Chapter 77 77: The Battle for Dominance : Leo vs the Mbali Brothers (3)

[1st POV] They didn't run. There was no word to describe the emotion I was feeling. Perhaps people should invent a word for the mix between being impressed and disappointed in one's action. On one hand, I was disappointed that the two kings were not like me. They did not consider a tactical retreat as an option. Their ego and pride made them stand their ground and fight even if they knew it was futile to do so. On the other hand, I respected their stubbornness and pride as a lion. They did not move a single inch from their place, even though I smelled fear on them. "One down, two more to go," I said while allowing myself a brief rest to cool down. Contrary to what you would expect, neither of them had an emotional outburst upon seeing the corpse of their brother. Roku stared with a hanging jaw and blood covered face. Baraka closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he focused back on me. There was no grief, no tears, no mourning, no nothing. It was like they had prepared and accepted this situation a long time ago. Like they knew it was only a matter of time before Makali was killed by his own recklessness and bravery. "What? Are you not going to mourn for your brother's death? Would you not spare even a single tear?" I asked, standing up and slowly walking around them. Roku did not reply, he could no longer speak with his shattered jaw. It was Baraka who gave an answer to my question. "Every lion has his time. When you rise to become king and reach the pinnacle, the only thing left is the fall. And for us, that was four years ago," he said. "A long time for stubborn kings to accept the inevitable," I paused briefly, not expecting such words to come out of a wild animal. But I recovered fast and continued walking around them. "Will you not run?" I asked again. "And do what? Come back for vengeance when we are older and you are stronger?" he asked back with a humourless laugh. "This is our moment, cub. Do what you want and we shall do what we must," He began approaching me. He knew that their defeat was inevitable after Makali's death. The fight was as close to a one vs one as it could get with Roku's broken jaw. And that was a fight he knew he could not win. But still, he walked towards me. "And what is it that you must do?" I asked and stopped. I waited for him to close the distance between us. "Protect my kingdom, protect my pride, protect my cubs. Do not forget Leo," he said, his eyes seemed to turn white from pure rage and ego. His ears pulled back, and his jaw displayed bloody canines that were ready to tear. "I am king," When you knew you were going to die but did not fear death, that was when life became most powerful. Baraka exploded out, a breathing storm with muscle and teeth. He looked bigger than before, and felt many times stronger than before. A fight was a clash of force and will. It was an act of offence and defence driven by the desire to win and the intention to survive. One look at Baraka and you could tell that he was no longer fighting. Baraka was on a bloodlusted rampage. His only intention was to wreak destruction upon his enemy, even at the cost of his life. He was not trying to win anymore or survive, he only wanted to kill the enemy. His enemy. Me. I welcomed him with the roar of a lion, proud and daring him to give his best shot at killing me. I had survived worse than the rage of a dying lion, had faced bigger foes than the duty of a king. 'So come,' *BOOM!!* A small shockwave erupted as two of the biggest modern lions clashed in fury. Our arms blurred as we threw strike after strike at each other. Sometimes our attacks cancelled each other out, our limbs tangled in violent rage before we tugged back with enough force to shatter bones. Two jaws with rows of sharp teeth collided. The sound of bone crashing against bone and teeth cutting at teeth could not be hidden under the growls that sounded like a call for more violence. The fight was more brutal than any fight that I had had before. Baraka was losing, he was being overpowered, he was being out-teeth and out-clawed. But strangely enough, he was pushing against me and I was actually backpedalling. If I were to be his end, then Baraka must be embracing death. It became clear from the start who was fighting and who was killing. Baraka did not care about anything other than drawing out my blood. We were standing on our hind legs and exchanging blows. I took one big step backwards and created distance. From there, I threw precise strikes that landed cleanly on Baraka's face. I tore out chunks of flesh and skin. But my enemy seemed to no longer feel pain. I threw another attack at him. My paw whipped forward with the speed of a bullet and the force of a hammer. It was an attack that could kill smaller predators like leopards and hyenas with a single touch. And yet Baraka did not dodge. No, forget dodging, Baraka threw his head towards my paw. His own momentum, along with the force behind my swing, created an unsettling thud. I would expect Baraka to be knocked out with the force alone but he seemed to absorb the power of my blow and used it to strengthen himself. He then pushed his head downwards, my claws came out and without having to do anything on my part, he tore his face on my claws. ?!!! But as a result of that, my arm was pushed down and that created an opening at my neck. Baraka exploded upwards and this time, his jaw came straight for my open neck. I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. But the bastard actually parried my attack with his face. Was that even a thing? His torn and bloody face was unrecognisable. His fur looked red and not white. But the sight of an opening jaw could not be mistaken. I tucked my chin and met his upward lunge with my own open jaw. Our teeth smashed together, and the sound was like hollow bone hitting hollow bone. Our manes shook violently. He went on with his bite and he managed to tear my lips. I growled, enraged. Baraka pulled back and lunged at me a second time. His aim was still at my neck and I protected myself once more. But then he lunged at me for the third time. This time, he did not come at me with an open jaw but with his forehead. To my utter shock, he headbutted me on my open jaw. He seemed not to know pain as he smashed his skull on my fangs as if trying to knock them off. He created a puncture wound on his head from which blood seeped out like a boil. He was relentless and I found myself actually moving out of the way in fear that he might actually knock off my teeth. He then lunged at the new opening at my neck again. But this time, instead of blocking, I stood upright and put my neck out of his reach. I realised then that it was no use trying to trade blows with an enemy that did not care for his health. My plan changed from knocking him out or killing him to subduing him. My right arm came up and hooked under his armpit. Then I used my experience with wrestling a buffalo on Baraka. I exploded in strength and Baraka spun instantly. I threw him on the ground with a brutal smash. Baraka did not give up. He quickly found a position on the ground. He lay on his back and his four paws blurred with reckless abandon. He became like a furious tornado on the ground. "That is enough," I said and then pushed myself up with my front legs before I crashed back down with all my strength and weight. My paw crushed his ribs upon landing on his side, I heard a clean snap and a choked sound left his nose, and he bled instantly from his nostrils. He seemed to finally feel the pain this time as he forze completely. Right then, I lunged forward and bit down on his neck. His thick skin and thicker mane protected him from the sharpness of my fangs, but I clamped down tightly. It was the same technique I used to kill the buffalo with a hide that I could not penetrate. Suffocate them to death. The immense bite force I acquired through years of training and conditioning came in use. Baraka could not escape from my jaw, no matter how hard he tried. In the end, his limbs waved wildly and he tried to push himself off me. He did not care that he was tearing his own skin by pushing me away. If it meant getting out to fight another second, he was willing to skin himself alive I heard his skin tear like fabric, but I also clamped down on flesh so he could not escape. I gathered up every bit of strength I could find and exploded in power. My muscles popped with raw strength and I lifted the 300-kilogram lion off the ground. My eyes turned white with rage and effort, and I lost my vision for a moment as I became raw strength. I slammed his body on the ground after lifting him up. There was a small explosion on the ground. It sounded like the end of the fight, but that was only the beginning. I found out the limit of my strength in that moment. I lifted Baraka off the ground again and this time I slammed him to my left. Before he could recover from the crash, I lifted him again and slammed him down on the right. Before he could tell where he was, I lifted again and slammed him down on another part of the ground. I rag-dolled him like that for a long time. My stamina seemed endless as I literally beat him with the earth. Again and again, the earth quaked and broke Baraka into pieces. His limbs, which were trying to catch him upon falling, snapped the wrong way. His broken ribs shattered upon being smashed endlessly on the ground. His neck was broken, his spine was broken, his paws were broken and hung loosely on his wrist. I stopped only when it felt like I was smashing a lifeless doll on the ground. There was no longer any resistance. *BOOOM!!* I smashed his body for the final time on the ground. His back seemed to make cracks on the ground. My jaw tightened even more on his neck and I pushed him against the muddy earth. I created a giant scar on the ground and then I dragged his body forward. His body craved a line as his skin scraped off. I walked him on the ground for a few meters before I finally lifted him back up. This time, I did not smash him again but held him there in the air. He hung limply from my jaw like a used rag. The seconds ticked by and there was no longer any movement, even as I waited. Finally, I released my jaw. Baraka's giant body fell limply on the ground like a sack of potatoes. I felt clarity return to my mind and my muscles ached and groaned due to the strain immediately. I took a few seconds to recover and then.... "Two down," I said while panting heavily. "Only one more," .. .. 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