Chapter 26 26: Exile and unshaken promise

[1st POV] Things were not looking too good for me. The only light in my situation was the lioness that stood protectively beside me. But she was only endangering herself in her attempt to stand up for me. One lion against a hundred hyenas was dead. Two lions against a hundred hyenas were also dead. "Are you okay, Leo?" she asked. The small thing, only half my size, was asking me if I was okay or not. I should feel insulted or ashamed, but instead, my heart only pounded in my chest, less heavily. "I'm fine," I replied while catching my breath. "You shouldn't have come down, Zuri," I said with a tight jaw. "I know," was her only reply while she moved rapidly to protect all sides. "You should stay, you belong in the pride," I said and came to a decision right then and there. The situation gave me no time to second guess myself. I made a mental plan in my mind and I did not include her there. I shouldn't and I wouldn't. "Are you going to run?" she asked and turned to me, "Are you going to run away? If so take me with you." "No," was my reply. Her face broke and she looked at every part of my face, as if reading my expression because she didn't trust my words. "Why not?" She was only a teenager, not even an adult yet. I had a better chance escaping this alone than I did with her. I also did not want to put her in danger or risk her life. I did not need help, I only needed time. Because I knew exactly what I had to do. "Because I'll come back for you," I said and then touched her nuzzle with mine. "I promise, I'll come back," I said and I took a deep breath. I had gathered enough stamina for the upcoming task. I walked away from her while she was rooted to her spot. My eyes swept the land, I looked past all the spotted hyenas and locked my gaze on Scar hiding behind his little army. "Scar!! I beg you," I roared. "Please live well and survive for the next two years," I said, and made a promise. After two years I shall return to take his life and everything he held dear. My eyes then shifted to Sarabi and Nala standing in front of the den. I hoped they saw the resolve in my eyes. I hopes they remain witness to my promise. Scar was weaker than me and I could already defeat him in a fair fight. But it was his army of hyenas that proved to be troublesome. I was not some main character that could summon reinforcement whenever I needed help. Fate was not going to help me by starting a great fire. In two years' time, I shall raise an army of my own and grow to my full potential. Scar, count your fucking days. I turned abruptly and then ran towards the horizon. I heard a commotion behind me, the hyenas laughing at my retreating back while Zuri shouted something. "Kill him!!! Don't let him run away!!" Scar roared in anger and panic. But he could not follow me with his injured hind legs. I was a blur of explosive speed and I created massive distance almost instantly. The hyenas followed behind me in waves, their sheer number made them look like a shadow from a distance. But most of them didn't follow me for long. Such a number of hyenas was overkill to take down a tired, injured lion in the first place. The ones whom I gave a beating were the first to give up, thinking that I would be taken down even without their help. A few others followed soon and that continued the longer the chase went on. After almost 15 minutes later, only twenty or so hyenas were on my tail. But at that point, I was extremely tired and fatigued. "They don't give up, do they?" I asked while looking behind me. Almost immediately I could tell why they wouldn't give up. Some of the hyenas I recognized as the ones I bullied the most. There was one in particular that stood out with his hairless small tail. I had bit off his tail when he laughed at me. That hyena was one of the first hyenas I ever fought while I was young. I guess all the bullying finally came to bite me in the ass. But I did not regret anything. If I could travel back in time, I would bully them worse. I was no longer running but walking quickly. My mouth was open with my tongue hanging out as I sucked in greedy breaths. I was quickly overheating. Unlike humans that could sweat and cool down while running, most animals could not do the same. So I needed to rest or slow down soon before I die of heatstroke or heart failure. The hyenas behind me, on the other hand, were a faring a little than me. Mostly because they didn't have a fight against Scar like me and because hyenas were more suited for a marathon than lions. But it didn't matter as I had reached the place I was aiming for. Ever since the beginning, I did not run in a random direction. Years of training and exploring taught me exactly what I needed to do. I quickened my pace and ran towards the watering hole. When I reached the lake, all the other animals ran. I ignored everyone and dove straight into the cool water. I swam away from the shore, far enough so that the hyenas would not be able to reach me. The crocodiles were mostly sunbathing while the ones in the water dispersed when I dove into the water. I had killed a crocodile not too long ago and the animals in this world were sentient and smart enough to remeber that and not attack me. I stayed in the water and took a moment to cool my body. I panted heavily while wetting my thick mane. I was cooling down at a rapid pace. Not long after, the hyenas reached the watering hole and they stopped at the shore just like I expected. They dared not step into the water. Not only do they hate the water, there were also crocodiles in the lake so they were afraid to come too close. The hyenas reached the lake one by one and before long, all twenty of them were spread across the shore. They were like a herd of animals trying to drink water. They howled and made laughing noises. Some of them tried to push each other into the water, urging themselves to take the first step. They made jerky movements as they took one step into the water before running back. "Oi what do you think you are doing!! Come back here or the crocodiles are going to get you!!!" "Haha, I thought lions are brave but he is running away from us," "Coward cat!!" "Will you dive into the lake after him then?" "Hell no!! There are crocs there." "Then you can't really call him a coward, can you?" "I'm literally just a hyena and he is a lion." "You can't stay there forever! We will tear you into shreds!" They mocked me from the shore but I kept my calm and simply observed them. Since none of them wanted to dive into the lake after me, it gave me time to recover. It seemed they preferred waiting for me to eventually come back to land instead. Some of them started urinating on the water but I still did not react. I calmed myself and my core started cooling. I waited. And waited. And waited some more. Until eventually, I recovered. I counted the hyenas on shore and made sure that the number had not increased yet. Luckily, no reinforcement came to help them. They must be confident that twenty of them could take me down. I contemplated for a few seconds, weighing my chances. Against a hundred hyenas, I stood no chance. But against twenty of those nasty beasts? I like my chances. So I took action. .. *Splash!!* I splashed the water and waved my arms around, as if something had caught me and was drowning me in the water. The hyenas immediately took notice and observed me closely. I continued acting as if a crocodile had finally attacked me. I released a few roars and even fought the invisible enemy. The hyenas laughed and stomped on the water. They unconsciously stepped into the water to take a closer look at my unfortunate fate. "I told you the crocs are going to get you!!" "Look at him!! Look at him!!!" "That's what you get, tailless bastard." And then I plunged down. The laughter of the hyenas sounded muffled underwater and I slowly made my way towards them. The water was muddy from all their movements so they never saw me coming. A moment of silence and when I finally reached the shore, I exploded out from the water. I released a deep roar and swung my paw at the closest hyena. He was laughing a bit too much, his jaw was wide open. When my paw hit him with full force, his lower jaw tore off and flew away in a bloody splash of gore. His body went limp and he fell in the water almost immediately. The rest of the hyenas were stunned, completely caught off guard by my sudden appearance. It never even crossed most animals' minds, acting to deceive the enemy. It was almost too easy to fool and outplay my opponents with a human mind. They scattered like a herd of deer when I launched an ambush. I shook my body to rid the excess water on my fur before I locked in. I embraced my predatory side and at that moment, hyenas were prey. I unleashed all my remaining rage on them. Against my recovered self, nineteen terrified overgrown rats were lightwork. I tore through them like toys. ... ... ///////////////////// [3rd POV] Night fell over the savanna, swallowing the chaos that took place in the land. The battle between Scar and Leo, the war with the hyenas, it all faded into a heavy silence. When morning came again, the pride went to the watering hole for a drink. But unlike other days, the usual bustle of life around the lake was gone. The air was still and the ground was scarred and stained with blood. Vultures covered the sky in huge numbers, enough to almost cast shadow to the earth below. When the lionessess went closer to the shore of the lake, they saw endless piles of dead bodies, all belonging the the hyenas that had chased after Leo. Thier bodies laid torn and broken into shreds, some pieces were being devoured by crocodiles. Among the pride members, Sarabi walked around the scene and closely studied the corpses and the blood which stained the earth. But even after a thorough search, she found not a drop of blood that belonged to Leo. In that moment, it was clear, Leo had endured once more. She smiled. How could she not when she was reminded that she gave birth to a monster. The promise stood unshaken. Leo survived, and he will come back. ... ... ... [IMAGE] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to vote stones. Author : I don't know where you got the idea that Leo will be joined by Zuri or Nala but that's not going to happen. I did not put romance tag on the story for a reason. It's good Leo has a reason to come back but romance is not priority. Especially when Leo is going to go around conquering other prides before he even return. Hope y'all are not too disappointed with the outcome. Nala, Zuri and Leo are still teenagers. They won't be full grown aduylt until 4 years old. .... If you like the story, do consider supporting me on my patreon. You can read upto 10 advanced chapter as well. Patreon : Emmanuel_Capricorn