Chapter 72 72: Preparation

[1st POV] The art of making your enemies weaker was not an honourable path. Some might even say that the person using such tactics must not have pride. It was quite unfair. But fair went out of the window the moment this war became three against one. My pride did not get in the way of utilising every advantage I could get. There were two ways in which I made life difficult for my enemies. The first one, I called the harassment method. It was basically just me, making sure that the Mbali brothers never got a moment of peace for the following week. I would do this by wandering into their territory while they were not patrolling and announcing my presence. I declared war using my roar without actually following up on the threat. I did this just enough to always keep the three brothers on edge. The brothers had each other, but I had an ally in the sky. Grim became everything for the whole week. He was my eyes in the sky and the reason why I could time all my harassments perfectly. I already had the habit of hunting buffalo in the middle of the night, so I did not have any proper sleeping schedule. Therefore, I adjusted myself depending on the reaction of the three brothers. Lions were known to be able to sleep during the day and night, so to make this method effective, I had to harass them 24/7. Whenever they decided to have a rest, Grim would inform me, and I would announce my presence with a roar. When they thought that I would not follow up on my threats like usual and insisted on sleeping, I walked even deeper into their territory and got close enough for them to feel and smell my presence. I marked my scent on the trees and places where they had previously done the same. I was claiming ownership of their kingdom before even challenging them and that easily got to their nerves. I always had them guessing. They probably have nightmares about me during the brief sleep they had time to time. On the other hand, I let Grim guide me whenever the Mbali brothers tried to get me. They would often try to use their numerical advantage to box me, but the vulture would always make sure I escaped. And when I felt tired, I could just lie in the open plain and sleep whenever I wanted. I knew that the vultures in the sky would warn me in case of any danger so I could rest peacefully. The difference in having an ally in the sky and on the ground was stark. Although the vultures could not fight, they had their other uses and I made sure to exploit that to the fullest. And yes, I said vultures with an 's'. Because it was not only Grim that I used in my plan. The rest of the vultures had been benefiting from me for long enough, and it was time to get them to work. The second method of weakening the Mbali brothers was where the rest of the vultures came in useful. I called it the starvation method. And it was exactly as it sounds. This method consisted of making sure that the Sirget Pride as a whole, including the three brothers, could never succeed in hunting down food. The vultures were the ones to sabotage their hunt each time. Imagine this. The hunting party of the Siringet pride set out to catch prey. They found a bountiful herd of impalas, and they began stalking them in a proper formation. But right in that vital moment where the hunters slowly stalked their prey, a dozen or so vultures swooped down from the sky. They did not have to do much, only flap their wings and expose all the hiding spots of the lioness. The herd of impala saw the lioness and ran for their life immediately. The vultures, on the other hand, flew back into the sky. They glided overhead, ready to sabotage the hunting party once more whenever they tried their luck again. Normally, it would be impossible to get the vultures to sabotage the lions like that. They were scavengers that fed on the remains left by the lions or other predators, so a successful hunt was just as beneficial for them as it was for the lions. But with the leftovers I had from every hunt, these vultures did not need other lions to get their food. They knew they only needed me to survive and thrive, I've proven this throughout the year. So they could go against their instinct and sabotage the predators. I was not idle in executing this plan either. I overhunted the herds in the territory in an attempt to drive them far away from these fertile lands. But none of the meat went to waste or got taken by the Siringet pride. I used the carcass to reward the obedient vultures. A week quickly passed by, and the Mbali brothers were not getting food or proper rest. I could feel their desperation growing with every passing day from then on. I continued my harassment and sabotaged their hunting as the second week rolled by. But in the early days of the second week, the Mbali brothers finally had enough of my tricks. Not getting proper rest was not a big issue for the Kings. But food was another problem entirely. They were already searching for a herd when I first began my harassment, so if you think for a minute, it was nearly two weeks since the pride had their last meal. That could not go on. The pride had not only adults but also growing cubs to feed. The Mbali brothers began making big moves. They moved away from their usual hunting grounds and made their way towards my part of the region. They realised they couldn't succeed in their hunt no matter how many times they tried. The vultures would always sabotage their hunt by revealing their hiding spot. They realised the only way they could get food was by hunting prey that wouldn't run even if they were seen and their hiding spots were exposed. Indeed, the Siringet Pride moved towards my territory to hunt for the herd of buffalo. And what can I say except it was all part of my plan. Exactly on the tenth day since I decided to finally challenge the three kings, the pride set out to hunt the buffalo. Not knowing that it was on this day that everything would finally come to an end. I lay low as the powerful adults of the pride set out to hunt a buffalo, including all three brothers. Whenever the pride hunted buffalo, the males needed to be involved since the females did not have the power to take down such a massive beast. This time, the vultures did not even try sabotaging their position, knowing that it was futile. The buffalo wouldn't run even if they saw the lions. I waited in a hidden location while I let the pride hunt the buffalo. ... I do not forget things easily. I was a learner. The idea of taking a bird as my subject and using a completely different animal to aid me in a war was something I learned from Mufasa and Scar, respectively. So I still remember the genius plan of the rogue I encountered three months ago. The one that tried to take advantage of my exhaustion and injury after a buffalo hunt. That plan would've succeeded if it were any other lion but me or if he had encountered me during my earlier hunt. And seeing the potential of that plan, I was applying that same strategy to the Mbali brothers. After that was done, I would have completed my plan of weakening them as much as I could. What follows after that will be up to how I perform in this fight. I had done my preparation. Now let the battle for dominance begin. ... ... [IMAGE] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author : Goal is 600 stones. Thanks for reading. Vote!!