Become a Cheetah
o0o
When Oros was entangled by three young lionesses, the resting lion pride was suddenly attacked.
The attackers were two adult primitive male lions and three evolved lionesses. Their target was clear, the cubs in the pride!
Tina recognized them immediately and alerted all the lionesses: "They are from the Hosby pride! Tini, Shana, take the cubs and hide in the bushes! Hona, Joan, Lemei, block those three lionesses! Rossa, go find Oros! The rest of you, come with me to stop the two males!"
The pride reacted swiftly, but the attackers were clearly prepared. The three lionesses were evenly matched with the intercepting lionesses, while the thirteen cubs fled in panic with their mothers and aunts.
Tina and the other lionesses charged fearlessly toward the two burly males. Primitive male lions, though lacking the complex thinking of evolved lions, were equally ferocious.
Lionesses, by nature, could not match the strength of male lions. Oros often willingly let the lionesses discipline him because they were his mates, but these two primitive males were clearly hostile to the entire pride and would show no mercy to any lioness or cub.
The experienced Tina used her body to shield the cubs from the males, buying time for the young ones to escape.
Six lionesses surrounded the two males, seizing every opportunity to claw and bite at their spines and hind legs.
The males' thick manes protected their necks, and their massive size made the lionesses cautious.
They could only rely on their agility and speed to delay the two primitive males, doing their best to give the cubs a chance to survive.
The lionesses fought bravely, their calls for help echoing far across the savannah.
Rosa ran desperately across the grassland, searching for Oros, until the majestic figure appeared on the distant horizon. She let out a deafening roar.
"Oros! The males from the Hosby pride have attacked us! Return to the pride at once!"
Oros turned sharply, just as the lionesses who had been flirting with him moments ago suddenly launched an attack. The powerful male lion paid no heed to their claws and bites.
Within a few rounds, he had thrown them to the ground, pinning the apparent leader with his massive jaws close to her throat.
"Was this planned?"
The lioness bared her fangs at Oros in anger, while the other two lionesses, injured, tried to charge at him. But Rosa, equally furious, intercepted them.
Enemies meeting face to face, Rosa immediately bit down hard on one lioness's hind leg, her golden eyes filled with killing intent.
"Go ahead and kill me!"
The lioness pinned under Oros roared angrily. "You selfish, cunning lions! You drove all the hyenas into our territory! They killed our cubs! You won't get away with this!"
"Cubs?!"
Oros was not a patient father, but that didn't mean he didn't care about his own cubs! Hearing the lioness's words, he bit down hard on the back of her neck and flung her aside.
"Failing to protect your cubs is the males' incompetence! That's no excuse to attack us!"
Oros had no time to deal with Rosa's furious roars. He lifted his head, performing a flehmen response to gather information from the wind. The scent of unfamiliar males ignited the lion king's fury.
"Rosa, come with me!"
Oros said in a deep voice, but Rosa still glared at the three lionesses, roaring, "Are we just going to let them go?!"
"Come with me!"
The lion king's command brooked no argument. They had no time to waste.
The male lion began to run, his thick mane flowing in the wind, his powerful and majestic body a testament to his strength and authority. Rosa followed closely behind Oros. The moment Oros returned to the pride would signal the doom of the invaders.
The three battered Hosby lionesses lay on the ground, silently watching Oros and Rosa leave.
"Let's return to our territory."
The lioness who had roared at Oros earlier stood up and walked over to her companions. Only one lioness was seriously injured, but she could still walk.
"Just like that? What about Billy and the others?"
"You've seen Oros's strength. Do you really think they have any chance of coming back alive?"
"But, Zuwa, we have two males. It's not certain we'll lose."
"Then you can stay here and wait," the lioness Zuwa turned around. "I'm going back to find Shawa."
While the two males and other lionesses attacked Oros's pride, the last three cubs of the Hosby pride were being cared for by their aunts. The cubs were the pride's hope, and with hyenas now roaming their territory, Zuwa was uneasy leaving only two lionesses to watch over them.
However, recalling the cubs' primitive genes and comparing them to Oros, whom they had just seen, the three evolved lionesses couldn't help but share a thought.
"Oros is quite the male..."
"Indeed, when he pinned me down, my heart was racing. Mating with him would surely produce stronger offspring."
"Speaking of which, it's not unheard of for one lion king to rule two prides..."
At this, the lionesses exchanged glances, their thoughts unspoken but understood.
By the time Oros arrived, the lionesses and cubs were in dire straits. Tina and Hona were both injured, with Tina's condition particularly severe—one of her hind legs was almost immobile. Just as one of the males was about to deliver a fatal bite, Oros charged in like a hurricane, slamming into him!
The battle between male lions was a pure clash of absolute strength.
Brutal, with no room for compromise, they fought, tore, and bit, the stronger one pinning the weaker beneath him, asserting the lion king's power and dignity with sheer dominance.
The two primitive males, despite their numerical advantage, were no match for Oros. Soon, one had his spine broken by Oros, rendered immobile, while the other tried to flee but had already lost his chance.
With the males dealt with, the lionesses turned their attention to the remaining three lionesses. In moments, the lionesses were covered in wounds. Oros, having finished his fight, glanced at the dead opponent and then at the lionesses still brawling—clawing, scratching, biting, everything short of cursing and spitting.
Seeing Rosa roaring and swinging her paws, Oros thought, well, when women fight, you can't expect too much. He walked over to Tina, who was lying on her side, and licked her wounds.
"Can you hold on?"
"I'm fine."
In the end, the two lionesses fled, leaving behind the bodies of their companions. Four lionesses from the pride chased after them, determined to teach them a lesson they would never forget.
With the danger gone, the cubs emerged from the bushes. The lionesses licked their young, overwhelmed with relief, and wished they could wipe out the entire Hosby pride.
After resting for a while, the lionesses realized that staying near the border of their territory was unsafe. They decided to return to the center of their domain, and this time, Oros would accompany them.
Tina’s injuries were severe. Although they had been temporarily treated, she still struggled to keep up with the pride’s pace. Oros, without hesitation, shifted his form and picked Tina up. Despite the lioness weighing over four hundred pounds, she felt as light as a feather in his arms.
"What are you doing?!"
Tina was startled by Oros’ sudden action and instinctively swiped at him with her claws. The male lion bared his teeth.
"Tina, I’m just carrying you."
"Put me down! I can walk on my own!"
"Would it kill you to rely on me for once? You’re my mate!"
Tina’s ears flattened as she sniffed at Oros’ neck. "Oh? Then care to explain where this scent on you came from? If I’m not mistaken, no lioness in our pride smells like this!"
"Uh…"
Oros froze, looking up at the sky and then back at Tina.
"Well, I can explain…"
"Explain?" Rosa walked over, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, right. When I found him, he was getting cozy with Zuwa from the Hosby pride. Still need an explanation?"
Tina raised her paw, her sharp claws glinting dangerously. Oros felt a chill run down his spine, and the next moment, a deafening roar erupted from the lion…
o0o
Meanwhile, Luo Qiao was leading Luo Sen and Luo Rui in tracking a fully grown male warthog. Suddenly, his ears twitched. Strange, why did he hear a lion’s roar in the middle of the day? He must have been mistaken.
Luo Sen and Luo Rui followed closely behind Luo Qiao, mimicking his every move. This warthog weighed over two hundred pounds. Catching it would provide enough food for the three cheetahs to last until the day after tomorrow. But the question was, how to catch it?
They were in a low-lying area at the center of Oros’ territory. During the rainy season, this area was a pond. As the dry season approached, the water gradually evaporated, leaving behind muddy swamps before eventually drying up completely. Dry grass and thorny bushes covered the ground, making it hard for the warthog to sense danger. One misstep, and it could easily become trapped.
Luo Qiao didn’t act recklessly. He quietly hid in the bushes, paying close attention to the wind direction. He watched as the warthog, oblivious to any danger, dug up plant roots and feasted. When the warthog was less than thirty meters away, Luo Qiao dashed out.
Instead of recklessly pouncing on the warthog, something he couldn’t do anyway. Luo Qiao cleverly herded it toward the swamp. The warthog soon became stuck in the mud, its movements slowed.
The two young cheetahs stayed back as Luo Qiao cautiously approached the warthog from behind, avoiding its sharp tusks. The warthog wasn’t going to make it easy for him, and the standoff between predator and prey continued.
Finally, when the warthog was nearly exhausted, Luo Qiao shifted into his human form, leaped onto the warthog’s back, and dug his fingers into its eyes.
His sharp nails pierced the warthog’s eyeballs, and as the warthog let out a piercing scream, Luo Qiao used a few tough grass stems to tighten around its neck until it suffocated.
With the hunt over, Luo Qiao dragged the warthog out of the mud, tore open its skin, and the three of them buried their heads in their meal.
As Luo Qiao ate, he had no idea that Oros and his pride had already left the border and were on their way back.
Meanwhile, Monty the leopard, who had been napping, was startled awake by the sudden lion’s roar. He twitched his ears.
That stupid lion again!
o0o