a slap of my own that caught him right at his jaw. I tore off a chunk of his loose lips with my claws. Blood splattered and I bellowed.
I aimed low and shot towards his soft abdomen. But before I could do anything, he leapt into the air. I missed him completely and grabbed air while he landed behind me.
He tried to lunge at my back, but I turned fast enough to meet him face-on. His jaw met my jaw, and the clash of our teeth and fangs sounded like two bones hitting each other.
We tried to bite each other's faces off, but rows of sharp teeth blocked us. But our fangs were still sharp enough to cut each other's faces as we both searched for our bite.
Roku was fighting with raw aggression. One time, our five-inch canines locked and he pulled with a burst of strength, trying to tear off my teeth from my jaw.
A lion that had everything to lose fought more fiercely than words could describe.
The clash stopped when I pushed him away with my paws. There was no pause as the fight continued. We fought through the sea of tall grass, kicking up dust and destroying nature in our wake.
Our roars shook the silent night. We were breathing hard at that point, and we turned that into growls and a roar. Therefore, the fight was louder and more intense. It was like a great explosion of fireworks before it died.
You could see that I was dominating the fight at all times even though Roku was not helpless either. But in the end, my stamina failed the test of time. I was starting to feel dizzy, and there was an ache in my stomach.
My chest heaved up and down while my eyes locked on my opponent. Ruku had seen better days; he was bleeding from his jaw, and part of his nose was gone. You could also see some nasty lines all over his body. Lines of skin tore away by my claws.
I was not sure what I looked like, but I couldn't look worse than him. One look at Roku was enough to know he didn't win whatever fight he was in.
I backed away from him for the first time, and my stomach moved. I couldn't hold back anymore as I vomited to the side. After it started, it was hard to hold back as I vomited more than expected.
I shut my teeth, blocking more flesh from pouring out of my mouth. Then I turned at Roku with one last furious glare.
"This is your chance," I said through gritted teeth and a face made ugly by rage.
"Walk away,"
..
..
And Roku did, but with great fire and hesitance on his face. He picked himself up from the ground one last time, and then he walked away.
He was not running away, it was a decision to stop the fight from both parties.
I watched him disappear into the darkness, unsatisfied with the outcome. The frustration boiled in my heart, and it came out with a roar.
Yes, a roar.
The rest of the pride was going to find out anyway, so I stopped pushing down the urge and released a thunderous roar towards the night sky. The sound echoed like a storm without clouds.
Once, twice, thrice, and then I stopped when I roared ten times into the sky. My roar sounded giant and deep, but it still lacked the edge of authority.
Roku's shame was walking away in silence.
...
"Fuck...that took a lot out of me," I said while panting in exhaustion. I remained in my place for a long time.
I was frustrated, but there was an undeniable pride swelling up in my heart at my performance in the battle. It was similar to what I experienced when I fought off the leopard.
But I had no time to celebrate, things were not looking good for me tomorrow. I vomited so much that I would have to hunt again sonner than expected, and now the three lion kings were aware of my existence.
They might just come out of their way to kill me. I could win in a fight against one lion king, but I was sure to die against three.
I needed to plan carefully about my next move. But at the moment, I was too tired to even think.
When my blood cooled down and my adrenaline stopped, I felt exhaustion hit me, and my body started to ache all over.
The light that suddenly hit my face did not help either. It was lucky that they turned it off as quickly as they turned it on because I was considering going after them and eating some humans to replace the food I lost.
I collected my strength for a while before I headed back towards my cave. I passed the human vehicle on my way. I had sensed their presence since the start of the battle when I searched for lions other than Ruko, but they did not interfere in any way, so I just ignored them.
Hopefully they took a good picture of me beating Roku's ass.
..
..
..
[IMAGE]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author : Next chapter, we will dive to the much awaites documentary. 🤧
Maybe I should end it here for this week and start anew in the next week. New arc and all.
I'm kidding.
Come, join the cool club and read 10 chapters ahead.
Patreon : Emmanuel_Capricorn.