Chapter 80 80: Takeover

[1st POV] I roared until my voice was gone. And by the end, I was completely refreshed. There was no anger inside me anymore, no adrenaline or the desire to kill something. I only felt peace and the cooling sensation of my body. It was like the calm you felt after an intense workout. The world seemed so gentle in that moment. The intensity and brutality of the battle made the normal world feel so kind. I took that moment to check on myself. I noticed that I was feeling mild aches in some places and I had sustained scratches and punctures on my skin but there was no serious injury. I had flawlessly executed my plan. After I was done checking on myself, I looked around at my surroundings. The vultures that had flown overhead had landed on the ground. They numbered in the hundreds and were eating the corpses of the fallen kings. I stared at the scene for a while before I heard a flap of wings beside me. There was only one vulture in the world that would ever get this close to me. "You did it, my lord," Grim said as he landed beside me. "I did," I said with a smile, liking that short sentence very much. "How was the food?" "They tasted disgusting," he said. Grim had been spoiled with fresh and delicious meat for a year now, so he was picky. "But the chance of eating a king comes once in a lifetime so I had to take a piece for myself," he said. I nodded at his words but remained silent. Meanwhile, I continued looking at the scene before me, my thoughts stretching into unimportant things. "Something wrong my lord?" Grim asked with a tilt of his head. "Just pondering on what Roku said in his final moments," I answered honestly, "That could be me in the future. Perhaps it would take a few years or a decade but eventually, I will fall just like they," Grim widened his eyes a bit before turning to look at the scene before us. He looked at the vultures tearing and pecking away at the fallen kings with a new perspective in his eyes. Perhaps he imagined my body in their place, just like I was doing. "No," he said suddenly with surprising conviction. "No vultures or any other creature will disrespect you like that. I will make sure of it." I laughed out loud. "I am serious my lord," Grim said, the resolve and conviction in his voice made my laugh die down. "Even if only time itself makes you fall, vultures can live twice as long as lions. A starving bird will not get your hair," I glanced at him, only noticing now that he was larger than any other vultures around. Maybe fulfilling his words was a stretch for a single bird, but his spirit alone was enough to move my heart. "Thank you, Grim." I said. "I am happy to serve," he replied. A short silence followed as we both reflect on our one year journey. The first time I met him was vivid in my mind. And now here we are. "Soooo..." I trailed thoughtfully, "...what next?" I never really thought this far ahead in my plan. The end of all my plans and strategy was my ultimate victory against the Mbali brothers. I never really thought about what to do after my win. Of course, returning to the Pride Lands was part of my life goals but that was still one year into the future according to my promise. So what should I do in the time before that? "I think this is the part where you mate with the females and have babies," Grim suggested in a not-so-sure voice, "And then....enjoy life I guess," Becoming the king was the ultimate life goal for a lion. There could never be anything greater and more fulfilling than that. It meant that I had completed life as a lion. "Right," I nodded, "I have a pride now," I realised I wanted nothing but this all my life. I had prepared for years for this, but it still felt like it happened suddenly. I could never be ready for it. "I guess I should greet my new pride," I said and then turned towards the direction of the pride. They were close by. They were close enough that I could smell them from here. And so I walked towards the location of the pride. Grim immediately took to the sky and flew towards the location before me so that he could scout and tell me again what to expect before I reached there. On my way, I gathered my thoughts for the task ahead instead of pondering about useless questions. I had no experience in taking over a pride and the only example that I could look to was Scar's takeover of the pride. Which, I must admit, was anything but a good example or tradition. Scar's takeover of the pride was not because he earned it but because there were no other lions to become king. This caused much resentment and dissatisfaction from the lionesses and Scar had to starve us and forcefully make us submit to him. But it was different for me. I had earned the kingdom and the pride fair and square against three prime kings. There was no debate or doubt that I was the undisputed king. So I hoped for a seamless takeover where the pride would accept me as their king without further conflict. But as I watched Grim return faster than I thought, I knew that my hope would not come to pass. If the vulture returned, it usually meant that something was not as it should be. "They are preparing to fight," Grim said and he landed on my back. "A fight?" I asked. "For what purpose?" "I think they are trying to protect the cubs. Three lionesses had moved further away from the pride and were hiding the young cubs under a bush," he said. "And the rest?" "They are waiting for you." Grim said, "But they wait in a battle formation. They pick the tall grasses to meet you, where it is hard to keep an eye on all the adults. I believe they hope to sneak up on you in case things turn south," I hummed calmly in acknowledgement. In the meantime, I was trying to suppress a growing anger and annoyance by justifying their action. Of course, they would be wary of me from the start. But the sheer audacity to try to deny my claim on them, a claim I rightfully earned. It was hard to view that kindly. A low growl came out. "They must think they are so clever, when in fact their actions speak otherwise." Grim said with a shake of his head before he jumped off my back and flew back into the sky. A few minutes of slow and deliberate steps later, I saw the lionesses waiting for me among the tall grasses just like Grim had told me. His other information also stayed true as the females stood in a formation. They stood in a semicircle where they could attack me from all sides as I approached them. The smell of the females was distinctive and I smelled more females than my eye could see, meaning some of them stayed hidden among the grass. "Is this how you greet your king?" I asked while I continued to approach them with absolutely zero hesitation. At my question, I saw the females looking towards the direction of the formation. I followed their gaze and locked eyes with three lionesses that stood at the very centre of the formation. From the way the others looked at them for a reaction, I could tell that they were the leaders or, at the very least, the females at the top of the pride hierarchy. So I made my way towards them. "Forgive us for being wary of the new king we barely know," one of them said with barely hidden sarcasm. But I didn't take it the wrong way. Not at all. How could I, when I knew that each and every one of them was completely terrified? The sarcasm was a cheap attempt at hiding her fear. They were so scared that it didn't even make sense. The growing anger and annoyance disappeared and were replaced by confusion. I was not the villain here. Was I? Oh wait, I just brutally murdered their three kings. Maybe I was a villain from their perspective. Like Scar's takeover, but worse. Oh I was so much worse in that context. Interesting. "Then let us quickly get familiar with ourselves. Tell me your names," I asked and finally stood before them. Females were small. They were noticeably smaller compared to the average lion, and standing before me, they were barely half my size. I felt like I could tear them up and murder them by accident. The females swallowed hard, hoping they could hide the slight tremble of their legs among the grass, but I noticed. "My name is Eshe," the lioness in front of me said. "My name is Isheba," the one standing left to Eshe said. "Nydia," the one standing on the right said. "My name is Salima," another one said and that was when I stopped them. "That is enough for now, I can't remember all of you at once, so let's do it step by step," I said. Those four were important names as they were the highest ranking among the pride. The rest of the pride, I could learn their names at a later time. I moved away from them and walked along their curved formation. I also spotted the few lionesses crouching down and hiding under the tall grasses. I strode back and forth until I inspected every last one of them. A total of fifteen females were present at that moment, including two sub-adults. But I knew that that was only half of the members of the Siringet pride. "My name is Leo, son of King Mufasa," I said, a bit surprised that I mentioned Mufasa when I introduced myself. Perhaps I wanted them to know of my royal lineage. "And I am your new king," I said, and finally stopped near the four females again. "Now, where is the rest of my pride?" I asked, and some flinched back due to my rising tone. "And where are the cubs?" The air chilled in that moment. My instincts tugged at me. There was a nature in me, the nature of a lion that raged at the mere mention of cubs of another lion. I guess this was what would make me kill them. The females rolled their shoulders and their teeth were half-bared. I could feel them loading up their muscles, ready to spring out at any moment. "Think," my voice cut through the tension easily due to the fact that I did not give a fuck about what they were about to do. They truly pose no threat to me. "Think carefully about your next action," I said and a deep growl rolled off my throat and spread around like an earthquake. I flashed my fangs with a twitch of my lips. These were the same teeth that were still red from the blood of their kings. A heavy silence hung in the air. I could hear their quickening heartbeats. Eventually, some of the females broke under the pressure. I noticed that most of them were either young or on the older side. They came to me with slow steps and lowered heads. They broke the battle formation and took their place beside me. I grinned when I saw the face of betrayal flash on the lionesses that remained in their place. I guess I knew which ones were mothers and which were not. The same thing happened when Scar tried to kill the cubs after his takeover. The lionesses with cubs fought to the bitter end while the ones without cubs were the easiest to fold and adapt to the new rule. "The others are staying behind those trees and near the bushes," one of the lionesses who came beside me said. I turned to her and remembered her scent and face. She looked young, almost too young. I assumed she was still a sub-adult, one that had not borne cubs. "This one is wise beyond her years," I said with a chuckle and then moved towards the said location I already knew where it was, but I appreciated her willingness to cooperate. Grim was already circling above the place, so it could not be missed. I walked right past the formation, and no one could do anything. I had already intimidated them and made nearly half of them join my side. The location was not far away, so in a few seconds, I could already see the lions trying their best to lie low behind the trees and among the grass. I caught a glimpse of males with half a mane and small cubs that were too curious for their own good. I roared at them, specifically, I roared at the four young males. When said young lions did not run immediately after my first roar, I charged at them. It seemed I was not fully done with fighting. I still had some young bloods to kill or some more to kick out of the pride. ... ... [IMAGE] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author : A poll was taken on patreon and it has been decided that Leo will not kill the cubs.