[3rd POV]
Zael's territory included the region right outside the Serengeti and a small portion of the southern Serengeti. Although it was offensive to claim another's territory as his own, Zael knew that his father wouldn't mind if he took a small part of the region.
One of the reasons why he did so was that water sources were rare in these parts of land. Zael's kingdom had a few lakes like where he met Simba, but that wasn't enough. The southernmost part of the Serengeti had one more watering hole which Zael needed for his kingdom, and so he laid claim until that well.
And since his kingdom was located at the southern tip of the Serengeti, it would take less than five days of normal travel until he met up with Leo and his pride who were moving to the south as well.
It would take only around three days if the lions hurried.
It had been two days since Zael and his pride, including Simba and his team, began travelling North into the Serengeti. Their current location was already inside the Serengeti, meaning it was another king's region.
Nevertheless, the pride halted in this place last night. And now, it was morning but it was still dark. The rest of the pride were still asleep, recovering from the fatigue of two days travel. Grim the vulture had also left them since they were already inside Leo's territory.
But currently, Simba and Zael were on the move before the rest of the pride woke up.
"Can you tell me now where we are going?" Simba asked while walking beside Zael. The world was still dark but for these felines, darkness was barely an issue.
Although Simba spent most of his life in the secluded Pridelands and the Congo, he still knew how to tell directions. And right now, the direction where they headed was nowhere towards the North which was the direction where they should be headed.
"We are going to visit a friend," Zael said.
"Are you going to ask him to join us?" Simba asked.
"More like, I am going to allow him to join us. If what I know about him is true, he wouldn't need any convincing when it comes to fighting," Zael said.
The environment in the darkness was akin to a graveyard. There were trees but most of them stood without any leaves. One could see the pointy wooden branches spiraling and reaching for nothing. The ground beneath them was cold hard ground with a chilly powder on the surface. Occasionally, they would feel stiff grasses on their paws.
The condition was exactly what one would imagine when told, 'Hot, African Savannah'.
"And how did you know him again?" Simba asked.
"Old Zafar," Zael said, "He was the king before I took over the pride. He's an exceptional individual who ruled over this region for years now. When asked, my lionesses answered that he was actually the king of the pride even before they came to this territory. The only reason why I could defeat him was due to his old age,"
"We didn't part ways on a good note, as one might expect, so I never saw him again. I'd assumed he died in a ditch somewhere from the wounds I inflicted. But after we went further into the Serengeti, I noticed his markings. I couldn't have ignored it even if I tried," Zael said.
"So after he lost to you, he came to the Serengeti? Why would he do that?" Simba asked.
"After mulling over it for a second, it makes perfect sense that he would be here. You see, Zafar had lived a good life, so when he lost to me, he wanted nothing but to die at the hands of a worthy challenger and for a good cause like protecting his pride. But in my foolishness, I spared him and the young adults and banished them from my territory," Zael said.
The main reason why he did such a thing was because he looked up to his father Leo and wanted to do things right by showing mercy, like he once did to Zael. But after he had grown a bit, he realized that it was only disrespectful, especially to the old king Zafar.
He assumed that the reason why Zafar came to the Serengeti and even left his mark all over was in hope that he would get Leo, the great king's notice and he could finally achieve his life goals by dying from a worthy foe. Zafar truly did not want to die on his back.
But tragically, Leo until now had lived in the central and northern part of the Serengeti. The scope of the Serengeti was such that Leo would not notice anything that was going on in the south. At the same time, Zafar probably did not want to die from mere hyenas and so he had lived until now.
Simba and Zael continued to make their way eastwards, following the mark and the scent left by Zafar. It was not so much a king claiming land, but the way those clues were left almost seemed like Zafar wanted to be found. That only proved the assumption Zael had in his mind.
After a few hours of walking, Simba and Zael were near enough that they could smell the distinct scent of lions.
And that was a problem.
Lions.
They caught three distinct scents.
Simba turned towards Zael for what they should do. After a hard look came over his face, Zael decided to persist forward and Simba followed.
Not a lot of time passed after that. The trees or the vegetation at this time of year did not obstruct vision so they saw immediately the small rocky hill with a cave. Said cave seemed small, there was no way a small building of rock like that could have a deep cave system unless it went straight underground.
There, Simba saw three lions. He could easily tell from the scent and the sight alone which one was Zafar. The mane was starting to grow thin and stiff, but even without a full mane the lion held an air that was unmistakable.
Zafar was standing, waiting, at the entrance of the cave. In front of him lay two lions, youthful from their scent and the lightness of their mane.
"Ahh, so that's how it was," Zael muttered to himself before the two of them came forward. Now they were in full view for the enemy.
"I knew there was no way I could mistake that smell," Zafar said, walking forward and past the two young lions. There was a slight angle of elevation leading to the hill so he held the upper ground to Zael and Simba.
Zael spoke first, "It's good to see you and your sons doing well, Zafar,"
"All is thanks to the kind and merciful king Zael," Zafar said sarcastically before doing a mocking bow.
"Why have you come young blood? I hope you know that since you've come all this way, you wouldn't leave with your health," Zafar said, baring yellow teeth. The two lions behind him didn't make a move but you could literally feel their alert gaze.
"I came with a fight," Zael said, much to the other lion's surprise. "But not right now. Soon a battle unlike anything before will take place here in the Southern Serengeti. And since we know each other, I thought it'd be good if I invited you,"
"A battle?"
"Yes, a battle whose proportions you wouldn't believe. One that included 19 lions. 19 adult, prime males," Zael said, counting the enemies including themselves.
Zafar had incredulous eyes, no comment left his throat. I mean, how can you comment on something which was so difficult to imagine but seemed to be the truth since a king had said it.
Zael explained the situation briefly.
"The one who stood beside me is Simba, brother of the lion king Leo. I assure you I speak the truth and the king including his 16 coalition of opponents are making their way south as we speak," Zael said.
Zafar stayed silent for a while before a huge grin came upon his face.
"How naive, and you came to me in hopes of taking me into your ranks. Did you even, for a second, consider that I might do the opposite? Sounds to me like I should just join the winning side," Zafar said.
"There are no winning sides," Zael said, "The likelihood of loss can stack as high as the sky, King Leo is not the type to be defeated by it. Win or lose is as clear as a swamp until the last drop of blood,"
"Even then, it would be much better to die at the hands of Leo than any other lion, is it not? Why are you so confident that I will fight on your side?"
"16 against 1, that is the odds they needed to overcome their fear of the king. In such a one sided battle, if you become the 17th coward and die, only shame shall follow your death. King Leo is powerful no doubt, but he is still a lion like all others," Zael said.
But even if he said that seemingly confident, his eyes analyzed the opponent carefully. Both Simba and Zael were strong and could take down the three lions before them. The other two were young and green. It was why Zael pushed forward even when he knew there were three.
It might cost to fight them but since they were this close anyway, killing them off before they could become a threat after a huge battle was still a finer alternative.
"A worthy death, is that not what you wish for? The final piece to a complete, perfect life," Zael asked.
Zafar took a moment to consider, hanging his head to the side as if he was in thought. Then he turned to look at his two young sons, the two who were kicked out of the pride at the same time as he was.
What Zael told him included the fact that Leo wanted lion kings who he deemed worthy and whom he trusted to rule the territories around him. If they fought on his side and won, that would be enough to set his two children for the future.
He had a chance to meet his perfect end while at the same time he could promise a bright future for them, instead of staying in some random cave.
A battle that included two coalitions as big as this, the idea alone excited Zafar's old blood.
The offer, when thought this way, was just too good. No wonder Zael came with such confidence, he thought.
In the end, what could the old king do but accept.
Now three more lions joined Leo's side. That meant the final battle was quickly shaping out, from 23 lions against 1, now it was 16 lions against 6 lions.
The tale had turned to the final page.
...
...
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[3rd POV]
Zael, Simba and now, three other lions, returned to the pride long after morning had come to pass. Immediately, they made their way towards the North of the Serengeti.
The expected collision between Zael's group and Leo's pride was three days, meaning there was one more day to go. But because of the sudden attempt of attack from Scarface and his coalition, Leo's pride travelled faster and further than the plan.
Zael, as the leader and also someone who grew up in the Serengeti, led the way. At the very back of the pride was Simba, Pumba and Timon who protected the pride from behind. Zafar and his two sons were further to the side. There was 100 metres or so between them and Zael's pride.
Zafar and his sons held much history with the pride currently led by Zael, so they had not met each other. They were aware of their presence but that was about it. Mothers could only watch with longing eyes at their grown up sons, the old queen could only ignore her old king. To do otherwise would be immensely disrespectful to Zael.
But even if they were to reunite, Zael wouldn't really mind. He knew his place as the new king and other than the old lioness, there were two lionesses who only saw him as king. There was no need to be insecure.
Regardless, by the middle of noon, when the sun was setting more than it was hanging, Zael who was leading the group caught the scent of a familiar king.
He smiled before releasing a shattering roar towards the sky.
Once, twice, three times his roar shook the area. The vibration could be heard from many kilometres away, so the lion whose scent he caught should hear it too.
It took longer than expected, perhaps the wind was on his side and Leo could not catch their scent and thought them to be the enemy.
But after a while.
A roar came in reply.
*ROARRRR!!!*
It was a big roar. A loud roar, that was akin to a natural phenomenon like a storm instead of something a living being could create.
Its shattering echo bounced through the hills and made the sky feel small. With such a sound, it felt like the vibration had expanded fully at the small container known as the world.
The females stopped right then and there, at the announcement of a new lion.
But all the male lions stepped forward and hurriedly paced towards the sound of the roar.
..
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